Macbeth and Today. Why you ought to peruse this Shakespeare’s play.
First acted in 1606, there is a play so sick and promising that it is viewed as that in any event, expressing its name brings horrible strokes of luck and hence alternatively referred to as The Scottish Play or The Tragedy of Macbeth.
Starts with the trio of witches, prophecies, murder, betrayal, cycles of violence and nightmares and takes us on the excursion of human emotions of covetousness, culpability and boldness. Touching the social aspects of politics, power and ambition and meets a tragic end. It speaks as much as of the hours of Shakespeare as of today.
The fable starts with the sorcery witches making prophecies to Macbeth, the Nobel turned war hero of Scottish King Duncan.
All Hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.
King?
Macbeth's thoughts waive off the prophecy. But later Lady Macbeth urges irresistibly to act to gain the crown that sets the stage for mendacity, treachery and manslaughter. Yet, during this ride of bloodbath, the nightmares and guilt follow. This is reflected in the monologues of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
Out you dammed spot! Out I say.
Says Lady Macbeth when she spots an apparition of blood on her hand representing the blood of the deceased. But Shakespeare saved the most ardent of all for the Macbeth, where he says,
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
As expected from Shakespeare’s plays, Macbeth too has phrases that are part of the idioms dictionary that echos in today’s time such as “What’s done is done” and “There’s daggers in men’s smiles” or that witches say, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” and “Double, double toil and trouble”
But despite going over with the fine-tooth comb, Macbeth was circled down by the other nobels which leads us to further blood spill, ghosts in royal dinners and an army of forest running towards the castle to slay Macbeth. In his last solace, Macbeth comes to light with the fragility of life and vigour of death, which is reflected in the last monologue of the play.
Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow,
A poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
The play forces us to revisit the morals of politics, public life, ethics, war, inner dilemma and human philosophy. As they say, Life may be a tale told by an idiot but Macbeth is not, which is why we see repeated use of the plot in popular cultures such as Vishal Bharadwaj’s 2003 Maqbool and William Reilly’s 1991 Men of Respect are based on Macbeth.
