We humans face many spiritual, emotional and psychological struggles which can sometimes strengthen us and most of the time, have great consequence, ruining us and our key morals depending on the extent the struggle takes us. But these internal struggles are a part of being human and sometimes leave a footprint on the external environment. Temptation and Human Desire are obvious struggles that exist in society today and are frequently shown in literature. The written texts Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice and Hamlet by William Shakespeare and the film Selma, directed by Ava Duverney have adequate manifestations of temptation and human desire to determine the significant connections across these texts. I will explore the forms of temptation and human desire across these texts, ambition and revenge which show the nature of temptation and human desire, it’s psychological impacts on the characters and the environment.
AMBITION & PASSION
Ambition is quite an odd thing. It can be good or heavily bad according to the amount of ambition we have for a certain goal or thing. But then again, it depends on what we define as being excessive and borderline. Ambition is only great if we choose the right path to achieve our goals but it is the extreme drive and therefore an ‘overload’ of ambition that can sometimes cover our moral values and make us eager to achieve it faster, to take the regretful and most certainly sinful path which in literature, shows this has great consequence. It is said ‘good things come to those who wait and this simply cannot be proved wrong. It highlights the importance of patience and controlling temptations and human desires which make us hunger for something.
Macbeth, by William Shakespeare is a 11th century play based on the tragedy of Macbeth, a man whose ambitious nature with the assistance of his manipulative and clever wife, leads him to his death. After Macbeths encounter with the three witches which tell him of his prophecy of one day becoming King of Scotland, his ambition is ‘initiated’ as he soon becomes lured by evil and supernatural ideas to believe in this prophecy and then achieve it by murdering the King. This scene highlights the two different paths ambition could have lead Macbeth. Macbeth stays heavily engaged with the witches whereas Banquo, his noble partner demands the witches “speak then to me who neither begs nor fears your favours or your hate.” This shows his spark of ambition except unlike Macbeth, he does not choose the path of deceit and murder and this is because his level of ambition is not the same as Macbeths and therefore his moral sense is not covered, allowing him to rationalise and perceive what Macbeth cannot. Macbeth says “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent but only vaulting ambition which o’rleaps itself.” This displays ambition as corrupting and explains how intensifying his is. However, Macbeths wife, Lady Macbeth is much more ambitious than Macbeth and would take the throne for herself if she were a man. She uses her feminine qualities and attacks his masculinity, therefore fooling him and manipulating him into killing king Duncan. This shows how along with evil and his wife’s deceptiveness, Macbeth could not resist and fight this temptation internally due to his overwhelming ambition which could go to any lengths for power and glory. This is similar with lady Macbeth who would be very dangerous if she were a man due to her powerful ambition. She asks the spirits to ‘unsex’ her, to transform her into a male which shows her intensifying ambition and her desire for achieving it. This is contrasted with Banquo who can resist and fight the evil luring him and with the possible prophecy of his son taking the throne, that proves to be enough motivation to ‘activate’ his ambition. He tells his son that he is having evil dreams but does not resort to temptation. Macbeth’s vaulting ambition which leads him to murdering anyone who stepped in his path of pure power and glory is seen to have psychological impact on him. He begins to hallucinate and see the ghost of Banquo who he murdered. This form of ‘guilt’ is not only an embarrassment for him in public but it interferes with his mind. Macbeth murmurs “will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” This displays the motif of blood, emphasising the symbol of guilt which has scarred him mentally, showing that having power and glory doesn’t always result in happiness if you cannot control human desires and temptations as undesirable consequences are inevitable.
Similarly, in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, Shylock, a Jewish money lender is selfish and greedy by nature as he is greatly ambitious about success, power, and money. He like Macbeth also suffers the consequences of being power hungry and having an overwhelming ambitious nature. His passion for wealth proves him to be more caring of his wealth than his own daughter due to his ambition. When his daughter Jessica runs away with all his wealth, Shylock moans “Why, there, there, there, there! a diamond gone, cost me two thousand ducats in Frankfort! The curse never fell upon our nation till now; I never felt it till now: two thousand ducats in that; and other precious, precious jewels. I would my daughter were dead at my foot.” This shows how Shylock is stressing over his money and cares more heartily about wealth than his daughter as he grieves for his loss of money and it is this anger which later produces revenge showing not only his inability to control his drive for success and wealth but the inability to control his rage. However, being physically and mentally tortured in a society which oppresses Jew’s including himself, exceptions can be made. Due to this, we see Shylocks blind passion for revenge and justice to the people who caused torment on him, heighten. Antonio becomes his arch nemesis and his passion to kill him increases as he has disrespected Shylock along with many other Christians in Venice as it is a societal norm. The play also shows the passion of love and friendship and the extents we can go for the people we love. We see the extent of Antonio going to Shylock to borrow money for Bassanio. Antonio promises a pound of his flesh as a part of the bargain. This shows the intensity of Antonio’s passionate love for Bassanio which suggests it may even be something more than friendship and a little sexual or Antonio thinks he will be ignored if Bassanio marries Portia. Antonio says “I pray you, good Bassanio, let me know it; And if it stand, as you yourself still do, within the eye of honor, be assured my purse, my person, my extremist means! Lie all unlocked to your occasions.” This suggests that it is not only his ‘purse’ and money which is open to Bassanio, but his literal person which means Antonio could be viewing the friendship a different way to Bassanio. Although, later on, the ring which Portia gives to Bassanio as a sign of her love, he gives to the lawyer who freed Antonio’s debt from Shylock which suggests Bassanio cares about his friendship with Antonio more than his love Portia, showing that the passion of friendship may be greater than sexual love. However, the Christian Lorenzo is deeply in love with Shylocks daughter Jessica who is a Jew, meaning it is against societal laws. They make many sacrifices including leaving their friends and family in Venice and Jessica converts to Christianity. This is contrasted to the relationship between Portia and Bassanio as he speaks of her mostly regarding her great fortune and wealth.
The written text Hamlet by William Shakespeare is similar to Macbeth and the Merchant of Venice as it has many manifestations of ambition. Claudius, Hamlets uncle murders his brother the king by pouring poison into his ear. Alongside, he has been manipulating Hamlets mother the queen by using his persuasive skills to be kind and loving, eventually marrying Gertrude. This shows how he has been implementing his ambition in a quiet and in a more less violent manner, portraying ‘action in silence.’ It shows that Claudius is ambitious because of the extent he went to achieve authority and wealth but it is described as subtle and therefore less obvious than for example, Macbeths ambition and is similar to Shylocks. Claudius states in his soliloquy “My crown, mine own ambition and my queen.” He wanted the crown because of his ambition and these two things are both equally important because like Macbeth, he followed the deceitful path because his human desire for power was overriding. However, it is seen that he loves Gertrude but not as much as his ambition and crown because in the statement it is the last thing he mentions. This is also shown in the last scene when Gertrude picks up the poisoned cup meant for Hamlet and he says “Gertrude do not drink” but does not act to take it away from her hand and expose himself, showing he values his throne and ambition more than the love of his life.
The film Selma, directed by Ava Du’Vernay, has many portrayals of ambition and passion including character ambition and the ambition within communities. Martin Luther King, the main protagonist is a human rights activist with the strong ambition for justice, voting rights and peace. Although he is oppressed multiple times by white extremists and continually receives hate in the racist community of America in the 1900’s, the love for his community and his ambition for justice is what keeps his standing till the end. Alongside his ambitions, his passion for God and his faith is also what helps him through the rough journey. It is the help of these drives which make him very selfless because unlike Macbeth, Shylock and Claudius, his ambition is not self-seeking but to achieve for his African American community, for the greater good. Before the last march, Martin Luther King knows his life is at risk and says “I will not be focused on what I want today, but what God wants. We are here through many storms for a purpose.” This proves that he is willing to give up his life for what is morally right. One of the greatest passions of the African American community is love. It is love which powers their ambition for justice despite being brutally tortured and helps them survive the physical but also mental pain. It is said ‘love can only eradicate hate’ and through the communities’ power of love and faith, their voting rights are finally granted. Ambition in Selma is a form of human desire but only through human pain with their rights being ignored. This is contrasted to Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice and Hamlet as it is not a negative type of ambition but a positive type. Also, ambition is not seen as a temptation in Selma unlike in the other texts. However, it is a temptation of resorting to violence due to being tortured because of the drive for equality they have, as a result of their ambition. Through the texts Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice and Hamlet, we see the sources of ambition as being temptation and human desire and through the film Selma, it is a different form of human desire. We see uncontrollable ambition and it’s consequences not just in literature but in History and society today. Adolf Hitler, a dictator of Germany who initiated world war two, had great ambition for personal power and authority as he was a self-seeking individual. As well as that, he saw Jewish people as the enemy and wanted to make Germany a ‘pure’ race without Jews and only Germans. Even if he was truly a very intelligent man, he used his power in a negative way. But it is observed through Hitler and all these texts, that ambitious individuals with power are prone to using it a negative way because of the sinful and consequential route they take to achieve it or because ambition produces greed and a greater human desire which becomes tempting.
REVENGE
It is a strong urge or impulse but is it always morally right? Revenge goes centuries back with a Shakespearean character once saying, “If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?" This is because it is simply human nature to seek revenge but is this desire controllable? For the strong minded, it is simple to contain and for the weak minded, it becomes a challenge. But why do we seek revenge in the first place? We seek it for justice in response to an immoral act or doing by someone. But sometimes, we seek vengeance on the wrong person because the rush of anger blinds one’s mind. The nature of revenge is providing pleasure and relief to one’s mind, to achieve the long-waited justice. Research has shown that the human brain takes pleasure in revenge because even thinking about revenge means the neurotransmitter, dopamine is released which makes us feel good and ecstatic in a similar way to drugs and specific foods like chocolate. However, the source of revenge is simply just the human desire for justice and self-relief which if acted out of anger, is served hot and this doesn’t always go down well. It is even said “revenge is a dish best served cold” meaning planning is key.
Macbeth may be fill of many murderous acts but many few of the deeds actually involve revenge. While Banquo is dying, he shouts to his son Fleance in agony “someday you can get revenge, oh you bastard.” Fleance does not actually seek out revenge but we can observe that Banquo is very vengeful in the heat of the moment due to the agonizing pain and injustice. Therefore, Banquo seeks revenge as a ghost by haunting Macbeth which torments him internally and very deeply, causing him to go mad along with other supernatural encounters. Although Banquo had the desire for revenge, it did not make Banquo gain anything which proves the idea about revenge. You seek it for pleasure and most of the times do not gain or retrieve what you have lost. Is it also morally right to torture someone like this? But because Macbeth not only took his life, but turned his back on noble Banquo, the revenge is well deserved because if you engage in evil, it always comes around to hit you in the back. One of the biggest revenge plots in Macbeth is Macduff finally killing Macbeth. Macbeth orders the ‘savage slaughtering’ of Macduff’s family and Macduff weeps and swears vengeance. It suggests that Macduff may have been willing to pursue his revenge in the heat of that moment even with him aware of the army being built by Malcolm against Macbeth. Ross acted as his source of reason as one’s mind is not in the state of producing reasonable thought in moments of pain. Malcolm has been planning his revenge but believes that if Macduff kill Macbeth himself, then Macduff will be cured of his torment. Malcolm says to Macduff “be comforted, let’s make us med’cines of our great revenge to cure this deadly grief.”
The Merchant of Venice has the idea that mercy is preferable over revenge, that we are only tempted due to pain and If forgiveness is expressed by the enemy, is it so hard to let go of the past? Shylock and Antonio’s conflict which is a speckle in the greater conflict between Jews and Christians, strongly proves this. As this play is set in the 11th century in Venice, Italy; it is an era where Jewish were the minority and therefore heavily oppressed living in a community of dominating Christians who were controlling and labelled themselves as superior. “It is enacted in the laws of Venice, if it be prov’d against an alien” showing Jews are the outcasts, referred to as ‘aliens.’ Shylock is portrayed as a typical Jew with a greedy and selfish nature. He is constantly bullied and harassed by the Christian Antonio who like Shylock, also lends money but without interest. When Antonio comes to Shylock for money, he demands a pound of Antonio’s flesh for interest if Bassanio does not return the money within three months. This is Shylocks form of revenge and shows he has a reason to having such a cold heart. He has been passive and tolerating this harassment all his life until he has this opportunity to finally let out his rage in the form of revenge. “You spit on me on Wednesday last, you spurned me such another time. You called me dog and for these courtesies I’ll lend you thus much money?” Even though he will gain nothing from a pound of Antonio’s flesh, it will fulfil his desire for revenge which is greater than his greed for money. Antonio’s ventures begin to fail and Shylock demands his ‘bond.’ Along with being excluded in society and oppressed by the Christians, his daughter Jessica contributes to his anger. She runs off with Lorenzo who she loves but is a Christian which makes Shylock angrier and he harnesses’ his anger on Antonio. This becomes the source of his revenge and a strong incontrollable human desire. Shylock says “I’ll have my bond, and therefore speak no more. I’ll not be made a soft and dull-eyed full, to shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yield to Christian intercessor. Follow not; I’ll have no speaking; I’ll have my bond.” This shows he will have his revenge as he is sick and tired of being passive and fooled by Christians. During the court hearing, Bassanio says he will offer three times the amount of money but Shylock keeps denying. Antonio starts to become passive and accepting of his revenge as he knows he is guilty and it is well deserved. This is similar with Macbeth in the end who knows of his inevitable death and does nothing about it as he knows he is to blame just like Antonio. However, Portia who is very intelligent, dresses as the lawyer and gives a lesson about the importance of forgiveness and mercy being greater than revenge. However, Shylocks desire for revenge turns to become consequential as he is punished by losing his wealth. Alongside this, he is forced to convert into a Christian which is a severe and undeserving punishment and show’s no mercy at all by the Christians themselves who speak of ‘mercy above all.’ Although Shylock should be sympathised with, taking someone’s life is extreme. This ultimately proves that when an individual endures pain, revenge is always seen as the only form of justice and becomes more powerful than mercy. Essentially, revenge destroys its perpetrator and isn’t so sweet after all.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a play based on Hamlet’s desire for revenge but his inability to act on it. The portrayal of revenge in Hamlet is greatly contrasted with Macbeth and the Merchant of Venice. Revenge in this text is seen as being a moral duty, displays the indecisive human nature and the consequences this can have. The revenge for his fathers death did at first create fury, but as the play progresses he is unable to kill Claudius despite Claudius’s guilt being revealed, the ghost reappearing, and the numerous opportunities. It seems he did not have enough motivation and anger from within. Maybe because it is seen as a duty and something that needs to be done and not a natural account from Hamlet himself or his conscience is fooling him. When Hamlet talks to his father’s ghost, the ghost says “So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear” explaining that it is Hamlets ‘duty’ to avenge the murderer of his father and the ghost explains that if Hamlet ever loved his father, he will carry out his duty to avenge this ‘unnatural’ murderer. When the ghost reappears throughout the text, he explains that Hamlet was initially willing to perform the deed, referring to it as a ‘duty’ and something forced. When Hamlet attempts his revenge the first time in the chapel, he withdraws because he is worried Claudius will be sent to heaven in his moment of prayer for the forgiveness of his sins. This suggests that his revenge and hatred is powerful but is it morally right to want to damn someone to hell? It also suggests that maybe his conscience was interfering and this was just an excuse. Later through the play, Hamlet has many opportunities to kill Claudius and although his nature is vengeful, he still doesn’t carry out his revenge, emphasising human indecision and the interference of emotions. This is contrasted with headstrong figures such as Laertes who manages to avenge his father’s murderer and Fortinbras who succeeds at retrieving his rightful kingdom. In Macbeth, Macduff and Malcom manage to avenge Macbeth for the family members he has murdered and in the Merchant of Venice, Shylock is also not hesitant on his revenge. However, this could involve a different aspect because it was only till the end when Claudius poisoned his mother Gertrude and manipulated Laertes into stabbing Hamlet, that Hamlet became furious and finally stabbed Claudius. This suggests that when he was physically effected by Claudius and endured pain from his mother’s death, he had the ‘guts’ to kill him. It shows the consequences of revenge, even if it is was delayed. He lost his mother, dear Ophelia, killed innocent Polonius and finally died himself. With Fortinbras, Laertes and Hamlet pursuing revenge for their fathers, there is an idea about fathers being killed and generations that follow, spilling blood. They are stuck in a huge battle of human emotions which acts like a ‘domino effect’ created by their forebears which shows the consequence of man’s temptation and human desire. It also demonstrates the nature of power and authority linked with ambition. Similarly, with Macbeth and the Merchant of Venice, it shows that we are all friends, not foe’s being fooled by our own human nature and a higher power. In Hamlet, Laertes realises that he was seeking revenge on the wrong person the entire time and asks for forgiveness from Hamlet while he is dying and that Claudius is the real enemy, the one fooling him. In Macbeth, it is the three witches (portrayal of evil) that are to blame. In the Merchant of Venice, it is not a person but the stereotype of society that individuals are born into and blindly follow; initially established by powerful people with the idea of superiority. It displays that we seek revenge on the wrong people and in the long run, forgiveness is the short route if individuals are willing to contain their human emotions.
In Selma unlike Macbeth, the Merchant of Venice and Hamlet, we see the faith and control of the African American society; that after such abuse, they do not seek revenge on the white Americans, highlighting their core values and morals. In contrast, we see that the uprise of the African Americans threatens the white society of Alabama who do not want to be dominated and therefore seek revenge from only hatred not pain unlike in Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice and Hamlet which is concerned with internal torment. We see the resistance of temptation and resorting to revenge by the African American community which are physically tortured in the marches and emotionally tortured everyday by the racism In Alabama. This resistance of revenge and violence is through the power of their faith and their connection with God which helps them ‘overcome.’ They are refrained from letting the desire for revenge mean seeking pleasure in another’s pain because they have a source which calms human nature and desires. The community as one in unity is also another source of controlling human desire. These sources of control lack in Macbeth, Hamlet, and in the Merchant of Venice where individuals classify themselves as a Jew or Christian but most are not religious and do not implement what the values they speak of. Martin Luther king says “the reason I cannot follow the old eye for an eye philosophy is because it ends up leaving everyone blind.” This shows that revenge effects the people around it and influences society to think radically, that it is the only path to follow for justice. This is contrasted with Macbeth, Merchant of Venice and Hamlet which show that revenge is the only path for justice but in fact, it is temptation which is blinding. The white Americans oppress the African Americans as they wish to stay segregated from them because they perceive them as inferior out of hate. Their hate is what produces their revenge and need of retaliation against the non-violent community or being raised in a society which tells children that black is different to white meaning for some, it is expected they oppress the African Americans. If they do not stay in their ‘rightful place,’ then it is expected that in this society, that the white Americans seek out vengeance for it is supposedly against their nature to be accepting. This is similar with Hamlet where his revenge is a duty and expected of him.
Therefore, it is seen through Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet and Selma that maybe it is simply easier to forgive than pursue revenge which seems to turn its back on its perpetrator and put the perpetrator in contemplating thought. Through history and even today, there are many accounts of revenge from political revenge on a global scale to revenge on a personal scale. Genghis Khan, leader of the Mongol Empire reigned during 1162- 1227. Khan sent the ruler of Turkey a treaty of friendship and peace but when he sent a caravan of Mongols to a Turkish city, they were massacred. In anger and revenge, he sent a 200,000 size Mongol force to Turkey which killed 1 million soldiers, 3 million civilians and destroyed the entire empire resulting in the leader escaping to an island. This is an example of revenge with a great amount of violence and although revenge always leads to violence, it can be through small accounts of revenge. When we are affected by small actions of an individual, we seek small revenge like sabotage. It demonstrates that individuals always avenge on the same level they were harmed. This is because revenge too less is not satisfying and revenge too much produces guilt and ‘unfairness’ in the avenger’s mind which plays with human emotions.
Once said, “the soul wants happiness, perfect and pure happiness, because only then will all desires end. As long as desire exist, misery exists because with desire there can be no peace.” Human desire is the urge of needing something, a hunger that can overwhelm us, destroy us and never fully fulfil us as it always has a trail of consequence. Through the texts explained, it becomes clear that being exposed to sources of emotional corruption, the ability to resist temptation decreases, revealing the true ‘paradox’ of temptation. It has been proved that human desire has no control nor limit and humans are not wise enough to overthink these temptations and produce barriers. Either it is socially absurd to do so, ambition does not ‘die’ or anger and rage is uncontrollable which honestly says a lot about human nature. That we are an underdeveloped race with no sense to see what is right in moments of heightened emotion or simply to ignore what is morally right for the sake of the devil’s temptation. Ultimately, human civilization is being manipulated by its own self by being lured by things like evil, ambition, power and revenge which in the end show that too much of something is never good and having something to hold on to may be the only salvation.
...(download the rest of the essay above)