Macbeth Ramblings* (*Ravings)
So I'm doing this sheet of revision stuff for Macbeth, and something is really bugging me about it. Basically, the 'idea' that Macbeth is bad and Macduff/Malcolm is good.
'Bad' and 'good'.
Besides the fact that they are very black and white terms- and the world is more grey- I honestly don't think that Malcolm or Macduff are that great either.
Macbeth is 'bad', but, at least at the beginning of the play, he's considered 'good' by everyone. People don't change that much, and although he does become a tyrant (murdering people left, right and centre isn't cool people) he's not necessarily evil. He's not good, obviously, but he has got good qualities as well.
Malcolm is portrayed to be a virtuous, good man who becomes an amazing king at the end of the play- but he's also an older brother who leaves his brother. As an older sibling, I assure you that, if my father was murdered, I would not abandon my younger siblings, even if it may mean that at least one of us gets to live for longer. Besides the grief we'd all be going through, and the consequent emotional support we could provide, I would not leave my sisters to face the future by themselves (because I do love you, really).
And don't even get me started on Macduff! He's portrayed as being 'good' and noble and wonderful, simply because he cares more about his country than about his family. I get that more people would have died had he not gone to fetch Malcolm(the coward who is hiding in England) but I don't think that makes it acceptable to leave your family behind.
He must have known that Macbeth would have had them killed. He may not be a family man, but he's not stupid, come on.
And yet, I can't write any of this in my exam because 1) I'd go off on a rant and not actually answer the question, and 2) this isn't what we're supposed to think about the characters (Macbeth = tyrant = bad, Malcolm = good king, Macduff = patriotic = good).
So that's why I just wanted to write it all down somewhere (and where better than my blog?!). What do you think about Macbeth and the others (which makes it sound like a gang...)- whether you're studying it at school or you have studied it or you just like Shakespeare- what do you think about good/bad?
Hopefully, the question won't be about kingship/tyranny, or about good/bad. Not sure how good my self-control is...
(Also I mad-wrote this in about 10 minutes and I haven't properly proof-read it, so sorry if it makes no sense)
'Bad' and 'good'.
Besides the fact that they are very black and white terms- and the world is more grey- I honestly don't think that Malcolm or Macduff are that great either.
Macbeth is 'bad', but, at least at the beginning of the play, he's considered 'good' by everyone. People don't change that much, and although he does become a tyrant (murdering people left, right and centre isn't cool people) he's not necessarily evil. He's not good, obviously, but he has got good qualities as well.
Malcolm is portrayed to be a virtuous, good man who becomes an amazing king at the end of the play- but he's also an older brother who leaves his brother. As an older sibling, I assure you that, if my father was murdered, I would not abandon my younger siblings, even if it may mean that at least one of us gets to live for longer. Besides the grief we'd all be going through, and the consequent emotional support we could provide, I would not leave my sisters to face the future by themselves (because I do love you, really).
And don't even get me started on Macduff! He's portrayed as being 'good' and noble and wonderful, simply because he cares more about his country than about his family. I get that more people would have died had he not gone to fetch Malcolm
He must have known that Macbeth would have had them killed. He may not be a family man, but he's not stupid, come on.
And yet, I can't write any of this in my exam because 1) I'd go off on a rant and not actually answer the question, and 2) this isn't what we're supposed to think about the characters (Macbeth = tyrant = bad, Malcolm = good king, Macduff = patriotic = good).
So that's why I just wanted to write it all down somewhere (and where better than my blog?!). What do you think about Macbeth and the others (which makes it sound like a gang...)- whether you're studying it at school or you have studied it or you just like Shakespeare- what do you think about good/bad?
Hopefully, the question won't be about kingship/tyranny, or about good/bad. Not sure how good my self-control is...
(Also I mad-wrote this in about 10 minutes and I haven't properly proof-read it, so sorry if it makes no sense)
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