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Macbeth is an ancient text that has no

relevance or parallels with our society today.


The tragedy of Macbeth, which was written by one of the greatest playwrights of English
literature, William Shakespeare, dates back to the early years of the 17th Century and reflects
the flaws in our society. It symbolises the lust of power in the character of Macbeth, the
effect of peer pressure from Lady Macbeth, the failure of our governing institutions and our
political leaders in King Duncan, the means to manipulate people in the witchcraft and the
lack of willpower to fight against evil and corruption in the character of Malcolm. Yet many
argue that since this remarkable piece of literature was published in the ancient times, it
could have no reference or parallels to the present world. Subsequently, this is the point
where the majority of our youth is wrong.
It is undoubtedly true that the language used in the works of Shakespeare is much more
complex and obscure. In fact, according to a recent survey of 500 teachers conducted by
Times Educational Supplement, a weekly British publication aimed primarily at
schoolteachers in the UK, 56 per cent felt that their students found it difficult to relate to the
bards plays. In addition, 55 per cent said that their pupils were uninspired by his work. The
main cause for the lack of interest amidst the youth is the complexity of Elizabethan English,
which makes it a hurdle for the pupils to overcome when studying the plays.
However, what makes it much more difficult for the youth to even familiarise themselves
with the themes of Shakespearean literature is the lack of interest amidst the young
generation. In the same survey conducted by TES, 43 per cent of the teachers shared that
their pupils disliked the plays or the sonnets because of a preconceived mental thought that
they would hardly understand them.
Nevertheless, the same survey shows that the teachers still believe that almost all of the
teachers agree to the fact that Shakespeare was an iconic author. His works cover various
topics, which are even today relevant to the majority of youth. A fine example of such works
is Macbeth where the playwright intelligently displays the audience the topics that
concerned them back in 1600s for example betrayal, power and regicide, which was

considered taboo. These topics share equal importance among todays generation and the
17th century audience.
Last but not the least, Edward Hall, a famous American anthropologist and cross-cultural
researcher, once said, Shakespeare reveals human nature brilliantly. He shines a light on
our instinctive desire to dominate each other. Shakespeare incredibly showed this human
instinct in the character of Macbeth in the above-mentioned tragedy, where he tries to cross
every possible bar to achieve the crown of Scotland. Commenting that this instinct is no
longer a part of our human nature is nothing but a false lie to oneself. A profoundly known
and famous example in todays world is the fight for a political office, where the candidates
try to dominate each other in the conquest of the post by either debating on a public
platform or holding rallies to attract more supporters to their favour.
The bottom line is that it is true that the youth is losing interest in the Elizabethan works due
to several reasons, but the plays do give a rough sketch of the present human society. Then
again, as the saying goes, these plays may be old but they are certainly of equal worth as
gold, due to the parallels to the modern society.

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