Macbeth : The Tragedy Of Ambition & Contemporaneous Comparison. (Assignment.)
☆ Introduction :
Macbeth is the most eulogized tragedy written by William Shakespeare in 1606. It deals with the hamartia of Macbeth that is his over ambitiousness. Ambition is something that we all have somewhere in ourselves and we all try to achieve that by means we can label as good or bad as per our moral conscience, social norms, and religious dogmas. Here, in 'Macbeth', Shakespeare depicted the over-ambitiousnes of humankind through the character of our tragic hero Macbeth. Macbeth represents the ambition of humans. He does not even care to achieve it by wrong means, especially morally deemed as wrong of 16th century England.
☆ The Tragedy of Ambition :
The tragedy of Macbeth remains as fresh as and as celebrated as it was before to the day up til now. It is the universally know fact that anything that deals with the human nature or human psyche retains for the centuries; so is true with the tragedy of Macbeth as it deals with one of the protuberant tendencies of human nature - Ambition.
First, let us have the definition of the word and a hamartia of Macbeth as well in the tragedy of his misfortune, Ambition :
According to Merriem-Websters :
"an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power."
Macbeth's ambition fits into the definition as he also has the deep desire to become a king which he wants to keep hidden even from the nature around him like stars, rivers and sun :
"Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires:" (Act 1, Scene 4)
☆ Critical Viewpoints on 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' :
(1) The Fall of Man :
The ancient Greek notion of tragedy concerned the fall of a great man, such as a king, from a position of superiority to a position of humility on account of his ambitious pride, or hubris. To the Greeks, such arrogance in human behavior was punishable by terrible vengeance. The tragic hero was to be pitied in his fallen plight but not necessarily forgiven: Greek tragedy frequently has a bleak outcome. Christian drama, on the other hand, always offers a ray of hope; hence, Macbeth ends with the coronation of Malcolm, a new leader who exhibits all the correct virtues for a king.
(2) Fortune, Fate, and Free Will :
Fortune is another word for chance. The ancient view of human affairs frequently referred to the "Wheel of Fortune," according to which human life was something of a lottery. One could rise to the top of the wheel and enjoy the benefits of superiority, but only for a while. With an unpredictable swing up or down, one could equally easily crash to the base of the wheel.
Fate, on the other hand, is fixed. In a fatalistic universe, the length and outcome of one's life (destiny) is predetermined by external forces. In Macbeth, the Witches represent this influence. The play makes an important distinction: Fate may dictate what will be, but how that destiny comes about is a matter of chance (and, in a Christian world such as Macbeth's) of man's own choice or free will.
Although Macbeth is told he will become king, he is not told how to achieve the position of king: that much is up to him. We cannot blame him for becoming king (it is his Destiny), but we can blame him for the way in which he chooses to get there (by his own free will).
(3) Kingship and Natural Order :
Macbeth is set in a society in which the notion of honor to one's word and loyalty to one's superiors is absolute. At the top of this hierarchy is the king, God's representative on Earth. Other relationships also depend on loyalty: comradeship in warfare, hospitality of host towards guest, and the loyalty between husband and wife. In this play, all these basic societal relationships are perverted or broken. Lady Macbeth's domination over her husband, Macbeth's treacherous act of regicide, and his destruction of comradely and family bonds, all go against the natural order of things.
The medieval and renaissance view of the world saw a relationship between order on earth, the so-called microcosm, and order on the larger scale of the universe, or macrocosm. Thus, when Lennox and the Old Man talk of the terrifying alteration in the natural order of the universe — tempests, earthquakes, darkness at noon, and so on — these are all reflections of the breakage of the natural order that Macbeth has brought about in his own microcosmic world.
(4) Disruption of Nature :
Violent disruptions in nature — tempests, earthquakes, darkness at noon, and so on — parallel the unnatural and disruptive death of the monarch Duncan.
The medieval and renaissance view of the world saw a relationship between order on earth, the so-called microcosm, and order on the larger scale of the universe, or macrocosm. Thus, when Lennox and the Old Man talk of the terrifying alteration in the natural order of the universe (nature), these are all reflections of the breakage of the natural order that Macbeth has brought about in his own microcosmic world (society).
(5) Gender Roles :
Lady Macbeth is the focus of much of the exploration of gender roles in the play. As Lady Macbeth propels her husband toward committing Duncan's murder, she indicates that she must take on masculine characteristics. Her most famous speech — located in Act I, Scene 5 — addresses this issue.
Clearly, gender is out of its traditional order. This disruption of gender roles is also presented through Lady Macbeth's usurpation of the dominate role in the Macbeth's marriage; on many occasions, she rules her husband and dictates his actions.
(6) Reason Versus Passion :
During their debates over which course of action to take, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth use different persuasive strategies. Their differences can easily be seen as part of a thematic study of gender roles. However, in truth, the difference in ways Macbeth and Lady Macbeth rationalize their actions is essential to understanding the subtle nuances of the play as a whole.
Macbeth is very rational, contemplating the consequences and implications of his actions. He recognizes the political, ethical, and religious reason why he should not commit regicide. In addition to jeopardizing his afterlife, Macbeth notes that regicide is a violation of Duncan's "double trust" that stems from Macbeth's bonds as a kinsman and as a subject.
On the other hand, Lady Macbeth has a more passionate way of examining the pros and cons of killing Duncan. She is motivated by her feelings and uses emotional arguments to persuade her husband to commit the evil act.
(Source : https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/macbeth/critical-essays/major-themes)
We have discussed the ambition of Macbeth in above argument. Now let us have a look as how the ambition of the humans can be seen in various forms in nowadays. The very word 'ambition' can be simply defined as a tendency to seek for certain things, goals or even people. We are supposed to understand the very basis of ambition as to how ambition arises in us and why it pines for so & so things.
Ambition is not wrong but the means used to achieve are prone to be wrong. So happened with Macbeth; his ambition of becoming king was not wrong at all but he chose to take is by devious way thus the tragedy became necessary.
We can compare the very idea of ambition in reference with famous and ever high-held book in India but not in Indians unfortunately. Bhagavad Gita talks about three mods of material nature and of the means to achieve particular goal as well :
So, there is no question of good and bad, right and wrong; only thing is that whether your actions are harmful to others physically or not, that is all. Here, I do not use the word 'mentally' deliberately because the most visible and palpable boundary is one's body whereas one's own thoughts hedges the limitation of one's individual nature which can be different person-by-person.
So, we can healthily conclude our discussion with the derivation that having ambition must never be deemed as wrong thing; but to use heinous ways and modes to achieve our ambitions must be considered the worst ways and thus strictly must not be followed. It brings us to the burning question of present day condition that is Terrorism which can be regarded with the aforementioned argument and discussion.
Thank you!
Macbeth is the most eulogized tragedy written by William Shakespeare in 1606. It deals with the hamartia of Macbeth that is his over ambitiousness. Ambition is something that we all have somewhere in ourselves and we all try to achieve that by means we can label as good or bad as per our moral conscience, social norms, and religious dogmas. Here, in 'Macbeth', Shakespeare depicted the over-ambitiousnes of humankind through the character of our tragic hero Macbeth. Macbeth represents the ambition of humans. He does not even care to achieve it by wrong means, especially morally deemed as wrong of 16th century England.
☆ The Tragedy of Ambition :
The tragedy of Macbeth remains as fresh as and as celebrated as it was before to the day up til now. It is the universally know fact that anything that deals with the human nature or human psyche retains for the centuries; so is true with the tragedy of Macbeth as it deals with one of the protuberant tendencies of human nature - Ambition.
First, let us have the definition of the word and a hamartia of Macbeth as well in the tragedy of his misfortune, Ambition :
According to Merriem-Websters :
"an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power."
Macbeth's ambition fits into the definition as he also has the deep desire to become a king which he wants to keep hidden even from the nature around him like stars, rivers and sun :
"Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires:" (Act 1, Scene 4)
☆ Critical Viewpoints on 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' :
(1) The Fall of Man :
The ancient Greek notion of tragedy concerned the fall of a great man, such as a king, from a position of superiority to a position of humility on account of his ambitious pride, or hubris. To the Greeks, such arrogance in human behavior was punishable by terrible vengeance. The tragic hero was to be pitied in his fallen plight but not necessarily forgiven: Greek tragedy frequently has a bleak outcome. Christian drama, on the other hand, always offers a ray of hope; hence, Macbeth ends with the coronation of Malcolm, a new leader who exhibits all the correct virtues for a king.
(2) Fortune, Fate, and Free Will :
Fortune is another word for chance. The ancient view of human affairs frequently referred to the "Wheel of Fortune," according to which human life was something of a lottery. One could rise to the top of the wheel and enjoy the benefits of superiority, but only for a while. With an unpredictable swing up or down, one could equally easily crash to the base of the wheel.
Fate, on the other hand, is fixed. In a fatalistic universe, the length and outcome of one's life (destiny) is predetermined by external forces. In Macbeth, the Witches represent this influence. The play makes an important distinction: Fate may dictate what will be, but how that destiny comes about is a matter of chance (and, in a Christian world such as Macbeth's) of man's own choice or free will.
Although Macbeth is told he will become king, he is not told how to achieve the position of king: that much is up to him. We cannot blame him for becoming king (it is his Destiny), but we can blame him for the way in which he chooses to get there (by his own free will).
(3) Kingship and Natural Order :
Macbeth is set in a society in which the notion of honor to one's word and loyalty to one's superiors is absolute. At the top of this hierarchy is the king, God's representative on Earth. Other relationships also depend on loyalty: comradeship in warfare, hospitality of host towards guest, and the loyalty between husband and wife. In this play, all these basic societal relationships are perverted or broken. Lady Macbeth's domination over her husband, Macbeth's treacherous act of regicide, and his destruction of comradely and family bonds, all go against the natural order of things.
The medieval and renaissance view of the world saw a relationship between order on earth, the so-called microcosm, and order on the larger scale of the universe, or macrocosm. Thus, when Lennox and the Old Man talk of the terrifying alteration in the natural order of the universe — tempests, earthquakes, darkness at noon, and so on — these are all reflections of the breakage of the natural order that Macbeth has brought about in his own microcosmic world.
(4) Disruption of Nature :
Violent disruptions in nature — tempests, earthquakes, darkness at noon, and so on — parallel the unnatural and disruptive death of the monarch Duncan.
The medieval and renaissance view of the world saw a relationship between order on earth, the so-called microcosm, and order on the larger scale of the universe, or macrocosm. Thus, when Lennox and the Old Man talk of the terrifying alteration in the natural order of the universe (nature), these are all reflections of the breakage of the natural order that Macbeth has brought about in his own microcosmic world (society).
(5) Gender Roles :
Lady Macbeth is the focus of much of the exploration of gender roles in the play. As Lady Macbeth propels her husband toward committing Duncan's murder, she indicates that she must take on masculine characteristics. Her most famous speech — located in Act I, Scene 5 — addresses this issue.
Clearly, gender is out of its traditional order. This disruption of gender roles is also presented through Lady Macbeth's usurpation of the dominate role in the Macbeth's marriage; on many occasions, she rules her husband and dictates his actions.
(6) Reason Versus Passion :
During their debates over which course of action to take, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth use different persuasive strategies. Their differences can easily be seen as part of a thematic study of gender roles. However, in truth, the difference in ways Macbeth and Lady Macbeth rationalize their actions is essential to understanding the subtle nuances of the play as a whole.
Macbeth is very rational, contemplating the consequences and implications of his actions. He recognizes the political, ethical, and religious reason why he should not commit regicide. In addition to jeopardizing his afterlife, Macbeth notes that regicide is a violation of Duncan's "double trust" that stems from Macbeth's bonds as a kinsman and as a subject.
On the other hand, Lady Macbeth has a more passionate way of examining the pros and cons of killing Duncan. She is motivated by her feelings and uses emotional arguments to persuade her husband to commit the evil act.
(Source : https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/macbeth/critical-essays/major-themes)
☆ Ambition In Nowadays :
We have discussed the ambition of Macbeth in above argument. Now let us have a look as how the ambition of the humans can be seen in various forms in nowadays. The very word 'ambition' can be simply defined as a tendency to seek for certain things, goals or even people. We are supposed to understand the very basis of ambition as to how ambition arises in us and why it pines for so & so things.
☆ Ambition : Reference to Bhagavad Gita :
We can compare the very idea of ambition in reference with famous and ever high-held book in India but not in Indians unfortunately. Bhagavad Gita talks about three mods of material nature and of the means to achieve particular goal as well :
नियतं सङ्गरहितमरागद्वेषतः कृतम्।
अफलप्रेप्सुना कर्म यत्तत्सात्त्विकमुच्यते।।18.23।।
"As for actions, that action in accordance with duty, which is performed
without attachment, without love or hate, by one who has renounced
fruitive results, is called action in the mode of goodness."
यत्तु कामेप्सुना कर्म साहङ्कारेण वा पुनः।
क्रियते बहुलायासं तद्राजसमुदाहृतम्।।18.24।।
But that action which is done by one longing for the fulfilment of desires or gain with egoism or with much effort that is declared to be Rajasic (passionate).
अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनपेक्ष्य च पौरुषम्।
मोहादारभ्यते कर्म यत्तत्तामसमुच्यते।।18.25।।
That action which is undertaken from delusion, without a regard for the consequences, loss, injury and (ones own) ability that is declared to be Tamasic (dark).
अफलप्रेप्सुना कर्म यत्तत्सात्त्विकमुच्यते।।18.23।।
"As for actions, that action in accordance with duty, which is performed
without attachment, without love or hate, by one who has renounced
fruitive results, is called action in the mode of goodness."
यत्तु कामेप्सुना कर्म साहङ्कारेण वा पुनः।
क्रियते बहुलायासं तद्राजसमुदाहृतम्।।18.24।।
But that action which is done by one longing for the fulfilment of desires or gain with egoism or with much effort that is declared to be Rajasic (passionate).
अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनपेक्ष्य च पौरुषम्।
मोहादारभ्यते कर्म यत्तत्तामसमुच्यते।।18.25।।
That action which is undertaken from delusion, without a regard for the consequences, loss, injury and (ones own) ability that is declared to be Tamasic (dark).
(1) Satva Guna or Mode of Goodness : A person in mode of goodness attempts to achieve his/her goal with keeping in mind others' well-being.
(2) Rajas Guna or Mode of Passion : A person situated in this mode would make attempts to achieve his/her goals being completely careless and reckless about others around him/her. He/she will not even think the outcome of his/her deeds on himself/herself, let alone other people around him/her. They do it unconsciously and may become hazardous to surroundings.
(3) Tamas Guna or Mode of Ignorance : Such people would lead themselves in a dark and gloomy pit during their course of life. Whosoever let themselves engaged with such people are sure to follow them to the hellish condition of life.
(2) Rajas Guna or Mode of Passion : A person situated in this mode would make attempts to achieve his/her goals being completely careless and reckless about others around him/her. He/she will not even think the outcome of his/her deeds on himself/herself, let alone other people around him/her. They do it unconsciously and may become hazardous to surroundings.
(3) Tamas Guna or Mode of Ignorance : Such people would lead themselves in a dark and gloomy pit during their course of life. Whosoever let themselves engaged with such people are sure to follow them to the hellish condition of life.
So, there is no question of good and bad, right and wrong; only thing is that whether your actions are harmful to others physically or not, that is all. Here, I do not use the word 'mentally' deliberately because the most visible and palpable boundary is one's body whereas one's own thoughts hedges the limitation of one's individual nature which can be different person-by-person.
So, we can healthily conclude our discussion with the derivation that having ambition must never be deemed as wrong thing; but to use heinous ways and modes to achieve our ambitions must be considered the worst ways and thus strictly must not be followed. It brings us to the burning question of present day condition that is Terrorism which can be regarded with the aforementioned argument and discussion.
Thank you!
▪︎ (Word Count : 1654)
▪︎ (Total paragraphs : 54)
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