Despite being written over 400 years ago, Macbeth remains a timeless and powerful work that continues to be performed and studied around the world. Its themes of power, ambition, and guilt are just as relevant today as they were in Shakespeare’s time, and its enduring popularity is a testament to its enduring appeal.
During this project, we read and analyzed the play “Macbeth” with the objective of determining how Shakespeare is still relevant today using the core themes of the play. We learned about the people of the time, as well as the beliefs of the time. One of these beliefs was in an absolute world order, which is represented by this graphic.
I found that, if I believed in this absolute order, the play would be much more interesting, which is almost identical to media we in our modern era where we enjoy watching movies and shows about people breaking norms of all kinds.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth and James Cameron’s Avatar both explore the theme of the corrupting influence of power. In Macbeth, the character of Macbeth is initially a noble and brave warrior, but as he becomes more powerful, his ambition consumes him and he becomes willing to do whatever it takes to hold onto that power, even if it means committing horrific deeds. Similarly, in Avatar, the human characters, driven by their desire for resources and power, seek to exploit and destroy the alien world of Pandora and its inhabitants. Both stories show how power can corrupt and lead individuals to make selfish and destructive decisions.
Both Macbeth and Avatar also explore the theme of guilt and the consequences of one’s actions. Throughout the play, Macbeth is haunted by the ghosts of those he has killed and is consumed by guilt as he becomes more isolated from the people he once cared about. In Avatar, the main character Jake Sully initially goes along with the humans’ plans to exploit Pandora, but eventually comes to understand the harm they are causing and feels guilt for his role in it. Both stories show how guilt can drive individuals to try to right their wrongs and make amends for their actions.
The themes of power, ambition, and guilt in both Macbeth and Avatar demonstrate how these issues continue to be relevant and impactful in modern society. Both stories serve as cautionary tales about the dangers of unchecked ambition and the importance of considering the consequences of one’s actions.
At the winter exhibition this year, our class presented our modern adapted version of one of the scenes from Macbeth, while focusing on one of the themes that we identified in both Avatar and Macbeth. I chose act II scene I.
This performance was rather disappointing to me, as I had a great story that I wanted to portray to the audience, but I felt that the lack of props and time really restricted my ability to set the scene for my performance and show the audience my story.
If you really want to watch my performance, it’s attached below.
Another reason for this being a FAIL in my book was the lack of preparation that I gave myself. for this final performance of the project, I found that if I were to do this sort of thing again I would need to think much more about the performance from the audience’s point of view, which was where I found this play to be at its weakest.
My story anyway, was about a playwright in England, who worked under a famous man known as Shakespeare. Our main character, Quakespeare, heard from a fortuneteller that he was going to become great. While fully believing in this prophecy of sorts, he became impatient. He wanted to become great right at that moment, so he decided he would kill his famous superior and as second in line at the theatre, take it over in all its glory. When my scene starts, Quakespeare has just left his home to enact his plan on the highly dedicated Shakespeare who was staying at his theatre late to finish writing his newest masterpiece. While making his way to the theatre, Quakespeare runs into one of the actors from their theatre, and they exchange a few words as seen in the video above. Our characters take their leave and Quakespeare makes a short speech before going to murder Shakespeare, and the scene ends.
The timeless themes in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, such as power, ambition, and guilt, reveal a lot about our society today.
One of the main themes in the play is the corrupting influence of power. Macbeth starts off as a noble and brave warrior, but as he becomes more powerful, his ambition consumes him and he becomes willing to do whatever it takes to hold onto that power, even if it means committing horrible actions. This theme is still relevant today, as we see examples of people in positions of power acting corruptly or abusing their power for personal gain.
The theme of ambition is also timeless, as it is human nature to desire success and to strive for more. However, Macbeth’s ambition ultimately leads to his downfall, as he becomes consumed by his desire for power and lets it consume him. This serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked ambition and the importance of maintaining a sense of morality.
Finally, the theme of guilt and the consequences of one’s actions is also timeless. In the play, Macbeth is haunted by the ghosts of those he has killed and is consumed by guilt as he becomes more isolated from the people he once cared about. This theme is relevant today, as we see the importance of taking responsibility for our actions and the consequences that can come from not doing so.
Overall, the timeless themes in Macbeth reveal a lot about the human condition and the dangers of unchecked ambition, the corrupting influence of power, and the importance of taking responsibility for one’s actions.