1982. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.
Violence is something that is inevitable in human nature. Whether it is in a work of literature, or in real life, violence happens for a reason. In literature specifically, violence adds and contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. In Shakespeare's famous work, MacBeth, the violence greatly adds to the overall theme of tyranny versus kingship.
The first scene in which MacBeth is introduced is shortly after the fighting and killing of invaders, which quickly brings the reader into the idea of violence as a typical occurrence. MacBeth and Lady MacBeth also start to work on a plan to kill the current king, in order to obtain the throne themselves. The diction and details used to describe their plan gives the reader an uneasy feeling, because it is somewhat dark and gruesome. MacBeth also constantly hallucinates about a bloody knife, reinforcing the violent aspect of the play.
Because MacBeth is power hungry and wants all of the power to himself, he has to make sure that he is only person alive that has the power to be king. To ensure that this happens, MacBeth has everyone who could take it away from him killed. He violently murders friends, women, and children, and does not care much about how it affects their families. Kings are usually seen as firm, but fair human beings who serve the best interest of their people. MacBeth, although a king, is not seen in this manner. He is insane, violent, and selfish, and is seen as a tyrant throughout the work. His major killings and acts of violence contribute to his reputation of a tyrannical leader.
Throughout Shakespeare's famous play, Macbeth, the character MacBeth displays insanity and violence towards others. These violent acts and murders are specifically directed at those who test his power. the killing of multiple people in order for MacBeth to keep his power greatly supports the theme of tyrannical rule versus kingship.
Kelly I think that the intro may be a bit too wide, something that tries to encompass an aspect of human nature, which I think isn't necessary here. Additionally I'm not sure that all violence happens for a reason in real life, but maybe that is something that is debatable. Besides the intro, I found your writing to be very effective in answering the question. You describe the violent nature of the character and their actions very well, recalling a lot of very persuasive details that makes it very clear that MacBeth is a violent piece of writing, and that this adds to piece by characterizing the characters. My only suggestion would be adding a little more on how the violence contributes to the work as a whole, exploring possibly a theme or motif that is linked to violence, such as greed possibly.
ReplyDeleteI think in the intro, it might be nice to say in a few words how the violence contributes to the theme. I mean with techniques used to create the violence or something like that. I think the essay gets better as it goes on, I really like some of the points you make in the second to last paragraph about MacBeth being insane. Good details, too. I definitely think you could expand a bit more on how the techniques create violence and maybe a little more on the theme, as well. Overall, great work!
ReplyDeleteStaying on the same line as the other commentors, I also think that the intro could use some refinement. You have a lot of the info there, you just need to connect it to the theme.
ReplyDeleteIt's really good but kinda sparse, with all the info you have you could expand more. Nice though!