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12940-Article Text-47259-1-10-20121213 PDF
12940-Article Text-47259-1-10-20121213 PDF
Introduction
“It is a statement of evil” (Knight 18).
Associate Professor, Department of Theatre, University of Dhaka
186 The Arts Faculty Journal, July 2010-June 2011
Macbeth’s Realization
When evil is let loose, it corrupts all creation, not only man
and state, but the physical universe as well. Lenox’s speech which
immediately follows Duncan’s murder shows that the physical
universe has been thrown out of harmony:
The night has been unruly; where we lay,
Our chimneys were blown down; and, as they say,
Lamentings heard in the air, strange screams of death,
And prophesying with accents terrible.
(Shakespeare, Macbeth II.III.55-58)
the ravens’ crook, the sound of the crickets and the coming of the
night seem to be foreboding. But this corruption in nature contains
within itself the means of restoring harmony. The rebirth of good is
implied in the working out of evil. Shakespeare uses the very
perversion of nature to herald the downfall of the tyrant and to
restore the physical universe to its natural state of perfection. For
instance, Birnam Wood moves and Macduff turns out to be a child
unborn of a woman.
The inexplicable powers that work in the outside world affect the
inward powers of the soul, making them more powerful and active.
The seeds of evil lying dormant in Macbeth’s soul leap outside at
the words of the witches which prove fatal to him.
play in its totality shows that there is order and meaning in the
universe and that good may return out of evil.
Conclusion
Works Cited
Bradely, Andrew Cecil. Shakespearean Tragedy. 3rd ed. London:
Macmillan, 1992. Print
Knight, George Wilson. The Wheel of Fire; Explorations. New
York: Routledge, 1949. Print
Muir, Kenneth. The Arden Shakespeare: Macbeth. London:
Methuen and Co. Ltd, 1985.Print
Shakespeare, William. The Arden Shakespeare: Macbeth. India:
B. I. Publications Pvt. Ltd. by arrangement with Methuen and Co.
Ltd, 1976.Print
Traversi, Derek Antona. An Approach to Shakespeare. Australia:
DoubleDay, 1969. Print