The place of “Macbeth” among Shakespeare’s tragedies

The ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education of the republic of Uzbekistan

«The place of «Macbeth» among Shakespeare’s tragedies»

Gulistan 2008

The Aims of the Qualification work are:

1. To find out the place of «Macbeth» among Shakespeare’ tragedies. To see what are the characteristic features of the play.

2. How the Uzbek translators Sadulla Akhmad and Jamol Kamol could reproduce Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s characters.

3. What should be done to improve the state improving the quality of translations.

4. What are our Summaries and Suggestions of the theme.

1. The Tragedy of «Macbeth»

1.1 Macbeth in Shakespeare’s activity

In the Tragedy of «Macbeth» Shakespeare tells us how a powerful and ambitious Scottish than Macbeth who had distinguished himself in the service of the country by crushing internal and foreign enemies aspires to the throne of Scotland. Taking advantage of king Duncan’s visit to his castle he supported and incited by his wife murders the king and ascends the throne. His reign is a chain of crimes and cruelties. Suspected of murder and hated both by nobles and the people, Macbeth, in order to maintain his power, commits one atrocious act after another, murders innocent people and turns his country into a realm of arbitrary power and despotic cruelty. Meanwhile the opposing camp collects its forces.

At the and of tragedy Macbeth, followed by a handful of adherents is confronted by a great, mighty fighting man who in general is called an army headed by Malcolm, the son of the murdered king. In the battle Macbeth is killed and the rightful heir ascends the throne. Macbeth is a complicated and contradictory character. Courageous and clever, he becomes the prey of ambitious thoughts encouraged by his wife Lady Macbeth. Ambition blended with a longing for power, drives Macbeth to crime.

The Scottish local coloring and the mysterious atmosphere of the old legendary tale about Macbeth is rendered more strikingly by the famous «wit-scene».

The witches give shape to Macbeth’s own secret thoughts. He lends an eager ear to their prophecy and their words sink deep into his memory.

The witches in Macbeth symbolize the evils, perfidy and ill-will that exist in the world and in Macbeth’s own self.

In «Macbeth» Shakespeare shows that tyrants and oppressors, strong as they may seem, are doomed to defeat and failure. Their defeat is determined by the masses of, the people refusing to give them their support and rising in arms against them. Even the native woods and mountains protest against the crimes of the despots and help these who stand who fight against them.

The purpose of these papers is to give and explain, in the simplest way, the text of one of Shakespeare’s complicated plays. The text itself is complete: notes and a glossary have been added to help the reader to understand the play. To get the greatest pleasure from it, he will need to learn something about the background of the play and the age in which it was written and perhaps about Shakespeare himself, for example, or about drama as an art but his first duty is to understand, to realize the main essence of what the characters are saying and doing, and why they say and do these things.

Two Scottish generals, Macbeth and Banquo, while riding home after victorious battle against an army of rebels, are met by three witches. These foretell that Macbeth shall be king of Scotland and Banquo the father of many kings. Macbeth is strongly influenced by their words, and his wife gives him so much encouragement that he is persuaded to murder a Duncan the king of Scotland, while he is a guest at their castle. Macbeth is now the most powerful man in the kingdom, and takes the throne. But he feels his position unsure, and suspects those around him; this drives him to the murder of Banquo, whose ghost haunts him.

For the second time, Macbeth sees the witches who warn him against the nobleman Macduff, but nevertheless persuade him to go on by telling him that «none of woman born» can harm him, and that no one will defeat him «till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane» Macduff has mean while gone to England to help in collecting an army to fight Macbeth, and in his absence his family is murderer by order of Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth, much disturbed in her mind, walks in her sleep, and speaks again her part in the crimes she has committed. She dies while a force, led on by Duncan’s son Malcolm, and with English support, is besieging Macbeth’s castle. The king realizes that his positions desperate, but never loses courage, even when he finds that the withes words have deceived him. And he is killed in hand – to – hand fighting by Macduff. Malkolm then becomes king of Scotland, and it should be so, as the justice should be established only when the norms of the society are followed. Like all poets, Shakespeare employed language in a way which is not usual for the making of direct statements in prose. A great deal of what he wrote is in fact not prose but verse. Prose is used for the humbler and comic characters, while the nobler ones use verse.