Envisioning Essay Example

Envisioning is the process by which one imagines what might come through making them in visual interpretations. Someone envisioning normally looks at the future and makes it more tangible. He/she interprets the imagination into visual representations. Envisioning allows people to show and externalize what they see in their imaginations. By showing it practical, they believe that others can understand them better. This paper will examine the envisioning of Macbeth by Shakespeare. In addition, the paper will further examine the critical aspects of Shakespeares work.

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Envisioning is a motivating factor that encourages people that everything is possible. It is the primary element of approaching the future. It makes people convinced that they can change their destiny. The humanistic literary criticism explains that human beings have their destinies in their hands. According to the humanists, the lives of human beings are not controlled by the supernatural powers. They are free to choose and shape their lives. For example, Shakespeare in his tragic story Macbeth, imaginations of human beings convince them on how they should shape their future. Macbeth is convinced with the fantasies he receives and as a result, he kills the king with hope that he could inherit the throne. Humanists argue that human beings are free to choose how they want to shape their lives (Stern, Barbara B., and Jonathan E. Schroeder, 1994). Shakespeare in his tragic play The Tragedy of Macbeth shows that the supernatural do not controls our lives. Macbeth one of the major characters in this book reveals that our minds plays a major role in determining how we act. Macbeth is only driven by fantasies that lead him to kill King Duncan. Macbeth believes that the gods controls his life and therefore he thinks he is doing the right thing. It is only his mind that plays him and leads him to kill someone believing that it was all imagination.

According to Katz, Steven Douglas (1991), imaginations should be used appropriately to find solutions to problems that people face. It is the most perfect way of settling challenges to long lasting problems. However, imaginations have been used to make wrong choices (Katz, Steven Douglas, 1991). Shakespeare reveals this with Macbeth in the play The Tragedy of Macbeth. Shakespeares works are revealing what happens in the society and affects the society. Shakespeare has revealed the divided classes in the society and how people are ambitious to get to the higher social class. Macbeth is ambitious to become a king and this leads him to kill King Duncan. In addition, the Marxist literary criticism argues that the society is made up of different social classes as Shakespeare tries to show in his play, The Tragedy of Macbeth.

The feminist theory of literary criticism explains the power and influence that the female can have towards changing destiny of someone of theirs (Dall, Jane, 2000). Shakespeare reveals this feminism perspective in his play, where Macbeth is convinced with his wifes voice to commit murder believing that he could be a king. He later kills King Duncan and plans it on the bodyguards. He becomes a king as he is crowned because he was the only one qualified for the post and later in the end he killed just with a sword the way he killed King Duncan. Ross explains to Macduff that Macbeth is automatically the next king after the king has died (32). Shakespeare has revealed the power of women to change a destiny with the example of Lady Macbeth. In the end, Mucduff enters with Macbeths head on his hand shouting, Hail, King of Scotland. Mucduff envision Macbeths fall when they are fighting with Malcolm. He says the time has come for Macbeth to fall (Act 5, pg 92).

Shakespeares work reveals that human actions have consequences (Dall, Jane, 2000). Everything that happens to Macbeth in the end is as a result of his actions. Problems start to rise after Macbeth has achieved what he wanted, to be a King. Lady Macbeth is haunted with the ghost and starts to sleepwalk at night and with him, he becomes sleepless. Sleep no more, out, damned spot, out I say. Shakespeare has revealed that every action has consequences. Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth plotted to kill King Duncan and later they never lived to enjoy what they have been fighting for all along. Macbeth was carried away with the luxurious promises that he received from the witches. He never considered the negative consequences that might follow his actions. He was used by the witches to fulfill their desires.

Most of Shakespeares works consist of the tragic elements. For example, in most of his works, the tragic characters are under influenced with the external forces. It is the external pressure that leads them to act the way they do. In addition, most of the characters are driven by fate. Macbeth believes that it is his fate to become a king and therefore, he is willing to do anything to fulfill his destiny. It is the same destiny that ends his life. Shakespearean tragic elements show the weakness that tragic heroes possess that leads to their downfall. Macbeth is manipulated by the witches to see visions and as a result he ends up killing King Duncan. Just as humanists argue that human beings are not driven by any external force, this is not true, and that Macbeths action was as a result of destiny and fate. Human beings have the power to shape their lives and no external power is in charge of their lives.

Visions are mostly driven by the objectives and intentions. Shakespeare used Macbeth to show that human beings are controlled by their own desire. Shakespeare reveals that human beings are driven by desires to act the way they do. They do what they do with their free will. Macbeth is warned that the resulting outcome of his actions would lead to something more dangerous. However, he does not listen to the warning but instead he concentrates on the throne he is supposed to inherit after he has killed the king.

Envisioning require critical analysis of situations. One should think critically; make the differentiation of the strengths and weaknesses of a given situation before getting involved. Macbeth is driven by his ambitions that he does not consider the negative side of it. It is this weakness that leads to his downfall at the end because he never listened to the warnings.

Shakespeares work advocates for social equality. Shakespeare use noble characters to show that there is no difference between those in lower class level and those at the top. They have the same experiences. Those people at the top of class level like the nobles are believed to be free from any kind of stress. In most cases, they are believed to have solutions to any challenge that affect them. Shakespeare criticizes this in his play The Tragedy of Macbeth. Macbeth is a noble and is expected to be powerful and can protect himself and his family from any kind of problem. He has power but he cannot protect his wife. In addition, Macbeth cannot even protect himself yet he is the king. Shakespeare tries to show that the society is dynamic; everyone can get challenged.

Sometimes Macbeth is not to be blamed for his actions. He is manipulated by the visions given to him by the witches that drive him to his actions of killing the king. One might blame Macbeth for his actions. However, what the reader should understand is that to some extent Macbeth was not himself. There was a supernatural force behind his actions. His actions can be justified as beyond control. There comes a point in life that people face challenges that they cannot control. Therefore, the reader response criticism argues that one might interpret the information the way he/she understand it. Reader- response criticism determines how the reader will react to a certain text. The readers can feel pity or sympathy to Macbeth in all that he goes through at the end.

Macbeths vision never helped him to determine the future fully. Imaginations always show people the positive side of consequence of an action but not the negative side of it. Shakespeare has used the character, Macbeth to show how bad choices can follow someone after long time. Shakespeares work shows that no one can evade the consequences of their actions, no matter the time it has taken. Macbeth becomes a king as he desired and when he thinks he can now enjoy all he has fought for is when his problems start to emerge.

Shakespeare shows to the readers or the society in general that sometimes visions are not real and they might lead to someone doing something that later might have great repercussion than one may think of at the beginning (Rothwell, Kenneth S, 1973). Macbeth gets visions and ends up killing the King Duncan. He received visions and this is what motivates him to carry out his plan. However, the same vision does not show him what will happen at the end. Shakespeare has tried to criticize the hurry choices that people make. Macbeth is carried away with fantasies of becoming a king. He does not think what will happen if the two sons of the king grow up.

Shakespeare has used Macbeth to show that everything has an end. Macbeth does not receive a vision to what will happen at the end of his reign or many years after he has achieved what he desired. Shakespeare flees the two sons of King Duncan; Malcolm and Donalbain. Shakespeare creates a factor that will mark an end to Macbeths reign. Malcolm gains more time to prepare an army to come back and claim what he thinks is rightfully his. He creates away for the two boys to escape the tragedy that has found their father, King Duncan. If Macbeth killed the boys then Shakespeare could have not have not developed the play.

Shakespeare has criticized the manipulation that environmental factors contribute to miserable life of people. Such factors might be misleading someone and therefore, Shakespeare tries to advocate for rational and logical thinking before someone reacts to any activity. Macbeth does not take time to listen to his friends warning despite being given several of them. In addition, Shakespeare tries to show the readers/ audience the importance of being good listener. If Macbeth could have listened to his friend and not to the deceitful visions that he followed, he could not have killed his visitor, King Duncan and also he could have prevented the tragic consequence that befell on him.

Shakespeare has tried to show the importance of wisdom and knowledge. Shakespeare advocates for knowledge rather than wealth and power. Macbeth was too blinded by wealth and power that he could gain after killing the king rather than being wise thinking of what might come as a result of his actions.

In conclusion, the paper has examined the envisioning of Macbeth in Shakespearean tragic play The Tragedy of Macbeth. Visions are only fantasies and one might be misled if one listens to them. Knowledge is power as Shakespeare advocates in his play. The society expects people to be logical and ethical in how they associate and interacts with one another.

Works Cited

Browne, Nick, Paul G. Pickowicz, and Esther Yau, eds. New Chinese cinemas: forms, identities, politics. Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Dall, Jane. "The Stage and the State: Shakespeare's Portrayal of Women and Sovereign Issues in Eagleton, Mary. Feminist literary criticism. Routledge, 2014.

Macbeth and Hamlet." Indiana: The Hanover Historical Review 8 (2000).

Katz, Steven Douglas. Film directing shot by shot: visualizing from concept to screen. Gulf Professional Publishing, 1991.

Mitoma, Judith, et al., eds. Envisioning dance on film and video. Psychology Press, 2002.

Rothwell, Kenneth S. "Roman Polanski's Macbeth: Golgotha Triumphant." Literature/Film Quarterly 1.1 (1973): 71.

Stern, Barbara B., and Jonathan E. Schroeder. "Interpretative methodology from art and literary criticism: A humanistic approach to...