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Essay: William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth

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  • Subject area(s): Literature essays
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  • Published: 26 December 2019*
  • Last Modified: 22 July 2024
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  • Words: 1,536 (approx)
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  • Tags: Macbeth essays

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Life is akin to the continuous tick of a clock. With the passing of each number, man must make the most of the remaining minutes; once this time has passed, there is no turning back its hands. This notion is prevalent within William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, and becomes a recurring motif throughout the progression of the play. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s conflicts derive from his sense of impatience; he is unable to control his ambition and thus, attempts to entice natural order, and ultimately his fate. Similar to the predominance of time within The Tragedy of Macbeth, Robert Frost’s “Out Out-” poem also highlights the significance of time. The young child in the poem is maimed by sudden carelessness; much like Macbeth, patience would have altered his fate entirely. Thus, in both literary works, the authors convey the consequences of ambition by employing the sequence of time, as it affects both figures. That is, had the characters recognized the importance of such a concept, their fate would have been drastically altered.
With the passing of time brings responsibility and wisdom. In regards to “Out Out-”, the young child is defeated by a lack of such qualities. While aware of the danger of the machine, he is plagued by his desire to cease working, causing him to sustain a life-threatening injury. “Since he was old enough to know, big boy / Doing a man’s work” (Frost 23-24). The child is simply subjected to a lack of experience in his work, as his job is designated for a grown man, yet is completed by an adolescent. The boy’s naivete distracts from his ability to be careful in his work, ultimately leading to the fatality of his wound. Similarly, Macbeth is also vanquished by the consequences of him actions. With the natural passage of time, Macbeth was set to evolve into a position of honor and valiance, being told “I have begun to plant thee and will labor/ To make the full of growing” (Shakespeare 1.4.32-33). However, Macbeth falls prey to the prophecies set forth by the witches and chooses to meld the future with the present by killing Duncan. His ambition results in further impulsiveness validated by the witches’ prophecies. Macbeth focuses not only on the lives that he must sacrifice in the present, but also on imminent impediments to his reign. A main component of Macbeth’s internal conflict is whether or not to kill Banquo. The witches provided a prophecy for Banquo that initiates Macbeth’s questioning regarding the future of his ambitions. “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.” (Shakespeare 1.3.70) Macbeth chooses to kill Banquo in order to prevent a future line of his kings, as he has convinced himself that Banquo’s children will also endeavor to overthrow Macbeth’s reign for their own benefit. Though aware of the simplicity of his actions, Macbeth is ignorant to the consequences that will follow. “The very firstlings of my heart shall be / the firstlings of my hand” (Shakespeare 4.2.167-168). Macbeth has thrown himself into a world devoid of reason, and has begun to act purely upon impulse. By doing so, all reason and thought are removed from his persona, and Macbeth’s war against time resembles a fuse which ignites the degradation of his mind and psyche. Like the boy’s instinct to cease his work for his own benefit, Macbeth is defeated by a similar intention; both characters were too distracted to be careful in their work, ultimately leading to their downfall.
It can be said that the understanding of the importance of the conservation of time would have greatly amended both characters’ tragic endings. The recognition of the restriction of time and therefore using the remaining minutes to one’s utmost benefit would have proven to be an advantage to both the young child and Macbeth. In the poem, Frost conveys that the boy would have valued even a half hour of leisure. This would have made all the difference in the scheme of his situation. “Call it a day, I wish they might have said/ To please the boy by giving him the half hour/ That a boy counts so much when saved from work” (Frost 10-13). For a child partaking in work designated for a man much older than he, a half hour may have prevented the tragic accident that led to the boy’s demise. This premise can be related to Macbeth, as had Macbeth accepted the prophecy in its entirety and allowed fate to run its course, he would never have been tempted with the thought of murdering Duncan.

Had I but died an hour before this chance,
I had lived a blessèd time; for from this instant
There’s nothing serious in mortality.
All is but toys. Renown and grace is dead.
The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees
Is left this vault to brag of. (Shakespeare 2.3.106-112)

Here, Macbeth reminisces on the past; if he had died prior to the granting of the witches’ prophecies, he would have died an honorable man. At the outset of the play, Macbeth is valued for his military prowess, as he has killed Macdonwald, a traitor to King Duncan. Following his acquisition of Macbeth’s success, Duncan praises Macbeth, referring to him as a “valiant cousin, [and a] worthy gentleman” (Shakespeare 1.2.26). Thus, had Macbeth died before his own thoughts could incite action to kill Duncan, he would have died with glory. However, by tempting fate, Macbeth is deprived of this privilege, and the result is his longing for death at an earlier date. Analogous to the boy in the poem, the advantage of time would have prevented his demise. If the boy had restricted his work day by even a half hour, his tragedy would have been prevented, similar to how Macbeth should have restricted his lifetime in order to avoid the psychological decline he experiences due to the murders he commits. Had both figures complied with the time they were allotted, perhaps the conclusion of their lives would have been altered.
As time cannot be turned back, events in one’s life cannot be undone or slighted. Such can be related to “Out Out-” and Macbeth, as characters in both literary works wish to relive the past in an effort to avoid an unfortunate result. Following the boy’s injury, he is taken to the hospital for medical attention. Upon arrival at the hospital, the child entreats, “‘Dont let him cut my hand off-/ The doctor, when he comes. Dont let him, sister!’” (Frost 25-26). Though he wished for the doctor to restore his hand, the boy is mature enough to recognize the severity of his injury. All but severed by the saw, the boy can only wish to relive the moment once more in hopes to avoid the situation entirely. Likewise, Lady Macbeth longs for a chance to negate what has been done. At the outset of the play, Lady Macbeth had initially supported the murder of Duncan, referring to her husband as a coward for hesitating in his pursuit of the deed. “Wouldst thou have that/ Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life,/ And live a coward in thine own esteem” (Shakespeare 1.7.41-43). Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s manhood as a result of his unwillingness to do what is needed to be done for his own benefit. However, as the plot progresses, she recognizes that Macbeth was correct in his hesitancy, as she, too, is regretful. Similar to her husband, Lady Macbeth enters a world of psychological distortion due to her guilty conscience. She quickly retreats into her own mind, reenacting the event that drove her to insanity. Lady Macbeth imagines a spot of blood on her hands which, despite her efforts, she is unable to wash away. “Out damned spot! Out, I say!” (Shakespeare 5.1.37). Here, the spot of blood is a metaphor for the sins that her and her husband have committed. Similar to the inability to wash the spot away, Lady Macbeth is unable to negate their actions. Just as the boy wishes for the restoration of his hand, Lady Macbeth wishes to go back in time in order to avoid the actions that lead to her lunacy. While time continuously progresses, there is no opposite action; the hands of a clock can never be turned back, though both characters long for this possibility.
Therefore, time is a simile for one’s life. Similar to how the hands of a clock cannot be turned back, one is unable to relive their life, despite a longing for the ability to do so. The characters in both Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Frost’s “Out Out-” typify this desire, as the privilege of time would have prevented their imminent demise. However, the characters in these literary works attempt to defy natural order and more specifically fate, leading to their downfall. Thus, in a race against time, it is ultimately the challenger who is defeated.

Works Cited

Frost, Robert. “Out Out-”. Poetry Foundation. 2018,
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53087/out-out. Accessed 9 April 2018.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New
York: The Folger Shakespeare Library, 2013. Print.

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