The Well-Wrought Urn, Cleanth Brooks
Laura Riina
ENG 280: Essay #1
Due: Thursday, October 11th
Word Count: 930 Macbeth is filled with symbols that work to shed light on the nature of the play and the inner workings of its characters. In The Well-Wrought Urn, Cleanth Brooks confidently and effectively argues the image of the babe as the most powerful symbol in Macbeth by both comparing the babe to other symbols within the play, showcasing the babe as a symbol of superior importance, and representing it as a marker of Macbeth`s future. Brooks` arguments regarding the babe are indeed paradoxical, which I intend to prove throughout my own argument. In Macbeth, Brooks states that the babe acts as the most powerful symbol in the play, of special importance as it …show more content…
From identifying the extent of Lady Macbeth's cruelty and ambition "how tender tis love the babe that milks me, I would...dash'd the brains out" (Brooks 42), to the foretelling of Macbeth's death "I was from my mother's womb/untimely ripp'd" (Brooks 47) the babe is used by Brooks to illuminate important passages to uncover a common theme (the babe and all that it represents) that now unites the play. Brooks confidently transitions from passage to passage to unify the play through the babe, he does not act "with a particular hesitation" in identifying the babe as the central symbol of Macbeth, as he clearly states "it is the babe, the child that dominates the symbolism...most fittingly." (Brooks 47) Brooks` effective and organized catalog adds further emphasis to his argument in the babe as the ultimate symbol of the …show more content…
Macbeth's actions are so heavily defined by the one thing he desires most: an heir for his kingdom, for which he has sacrificed so much to attain (he murdered his King and a great many innocent others, destroyed his courtly reputation, gave his own life). By sacrificing all he did to attain power for his future child, Macbeth only succeeds in solidifying the claim of another mans (Duncan, later Banquo) children to the throne: "the Weird Sisters...have given the real future to Banquo." (Brooks 41) Banquo, unlike Macbeth, passively accepts the Witches' prophecy, whereas Macbeth actively conspires to "fulfill his destiny" which results in his own death and the end of his family
ENG 280: Essay #1
Due: Thursday, October 11th
Word Count: 930 Macbeth is filled with symbols that work to shed light on the nature of the play and the inner workings of its characters. In The Well-Wrought Urn, Cleanth Brooks confidently and effectively argues the image of the babe as the most powerful symbol in Macbeth by both comparing the babe to other symbols within the play, showcasing the babe as a symbol of superior importance, and representing it as a marker of Macbeth`s future. Brooks` arguments regarding the babe are indeed paradoxical, which I intend to prove throughout my own argument. In Macbeth, Brooks states that the babe acts as the most powerful symbol in the play, of special importance as it …show more content…
From identifying the extent of Lady Macbeth's cruelty and ambition "how tender tis love the babe that milks me, I would...dash'd the brains out" (Brooks 42), to the foretelling of Macbeth's death "I was from my mother's womb/untimely ripp'd" (Brooks 47) the babe is used by Brooks to illuminate important passages to uncover a common theme (the babe and all that it represents) that now unites the play. Brooks confidently transitions from passage to passage to unify the play through the babe, he does not act "with a particular hesitation" in identifying the babe as the central symbol of Macbeth, as he clearly states "it is the babe, the child that dominates the symbolism...most fittingly." (Brooks 47) Brooks` effective and organized catalog adds further emphasis to his argument in the babe as the ultimate symbol of the …show more content…
Macbeth's actions are so heavily defined by the one thing he desires most: an heir for his kingdom, for which he has sacrificed so much to attain (he murdered his King and a great many innocent others, destroyed his courtly reputation, gave his own life). By sacrificing all he did to attain power for his future child, Macbeth only succeeds in solidifying the claim of another mans (Duncan, later Banquo) children to the throne: "the Weird Sisters...have given the real future to Banquo." (Brooks 41) Banquo, unlike Macbeth, passively accepts the Witches' prophecy, whereas Macbeth actively conspires to "fulfill his destiny" which results in his own death and the end of his family