"A drum, a drum; Macbeth doth come."

MACBETH DID COME, BUT 
WAS ALSO OVERCOME...

This play is incredible; the transformation of the Macbeth from a good man to a tyrant without an ounce of sympathy or compassion was masterfully written.  The Changes in Macbeth are in interesting contrast to Lady Macbeth, who was immediately drunk with ambition for she and her husband's potential for position and power.  She waned from a full moon of ambition and murderous desire, to nothing more than a sliver of a miserable wretch.  Shakespeare did an amazing job of capturing their stepwise transformations, and made it not only believable but heart wrenching as well.  A true tragedy.

INCREDIBLE MOMENTS AND GREAT LINES...

The Three Weird Sisters

"When shall we three meet again?

In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

  

When the hurly-burly's done, 

When the battle's lost, and won"

(Act 1, Sc 1, 1-4)

This is a great line because it shows that these three witches don't care at all about the events that they have influence over.  Usually when we talk about an event, where something is in the balance for us, it comes out in our words what we want to have happen.  The weird sisters don't care about the battle, but when someone has lost, and someone has won, they will meet again.  

The Noble Banquo

But 'tis strange, and oftentimes,

to win us to our harm, the 

instruments of darkness tell us 

truths; Win us with honest trifles,

to betray's in deepest consequence.

Banquo was a good man, who did not let the ambition that destroyed Macbeth enter into his heart.  In my opinion this is one of the most profound lines in the play.  Don't be won with honest trifles.    

Prophecy for Banquo

Do you remember how James I of England is of the real Banquo's line?  So there's a connection Shakespeare made for James I to feel included in the plot of the play.  The Weird Sisters said to Banquo "Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.  So all hail Macbeth and Banquo," (Act 1, Sc 3, 65-66).  James I is one of those kings.  

King Duncan laying for foundation for a major theme

"There's no art to find the mind's construction on the face," (Act 1, Sc 4, 11-12).  The principle from this line stayed with me throughout the entire play.  It was interesting to see how Macbeth tried to hide under the persona of the "Brave Macbeth..." who used to deserve that name, (Act 1, Sc 2, 16).

Macbeth with a tortured mind 

"Whence is that knocking?!!!  How is't with me, when every noise appalls me," (Act 2, Sc 2, 61); and "Full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!" (Act 3, Sc 2, 36).  We find Macbeth unable to find any rest or reprieve from the unquenchable guilt and anxiety he feels.  The only way to get rid of such feelings when he's done what he's done is to not care, and become a ruthless, merciless, brutal man, with not trace of kindness, sympathy or compassion.  This is what he does.  

Lady Macduff without her husband

In a nearby castle, we find the wife, child and household of Macduff, a man Macbeth fears will oppose him.  It is a very sad scene that ends in a massacre.  Lady Macduff was left to wonder why her husband left her alone and defenseless; he left to find a way to remove the iron-fisted tyrant that threatened his family and country.  In her extremity Lady Macduff said:  "What had he done, to make him fly the land?... His flight was madness.  When our actions do not, Our fears do make us traitors," (Act 4, Sc 2, 1-4).  It tears your heart out to know more than the characters, and feel the pain they are in.       

The hardened Macbeth 

Macbeth has become that man who no longer feels; he has displaced those scorpions with ever more terrible deeds.  As Macduff and his companions march to remove Macbeth from his position, it was said, "Those he commands, move only in command, nothing in love.  How does he feel his title Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe upon a dwarfish thief," (Act 5, Sc 2, 19-22).  Macbeth dies friendless and alone.    

Some last thoughts...

Macbeth------------------------------------------regular people

As we continue to read "many things," from among "the best books," there should be opportunity to liken some Shakespeare unto us for personal learning, (1 Nephi 19:23; D&C 109:7).  

The figure above is an example of similar triangles.  A triangle is similar to another when its angles are identical but the lengths of the sides are of different magnitudes.  The connection between Macbeth and regular people is this:  we should be careful of the direction our actions point us, and never dismiss wrong choices as tolerable just because they are smaller in magnitude.  We should be very careful of what we choose to similar too.    

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

"Out, damned spot! Out, I say!"

-Lady Macbeth

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies.  The background history for the play is quite interesting.  Queen Elizabeth I of England named James VI of Scotland as her heir, and so he became King James I of England.  He had this play performed in London while he entertained King Christian, who had married his sister.  Something that is probably little known about about Macbeth--it is nearly considered one of Shakespeare's historical plays.  One of the noble characters of the play, Banquo, was not so noble in real life.  But because James I was a descendant of Banquo, he was not portrayed as one of the conspirators who killed King Duncan.  The touchy subject of who actually killed who historically kept Macbeth classified as just a "moral lesson" and a tragedy.  

There are many renditions of Macbeth, I even watched "Macbeth in 96 Seconds" on youtube.  There's is definitely a sense of intensity and gore associated with this play.  I've started to watch one full length version of one that I found, and there is a fairly dark feel to it.  I think I am going to try listening to one of the acts as well to see how that changes my perception of the intensity, gore and dark nature of the play.         

A major theme from the play...

While previewing the text and reading the first 3 or so acts of Macbeth, I have become interested in what seems to me one of the most important themes of the play; more to come on what happens to the wolf in the sheep's clothing...

I think I am becoming Shake-speer

I recently missed a day in my biochem class; a friend of mine texted me to see where I was, and I found myself pulling a Shakespeare...  You know how there's alot of what we called antimetabole (A to B; B to A) banter in Love's Labour's Lost?  When I texted my friend back about where I was, I said:  "Well, I might be at my apartment being slightly more responsible than irresponsible, but slightly more irresponsible than responsible..."

And while you are trying to figure that one out, here's our friend Brian Regan busting out with a bit of antimedabole himself, or flip flops as he likes to call it:

AND, I had a quick antimedabole back and forth with my grandma over conference weekend as well... and yes the context was dating...  she said "You don't realize what you have till you lose it," but then I stayed alive with the help of my buddy Shakespeare and said, "Well, you also don't realize what you didn't have till you got it...:)"

And we can round all this out with an exchange from Love's Labour's Lost when in Act III Scene 1 Moth and Armado are going at it a bit:

Armado:  Sweet air!  Go, tenderness of years, take this key, give enlargement to the swain, bring him festinately hither.  I must employ him in a letter to my love.  

Moth:  Master, will you win your love with a French brawl?

Armado:  How meanest thou?  Brawling in French?

Have some fun with busting out a few flip flops yourself!!!

  

  

Savor the Simple

Finding the words for what I want to say will probably be difficult, so just remember that my goal is to stay within at least standard deviation of my point...

When we went over those several examples of "To be, or not to be" yesterday, I thought about how demanding our culture can be before we allow ourselves to be "entertained."  Nephi, for example, was very concerned that his written word would have no effect on the hearts of his posterity.  He said, "there are many that harden their hearts... and cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught."  Words on a page are very simple, but Nephi also said that words "can be made strong," (2 Nephi 33:2, 4).  

So while it may be true that a production is more masterfully done with impressive cinematography etc., there's something to be said for the simple.  "In our Church meetings, in our personal and family scripture study, and even this day as we listen to the Lord’s prophets and apostles, some of us will receive more than others. Why? I am learning that those who truly receive do at least three things that others may not do.  First, they seek. We live in an entertainment world, a spectator world. Without realizing it, we can find ourselves coming to conference or going to church with the attitude, 'Here I am; now inspire me.' We become spiritually passive," (Elder Merrill "Receiving by the Spirit").  

In other words, it's good to be careful in what we demand in our stimuli.  There will be many times that the simple will be more moving if our senses are attuned to the raw majesty of deep desire, rather than a "well done" performance.

     

When is it good to be a sponge...?

I'll start off by saying that I wish I could have gone to Cedar City.  While ya'll went south a couple hours, I went north to Logan for a tournament and ended up 3-1.  And because I can't comment on the performance of The Winter's Tale that you saw, guess I'll jump into Act IV of Hamlet...

 Hamlet is crazy as you may recall...  In scene II he is arguing with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.  There has always been an odd air between them that stemmed from Hamlet's calling them out on their "real" purpose for being there, which is to be the king's stooges:

Ros:  Take you me for a sponge, my lord?

Ham:  Ay, sir, that soaks up the King's countenance, his rewards, his authorities.  But such officers do the King best service in the end.  He keeps them, like an ape, in the corner of his jaw--first mouthed, to be last swallowed.  When he needs what you have gleened, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again.

My point is that there's another analogy we use for children; we say that a child's mind is like a sponge.  To me this is a good thing.  A child needs to absorb the world around him and learn to comprehend it's meaning.  I am going to take the stance that we should always have a mind like a sponge, but with filters.  We need to always try and absorb the good, and be willing to share what we absorb.    

Now Hamlet was obviously putting them down; how do you feel about this comparison of connotations?  Is this apples and oranges?  or is this oranges and tangerines....  

Autolycus being true to his namesake... sort of

Because Autolycus' name is of Greek origin, I thought we'd get into a Greek mood, here are pictures of ancient Greek architecture, the Greek alphabet and of course we can't leave out a Greek pot.  

With Autolycus speaking of himself:  "My father named me Autolycus,' he tells us, 'who, being, as I am, littered under Mercury, was likewise a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles.' This single sentence compresses several Greek-mythological pieces of text... that tell the story of the master thief Autolycus, son of the god Mercury. While Shakespeare's Autolycus is 'littered under Mercury' in the sense, one presumes, that he was born when the planet Mercury was in the ascendant, his namesake was actually sired by the god Mercury, inheriting from his father the magic power to transform stolen booty into new, unrecognizable forms... Shakespeare's Autolycus does his namesake proud. He, too, is 'a wyly pye' who 'in theft and filching' has no peer. His link to Mercury--the trickster god, god of thieves, lord of roads, known primarily for his 'subtle cunning'--gives Shakespeare's Autolycus a quasi-mythological status, casting a kind of glamor on his thieving." 

We read an interesting line from Autolycus just as he sees the old Shepherd and the Clown approaching as "gentlemen," that I'd be interested in hearing opinions on.  He says:  "Here come those I have done good to against my will, and already appearing in the blossoms of their fortune."  To me his mood seems a stark contrast to his mirth after the festival.  Then he went on and on about how if he wanted to be honest, fortune wouldn't let him for all the opportunities to capitalize on fools.  Monetarily he has no less than before, but because those he robbed profited more by his con than he did, he is no longer the chuckling, can do no wrong, con man.  I guess this 'god of thieves' wasn't ever was as happy as he thought.   

If you would like to read more about our friend Autolycus, you can look up:  

Mowat, Barbara A. "Rogues, Shepherds, and the Counterfeit Distressed: Texts and Infracontexts of the Winters Tale 4.3." Shakespeare Studies 22 (1994): 58. Print.

Sometimes MORE is more... but sometimes LESS is more...

Men and women with spirits easy for advice:


(Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa)

My favorite line from The Winter's Tale comes after Polixenes gives his "Mark your divorce... and mark my words" lecture and is spoken by Camillo in conversation with  Florizel.  After Florizel declares, "This you may know and so deliver, I am put to sea with her whom I cannot hold on shore," Camillo said:

"I Would your spirit were easier for advice,
Or stronger for your need."

How often are our spirits "hard for advice?"  To me this is THE major theme of The Winter's Tale.  Leontes lost his wife and son because he was hard for advice.  The Clown was just hard for anything and lost everything.  Polixenes is now "hard for advice" and I hope he pulls out of it.

The lives of those who have a spirit "easier for advice," make the largest difference; and don't wear the chains of anger and jealousy.