The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare takes place during the middle Ages in Scotland. The main character Macbeth shows his loyalty to the king after aiding in a battle. When travelling home with Banquo, they both learn of their fates. Macbeth will be first deemed thane of Cawdor and eventually king, while Banquo’s heirs will be a line of kings. After Macbeth’s is pronounced thane of Cawdor by King Duncan, his wife, Lady Macbeth wants him to seal his fate as king by killing Duncan. Macbeth does so, and he pronounced king. Macbeth becomes paranoid and order for Banquo and his son Fleance to be killed, but Fleance gets away. Meanwhile, Macduff’s disapproval of Macbeth being king is heard by Macbeth and he orders for Macduff and his family to be killed. Macduff flees to England to be with Malcom where they plot revenge. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth is subconsciously overcome by guilt, and kills herself. Macbeth becomes miserable and no longer focuses on the invading Macduff. In the end, Macbeth is beheaded and Malcom is declared king.
The play discusses the internal struggles of man while he must decide between what is right and his own desires. The complications with his decision involve other characters. For example, Lady Macbeth encourages her husband quite strongly that he should secure his place on the throne. While on the other hand, King Duncan praises Macbeth on his loyalty and even rewards him by pronouncing him thane of Cawdor. The theme of ambition destroying conscious displays the idea of heroic flaw. Macbeth started out as a hero when he proved his loyalty on the battlefield, however, his flaw was his mortal desires. Another important idea of the play is the reoccurring ghosts and hallucinations. These occur repeatly throughout the play, and are warnings or foreshadowing. For example, the floating dagger that is covered in blood points towards the king’s chambers. This represents Macbeth’s soon to be death, and king Duncan’s murder early in the play.
Watching the play be acted out was much easier than trying to read the play on my own. However, I was still clueless for a lot of the play because the language was hard to understand. Rather, I had to deduce what was occurring onstage by watching how people acted and their tone of voices. The set was well crafted, and the already existing trees made you feel like you were in a forest, just as the play is set. In addition, I really liked the costumes. They displayed who each character was and their role in society.
Overall, I found the play hard to follow. Although the synopsis in the guide was a bit helpful in distinguishing the key events, it took some time into the play to really understand what was going on. To make this play more enjoyable, the opening that told people to turn off cells phones and introduced the theater company should have included a brief synopsis and explanation. Moreover, the addition of more comic relief would have made the tragic events a little easier to deal with. I think that if I had read the play and studied the key concepts before watching it live, it would have made it much more enjoyable.
Work Cited
Macbeth. By William Shakespeare. Kingsmen Park, Thousand Oaks. 26 June 2009.
