Covetous Ambition: Macbeth Essay

Covetous Ambition

For some reason, the overall idea of this speech sounds like a quote from Batman, You either die a hero (Duncan), or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain (Macbeth). Throughout the years, many have tried to decipher and clarify the Shakespearean language, but the best is clearly a combination of all. For this particular speech, Shakespeare introduces many forms of inconspicuous reiterations, whereas one must remember previous lines in order to create the semblance of foreboding. Additionally, he fabricates metaphors that are overflowing with ambiguity, and give the play a more intensified meaning. Shakespeare's Macbeth has engendered multiple interpretations, produced a plethora of memorable lines characterized by the protagonist's ambition, and had it's overall theme enhanced by Macbeth's ambiguous diction.

Macbeth begins by threatening the messenger with, If thou speakst false,/Upon the next tree shall thou hang alive, (5.5.38-39) as a result of the knowledge that the woods are moving. Then, to himself, he begins to doubt the lies the witches told him, even though they sounded like the truth. Beginning with, Fear not, till Birnam wood/Do come to Dunsinane. (5.5.44-45) He finds himself in a hopeless situation since, the wood is indeed now moving towards him. In thought, he comes to the realization that there's nothing left for him to do but to die fighting. Regardless, he ends his speech with, I 'gin to be aweary of the sun, (5.5.49) and At least well die with harness on our back, (5.5.52) which, to me, sounds like he's tired of living this way, but has finally become a ruthless fighter both on and off the battlefield .

Admittedly, Macbeth says in a previous scene something along the lines of Damn anyone who trusts them, (By them he means the witches). Unknowingly, didn't he just damn himself by not only trusting the weird sisters, but also seeking their advice? Again, these seemingly inconspicuous lines more or less foreshadow the end of Scotland's tyrant. The following lines show the witches' second prophecy come true, and now a wood/Comes towards Dunsinane. (5.5.45-46) After this, one more prophecy must be for-filled in order for Macbeth's predicted downfall, to come into action. Finally, the last two lines greatly express Macbeth's full transition into a remorseless human being; all in all resembling Lady Macbeth's demands to the spirits in her very first soliloquy. Ring the alarum-bell!Blow, wind! Come, wrack! (5.5.51) Basically, he's proving to himself that he's fearless now, and come wind or chaos, he won't go down without a fight.

Perhaps the most complex part of this speech is the extended metaphor of, I 'gin to be aweary of the sun,/And wish th' estate o' th' world were now undone.- (5.5.49-50) Although controversial, the best interpretation of these lines may be that he's simply tired of life as he knows it. The rise and set of the sun is a daily routine. By th' estate o' the world, he probably means the customary and habitual rules and principles that make the world go round. Whatever it is, Macbeth is wearied by it and wants it undone. A person either believes in predestination or doesn't, and Macbeth does. That's why he's angered by it, because in the end he realizes that things are going to happen and that they're beyond his control. Another hint of foreshadowing was very discretely placed in between the lines, Ring the alarum-bell! In reference to King Duncan's murder, this line portends even more death to come. Prior to Duncan's murder, Macbeth hears a bell and that summons him to kill the king. Now he is the one that invites the bell, and unconsciously links the ringing of the bell to humans' own mortality.

Only Shakespeare himself can truly know what his lines mean, but that doesn't stop us from trying. Once together, all translations give the play a more refined and believable understanding. They help us interpret Macbeth's questionable lines, and makes the reader think outside the box. All double meanings tie in with Macbeth's main theme of how the desire for power can corrupt even the best of men. The question is, are we strong enough to fight it?