Preview

Conflict with Macbeth and World War 1 Poetry

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2002 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Conflict with Macbeth and World War 1 Poetry
During this essay I am going to write about the many diverse ways in which conflict is presented in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Wilfred Owen’s Poetry of World War 1. I will be comparing the ways in which Macbeth and 3 poems written by Owen; Mental Cases, The Next War and Dulce Et Decorum Est, link with each other. Macbeth is a play written in 1606 by Shakespeare who wrote plays to entertain his audience. On the other hand, Owen was a soldier in World War 1 when he wrote famous poems; he wrote them to tell us about the tragedies of war and he expressed his thoughts and feelings about war and conflict. Owen’s poems are influenced by his own experiences of war.
In Macbeth the conflict shown by Macbeth and the other characters, gives us an idea of how Macbeth’s rivalry between certain characters in the play depicted the whole play itself. For example, Macbeth’s conflict with King Duncan shows how Macbeth was such an easy target for the witches because they predicted he would be the next Thane of Cawdor which came true, then they predicted he would be the next King, but when Duncan announced Malcolm to be the next heir to the throne, Macbeth become insecure and had the thoughts of killing Duncan. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself” – Macbeth’s excessive ambition is like a horse that tries to jump too high but it falls on the other side of the fence, also Shakespeare uses a metaphor to describe Macbeth’s ambition as ‘vaulting’ like a horse. Shakespeare brings the idea of Macbeth killing Duncan to life. Similarly, Wilfred Owen presents the conflict in his poems in ways which he relentlessly unveils the full scale of the war’s horrors. For example, in Owen’s poem ‘Mental Cases’, the conflict the soldiers have with the violent conditions they had to live in, Owen presents the mental torment suffered by the patients in this poem. He uses the simile “like a wound” to show that their wounds are still fresh

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In William Shakespeare's story Macbeth, the hero, faces a conflict that impacts how the play will go and delivers a message within the story. The conflict starts with the prophecies of the Weird Sisters and later on gets worse from the trickery of Lady Macbeth. The result concludes a series of repeating thoughts running through Macbeth's mind, whether to kill or not to kill Duncan.…

    • 278 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    As an anti-war poet, Wilfred Owen uses his literary skills to express his perspective on human conflict and the wastage involved with war, the horrors of war, and its negative effects and outcomes. As a young man involved in the war himself, Owen obtained personal objectivity of the dehumanisation of young people during the war, as well as the false glorification that the world has been influenced to deliver to them. These very ideas can be seen in poems such as 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' and 'Dulce ET Decorum EST Pro Patria Mori'. Owen uses a variety of literary techniques to convey his ideas.…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The two poems, “To Lucasta, going to the Wars” by Richard Lovelace and “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen are both devoted to the subject of war. Lovelace’s poem was written in the 17th century and as well as almost all the poetry of the period has romantic diction. The war is shown as something truly worthwhile, glossed and honorable for a man. The protagonist is leaving his beloved for the battlefield and his tone is pathetic and solemn. He calls the war his new mistress and asks his beloved woman not to be jealous as love to her is impossible for him without honor. In this way the overall mood of the poem is idealistic and heroic. The protagonist refers to war as a thrilling adventure and even affection. The tone of the Owen’s poem written under the impact of the World War I is of another kind. It has no trace of glory and devotion. On the contrary, Owen’s aim was to dispel that image of war, to show it as something horrifying and dehumanizing by means of vivid depiction of all the gruesome atrocities, to reflect disillusionment and disgust of war. That’s why the author sets the scene of ghastly battlefield and starkly describes a man perishing from intoxication with gas. The tone is sorrowful and passionate and makes the reader feel empathy with the warriors. The style can be also described with profound depth of emotion.…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    2009 HSC QUESTIONS 1

    • 1435 Words
    • 1 Page

    The recollection of Wilfred Owen’s poetry epitomise the true depiction of war and consequently the dehumanising ramifications of warfare. Influenced by the extremities and first hand experiences on the battlefield, Owen’s poetry encapsulates the extraordinary human experiences to the degree of unbearable suffering and extreme states of dehumanisation. Owen’s vivid portrayal of war corresponds to his personal endeavour in condemning the misconceptions of war; where he manifests the brutal reality and the detrimental aspects of warfare- the powerful and destructive entity of war; the dehumanising consequences of slaughter; and the abhorrent physiological, psychological and emotional trauma suffered through modern warfare. These aspects are incorporated into the texts which correspond to Owen’s portrayal of suffering and pity; revolving Owen’s poetry on the basis of extraordinary human experiences.…

    • 1435 Words
    • 1 Page
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Owen’s opinion of conflict is similar to the opinions shown in Macbeth because they both exhibit the brutality of war. Owen does this when he says ‘the blood, Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud.’ Shakespeare also mentions this when he says of Macbeth,’ with his brandish'd steel, Which smoked with bloody execution,’ The bloodshed causes regret in all three pieces of work. Shakespeare shows this of Macbeth where he says, ‘I gin to be aweary of the sun, And wish the estate o' the world were now undone.’ The regret within this statement is clearly shown because nobody would want to move back into time unless they wanted to change something for the better. Owen demonstrates this where he says, ‘incurable sores on innocent tongues, My friend, you would not tell with such high zest, To children ardent for some desperate glory,’ the words ‘innocent’ and ‘children’ interlink to show how that he regrets his leading of men into war. Furthermore, Hardy’s soldier hesitates when he says, ‘shot him dead because—Because’ because he is trying to reason his committing of murder.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This essay will attempt to explore what the play ‘Macbeth’ suggests about the states of minds of both the titular character Macbeth, and his scheming wife Lady Macbeth, using extracts from Act 1, Scene 7. I will also examine how the language used emphasises the key themes and ideas within the play. The characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are revealed and developed through their dialogues with use of soliloquies and asides, helping to reveal their personalities, states of mind, emotions and motivation. Much figurative language and imagery is used by Shakespeare to emphasise the themes within the play, creating atmosphere and mood in order to achieve dramatic outcome (109). Initially eager to have the deed done, he would have it done sooner rather than later and hope for the murder to be the finish of it all:…

    • 1495 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    With Macbeth, Shakespeare has crafted a character that falls under immense pressures from various sources. These opposing forces create internal conflict with Macbeth as he is torn between right and wrong, ambition and loyalty. Shakespeare has engineered this internal strife as a means to highlight the theme of right versus wrong in this work.…

    • 365 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wilfred Owen

    • 1268 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Wilfred Owen’s poetry, shaped by an intense focus on extraordinary human experiences, compels us to look more closely at the nature of war.…

    • 1268 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Dulce Et Decorum Est

    • 1577 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, we see how the author presents powerful messages using irony with the translated title meaning sweet and fitting to describe the horrors of war. This, poem in particular, highlights the horrors of such a situation through the life of a soldier. In the poem, we are presented with the setting of a battlefield where the author uses metaphors and similes to describe the trepidations of war. It is this utilization of metaphors and similes - and its link to the theme of the poem – that makes this poem significant, and helps the reader to imagine what is being described.…

    • 1577 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    How Is Macbeth A Hero

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Macbeth’s outlook begins to shift from being a subservient subject of Duncan to a murder planning his death to resolve his inner turmoil. It is evident that as the play progresses, Macbeth’s hungry nature for power allows his emotions to rule his…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Play Macbeth

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shakespeare used a horse metaphor to show the conflict of emotions in Macbeth's mind.Macbeth thinks of his purpose to kill Duncan as a cavalry horse:but he has no motive to urge it into action so it stands still. Macbeth's ambition is pictured as a rider springing into his saddle who overleaps himself and falls on the other side of his steed.Macbeth means that his ambition to be king would inevitably lead him too far. The quote is effective in defining Macbeth's drive to ambition. Ambition is used by Macbeth to take the power from Duncan.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, tells the story of a brave man, called Macbeth, who killed his way to the throne. In doing so, he brings about his own downfall. The description of Macbeth from “brave, valiant cousin and worthy gentleman” and that of his wife “honoured hostess” changes to “dead butcher and his fiend like queen”. This change is due to the receiving of prophecies, ambition and greed and desire. The play explores themes, including power, ambition and guilt.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 1716 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Credited as one of William Shakespeare’s bloodiest and darkest works, The Tragedy of Macbeth is an emotionally tense, gripping play about loyalty, betrayal and ambition. Blinded by his vaulting ambition and encouraged by his wife, Macbeth attempted to remove the obstacles preventing him from being king; these obstacles happened to be other characters in the play. Macbeth accepted the prophecies of witches as a guide for what would be, and misjudged what they told him. In the end, his overconfidence led him to his death as he believed that he could not be harmed, when he was just a mortal man. Over the course of Macbeth, one can clearly see the deterioration of Macbeth’s character; at the beginning of the play Macbeth was hailed as, “Bellona’s bridegroom” (1.2. 54), “brave Macbeth” (1.2 16), and a “noble partner” (1.3. 54), but at the end of the play he was the villain and was described as, “an untitled tyrant, bloody-sceptr’d” (Shakespeare 117). Macbeth is a tragic figure because he failed to live up to his great potential; he allowed the witches’ prophecies, his wife’s advice and his vaulting ambition to lead him to his unfortunate, untimely demise. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth is responsible for his own destiny because he gave in to his vaulting ambition, succumbed to the wicked counsel of his wife and allowed the prophecies of the witches to fuel his greed and jealousy.…

    • 1716 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the opening acts of the play, internal conflict is explored through the character of Macbeth. He struggles to be loyal to his king, Duncan, which Macbeth expresses in his words (Act 1 scene 7) “first as I am his kinsman and his subject”. Duncan had entitled Macbeth to be Thane of Cawdor, as he was seen as a great soldier, who was rewarded for his loyalty and for defending his country and King against a treacherous rebellion. However, he is corrupted by evil in the form of three witches and their supernatural prophecies that Macbeth was going to become King of Scotland, this then ignited his ambition. The motif of darkness and evil is suggested when he says, 'Let not light see my black and deep desires. ' Macbeth’s aside, tells his inner most thoughts and internal conflict to the audience. He speaks in rhyming couplets to emphasize the importance of his driving ambition and the dramatic exit after his aside heightens the conflict.…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Because we first hear of Macbeth in the wounded captain’s account of his battlefield valor, our initial impression is of a brave and capable warrior. This perspective is complicated, however, once we see Macbeth interact with the three witches. We realize that his physical courage is joined by a consuming ambition and a tendency to self-doubt—the prediction that he will be king brings him joy, but it also creates inner turmoil. Shakespeare uses Macbeth to show the terrible effects that ambition and guilt can have on a man who lacks strength of character. We may classify Macbeth as irrevocably evil, but his weak character separates him from Shakespeare’s great villains who are all strong enough to conquer guilt and self-doubt. Macbeth, great warrior though he is, is ill equipped for the psychic consequences of crime.…

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays