TWIL 1: Post Battle Post War

WARNING: The following post includes spoilers for the Elizabethan Era classic Macbeth by William Shakespeare

In the mid 1940’s, the second world war came to an end. The outcome was both and immensely sad. 

In Shakespeares tragedy Macbeth the main events follow a battle against the (now known as) Norwegians. 

When the wars/battles are over the survivors go home to their families or find families to make. The heroes are recognized, the lovers are reunited, and new plans of powerful people are made. 

In the case if the second world war we see the end of the Nazi rein and Hitler(’s life). We see the beginning of new people coming into power and taking a new more peaceful role as a leader (ex. Truman becoming a non-wartime country leader). 

In Macbeth, my main man Macbeth is recognized as a hero, and told of a prosperous future he may see if he kills the king. As such he returns home from the war to his wife and they plan the demise of the king. 

A change of power and a return to make a (mostly) peaceful [exempt from the killing of the king] and prosperous are both clear themes in ACT I of Macbeth and the early 1950’s. To example this I wrote a wee poem;

This poem is about all the things I just talked about: the rise and fall of power, the end of a battle, and the return home in search for a good and reliable future. 

In act I of Macbeth, we see Macbeth introduced as a hero and a respectable man. He is shown as someone who is just doing what he sees fits best, and then he meets the three witches who tell him of his supposed “prosperous future” when he kills the king. He then heads home to greet his wife who has been waiting for him while the battle raged on. When he returns he tells her the king plans to come to their castle (which he does) and Lady Macbeth tells him she will kill the king for him to secure their future as royalty. 

In the 1950’s, the world was returning to their usual lives safe for some minorly major differences:

Number 1: there were all kinds of new inventions and technology to advance the normal suburban life people idolized when the war ended.

Number 2: the woman were being taken out of the jobs they took over during the war and told to go serve their husbands, make them happy, and secure their futures (the women had some problems with that but that’s for another time and post)

Here we see the common connection and conclusion to this weeks TWIL post:

Macbeth and The 1950’s are connected by their themes of a hope for a better future for those involved (Macbeth & The citizens of the world post war).