Macbeth is a brave scottish general who, after meeting three witches who tell him a prophecy of greatness, spirals out of control when greed and power takes the reigns. Macbeth murders his way to become king of Scotland and to grant the prophecy true, however his recklessness sees him ending up with a lot less than what he began with as he too dies.This play is a comment from William Shakespeare on the aspects that make up a person, their positive and negative experiences that surround life, otherwise known as the human condition.
Macbeth explores the human condition throughout, with use of writing techniques to contribute to this. Greed is a significantly prevalent theme both within the play and in today’s society as it is a part of the …show more content…
James was very interested in witchcraft, which many believe lead Shakespeare to incorporate the three sisters into the story. As for the rest of the plot, the events detailed are mostly true. The real Macbeth reigned over Scotland from 1040 to 1057 after killing the previous king Duncan I and then was killed by Duncan’s son Malcolm III who then went on to kill Macbeth’s family in order to stabilise his kingship. However, actions like this were not uncommon in the time period as out of fourteen kings who reigned between 943 to 1037, ten of them were murdered (“Macbeth - Historical Background to Macbeth”, 2011). The play can also be seen as being written as a potential warning to any other ‘king-killers’ due to previous attempts at killing King James I lead to the men being executed. The play was to show what could happen if you kill the king (“Macbeth - Historical Background to Macbeth”, 2011). The historical and social context of the play is incredibly important as we can begin to see where the theme of greed becomes apparent in the human condition during the 17th …show more content…
Greed is shown through the quote from Macbeth after the banquet as he is speaking to Lady Macbeth in Act 3, Scene 4 as he states “It will have blood, they say. Blood will have blood. Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak”. Obviously, we know that stones can’t move and trees can’t speak but this quote in particular is important as we see Macbeth begin to realise the wrong in what he has done. The use of personification allows the audience to picture and understand what Macbeth is feeling at that point in time. Overall, personification allows Shakespeare to explain the human condition further and comments on how the effects of greed will lead to
Macbeth explores the human condition throughout, with use of writing techniques to contribute to this. Greed is a significantly prevalent theme both within the play and in today’s society as it is a part of the …show more content…
James was very interested in witchcraft, which many believe lead Shakespeare to incorporate the three sisters into the story. As for the rest of the plot, the events detailed are mostly true. The real Macbeth reigned over Scotland from 1040 to 1057 after killing the previous king Duncan I and then was killed by Duncan’s son Malcolm III who then went on to kill Macbeth’s family in order to stabilise his kingship. However, actions like this were not uncommon in the time period as out of fourteen kings who reigned between 943 to 1037, ten of them were murdered (“Macbeth - Historical Background to Macbeth”, 2011). The play can also be seen as being written as a potential warning to any other ‘king-killers’ due to previous attempts at killing King James I lead to the men being executed. The play was to show what could happen if you kill the king (“Macbeth - Historical Background to Macbeth”, 2011). The historical and social context of the play is incredibly important as we can begin to see where the theme of greed becomes apparent in the human condition during the 17th …show more content…
Greed is shown through the quote from Macbeth after the banquet as he is speaking to Lady Macbeth in Act 3, Scene 4 as he states “It will have blood, they say. Blood will have blood. Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak”. Obviously, we know that stones can’t move and trees can’t speak but this quote in particular is important as we see Macbeth begin to realise the wrong in what he has done. The use of personification allows the audience to picture and understand what Macbeth is feeling at that point in time. Overall, personification allows Shakespeare to explain the human condition further and comments on how the effects of greed will lead to