Commentary on Macbeth Essay

Critical Summary

In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, we see the darker side of a loyal nobleman. He has been fighting a war against one of the treacherous noblemen that served the king. King Duncan has heard the news of the traitor, Macdonwald, and the battle that has gone on between his forces and the ones of the king. Macbeth, who serves the king, kills all of Macdonwalds forces and reaches the traitor. It is later foretold that he kills the traitor after he carves his way to him. After the battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo ride home from the battlefield. They are surprise to see the three witches that open the play.

All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis; All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane if Cawdor; All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king thereafter (I, iii, 48-50). This type of literature reflects the society that was going on at the time of the English Renaissance. Shakespeare began to write when the monarch of England was Queen Elizabeth. This monarch was the one that influenced the great English Renaissance because she praised the literature that was written. Shakespeare mainly wrote to attract the lower and higher classes of the civilization. People tend to critique him because of this; most of them cant find the idea of appealing to both the lower and high classes. The renaissance was a great time period in which the Britain play writers had the opportunity to flourish with their writing. This was all thanks to the virgin queen, Queen Elizabeth, who loves to see all the plays that the writers did in the Globe Theater.

The English Renaissance in Macbeth

During the English Renaissance, Shakespeare was able to write one of his famous short tragedies during his time. Macbeth is the play that he wrote for this great and magnificent tragedy. This play is a great example of the kingdoms that were in Scotland at the time of the production. A key scene in this play is the one Macbeth and Banquo are riding from the battle that they had just fought against the rebels that were under the control of the treacherous Macdonwalds.

As they are riding they meet three witches that come to Macbeth with titles that are not yet his. The second witch greets him All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor (I, iii, 49). This quote is important because they tell him something that is going to come up later. This is a prophecy because Macbeth knows that he is the Thane of Glamis, but doesnt know that the king has given him the title of Thane of Cawdor. After the weird encounter they meet Angus and Ross and greet him as Thane of Cawdor. The response that he gives them is The Thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me In borrowed robes (I, iii, 107-109). This response is important because that is the way the witches had greeted him. He finds out that after the execution of the original Thane he was given this honor by the king. After he is greeted Banquo asks himself if whether the devil can really speak the truth. After that Macbeth realizes that two of the three prophecies are correct so he goes aside and starts to think if the third one will become true. In his aside he talks to himself, the other three see him pacing back and forth and think that this is strange behavior. They main thing is that Macbeth starts to question whether they are foul creatures making fair predictions or if they are fair creatures making foul predictions? After his meeting with the king, the king decides to name the successor to his throne. Macbeth believes that the third prophecy will come true, but actually the king names his son Malcolm Prince of Cumberland. Then Macbeth has to formulate an idea in the way that he can dethrone the king and Malcolm so that he may be the next king of Scotland.