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I just finished Macbeth the play...and i have a thought!

Eric Lewis

Eric Lewis

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 4, 2007
2,380
1
CANADA? eh?
I understand why he killed Duncan, Banquo and Macduffs family...because he wanted to stay king!

but was does he NEED to be king? what is is desire to have so much power? im not understanding why he needs to be king so bad?
 
Eric Lewis said:
I understand why he killed Duncan, Banquo and Macduffs family...because he wanted to stay king!

but was does he NEED to be king? what is is desire to have so much power? im not understanding why he needs to be king so bad?
Click to expand...

Because the witches told him he could be king. Before he had a prophecy saying that that was his destiny, he didn't consider it to be within his reach, once he was told by total strangers that he could do it, he fancied the idea :p

Really, that's what I took away. It won't make sense to most people, probably.
 
FYI: It's bad luck to say the name of Macbeth, you're supposed to call it 'the Scottish play." This bit of info comes from my sister, who used to work as a stage manager at a theatre. Those theatre people are a superstitious lot...
Ian Mckellen and the Simpsons found this out the hard way...
 
Stampyhead said:
FYI: It's bad luck to say the name of Macbeth, you're supposed to call it 'the Scottish play." This bit of info comes from my sister, who used to work as a stage manager at a theatre. Those theatre people are a superstitious lot...
Ian Mckellen and the Simpsons found this out the hard way...
Click to expand...

at the end of this clip the sign that falls says "MAC" lol.
orignially posted by: martychang
the witches told him he could be king. Before he had a prophecy saying that that was his destiny
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i see, his destiny was interrupted. He may have behaved wiser had he not been told his destiny. The knowledge of the power he was to obtain currupted him because he was essentially granted it, instead of earning it with honor.
 
Eric Lewis said:
I understand why he killed Duncan, Banquo and Macduffs family...because he wanted to stay king!

but was does he NEED to be king? what is is desire to have so much power? im not understanding why he needs to be king so bad?
Click to expand...


Well if you had the opportunity to become king, wouldn't you want to?

I think it would be awesome to be king :D
 
Eric Lewis said:
but was does he NEED to be king? what is is desire to have so much power? im not understanding why he needs to be king so bad?
Click to expand...
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. ;) Macbeth had achieved his goal by becoming king. Any threat to that would have to be met with lethal force, hence the other killings.

OdduWon said:
So his wife woluld stop nagging :eek: j/k ;)
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Not entirely untrue. Lady Macbeth did have a hand in whole sordid affair.

martychang said:
Because the witches told him he could be king. Before he had a prophecy saying that that was his destiny, he didn't consider it to be within his reach, once he was told by total strangers that he could do it, he fancied the idea :p

Really, that's what I took away. It won't make sense to most people, probably.
Click to expand...

It's been a while since I last read Macbeth, but didn't the witches also have a warning in their prophecy? Shakespeare usually throws those in in the tragedies.

PS, OP, like Stampyhead already said, if you're in a theatre, you should say "The Scottish Play".:)
 
CalBoy said:
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. ;) Macbeth had achieved his goal by becoming king. Any threat to that would have to be met with lethal force, hence the other killings.


Not entirely untrue. Lady Macbeth did have a hand in whole sordid affair.



It's been a while since I last read Macbeth, but didn't the witches also have a warning in their prophecy? Shakespeare usually throws those in in the tragedies.

PS, OP, like Stampyhead already said, if you're in a theatre, you should say "The Scottish Play".:)
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Yeah, that he would be killed by someone who was never born or something.

Turns out his killer was "born" by none other than a Caesarean.

I think.
 
ravenvii said:
Yeah, that he would be killed by someone who was never born or something.

Turns out his killer was "born" by none other than a Caesarean.

I think.
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Yeah I went back and looked it up. There were three warnings:

1. That when a certain forest came to him, Macbeth would be in trouble (in the play, the troops camouflage themselves by wearing branches from said forest).

2. That he could never be killed by anyone of woman born (though the C-section renders that moot- I believe the line was "ripp'd untimely from my mother's womb.").

3. The final prophecy was "beware Macduff" and it turns out that Macduff kills Macbeth since he was the one who was not of "woman born."

In any case, I like Hamlet better:p

And my favorite comedy is Much Ado About Nothing, though A MidSummer Night's Dream was pretty good too.
 
I saw MacBeth performed recently in Denver. It was set in the post-Civil War Wild West, and despite having some terrific actors, it just did not work for me. Great play needless to say, though I'm in the group that thinks Hamlet the best.
 
aaron.lee2006 said:
LOL. I just finished the play in school and slept through the whole thing :) Don't know much about it.
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:confused: How do you sleep through murder, witches, a crazy wife who sees blood, and moving trees?:p

Shakespeare is best understood when it's heard and read at the same time, so go to the library and check out a copy of Macbeth (I'm sure Kenneth Branagh has done one) and a copy of the play. It'll be well worth it.
 
CalBoy said:
:confused: How do you sleep through murder, witches, a crazy wife who sees blood, and moving trees?:p

Shakespeare is best understood when it's heard and read at the same time, so go to the library and check out a copy of Macbeth (I'm sure Kenneth Branagh has done one) and a copy of the play. It'll be well worth it.
Click to expand...

LOL. There were moving trees?

The audiobook we had was just so lame and the dramatics were terrible so I just put my head down and read the SparkNotes later :)
 
aaron.lee2006 said:
LOL. There were moving trees?
Click to expand...

Of course there were:

the witches said:
"never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam Wood to High Dunsinane Hill shall come against him".
Click to expand...

And sure enough, Macduff's troops cut off branches and march to Macbeth's castle;)

The audiobook we had was just so lame and the dramatics were terrible so I just put my head down and read the SparkNotes later :)
Click to expand...

Audiobooks are always lame. Like I said, go with a movie+play combo.
 
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