No one described the human condition – with all its greatness and foibles – quite like Shakespeare. In Macbeth, it's destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints. And so with due trepidation, here are some life lessons you can take away from the tragic play:
1. If you commit an atrocity that has not been committed before, you’ve just introduced the world to a new evil and that is the worst of atrocities. Yes, like Cain and Abel.
2. Regardless of the evil around you, you’re the only one who’s responsible for your own actions. With Macbeth, the onus was not on the witches or Lady Macbeth, but Macbeth.
3. A women’s nature will always be maternal, nurturing, loving, caring. Hence why Lady Macbeth demanded for the witches to 'unsex', thicken her blood, and replace her milk with gall. This comes from an excess of yellow bile. An imbalance of yellow bile in the body turns one ruthless and insolent.
4. People who receive an exorbitant amount of power are prone to abuse it.
5. Greed eats away at you and never satisfies you. Macbeth’s want for a higher title stemmed from his gaining lower titles Thane of Cawdor, as well as Lady Macbeth’s ambition for the crown.
7. Great leadership comes from a desire to make change, and possessing the finest of characteristics to fulfil such a responsibility.
8. The importance of having a mind of your own whereby you are not easily persuaded. Macbeth crumbled through the many voices around him, mainly from Lady Macbeth’s overpowering and manipulative nature and the supernatural powers of the witches. These internal and external evil voices manifest in many different forms in our daily lives. The question is, do we act upon Impulse and let it sway us?
9. Women should never emotionally blackmail men by abusing their masculinity. Lady Macbeth derailed her man to evil by scarring his masculinity and virility.
10. The importance of verifying facts, rather than believing heresy. There is no truth until received from the source of the teller. Any other information is a perception, opinion, belief and conjuncture.
11. Being cautious of who you trust.
12. Appreciating that all actions have consequences and ambition must be controlled. The purpose of ambition must further be grounded upon morals and reason.
This a play that is so relevant to the world we live in today. Powerful, corrupt, unmoral leaders opting for status, driven by greed and manipulation.
However, we know many students struggle with Shakespeare's language and word choices, and more often than not, they are put off from ever picking up any other of his plays again. They grow up depriving themselves from the multilayered meanings and semiotics lest they grow in further confusion or perplexity. But this is where we come in, we help simplify the language offering you everyday alternatives so you're developing deep insight and profound understanding of any text you will have the pleasure of coming across.
Simply get in touch via our email articulatelyservice@gmail.com for your free consultation today!