Is Macbeth Still Relevant Today

It is only because a masterpiece is art, does it survive centuries without being exterminated. Weather it was performing arts, such as music, dance, opera and theatre, visual arts, such as drawings, paintings and sculptures, or art that includes literature, such as poetry, novels, and short stories., they all are known for at least a dozen of examples that are hundreds, if not thousands of years old. One could define art as the ability to maximize the involvement of entertaining elements, meanings, dynamics and life all into one masterpiece full of energy. Just like a painter skillfully decorates his cold colored painting with the perfect choice of colors and shades, William Shakespeare, carefully transforms the idea of a dark gloomy nightmare …show more content…
The four most important ones that are long lasting and are still relevant today are appearance vs reality, guilt manifest, temptation brings defeat, and power corrupts. The theme appearance versus reality is by far the most important theme in Macbeth as it is repeatedly restated and mentioned in one way or the other. For example, one of the first lines in the play is the witches' spell "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (1.1.10). This theme is also restated in different words in Lady Macbeth's advice to Macbeth, "look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under it"(1.5.72-73). Lady Macbeth advices Macbeth to hide his evil murderous plans under what appears to be the loyal innocent thane. The “fair" flower Macbeth is to resemble is in fact a "foul" tyrant in disguise, who appears to be someone he really is not in reality. The second most important theme is guilt manifestation, where the characters do not know the consequences of their evil acts. Throughout the second half of the play, Macbeth experiences many consequences of his murder to his loyal King, Duncan. That of which include sleepless nights, lost of appetites, and countless nightmares. This had caused Macbeth to be more sensitive to normally insignificant or imaginable sounds. The third most important theme is temptation brings defeat, which is shown also through the character Macbeth. The witches never forced Macbeth or pressured him to take different actions such as …show more content…
Blood is the closest symbol of guilt to highlight the theme of guilt manifestation. Lady Macbeth sates," Here is the smell of blood still: all the /perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten these little hands" (5.1.46-47). Lady Macbeth likens the guilt she feels to the invisible stain of blood on her hands. Just like "all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten these little hands", nothing can be done to reverse what has happened and take away this guilty feeling from her. Milk, on the other hand, is an elaborative symbol of feminism to convey the theme of appearance vs. reality. Lady Macbeth fears her husband " is too full o' the milk of human kindness" (1.5.16). Using feminine traits, such as milk, to describe a furious honorable soldier who has just led his nation into winning the war, may sound ironic in itself. However, Lady Macbeth oversees the reality of Macbeth not as what he appears to be, a noble and furious soldier, but as he really is, a gentle and genuine husband, who is not brave enough to do what it takes to be king. Moreover, the hallucinated dagger is a symbol of temptation to convey the theme temptation brings defeat. Macbeth questions himself as he approaches the invisible dagger," Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee" (2.1.40-41). The hallucination of the dagger is