Macbeth - Tragedy Or Satire Essays - Characters In Macbeth

Macbeth - Tragedy or Satire William Shakespeare wrote four great tragedies, the last of which was written in 1606 and titled Macbeth. This "tragedy", as it is considered by societal critics of yesterday's literary world, scrutinizes the evil dimension of conflict, offering a dark and gloomy atmosphere of a world dominated by the powers ofdarkness. Macbeth, more so than any of Shakespeare's other tragic protagonists, has to face the powers and decide: should he succumb or should he resist? Macbeth understands the reasons for resisting evil and yet he proceeds with a disastrous plan, instigated by the prophecies of the three Weird Sisters. Thus we must ask the question: If Macbeth is acting on the impulses stimulated by the prophecies of his fate, is this Shakespearean work of art really a Tragedy? Aristotle, one of the greatest men in the history of human thought, interpreted Tragedy as a genre aimed to present a heightened and harmonious imitation of nature, and, in particular, those aspects of nature that touch most closely upon human life. This I think Macbeth attains. However, Aristotle adds a few conditions. According to Aristotle, a tragedy must have six parts: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and song. Most important is the plot, the structure of the incidents. Tragedy is not an imitation of men, but of action and life. It is by men's actions that they acquire happiness or sadness. Aristotle stated, in response to Plato, that tragedy produces a healthful effect on the human character through a katharsis, a "proper purgation" of "pity and terror." A successful tragedy, then, exploits and appeals at the start to two basic emotions: fear and pity. Tragedy deals with the element of evil, with what we least want and most fear to face, and with what is destructive to human life and values. It also draws out our ability to sympathize with the tragic character, feeling some of the impact of the evil ourselves. Does Macbeth succeed at this level? Can the reader feel pity and terror for Macbeth? Or does the reader feel that Macbeth himself is merely a branch from the root of all evi l and not the poor, forsaken, fate-sunken man, according to Aristotle's idea of tragedy, he is supposed to portray? Can the reader "purge" his emotions of pity and fear by placing himself in the chains of fate Macbeth has been imprisoned in? Or does he feel the power and greed upon which Macbeth thrives, prospers, and finally falls? I believe the latter is the more likely reaction, and that the reader sees Macbeth as a bad guy, feeling little or no pity for him. Aristotle also insists that the main character of a tragedy must have a "tragic flaw." Most tragedies fail, according to Aristotle, due to the rendering of character. To allow the character to simply be a victim of unpredictable and undeserved calamities would violate the complete, self- contained unity of action in the tragedy. If that is so, and if we assume that the group of three witches is a realistic possibility, then is not Macbeth such a victim? Does he really deserve the misfortune that is brought him by his fortune? After all, Macbeth is introduced to the reader as an honest and humble leader. His fate, once having been revealed to him, drives him to greed, elevates his lust for power, and coins a conceited and misguided trust in his seemingly eternal mortality. Diction, the expression of the meaning in words, is near perfect in Macbeth, simply because it is written by William Shakespeare, the inventor of perfect diction. Thought--the task of saying what is possible and per tinent in the circumstances of the play--can not be disputed. Spectacle and Song are the effects that highlight the play, and are pertinent in providing an emotional attraction. Such elements are easily found in Shakespeare. Macbeth is written with the style and grace that only Shakespeare could provide. Thus, these elements of tragic drama can not be challenged in this argument. While we need to consider that Macbeth strives on power, and in doing so loses his values of humility and humanity, it should not be forgotten that Macbeth does, at certain times, feel remorse for things he

Essay Topics For Your AP English Exam

Essay Topics For Your AP English ExamThe above excerpt is from a book on essay topics and topic submission that I read recently, by James D. Wilson, who is an Assistant Professor at West Virginia University. It's a 'fully revised' edition of the e-book version he put together almost a decade ago, which was titled What You Should Say in the Essay Topic.He has updated the book to include all of the most important issues that you can encounter when you are writing the essay topics for your college essays. Here are some of the topics that you will come across when you are writing the topic for your AP Honors English Exam:o Repetition - Use the textbook, but modify it. Let your personal or imaginative interpretation change the composition. For example, make a sentence that includes an adverbial phrase - 'It became evident...' 'Despite its ongoing troubles, ...' 'Because of rising food prices...' Or even just a phrase like 'Therefore...' 'As years pass...' 'Some time in the future...' and so on.o Questions of Sense - It is not enough to use the textbook as an essay topics. You must ask yourself what it is about the textbook that makes it your favorite reading material. Also, you must ask yourself why you are reading the textbook instead of another book, and so on. These questions can inspire your creative writing.o Novelty - Don't limit your essay topics to anything that is already considered a part of the same genre. It is just going to confuse readers if you do that. So, do something else that is not in the best of your minds.o Romantic Fiction - Don't worry about having a theme about a single type of writing, such as 'literature 'or 'poetry'. Just make sure that you mix and match them well. For example, you could write a story about the love that a woman shares with a man, then write a story about how he is willing to do anything for her, then write a story about how she finds the words to explain how it feels. There are no rules that say you can't have several th emes in one essay topic.o Fiction and Non-Fiction - A lot of students have misconceptions about the three genres. This book gives examples of both, so it doesn't matter what the assumption is. To help get started, try to write an essay topic that is about as fictional as possible, using the non-fiction genre as a guideline.