Macbeth Intro - Dr. John Curran PDF

Preview

Summary

Dr. John Curran...

Description

Macbeth Intro Engl 4331 2/26 ● Background ○ Still talking about matters of power ○ Superficially this is a very conservative play ○ Ambition is just plain blatantly wrong ○ Crossing the line makes him diabolic on the surface ■ Maybe shakespeare is inviting us to consider how evil is it to want something more ● How evil is ambition inherently - which seems terribly so on the surface ○ Celebratory part with the second tetology ■ God is on our side and we feel fortunate to be in this nation ■ So many challenges in history ○ Now king of both Scotland and England ■ Celebrating him incontrasting him with this horrible tyrant ○ Gunpowder plot that was ruined at the last minute ○ Forces of evil gathering and trying to stop the chosen from marching to its destiny ○ A huge compliment to James saying that we are lucky to have you and you are much better than the tyrant and a recent narrow escape from evil ○ ○ What ties the 4 great tragedies together ■ Each one poses a different fundamental question in exploration of evil ■ Macbeth’s question of evil is the easiest and most basic ● What is evil? ■ There is still free will even when it comes to evil ● Act 1 ○ The three witches call him three things ■ Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, King ● He will be king after ○ ○ We have a good stable king - why are you thinking to overthrow when ours no is working just find

○ Feel physically ill at the idea of being king ○ He equates being king with murder - there is no difference in those two ideas forhim ○ He is already a murderer which makes him so miserable ○ People are not necessarily evil so it does not have to happen ○ He is miserable at the thought of being king ○ The crown never calls out go him ○ Lady Macbeth suggests that he just does not have the moral compass to be king ○ She is asking for dark magic to transform her into something ○ In these cases, we still have judgment ○ Keeps his mind on practical outcome ○ No motivator except this...