Sunday, December 29, 2019

Macbeth Overview

Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, tells the story of a Scottish nobleman and his own ambition to become king. The source material is Holinshed’s Chronicle, which compiled a history of England, Scotland and Ireland. First published in its Folio edition in 1623, it is the shortest of Shakespeare’s tragedies. Despite its brevity, it had a rich legacy. Fast Facts: Macbeth Title: MacbethAuthor: William ShakespearePublisher:  Edward Blount and William and Isaac JaggardYear Published: First Edition, Folio, 1623Genre: dramaType of Work: tragedyOriginal Language: EnglishThemes: Ambition, fate, free will, loyalty, appearance vs. realityCharacters: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, The Three Witches, Duncan, Banquo, MacduffNotable Adaptations: Orson Welles’ Voodoo Macbeth (1936); Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood (1957);  Roman Polanski’s The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971)Fun Fact: due to superstition, actors avoid addressing Macbeth by its name directly, and use the phrase â€Å"The Scottish Play† instead. Plot Summary Macbeth is a tragedy telling the story of the Scottish nobleman by the same name, consumed by his own ambition to become king and by the consequences of the acts he commits in order to achieve his goal. At the beginning of the play, after a victorious battle, Macbeth and fellow general Banquo meet three witches in a heath, and they deliver prophecies to both of them: Macbeth would become king of Scotland, and Banquo will father a line of kings while not becoming king himself. Encouraged by Lady Macbeth, his ruthless wife, Macbeth plans to kill King Duncan. After his murder, since his heir Malcolm and his brother Donalbain promptly flee to England and Ireland, respectively, Macbeth is crowned king. Consumed by guilt and paranoia, he becomes more and more of a tyrant as the play progresses. First he has Banquo killed, and his ghost visits him during a banquet. After consulting the witches again, who tell him to beware of Macduff and that he won’t be vanquished by anyone â€Å"of woman born,† he tries to have Macduff’s castle seized and everyone inside killed. However, since Macduff had gone to England to join forces with Malcolm, Macbeth only succeeds in having Macduff’s family killed. This prompts Macduff and Malcolm to raise an army aimed at dethroning Macbeth. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth, who initially was more assertive than her husband, has become consumed by guilt to the point of insanity and eventually kills herself. The Scottish generals rally against Macbeth, and Macduff manages to vanquish him—he was not â€Å"of woman born† but â€Å"from his mothers womb untimely ripped.†Ã‚  The play ends with Malcolm being crowned king of Scotland. Major Characters Macbeth. Macbeth is initially presented as a Scottish nobleman and a valiant warrior. However, after listening to the prophecy delivered by the Three Witches in which he is told he would be king, he is overcome by blind ambition, and, strongly encouraged by his wife, he kills the king to usurp the throne.  His thirst for power is counterbalanced by paranoia, which leads to his downfall. Lady Macbeth. Macbeth’s wife, she thinks her husband’s nature is too full of kindness. She is the one who devises the plot for her husband to murder King Duncan, and is initially less fazed by the deed than her husband. However, she eventually unravels too, and commits suicide. The Three Witches. Whether they control fate or are merely its agents, the Three Witches set the tragedy in motion: they deliver Macbeth and his companion Banquo with a prophecy that the former shall be king, and the latter shall generate a line of kings. These prophecies have a great influence on Macbeth, who decides to usurp the throne of Scotland. Banquo. Banquo is another Scottish thane who was with Macbeth when the witches delivered their prophecy. He is told that he will father a line of kings while not becoming king himself. After the king’s murder, Macbeth feels threatened by Banquo and has him murdered by hired assassins. Yet, Banquo returns as a ghost at a banquet, visibly startling Macbeth, who is the only one who can see him.   Macduff. Macduff finds King Duncan’s body after he was murdered and immediately suspects Macbeth. Eventually, he murders Macbeth. King Duncan. The wise and firm king of Scotland at the beginning of the play, he is murdered by Macbeth so he can usurp the throne. He represents moral order in the play, which Macbeth destroys and Macduff restores. Main Themes Ambition. Macbeth’s ambition is devoid of any morality and is the cause of Macbeth’s downfall. After becoming king of Scotland, Macbeth’s ambition turns him into a tyrant, and he has his suspected enemies murdered. Ambition is a trait his wife Lady Macbeth shares, and she, too, succumbs to it.   Loyalty. At he beginning of the play, King Duncan rewards Macbeth with the title â€Å"Thane of Cawdor† because the original Thane of Cawdor was actually a traitor, but Macbeth betrays the king in order to usurp the throne. Macduff, who suspects Macbeth once he sees the king’s corpse, flees to England to join Duncan’s son Malcolm, and together they plan the downfall of Macbeth and restore the moral order.   Fate and free will. The witches do show Macbeth his future and his fate, but Macbeth’s actions are arbitrary and not pre-ordained.   Appearance and reality. â€Å"Fair is foul and foul is fair,† is one of the famous quotes in Macbeth, and appearance and reality intermingle in the play: the witches give out paradoxical prophecies and characters hide their true intentions. For example, Macbeth seems honorable but actually plans to murder King Duncan. Malcolm soon flees Scotland after his father’s murder, which seems suspicious at first, but it’s actually a way for him to protect himself. Literary Style The language used by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth evolves throughout the play.  At first, they’re both characterized by a fluent and energetic style, but, as their ambition gradually overtakes them, their speech becomes fragmented. For instance, while prose in Shakespeares plays is reserved to characters of low social orders, once Lady Macbeth is overcome by madness, she utters her lines in prose too. By contrast, the witches speak in enigmatic riddles interposed with grotesque elements.   About the Author William Shakespeare, who wrote ten tragedies and eighteen comedies, wrote King Lear (1605), Macbeth (1606), and The Tempest during King James’ reign. King James was patron of Shakespeare’s acting company, and Macbeth, by stating that King James descended from the Scottish thane Banquo, is a de facto tribute to Shakespeare’s sovereign.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Capital punishment’s validity in the legal system...

Capital punishment’s validity in the legal system continues to be questioned but has been a huge part in human society and the legal system for centuries to restrain dangerous criminals and crimes. Later on, the death penalty as a punishment became a crime in itself, a crime against humanity thought by many, because killing, is killing no matter what. And it is wrong.To this day the argument continues. First of all, the death penalty seems somewhat barbaric and violates the â€Å"cruel and unusual† within the meaning of the eighth Amendment. This kind of punishment also sends the wrong message for what is trying to be accomplished: why kill people who kill people to show killing is wrong. Another kind of punishment for criminals is life†¦show more content†¦This method was affirmed by the Supreme Court as constitutional. Yes, this way may be much more humane but it still doesn’t change the fact that the U.S is killing someone and taking a life away. Cap ital punishment violates the right to life, which is the most basic of human rights, undermining human dignity that is inherent to every single human being no matter what crime was committed. Death today is not how it was a long time ago. Do two wrongs make a right? A big argument dealing with capital punishment is that when someone kills another person, does that give you the right to kill that person. Yes murder is a serious crime, but how do we expect it to be looked down upon if it’s what we are doing to our criminals. Is it really up to us? To kill a person who has killed is a continued cycle of violence. Expressing this doesn’t make the crime go away, it contaminates the good and shows that you must fight back. Capital punishment feeds the cycle of violence in society by pandering to a lust for revenge. It brutalizes us and deadens our sensitivities to the precious nature of every single human life. Most Rev. David B. Thompson, Bishop of Charleston, S.C., Decembe r, 1998. Killing people that may serve as a threat to society may save individual citizens lives but the chances are higher for loser innocent citizens sentenced to the death penalty, which is also more common than

Thursday, December 12, 2019

My Life Goals free essay sample

Most students these days, describe high school as stressful and hard. Those are words that I would occasionally use to describe high school. The trick, however to getting through all of the work is by setting goals all throughout the high school journey. Other than getting better study habits and making good grades, my personal goals play a big role in my academics. In fact, my goals are the very oars in the high school boat that help keep me moving in the correct direction to success. My number one goal, is to always look towards the future. Many new â€Å"adults† take on responsibilities that they just dont know how to handle. They are so used to acting like kids that responsibilities and any adult work becomes almost unbearable. Thus, they get pushed into situations that they never once thought that they would ever have to be in. The reason being is, instead of thinker of the future, they have decided to live in the present. We will write a custom essay sample on My Life Goals or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This is exactly the same type of situation that I want to avoid, not only in high school, but in life. I make it a goal of min daily to realize that I need a plan for my future. Almost like a road map. Think of how ridiculous it would be if I decided not to think ahead and take a map with me while I was on my way to Springfield, Illinois. Just like in high school, I would be lost and I would not be very successful in life. If I want to be successful and become what I want to become, which happens to be a cinematographer, I need to have a plan and a vision for the future. As a personal goal, thinking about the future also expands into academics. If I think in lieu of the future, then I am essentially thinking about what I need to achieve to be successful. I am forced to pay more attention to what is required of me to become who and what I need to be. On a small scale, my academic goals are mostly based around my grade. I spend much of my time questioning how good my grades are and how I can plan ahead and set benchmarks for making better grades. Sometimes my goals for academics include reading more, studying more, learning to be more calm, and even find ways I can do things more efficiently and effectively. If I practice creating goals, have a plan on how to reach my goals and eventually obtain these goals, the traits and what I now learn will carry on with me into my future. My future is the exact place that I look forward to everyday of my life. My dream is to one day become a cinematographer. This is the type of job that requires many skills to be good at what you do. As a professional career, many things can dictate my future in film. This includes the way I plan, the way I handle goals, and everything in between. I know that without proper goal setting, I wont get too far in life. I have to plan, work hard and always look ahead.