Identity In Saltire

There are many factors that determine how people behave in their daily lives. We are run by a number of rules and regulations that influence the way we behave, talk and live. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows that without the influence of a civilized society and law and order, people’s characteristics can change drastically. Similarly in Macbeth, Shakespeare represents the loss of morality of a leader as his hunger for power clouds his judgement. Both pieces of literature present how both writers view the breakdown of morality through the breakdown of civil behaviour.

In Macbeth, blood is a symbol used to represent guilt and how one's guilt will cause them to act with concupiscence. If an individual feels guilty about an action they will do anything to try to make up for that action or clear their conscience. They may cross a line in which they never had thought of crossing before in order to fight their guilt. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth feels guilty about the many murders he has committed and his guilt has turned to paranoia. His paranoia is evident in his conversation with lady Macbeth about banquo when he says, “Come, seeling night, / Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day / And with thy bloody and invisible hand / Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond / Which keeps me pale” (Shakespeare 3.3.52-56). Macbeth's paranoia may cause him to act with concupiscence once again as he feels banquo is a threat and he will do anything to dispense the treat.

The overcast skies forewarned of the storm to come. The grey clouds rumbled treason and the wild wolves howled their distress. Rough winds wreaked havoc on the brittle branches of the oak trees in Birnam Wood, but not even this could compare to the turmoil in the new queen’s mind.

Greed for power leads corrupt leaders to pursue power through ruthless and violent ways, putting their countries in an unstable state.

How could you ever compare a huge burly monster to a royal, wealthy king of Scotland? Well, when both of these contrasting characters both scare their entire society around them, the comparison is easy to make. The titles of these two novels, Grendel and Macbeth, are just simply named after the main characters is not just the only similarity between these two works but they are have the same themes and character traits that contribute to them. John Gardner’s novel Grendel and Shakespeare’s play Macbeth were written in completely different time periods but these classics are similar actions, character development, beliefs, and morals of the story.

In Act 1, Shakespeare presents Macbeth with admired masculine qualities countered with Lady Macbeth criticising his idiosyncrasies. Lady Macbeth’s definition of a man is disparate to others’. In Scene 2, the captain labels Macbeth as “brave”. This is a venerated and respected quality on the battlefield. King Duncan later refers to

To compare and contrast the roles of Lady Macbeth in the play, giving close consideration to their relationship their husbands. In the play ‘Macbeth’ we notice that the roles of Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff are very different. The contrast between these two ladies, is especially noted by each woman’s loyalties and manner of death. These two women, as similar as they were, also had dissimilarities that are far more striking.  Although Lady Macduff and Lady Macbeth each had the ability to influence their family, they used this influence in entirely different ways.

Eight of twelve-thousand houses were all that remained standing after the Clydebank Blitz in Scotland on March 13th and 14th 1941, every other house affected by the blitz either had minor damages, was severely damaged, or completely destroyed. When a person thinks about countries affected and involved in World War II they mainly think of the major countries that were involved in the war like the United States, England, and Japan just to name a few. No one ever talks about Scotland during that time period, because it is not a big country, but Scottish people were greatly affected by World War II. The people lived with the fear the Germans would drop bombs on them. They were forced to live on rationed food and deal with constant food storages of food because every essential material was being used for the war.

To begin with, the popular play Macbeth reinforces the imagery of the good and bad in the world. For instance, some characters who are considered to be righteous are associated with light. For instance, Malcolm, Duncan and Macduff are portrayed as righteous, and their deeds are performed in light or during the day. The imagery on darkness is associated with the characters that are deemed as evil including Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the witches. Shakespeare chooses to use this light and darkness imagery to indicate the degree of goodness and badness of the characters. This study, therefore, shows more instances of imagery of light and darkness as used in the poem.

Symbolism is a very prominent literary technique throughout Shakespeare’s famous play, Macbeth. These symbols lead to a better understanding of the play, and add a lot of deeper meanings to it as well. While there are countless numbers of these symbols and motifs, specifically, blood, clothing, and birds are three very important ones. Blood is a symbol that portrays guilt throughout the play. Second, clothing stands for something the characters are not, for example when Macbeth is crowned Thane of Cawdor. Thirdly, the birds foreshadow bad happenings in the story. These three symbols all contribute to the mysterious aura found in Macbeth. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is comprised of multiple recurring symbols and motifs which lead to a deeper understanding of the play.

A very explicit theme in the play Macbeth is: lust and ambition. This is can be probably seen in every character in the play: Macbeth, Young Siward, Malcolm, Lady Macbeth and many more. All of the characters are driven by a desire to do what they believe is best: it usually begins with ambition. Ambition tends to lead a person to lust whatever they desire and to try to achieve it. Lust is usually thought to be a bad emotion: in such a way that it tends to become evil, but in Macbeth it also shows a good side: showing the perseverance and pride it gives to the person.

Actor Anson Mount once made an insightful observation, “all of us have a hero and a villain in us.” This is something that has been confirmed over time, across cultures, and is also corroborated in famous literary works such as Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Key characters in these epics often rose to the occasion and made a positive impact on the society with their exceptional bravery, selflessness and moral courage. There were also instances where the same characters didn’t exercise the best judgment. Although Beowulf had many more heroic moments than Macbeth and Macduff, each of them had their virtues and flaws that surfaced at different times and under different circumstances,

The Language of Literature. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Ed. Arthur N. Applebee. Andrea B. Bermudez. Sheridan Blau. Rebekah Caplan. Peter Elbow. Susan Hynds. Judith A. Langer. James Marshall. United States of America. 2006. 77 pages.

The following passage from Heart of Darkness is found to be having many mythical and historical

Even though it may be just a stereotype, the Scottish people are not generally known for their joyful nature and friendliness. No wonder, considering the geographical location of the country, the weather and the scarce population in the wild landscape. Kilts, mysterious countryside full of lochs and ruined castles, back pipes, whiskey and Brave Heart is what usually comes to people’s minds when Scotland is mentioned, but legends and nature are not exactly what the contemporary Scottish films usually focus on. Once a person gets himself into the modern Scottish cinematography, what they encounter are not huge historical and probably not even real battles taking place in the romanticised landscape of Sir Walter Scott. The movies focus rather