Violence In Macbeth

I was told that this play is considered to be one of the more violent and gory plays by Shakespeare. In technicality, it was a rather violent play, but we, as the audience, were rarely shown the actual violence as most of the deaths happened off-stage. (I think I counted 3 on-stage deaths.) In the play, the witches plant an idea in the mind of Macbeth telling him he could be king (Inception??). Even though Macbeth is wary to kill the king, Lady Macbeth’s incessant spurring to kill the king forces Macbeth’s hand. In an attempt to “tie up loose ends” Macbeth kills the only other person who knew of his plan, Banquo. When Macduff, who is in England at the time, hears of the death of his family, he gathers an army and travels to overthrow Macbeth. Interestingly enough, one of his soldiers is one of my future math professors, Dr. Huffman! Macduff is successful in his fight against Macbeth, but instead of
This play made me question the power of our thoughts and desires. Early in the play, Macbeth does not even consider the possibility of being a king, he is content with his role as a soldier. Even after the witches tell him his future, he still isn’t all that into the idea, but the idea has already been planted. After time, that idea grows along with the help of Lady Macbeth, and eventually consumes him. It made me question if I had or have any ideas that have been growing in my mind. As I thought about it, I realized that I am very focused on being “successful” in life. In a way, the idea of being successful has impacted my choice for college, my choice for my major, and arguably even my overall mindset of success and the process it requires to get there. However, I do believe my ambitions have been kept in check, unlike Macbeth’s, so I don’t think I will be killing any actuaries in order to gain