Macbeth V

Durring Act Four we actually got to see some perspective on Macbeth from other characters which I very much enjoyed. I really liked getting to see Macduff, and he was probably one of my favorite characters for a lot of reasons. The fact that he's not just a cold man, and that he does actually value human life.  For example his quote to Malcolm after Malcolm suggested killing Macbeth for revenge, like a man "I shall do so/But I must also feel it as a man/I cannot but remember such things were/That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on," Showing that he did grieve for his family, and that violence shouldn't always be a man's first reaction to something negative. Overall I did really like getting some new perspective on Macbeth's actions. Perspective was something that I really did enjoy in act four. And the perspective on many of the characters


Also a song about perspective for you! 

Macbeth VI

at the end of the play we got to see some perspective on Macbeth from other characters which I very much enjoyed. I found this song awhile ago, ( Structure by Innerpartysystem ) and it was a candidate for being animated into the Macbeth movie that I made, but I ended up going against it. Still I thought it may be interesting to explain it a bit, because I viewed it as a song about perspective. More specifically Macduff, Banquo and Lady Macbeth's perspectives on Macbeth through the duration of the play. 
"Why did you change?
Why did you bend and break?
When the water turned to wine, did it feel the same?'
Fairly simply this is the chorus. It would mainly be about Macduff questioning Macbeth's very drastic change from the beginning of the story; Being seen as a powerful, brave and noble man of war, into a murderous monster, along with someone who's almost cowardice ( how he couldn't kill Macduff's family himself ). It could also be a spin of Macbeth's rise to power "When the water turned to wine, Did it feel the same". I see that in a way that it could be referenced from him going from something pure, clean and transparent, to turning into blood/wine something impure. The line could be interpreted also explaining how he went from water of a poorer less powerful man to wine which signifies in this light wealth/ his change over to king.
You suck the bottle dry
Touch fingers to the night
Feels like I've been here before
Now there's an empty hole where you were long ago
But things are different when you're young

This Verse would've been from the perspective from first Lady Macbeth ( that was my first idea at least). Explaining her love for Macbeth, and that now he's become a different unloving and cold man, and that when he was young their relationship was much better. Explaining how she thought that making him king would also make him a better man, when in fact it did the opposite. I also thought I could use this to work with Banquo but I decided if I were to use this song, the next verse was more fitting. The nights are getting cold
Those faces growing old
And there is nothing you can do
So sing your sad excuses
You've got the scars to prove it
And I'm sure they'll sing along"

This verse was the one that I found more fitting to Banquo than to the other characters. Explaining that there isn't anything that macbeth can do to escape his face and his punishment for his deeds as Macduff's army grows nearer to him. and to "Sing his sad excuses" Excuses for the reason Banquo, Duncan and Macduff's family were all slaughtered, or his excuses for Macbeth's reasoning not to be afraid of Macduff such as the witches prophecies. 

So that's how things would've gone if I had indeed chosen to use this song as opposed to the other one. It was a close decision. 

Blog Post IV

Blog Act III

Unfortunately I don't have much to say on the matter of act three. Due to not only being out sick, but bomb threats, power outages, construction accidents, and snow days this act was very hazy for me, as I had to try and read it on my own. This of course, was a hugely maddening experience. I so I think instead of writing a very vague few paragraphs about what happened in act three, I'll write about my frustration and annoyance about trying to understand act three.
Shakespearian is very difficult to read, anyone who's looked at it will agree. It's a very odd style of writing, complex and not always poetic, using strange phrases that are combinations of words like 'twas, 'twill, thou, and others. Interestingly enough, that's not even close to how people normally talked at the time. It's as if it were an entire language on it's own. In a way I can draw a parallel from Shakespearian to text, or Leetspeak. No one really T41k5 1iK3 Thi5, & whn w/ tlk w/ dnt actlly leave out every other vowel when we talk. You can und3r5t4nd wh4t 1'm typ1ng, 8ut 1t'5 n0t h0w w3 t4lk. But if you've never seen leetpeak ( 4|\|D 7RU57 /\/\3, 1 \/\/45 U51|\|9 4 /\/\U(|-| /\/\0R3 r34D1|\|9 PhR13|\|DL'/ \/4R14710|\|  ), or text talk, it's very difficult to understand. For me, Shakespearian is almost a totally different language, and very, very hard to read. 

Act II Part I

Betrayal and Chess Pieces 
One of the themes that runs heavily through Act II is the theme of Betrayal, in which Macbeth kills King Duncan. Macbeth thinks that he's doing it for all the right reasons, because he would make a better King than Duncan, that Duncan is a very poor leader despite his kindess. Macbeth isn't alone in his thinking, Duncan was kind but a poor leader. Unfortunately he's being manipulated as though he were a lowly pawn. In reality Macbeth is very easily manipulated by women, be it the three witches who serve as prophets or Lady Macbeth. Macbeth seems not only hapless but blind to this. It reminds me strongly of a game of chess. Despite the fact that the king must be captured to win the game, he is very useless on his own. Circling endlessly. Whilst the king seems to be the most valued, really in this game one of the most powerful and quick moving players is the Queen. The similarity between how weak and nearly useless the king is, while the Queen moves endlessly more and manipulates the bored to protect her own king, while attempting to destroy the other. In such a way Chess is extremely similar to Macbeth and his Lady's relationship. But their game of Chess isn't all that simple. Other pawns stand in their way, such as Malcolm and MacDuff, and intimidating foes such as the three witches and Banquo. Their Game of Chess will never be simple, and the further into it they go, the more the black and white of what is right and wrong fades and becomes exponentially more confusing.

Blog post I

So as I'm going along reading Macbeth, or when I go along reading most anything that's school assigned I usually think of project ideas. Since all of my lame little projects usually revolve around music and pictures I tend to find a little of both that remind me of the story. So recently I listened to a song by chance called Flawed Design by Stabilo , and it was surprising how fitting it was to the character Macbeth and Lady Macbeth throughout the story. As they go on they lie more, and tend to try and blame it on anyone but themselves. Which is rather interesting that they both seem to be oblivious to the fact that they are the guilty ones, and no outside power is forcing them to commit the crimes, and tell the lies that they do. They don't seem to understand that everything that is happening, is in some way their own fault. It's rather tragic.

Ambition

Question; Is someone born with ambition or do they become ambitious depending on their upbringing?


 Well I think that my opinion on this is going to agree with the first statement. That people are born with ambition. I mean; honestly I think everyone is born with ambition. Ambition to live that is. I'm pretty sure all living creatures have the ambition to live. Humans are the only ones who's main ambition probably changes throughout their lifespan. Once we start thinking we pick a different ambition, or we just keep to the same idea of the ambition to live. People who aren't terribly driven to do anything still have the ambition to live. I find it's more uncommon to be unambitious, if you're looking at it from my perspective. Of course upbringing will definitely add a variant to anything, but it just changes ambition, or gets rid of it completely. We're all born with a drive to do something, even if that something is just surviving. So yeah, long story short I believe people are born with one ambition but their upbringing merely effects and changes that ambition.