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Macbeth Universal Theme Essay

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Classic texts are usually seen as timeless due to the universal themes focusing on the human condition they revolve around. Many of these texts centre on themes such as love, courage and justice. However Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ does not involve any of these, focusing mostly on fate, inner conflict and the nature of evil.
The universal themes of ambition, greed and power have always been relevant in society, these themes can be applied to many other current and historical figures and events. (*coughs* – trump). As the events of murder roll out Macbeth becomes mad with power and insanity. His vaulting ambition and Lady Macbeths powers of persuasion led him become a frog in water being slowly brought to the boil. The saying is that a frog suddenly put …show more content…

The question of whether we have free will or not is a question that has been pondered through time and is still relevant today as we continue to analyse the possibilities and think more philosophically. The concept of fate is applied throughout Macbeth through the use of supernatural elements and the events that occur due to Macbeth’s actions. The supernatural plays a significant role in influencing Macbeth’s fate and therefore his downfall. The witches start off the idea of fate when they reveal to Macbeth that he will become king and so thinking it is the only way to fulfil their predictions he kills Duncan and becomes king. Although many endorse the idea that Macbeth is a helpless victim of fate, they also question whether or not Macbeth would have ended up with the same fate if he had chosen to go down a different path. The concept of fate in Macbeth is largely discussed and related to as people continue to discover new ideas about if there is such thing as having freewill. The concept of fate itself can be questioned as it may just be a made up concept we as humans thought of to put a name to the result of our

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