“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare Essay

The plays of William Shakespeare decidedly sustain their ability of staying pertinent in todays ultramodern-day human being. This can be seen in the play Macbeth by Shakespeare and the modern reading of the play, Macbeth Retold, directed by Mark Brozel. The main issues of the texts include the inversion of the sex roles and how power and greed can take its wretched toll on peoples lives. Women shut up carry the expectations of being reliant on their husbands and there are certain power-hungry individuals that will do whatever it takes to come crosswise the authorise of the leader board. These two texts contain various literary techniques such as imaging and sarcasm to support the field of studys mentioned. Shakespeares play, Macbeth, has a intimately interesting viewpoint on the grammatical gender roles as the women behave more masculine whilst the men are embodied in an inferior opusner. The content is represented by bird Macbeth who is quite a manipulative compon ent. Lady Macbeth demonstrates the inversion of gender roles when she tells Macbeth to act more manly and asks the spirits to fasten her so she can be a man since she feels the need to cook up for Macbeths lack of masculinity.She is also seen to be quite a unpeaceful person with cruel intentions which is illustrated in the line, I have given put one over and know how tender tis to love the babe that milks me- I would, while it was rapturous in my face, have pluckd my nipple from his boneless gums and boltd the brains out had I sworn as you have do to this (Act 1, thought 7, Line 3). The literary technique intentd here is imagery as a full detailed idea is given of fitting how much aggression Lady Macbeth possesses to the point where she would brutally murder an bare baby. The gender roles are reversed once again in the film, Macbeth Retold, rivet particularly on Lady Macbeths modern version Ella Macbeth. This is relevant to our time because it is reflecting the authority that women now have. Interestingly though, the play was written in the 17th century where women were expected to be silent and obedient to their husbands so maybe it could be considered that Shakespeare paved the way to the liberation of women.In the modern version Ella best demonstrates the theme when she pressures Joe Macbeth, modern version of Macbeth, into killing Duncan who takes the creed for Joes hard work as a chef in the restaurant. The show that this character illustrates this theme can be seen when she says He milks you for everything youve gotno keep down of money covers what you do for himYoure too full of the milk of piece kindness Joe. Thank you, Duncan, for the slap on the back, Im so very, very gratefulIt is shaming to hear the truth Joe? What kind of man is it who doesnt feel humiliated in the position youre in. what kind of man is that? The technique that Ella uses is sarcasm, which is shown when she insults Joes manliness and she asks him rhetorical ques tions that she already knows the answer to so she is mocking his intelligence.The theme of the destructiveness of power and greed is ever-present byout the play, Macbeth. The character Macbeth craves success so much that it exits to the point where he is lead into a paranoid madness. The prophecies made by the witches are what sparked his ambitions for power. Macbeth doesnt favour committing savage deeds as much as his wife Lady Macbeth nevertheless his burning desire for power and progression blinds his better judgement and he kills Duncan. After he has killed Duncan he displays imagery when describing his intentions, For mine own untroubled all causes shall give away, I am in blood steppd in so far that, should I wade no more, return were as tedious as go oer (Act 3, Scene 4, Line24). In this line Macbeth is making a comparison with his executions to that of wadding through a bloody river which also displays irony as his wicked action is murder which is associated with bloo d. He suggests that its impossible to stop once a man commits murder for their advantage.It is visible that Macbeth is becoming addicted to killing as it gives him a sort of boastful high but this is short lived as his guilt sends him crazy and inevitably gets him killed as well. The same happens to Joe Macbeth in Macbeth Retold. The theme of power and greed is expressed in Macbeth Retold which is the retelling of the original Shakespeare play, Macbeth, but it is still seen everywhere from the media to the school ground as everyone wants to be at the top of the food chain. This is still relevant in todays world through the businessmen and women who sabotage their ways towards a higher career position. The character that best demonstrates this theme is Joe Macbeth when he murders Duncan, and then Billy who he sees as a new threat, he does whatever it takes to reach his endeavor but ends up becoming engulfed in paranoia to the extent where he mistreats those who reckon him.After a heated discussion Ella says to Joe Men dont run over by buses which he then replies with, No. In the movie the technique used is the silence as the camera pans across their faces. This shows the suspense and tension present in the scene as theyd just decided to go ahead with the plan to kill Duncan and get the restaurant. To conclude, William Shakespeares play Macbeth has endured the test of time and proven itself to still be relevant in our current day through the discussion of the themes of gender roles and power and greed. Both of these themes appear in the original version of the play, Macbeth, and a modern version, Macbeth Retold. The themes were presented in many ways in the texts through the use of literary techniques. In the original play, imagery and irony were used and in the modern film, sarcasm and suspense were used.