Similarities Between Macbeth And Quickdraw

Although the tragedy ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare was written in the 17th century and the poems ‘Hour’ and ‘Quickdraw’, both by the Scottish poet Carol Ann Duffy, were written in the 20th century the themes of passion, desire and even fear are explored by both playwright and poet in ‘Macbeth’, ‘Quickdraw’ and ‘Hour’.

For example, in the play Shakespeare presents desire during Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 7, when king Duncan first arrives at Glamis Castle. During Macbeth’s soliloquy he declares “I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only/ Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself/ And falls on th’ other.” In the first half of the quote, the Thane of Cawdor uses a simile to compare his desire to that of ‘pricking a …show more content…
If the assassination/ Could trammel up the consequence…” This confirms the Thane’s vacillation regarding murdering his king, a treacherous plan instigated by his wife Lady Macbeth. In spite of his desire for the role of king of Scotland, Macbeth believes that to commit regicide will trigger the wrath of God, as it was believed at the time that kings gained their power from the higher being. Later on in the soliloquy, this is proven when he says “Bloody instructions, which being taught, return/ To plague th’ inventor.” In this case, ‘bloody instructions’ could mean the murderous actions he is considering in taking and Shakespeare’s personification of it reinforces the negative consequences if the plan is to proceed. In addition, the word “plague” suggests something that would haunt you until you extinguished all your forces and crossed the thin line between sanity and madness, as for the Jacobean audience there was no cure for the infamous black plague, implying that the consequences of Macbeth’s actions would pursue him until his death. Therefore, we can conclude that the biggest impediment Macbeth’s conscience faces isn’t the act of treason, but the fear of the punishments he will face in the afterlife for murdering the king. …show more content…
“I wear the two, the mobile and the landline phones, like guns, slung from the pockets on my hips.” The persona is preparing herself for battle and uses 20th century technology, such as smartphones, as her weapon. Moreover, the fractured love the persona shares with her partner is also shown through the use of enforced breaks, such as “I’m all/alone.”; enjambment, the two extra lines, “You’ve wounded me.” and “through the heart.”, that if joined to the end of the previous stanza would fulfill the Shakespearean sonnet form, and frequent punctuation gives the poem an irregular pace like the one of a gun-fight or heated argument, enforcing once again how delicate their love is at the