HaCKeRz KrOnIcKLeZ 3/HaCKeRz_KrOnIcKLeZ.iso/anarchy/essays/schoolsucks/mac3.txt

Text File | 1996-04-27 | 13KB | 270 lines

Macbeth:  Tragedy or Satire?

                  Macbeth:  Tragedy or Satire?

     William Shakespeare wrote four great tragedies, the last of which
was written in 1606 and titled Macbeth.  This "tragedy", as it is considered
by societal critics of yesterday's literary world, scrutinizes the evil
dimension of conflict, offering a dark and gloomy atmosphere of a world
dominated by the powers ofdarkness.  Macbeth, more so than any of
Shakespeare's other tragic protagonists, has to face the powers and
decide:
should he succumb or should he resist?  Macbeth understands the reasons for
resisting evil and yet he proceeds with a disastrous plan, instigated by the
prophecies of the three Weird Sisters.  Thus we must ask the question:

If Macbeth is acting on the impulses stimulated by the prophecies of his fate,
is this Shakespearean work of art really a Tragedy?

    Aristotle, one of the greatest men in the history of human thought,
interpreted Tragedy as a genre aimed to present a heightened and
harmonious imitation of nature, and, in particular, those aspects of nature
that touch most closely upon human life.  This I think Macbeth attains.
However, Aristotle adds a few conditions.

     According to Aristotle, a tragedy must have six parts:  plot, character,
diction, thought, spectacle, and song.  Most important is the plot, the
structure of the incidents.  Tragedy is not an imitation of men, but of
action and life.  It is by men's actions that they acquire happiness or
sadness.  Aristotle stated, in response to Plato, that tragedy produces a
healthful effect on the human character through a katharsis, a "proper
purgation" of "pity and terror."  A successful tragedy, then, exploits and
appeals at the start to two basic emotions:  fear and pity.  Tragedy deals
with the element of evil, with what we least want and most fear to face,
and with what is destructive to human life and values.  It also draws out
our ability to sympathize with the tragic character, feeling some of the
impact of the evil ourselves.  Does Macbeth succeed at this level?  Can the
reader feel pity and terror for Macbeth?  Or does the reader feel that
Macbeth himself is merely a branch from the root of all evil and not the
poor, forsaken, fate-sunken man, according to Aristotle's idea of tragedy,
he is supposed to portray?  Can the reader "purge" his emotions of pity and
fear by placing himself in the chains of fate Macbeth has been imprisoned
in?  Or does he feel the power and greed upon which Macbeth thrives,
prospers, and finally falls?  I believe the latter is the more likely
reaction, and that the reader sees Macbeth as a bad guy, feeling little or
no pity for him.

     Aristotle also insists that the main character of a tragedy must have
a "tragic flaw."  Most tragedies fail, according to Aristotle, due to the
rendering of character.  To allow the character to simply be a victim of
unpredictable and undeserved calamities would violate the complete, self-
contained unity of action in the tragedy.  If that is so, and if we assume
that the group of three witches is a realistic possibility, then is not
Macbeth such a victim?  Does he really deserve the misfortune that is
brought him by his fortune?  After all, Macbeth is introduced to the reader
as an honest and humble leader.  His fate, once having been revealed to him,
drives him to greed, elevates his lust for power, and coins a conceited
and misguided trust in his seemingly eternal mortality.     Diction, the
expression of the meaning in words, is near perfect in Macbeth, simply
because it is written by William Shakespeare, the inventor of perfect
diction.  Thought--the task of saying what is possible and pertinent in
the circumstances of the play--can not be disputed.  Spectacle and Song are
the effects that highlight the play, and are pertinent in providing an
emotional attraction.  Such elements are easily found in Shakespeare.
Macbeth is written with the style and grace that only Shakespeare could
provide.  Thus, these elements of tragic drama can not be challenged in this
argument.
     While we need to consider that Macbeth strives on power, and in doing
so loses his values of humility and humanity, it should not be forgotten
that Macbeth does, at certain times, feel remorse for things he has
done.
In Act 2, Scene 2, Macbeth confides in Lady Macbeth after the murder of
Duncan:
          But wherefore could not I pronounce "Amen"?
          I had most need of blessing, and "Amen"
          Stuck in my throat.

and:
          Methought I heard a voice cry "Sleep no more!
          Macbeth does murder sleep," the innocent sleep,
          Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care,
          The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath,
          Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
          Chief nourisher in life's feast--

     Macbeth shall sleep no more.  In this scene, he shows great turmoil
over the deed he has done.  Thus the reader is shown that Macbeth is
acting
out deeds that go against his conscience, that he regrets his actions,
and
that the prophecies are unfolding.  But is this apology enough to
stimulate
pity within the reader? After all, the man just committed his first of
many
murders!  His contrition seems to fade as his want of power
flourishes.
So Macbeth continues--the powers of evil feeding on every move he
makes--to
make way for his advancement as prophesied by the witches.  He hires his
men to eliminate Banquo, a threat to his cumulative reign.  Having
Banquo
out of the way, Macbeth surges with the sense of power.  There is no
doubt
that he is acting on the impulses that were stimulated by the first
prophecies of his fate.  In Act 4 Scene 1, he returns to the three
witches,
desiring more information regarding his fortune.  They in turn assure
him
that "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth." Invincible power!  Macbeth
forgets the other two prophecies:

          Macbeth!  Macbeth!  Macbeth!  Beware Macduff,
          Beware the Thane of Fife...
and:
          Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care
          Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are.
          Macbeth shall never vanquished be until
          Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill
          Shall come against him.

     The witches have spoken again, with unforeseeable truth.  Macbeth
leaves the dreaded sisters, blinded by his own ambition.  Let the
players
play!  He is assured that he is indestructible, for how could Macduff, a
man
of woman born, hurt him?  How could the Birnam Wood come to Dunsinane
Hill?
Preposterous!  Macbeth leads on, confident, bold, and unvictimized.  He
flashes his power, exalts himself, and fears no one, not even himself.
He
no longer cares that he does not sleep.  Act 5 Scene 3 opens with
Macbeth:

          Bring me no more reports.  Let them fly all!
          Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane,
          I cannot taint with fear.  What's the boy Malcolm?
          Was he not born of woman?  The spirits that know
          All mortal consequences have pronounced me thus:
          "Fear not, Macbeth.  No man that's born of woman
          Shall e'er have power upon thee."
          Then fly, false thanes,
          And mingle with the English epicures!
          The mind I sway by and the heart I bear
          Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear.

     Having possession of all the confidence in the world, or at least
thinking he does, Macbeth proceeds in a boisterous manner.  His fate,
once
prophesied to him, has now acquired complete control.  He has the titles
promised him.  He has found protection in the strength of witch's
words.
How can the reader pity such a fool?  The only thing to do is laugh at
him,
for it can be sure that these prophecies which Macbeth has ignored will
come
to pass; Macbeth will no doubt fall.
     And he does.  Macduff, figuratively but not literally of woman
born,
holds the rest of the confidence in the world.  Macduff, the Arnold
Schwarzenegger of Shakespearean lords, does the impossible and brings
the
wood to the hill, and brings the fall of the great and powerful
Macbeth.  A
tragic ending?  I'd say not.  A tragic ending would have been for
Macduff to
fall under Macbeth.  A tragic ending would have seen Lady Macbeth take
Macbeth's life.  But for Macduff to do what he had to do, the prophecy
was
fulfilled, and the only winner is Fate.  This does not make a
Tragedy.
Who do we feel sorry for?  Maybe only Macduff, who was untimely ripped
from
his mother's womb.  We praise Macduff for conquering Macbeth.  Maybe
some
readers feel some pity for Lady Macbeth.  But we certainly don't feel
pity for Macbeth.     Yet Macbeth could have been a victim.  He lost
control
of himself, and allowed himself to be led by Fate.  Perhaps Shakespeare
fails to supply a "tragic flaw" as insisted on by Aristotle.  Macbeth
does
not try to resist Fate, he runs with it.  He does not heed warnings of
potential hazards.  The Macbeth we were introduced to certainly could
not
have predicted his fortune.  Being a man of honesty and humility, he
couldn't have deserved his dilemma.  But he succumbed to his fate, and
was
no longer an honest and humble Macbeth.
     I think that even the most humble and honest person in the world,
except Jesus himself, could be swayed to corruption.  The Macbeth Empire
could be compared to Mark Twain's Hadleyburg.  In comparing Macbeth to
The
Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg, we might be able to see Macbeth as a
satirical comedy.  Macbeth, honest and humble, was corrupted by the
powers
of fortune in much the same way that the people of Hadleyburg, also
honest
and humble, were corrupted by the same powers.  The reader could not
possibly pity the community of Hadleyburg, and would typically cheer at
its
fall.  Isn't it the same with Macbeth?  The townspeople of Hadleyburg
felt
remorseful when they realized they'd been had, in much the same way that
Macbeth surely felt when he learned of Macduff's method of birth.  The
people of Hadleyburg thought that no harm could come to them, because
they
held proper character; they were in proper form.  But behind closed
doors
they planned their strategies to acquire the power, provided in the form
of
a monetary inheritance.  This greed/lust for power was the Hadleyburg
downfall.  Their own greed was their own enemy.
     Likewise with Macbeth.  A strong leader, upheld by his loyal
comrades,
could do no wrong.  But once he learned he was to acquire some great
fortune,
he was his own enemy.  His lust for power drove him to his bitter
end.
Satire may be defined as a genre that uses mockery of society to shock
that society into an honest look at itself.  Do we consider the
Hadleyburg
tale a tragedy?  No.  We see it more as satire.  It is a sarcastic view
of
society's morals and values, and how hypocritical people, including
ourselves, can be.  Putting Macbeth on a parallel with this entertaining
American short story allows us to view the play in a different light.
We
now can see Macbeth as a hypocrite, and we can see him resembling
ourselves.  How often can the power of want, the desire for more, lead
humanity to destruction and despair?  The same motivational tool that
drives
a college student into a career can someday break him.     So let the
critics of yesterday have their tragedy.  Let them read their own
literary
mortality in Macbeth:

          Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
          Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
          To the last syllable of recorded time,
          And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
          The way to dusty death.  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.

     I am sure even Aristotle would have allowed Macbeth into the
"Tragedy
Hall of Fame."  But if a man has the gift of foresight and is aware of
the
risks but chooses to ignore them and runs after his fate, what tragedy
is
there?  If Fate wins, it cannot be considered a tragedy if Macbeth
succeeds
in meeting it.
     Today we have put out this tragic candle.  I'm not of much
importance
in this mortal world of ours, but if I've given you something to
reconsider
and to ponder on, then this task is finished.

(Information on Aristotle was taken from my Literary Criticism text.)
Thank you for your attention and interest.







p.s. Do I get anything 4 hooking you guys up?