The Nature of Evil in Shakespeares Macbeth Essay -- GCSE English Lite

Macbeth:   The Nature Of Evil   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Macbeth, the character of Macbeth has a. firm and correct grasp of self-knowledge, and a well developed concept of the universe and his place in it. He willfully disregards his own moral thoughts and institutions. According to Bernard McElroy, "more than any other Shakespearean hero, he [Macbeth] has a perfectly clear concept of who he is and where he stands --- and it is exactly this perception that torments and spiritually destroys him"(330). Macbeth is strongly impelled to evil but he also abhors evil. It is this that causes Macbeth to abhor himself. The play explores the tensions between Macbeth's proneness to evil and his abhorrence to evil. Macbeth is a tragic hero because he becomes caught in tensions between his criminal actions and the reaction of his conscience. Had Macbeth committed the deeds without any remorse, he would have been simply an evil monster, without any hope. But it is his conscience about evil that makes him tragic. Through Ma cbeth's actions, Shakespeare is able to depict the nature of evil as being: lusftul, deceptive, tyrannical, and disruptive to family. To begin, Macbeth himself stands as a symbol for Satan's sin of ambition. Like Satan, Macbeth's insatiable lust for power and ambition drives him to commit evil. Although Macbeth's ambitiousness is not in itself evil: "His very strong social sense, worldly but valuable, together with that gift of imaginative expression whereby he far outshines all the others, makes him naturally and rightly desirous of winning `Golden Opinions from all sorts of people' [I.vii.33]" (Elliot, 288). However, Shakespeare asserts that Macbeth knows his place in nature, and is overly ambitious according to Calvinist doctrine ... ...d devoured by it. Works Cited Bethell, S.L. "Shakespeare's Imagery: The Diabolic Images in Othello" in Shakespeare Survey: Volume 5. Edited by Allardyce Nicoll (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952) Elliot, G.R. "Introduction: On `Macbeth' as Apex of Shakspearean Tragedy" in Shakespearean Criticism, Volume 3. Edited by Laurie Harris (Gale: 1984) McElroy, Bernard, "`Macbeth': The torture of the Mind" in Shakespearean Criticism, Volume 3. Edited by Laurie Harris (Gale:1984) Ribner, Irving. "Macbeth: The Pattern of Idea and Action," in Shakespearean Criticism, Volume 3. Edited by Laurie Harris (Gale:1984) Shakespeare, William. Othello. Edited by Norman Sanders. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984) ----, Macbeth, World Literary Heritage, Volume 1.0 (California: Softbit, Inc. MS- DOS / MS - Windows 3.1, CD ROM)      

The reason why roman republic collapsed

The reason why roman republic collapsed Roman republic began with the over throw of the roman monarchy and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elect annually by the citizens and advised by senate. During the first two centuries of its existence the Roman republic expanded rapidly through a combination of conquest and alliance, from central Italy to the entire Italian peninsula. Then republic continues to conquest new land such as North Africa, Greece, Southern France and Spain. For about 500 years, the Roman republic exists and has many significant achievements in many fields.However, the republic finally collapsed and reformed as participate. Octavian becomes the first Augustus which was the first Roman emperor. There are some reasons why republic collapsed and reformed to empire. In this project, I'm going to discuss what reason leads to the collapse of republic from the internal view and external point of view. The problem within the government system is one int ernal weakness of roman republic. The government od Roman republic had three major supports, which offset and balanced on another. (textbook 91) The supreme civil and ilitary offices were two men called consuls.In later the Romans appointed a man as dictator, whose authority surpassed that of the consuls, but dictator cannot hold their office more six months. The second part was an advisory body of elder stateman, the senate. The last part of government system were assemblies that included all adult male citizens. In their government system, province is one of causes that Roman republic collapsed. Roman republic is a history of conquest. As Roman republic expanding, they conquer and captured a lot of new land. Now they need to manage hose lands.Province is the method they manage the lands. Province means to denote the various regions that they acquired through conquest in Latin word. The senate choose the governors for the various provinces and often give then the title proconsul(in place of consul). These governors had absolute power to rule their provinces. The only thing they can't do is violate Roman law or act illegally against Roman citizen. (textbook 102) This is a good way to manage the lands that they conquered. From roman view, the advantage of the system was its efficiency:Rebellions were not common, and troops stationed in the provinces could maintain control without resorting massacres. However, as Roman republic conquered more land, they have so many provinces that need to govern. Some provincial governors ruled fairly, but others were notorious for their corruption. In addition, Roman republic combined Macedonia and Greece in to a province. But the domination came at a price. Without the need for unity against outside enemies, roman society began to lose its cohesiveness. (Textbook 100)This in turn led to the decline of the republic.Another weakness that led Roman republic collapses also come from conquest. There is the social change that happen ed in Italy. The cause is the war that call Hannibal's legacy. For the ravages of years of fighting up and down, Italy had brought many farmers to the point of ruin. There had been a great increase in the slave population on Italian soil from prisoners of war, and these slaves depressed the wages paid to private works. (Textbook 102) Wealthy citizens had enriched themselves with booty land or willing to sell it to these newly wealthy men.They have no choice to Join the ranks of permanently unemployed. Those people who still have some money to buy their armor could be drafted into the army. For those who could no longer find work lost the spirit of cohesion and loyalty to their society. They become prey to demagogues and many become supporters of that warlord. This cause a unstable in Roman republic society. The gap between upper classes and lower class has significant increased. One other weakness is the power of warlords. In Roman republic, generals have strong power. They have arm y and these army more like a rivate army.These army usually fght enemies far away from Rome. They all support their general. Some powerful generals can even use army to seize political power. (Textbook 104) The one first general to do so was Gaius Marius. Marius gained much reputation by winning a war and defeated an invasion by some Germanic tribes. Marius abolished the old requirement that a soldier had to own at least a modest amount of property, and he also accepted volunteers instead of Just drafting men for service Finally he converted the army in to an instrument for ambitious commanders uring the remaining years of the republic.For Sulla the dictator, he is and later general. He invaded the city of Rome with his supports. Sulla did have some political program to re shape the Roman republic. He enforce the dictator ship and reduce the power of senate. He forced a law that blocked tribune from holding any other office, they also had to wait ten years to be reelected. These dis courage those ambitious politicians from seeking this office. (Textbook 104)And even for the later Caesar, he did a series of rapid reforms in many areas of Roman life.He reduce the power of Senate by raising the membership of the Senate to about nine hundred, picking it with many of his veteran offices. He even make dictator for his whole life. However, he showed too little respect for the Senate and republican from once he become dictator, and for this he paid with his life. Many people think about the death of Caesar ends Roman republic. However, the collapse of Roman Republic is the accumulation the weakness. Whether Caesar dead or not, what he done rose to the absolute summit of roman politics and destroy Roman republic.

Poem Analysis The Ear And Lady Lazarus - 821 Words

Essay #3: Poetry Breath in Poetry: In search of self-pleasure Taking example of poetry from â€Å"First Fight. The Fiddle† and â€Å"Lady Lazarus† are different style in poem writing, one poem rhymes and the other simply not. From both poems, talk about death and survival, about the darkness of evil that lurks inside snatched lives. In â€Å"First Fight. Then Fiddle† Gwendolyn Brooks suggests that although life can be so intimidating with many turns, enjoyment of its can be captivating. Brooks also embraces the fact that love can be hurting and music can be tasteless. When the heart becomes empty and life has no thrill, there is always something worth fighting for. Be deaf to music and to beauty blind proposes all senses may no longer serve its purposes. The cruelty befalls humanity in war, the oppressor care less concerning the lives of people carry such of horrifying acts for his gratification. Killing is no longer quenching the thirst to sadism without inflicting horror. When the value of human being no more than a lampshade or paperweight , humanity has lost its grasp in man’s conscience. Sylvia Plath writes â€Å"Lady Lazarus† in a context of a man can be lower than animal whose kill just to feed, not for entertainment. War exonerates the pleasure seekers to push the boundaries of savagery. Throughout the history, we witness how men become horrendous monster to another men, push back the civilization to barbaric age. Some believe that â€Å"Lady Lazarus† is Plath’s reflection of resurrectionShow MoreRelatedHow Sylvia Plaths Life is Reflected in the Poems Daddy, Morning Song, and Lady Lazarus2237 Words   |  9 PagesHow Sylvia Plaths Life is Reflected in the Poems Daddy, Morning Song, and Lady Lazaru s Sylvia Plath has had an exciting life, if I can use this word. Her father died from an undiagnosed diabetes when she was eight. At the same time, a short couplet that she wrote was published in the Boston Sunday Herald. Later, she won scholarships to study in Smith, Harvard, and finally Cambridge. There, Plath married Ted Hughes, who was a good poet, too. What amazes me in her life