To call Shakespeare a master of the English language would be false. He is not a master, he is the master. Aside from the King James Versions of the Bible, there is arguably no greater influence upon the way in which we speak the English language today than Shakespeare himself. If you have ever said that you are “amazed” by something, you can thank Shakespeare for constructing that useful term along with many others familiar to you.
But it is not only the words and phrases which he has crafted that have shaped our language but it is also the stories he has told which have taken root in our cultural consciousness. How many other books have been written (or stories produced as movies) which could be categorized as a Romeo and Juliet type love story, or perhaps a spin off of Taming the Shrew, or Hamlet, or Othello, etc., etc.? A great many of the tropes of comedy and tragedy that are common in television and movies today find their source in Shakespeare (or the Greek Dramas which even he drew from).
It’s hardly fair to place any one of Shakespeare’s incredible stories at the top, but Macbeth is certainly one my personal favorites (along with A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Set in 11th century Scotland the story follows the meteoric rise and fall of King Macbeth. In the world of classical Drama there are two primary categories; comedy and tragedy. A comedy was not necessarily humorous (although there are many comedies which are uproariously funny), rather, it was a story wherein the protagonist ends his or her story happily. A tragedy, on the other hand, is a story where the main protagonist ends up in misery; often death.
The term protagonist is oft misunderstood today as well. In the popular imagination of our day the term “protagonist” is associated with the “hero” of the story or the “good guy.” This is not actually the meaning of the word, however. The protagonist of the story is the character who is trying to accomplish some goal and the antagonist is the person who is trying to stop them from achieving their goal. This may often line up with a good guy striving against a bad guy, but that doesn’t mean it is always so.
In Macbeth it is certainly not the case that the protagonist is the good guy. Without any particular spoilers, what we see in this story is a man who makes all the wrong decisions, trusts all the wrong people, and does great harm to others and ultimately himself, all while pursuing a particular goal. If you find yourself rooting for Macbeth, the protagonist of this story, then you may need to reevaluate your ethical commitments.
One of the most prominent tropes in Macbeth is the reversal of expectations. This is seen most prominently in what Macbeth (and his wife) expect to happen in the future, and also in roles of men and women in the play (or what the characters themselves think a man or woman should be). The confusion of both of these things is typified in the Weird Sisters; the three witches who weave the web of doom around Macbeth. The very first line the three witches all speak together hints at this theme when they say, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” Further, Macbeth’s first line in the play is, “so foul and fair a day I have not seen.” His echo of the witches’ words may indicate his coming under their enchantment from the outset.
When Macbeth first encounters the witches in person he states, “You should be women, And yet your beards forbid me to interpret That you are so.” So introducing the confusion of the sexes and the normal expectations of what it means to be a man or a woman. Watch this theme throughout the play, particularly in the lines of Lady Macbeth (both on her own and in her interactions with her husband).
Who can live sanely when fair is foul and foul is fair? Our ability to discern truth from folly, to be able to know who we are, to know our place in life, all of this is critical to our wellbeing. People do not typically lose their sanity in a day, however. The path to losing ourselves is gradual and it comes by making one bad choice at a time. It comes by turning away from the good and laying hold of what is evil day after day. It comes by rejecting who God says we are and what he would have us do with our lives, and saying we know better. The story of grasping and clutching, confusing and rejecting the good and right path for path of immediate gain, this is the sad story of Macbeth.
Below you will find links to each section of the study guide for Shakespeare’s Macbeth as they become available. If you would like to pick up a copy of the book to join in the study you may do so by clicking HERE. For a list of other Great Books study guides already available, in development, or planned for the future you can click HERE.
Fantastic work. My Shakespeare prof was Paul Werstine, who edited the popular Folger Shakespeare editions! Not my favourite but the most precise of Shakespeare's plays . . .