Macbeth

1. Do you feel sorry for Lady Macbeth? Why or why not?

When I first read the question, I was so sure that I would never feel sorry for Lady Macbeth. However, as I thought about the scenes of this play and how the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth changes throughout the play, I began to feel sorry for Lady Macbeth. There is a limit to the extant people can make mistakes and killing a person is over that border line. Though Lady Macbeth influenced Macbeth and led him to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth feels guilty about even the acts she did not commit. Perhaps, she believes that all these tragedies began because of her greed. In her sleepwalk scene, she mentions “The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?” She is feeling guilty about the death of Macduff’s family though she was not the one who instructed to kill them. Also, the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth changes as Macbeth becomes more ambitious. In the beginning of the play, he calls his wife “my dearest love,” (Act1. scene5) However, after Macbeth becomes the king, he no longer shares his ideas or plans with Lady Macbeth. Also, even when she dies, he does not express much sorrow about her death. Instead, he says, “she should have died hereafter,” meaning that she would have died anyways. It is clear that his love for Lady Macbeth is lost. Lady Macbeth, no longer loved by her husband and feeling guilty about death of not only Duncan, but also Macduff’s family and Banquo, commits suicide.

2. What do you think about the character Macbeth? Was he a good guy before he met the witches, or do his actions imply that he was always capable for dark deeds? Is he to blame for his actions, or are the witches really to blame?

Macbeth seems like a good guy in the beginning as even the witches praise him as “The Good Macbeth.” However, his actions imply that he was always capable for dark deeds. I would not necessarily blame witches for his actions because witches role was to stimulate the greed and ambition he had inside. The one who decided move on to actions and kill Duncan to become a king was Macbeth, himself. To some extent, the witches can be responsible for his actions because Macbeth becomes more insecure about his position as a king because of the prophecy the witches make to Banquo. They state that Banquo’s children will be kings in the future and having heard this prophecy together, Macbeth decides to kill Banquo and Fleance. Also, the prophecy to Banquo proves that Macbeth was capable for dark deeds. Both Macbeth and Banquo receive a similar prophecy in the beginning of the play. The three witches tell them that Macbeth will become a king and Banquo’s children will become kings in the future. However, even after hearing this prophecy, Banquo’s loyalty towards Duncan remains the same. On the other hand, I wonder if it was the prophecy that made a difference between Banquo and Macbeth’s reactions to the prophecy. Banquo may be was not so interested in the prophecy because it was his children, not him who were predicted to be the next kings. Witches’ prophecy to Banquo was not much directed towards Banquo compared to that of Macbeth. If Banquo had received a prophecy similar to that of Macbeth, stating that Banquo will be the next king, would he still have remained loyal to Duncan?

4. Have you ever experienced a predicted dream? Has anyone ever suggested something about your future that has actually come true? Did their comments influence your actions and the results that followed?

I have never experienced a predicted dream. Ironically, I have never experienced a predicted dream because people’s comments influence my actions so much. Until last summer, I never had a firm plan about my future. If someone told me that I will be perfect for a certain job, I right away considered that job as my career in the future. Since they were so easily influenced by people’s comments, I was never able to see the results. When I was in elementary school, my third grade teacher told me that I should become a lawyer. Though I never had a concrete idea about what lawyers do other than the basic knowledge most people have, I wanted to become a lawyer. When I was in middle school, my cousin worked for a very famous teen magazine. She would visit different cafes, book places, clothes shops to find ideas for her articles. After observing her “fancy” career as a writer for a teen magazine, I wanted to become like her. Also, when I discussed my future with my aunt, she suggested me that I should major in communication and explained to me where people usually work after majoring communication. I, for a moment, believed that I had a perfect plan for my future. However, after my summer experience, I was able to plan out my own plan without getting influenced by other people. I realized that I really wanted to study international relations. I hope my own predicted dream will not change and I hope to see what results it will bring me.