The Question of Ambition

Shakespeare's portrayal of ambition through the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is rather stumping. I view myself as a rather ambitious person, yet I am not sure if I would go to the same lengths that the characters do to achieve an end such as becoming King. I am not sure I could justify ending an innocent person's life. But then again, I think to myself that I am not in a position like this. There is not even a slight possibility of me becoming queen (especially since we don't actually have a queen) but I am curious to see that if I were faced with an opportunity such as this if I would make the same attempt to fulfill it, even if it meant going against my morals. Personally, I believe that the fact that Shakespeare can make me question myself and my actions so thoroughly after only reading approximately 50 pages of Macbeth attests to reasons that he stays so relevant in the literary circles.

Behind Every Great Man is a Great Woman

Throughout the portion of Shakespeare's Macbeth that I have read, I believe that the statement above is most certainly supported. Lady Macbeth, in my opinion, "wears the pants" in her marriage. It was mainly her idea, and it was definitely her scheming, that lead to the King's death. Although the thought may have crossed Macbeth's mind, it was Lady Macbeth who implemented the plan. When Macbeth first stumbled upon the witches and found that he was destined to be king, Lady Macbeth was the first person to whom he wrote. It seems that every major event throughout Macbeth's life has been closely tied to Lady Macbeth and her opinion on the matter. Because of this close relationship between the decisions that make Macbeth a "great" man and Lady Macbeth's decisions, Shakespeare's Macbeth most definitely supports the idea that behind every great man is a great woman.

Why Read Shakespeare?

1. According to the article, what are some reasons that students find Shakespeare difficult to understand? What does Mack present as an answer to this?

Typically, for students, Shakespeare is hard to understand because when first read, it does no come across pleasantly. This is due to the language used throughout his works as well as the manner in which he presents the stories. Mack compares Shakespeare to music and songs. He states that Shakespeare is much like a song that seems completely random when first listened to; however, after you listen to it time and time again [or in Shakespeare’s case, read] it begins to make sense and every time that you listen to it again you pull something completely new from the song [or the play].

2. According to Mack, when you finally “get” Shakespeare, what do you actually get?

According to Mack, when you finally “get” Shakespeare you gain a reflection of the world – and yourself – in their true nature. He says that once you finally understand the plays, you being to understand that the Shakespeare’s works are actually multiple interpretations of yourself, which can be seen throughout the plethora of characters who all represent something that resonates with you. Basically he says that to read Shakespeare is “to read the world,” and that Shakespeare’s interplay between life and literature help you find beauty and meaning in life – things that you will only find after “getting” Shakespeare.

3. List and summarize five convincing arguments in answer to the question “Why read Shakespeare?

• ·      To develop new interests and take a deeper look into understanding things that might look not-so-appealing the first time around, such as certain songs or Shakespeare’s plays.
• ·      To gain insight into the world, as stated in the answer above. To better understand yourself and the rest of the world and look upon it in different manners than you would originally do by yourself.
• ·      To learn the source of the majority of my so-called innate beliefs, such as the idea that love and marriage go together. To fully understand the origins of all of my ideas
• ·      To develop my “skills” and erase my defects AKA developing my soft skills that are required in all walks of life, such as communicating clearly with people, and erasing detrimental automatic (whether or not they are innate or learned) actions, such as not jumping to conclusions.
• ·      To better understand the heart. To fully understand your own emotional life and the manner in which your head and your heart work together and depend on one another, especially since fully understanding this marks a person as an educated person or an uneducated person. 

4. Which one of these arguments do you find most convincing? Why?

To me the most convincing argument of the five listed above is to gain insight into the world. As a relatively quiet person, I quite enjoy spending time by myself pondering my surroundings and trying to fully understand them, as well as reflecting and understanding myself. If Mack says that Shakespeare would add insight to myself, that makes me take a second look and think that I maybe should pick up the Twelfth Night or Hamlet the next time that I am at the library. Understanding all of the aspects that make up all humans – but particularly myself – is appealing, especially as I think that it would help me handle certain situations with other people in different (and hopefully more effective) manners.