Macbeth

             Peasants of the early sixteenth century are often pictured carrying a bundle of limbs
             tied with vines on their backs. This is a perfect metaphor for the events in Macbeth.
             Macbeth is one of many thanes, or limbs, bundled together. The thanes are united by the
             king, or the vine. Scotland, or the peasant, carries the bundle by the sweat of his brow.
             They carry the bundle for fires on cold nights, or wars, and to build homes, or castles, to
             protect them from the elements, or invaders. If the limbs are tied improperly, one limb
             may slip to the side and cause the peasant, or nation, to stumble or fall. If the limb slides
             completely out, the rest of the limbs may follow because the bundle is loose. Marriage is
             like a triangle. Each spouse makes up one of the leaning sides, and marriage the lower
             side. The three together are very strong, but to stand they all must be united. The longer
             a marriage is held the longer the bottom stretches, and the more dependent each person
             becomes on the other. If one side tries to stand on its own then the second will fall on the
             first as it tries to stand. This metaphor also excellently exemplifies the catastrophe that
             occurs in Macbeth as both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth try to separate. Macbeth is a
             eighteenth century play written by William Shakespeare. Using these two metaphors, the
             breakdown in the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth and between the king
             and the thanes and how they perfectly parallel each other because each is caused by
             Macbeth's will to be independent.
             According to Webster's dictionary, the archaic definition of independence is
             "competence" (1148). To be independent is not to be "subject to control by others"
             (Gove 1148). This means that independence is to be in control of ones decisions and to
             feel they are good decisions. Macbeth, on the other hand, feels independenc...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
Macbeth. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 14:22, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/95584.html