The Scottish Play by Nicholas

The Scottish Play by Nicholas - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

I believe that people read literature for different reasons. Sometimes, it's purely for entertainment value, to vicariously experience the deeds of individuals far greater than ourselves; their deeds on the page become our own, but the consequences of their actions do not. But sometimes, the consequences of their actions are what concern us. The tale becomes cautionary as it shows us the error of ours ways through the folly of villains and heroes. In the grand scheme of things, this might seem in vain, as history has a way of repeating itself, but I take the lessons offered in these stories seriously.

One of my favorites is Macbeth.

Macbeth, like virtually all of Shakespeare's canon, is applicable to real life. It contains supernatural elements, but what matters is the moral or the lesson, not the verisimilitude. I believe that one of Macbeth's morals is the importance of choice and its consequences.

The irony of seers is that they rely on the actions of their audience for their predictions to come true. Otherwise, no prediction could ever threaten our freedom of choice. At the same time, prophecies predate action. So is action defeated by prophecy? I don't think so. The three witches found Macbeth or he found them, upon which they gave him a prediction. This much is certain. But many things happen between his prediction and his execution, too much for me to safely pin the blame on a singular event.

So what else could be responsible for the tragedy that ensues if not divine intervention?

Manipulation, for starters. Macbeth was clearly deceived. The witches certainly played their part, but Lady Macbeth was arguably more deceptive and she was not a witch. Furthermore, there was always Macbeth, who deceived himself into thinking the prophecy would come true, so much so that he killed Duncan, as well as Banquo, Macbeth's best friend. The witches may have planted the idea of regicide in his head, but it was not their magic that bore him to that destination. The fatal vision, that dagger of the mind, was not one of their creations. It was an object of his own desires, which predated the witches and their prophecy altogether.

Reading about the siege at Macbeth's castle, I remember his refusal to play the Roman fool and fall on his own sword. Oh, the irony! Macduff's motive for revenge stemmed from Macbeth's killing of his wife and child. Furthermore, there were other men who were tired of Macbeth, as well; had it not been Macduff to finish the job, someone else undoubtedly would have. So, in the end, Macbeth fell upon the sword he swore he would avoid, a testament to his short-sightedness.

There are many pieces on a chessboard, yours and the other player's. However, while checkmate is always possible during the game, it will be certain if you make poor decisions and don't think your moves through. In a serious match, one or two mistakes can be enough to cost you the game. Now, if someone told you that you were going to win, would that be enough to guarantee victory? Or, would you have to take steps in that direction? It might seem like the witches' prediction came true simply because they uttered it, but had Macbeth not acted, and continued to act in such a poor manner, there's a good chance the witches would've had to eat their own words.

I'm not deceiving myself, mind you. The lesson of Macbeth is not, “Avoid Fate by being modest,” or, “Cheat Death with generous self-counsel.” Fate, in my opinion, is simply the sum of events and had no more say in Macbeth losing his head than the witches did. Death, on the other hand, is certain, regardless of what choices we make. Taken to heart, these cold, hard facts might make Macbeth's famous soliloquy undeniable. But is everything is predetermined, down to the last syllable of recorded time? Is life little more than a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing?

It all boils down to perspective. Macbeth arrived at his bitter conclusion because of the choices he'd made. Had he not killed Duncan and all those other people, it would've been far more likely that he would've been remembered as the heroic Thane of Glamis; Macduff would've been his friend instead of his killer and he would've probably had a much sunnier outlook to life than the one he ultimately gave prior to his death. Our choices matter because they influence the circumstances that lead to us deciding what life is all about. They give our lives meaning and purpose.

At the same time, they can just as easily take it away. This is why it is important to make beneficial moves, not detrimental ones. Play to do win, to do well and succeed, not shoot yourself in the foot with blind ambition. Anyone can prevail and do well, but for it to endure, long-term decisions, not short term, must be made. Had Macbeth not been so short-sighted or easily led astray by the words of others, he may have been able to see his demise coming and avoid it. Better still, he could've been content without a crown instead of being miserable with one. That's what I intend to strive for.