No play has been as enthralling and captivating as Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The words, expressions, the sequence and arrangement of events couldn’t have been more perfect.
For those who haven’t read it yet, Macbeth is the play, which sketches the rise of Macbeth, from the ranks of Thane to a King, and then his downfall as a King, which ultimately leads to his tragic end. It shares the circumstances surrounding Macbeth’s rise and fall, and the actions of various people who play a pivotal role in his life. This play also dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for their own sake.
Beginning with the appearance of the witches whose policy seems to be, “Fair is foul and foul is fair; hover through the fog and filthy air,” the entire plot seems to move forward on the prophecies of these three women. Their prophecies and flattery guide Macbeth through his rise and fall.
The story of Macbeth has a lot to teach us. There are many Macbeths around us, even in the 21st century. These are people who are flattered and misled into believing that they are capable of more than they actually are and that they can usurp power to achieve greater glory.
Macbeth’s transformation from a brave and noble Thane to a ruthless and immoral King is a consequence of being greedy for more wealth and power. This greed, many a times, comes from external influences - the people around you who put you on the wrong track for their vested interests, and do not mind if the path you are treading leads to a ditch.
The powerful ideas of loyalty, jealousy, greed, ambition, lust, guilt and the battle of life and death are amply conveyed through the grandiloquent text. The clever use of imageries, puns, paradoxes, similes, alliterations, personifications and many other literary devices make this play an enchanting one and bring out the beauty of language. The soliloquies and speeches of various characters bring out their emotions and the essence of the plot... something prosaic works could not have achieved.
For those who haven’t read literature of the Elizabethan Era or the Renaissance, this would be a great one to start with. Macbeth is indeed a must read for those who love the written word.
— The reader is a student based in Dubai.