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"MACBETH" (SHAKESPEARE), "DOCTOR FAUSTUS" (CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE) & "PRODIGIOUS MAGICIAN" (CALDERON DE LA BARCA).
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Compares tragedies' depictions of evil & personal responsibility.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Compares tragedies' depictions of evil & personal responsibility.
Paper Introduction:
Visions of evil operating in this world serve as the subject mater for the dramatist, especially in an era when good and evil were seen more clearly as battling for the human soul directly, often personified as angel and devil. In the Elizabethan era, William Shakespeare in Macbeth and Christopher Marlowe in Doctor Faustus in England explored these issues in different ways, though each saw evil as manifest and physical as well as sometimes supernatural. In Spain, Calderón de la Barca a few years later similarly expressed the palpable nature of evil in human life in his El mágico prodigioso. The Marlowe and Calderón works are both based on the Faust legend, while Shakespeare's play is based on a historical individual reported in Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles, though Shakespeare took many liberties with history as Holinshed presented it. The historical Macbeth
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Indeed, theirpronouncement that Macbeth will be king is what tempts him (and his wife)to speed the process by killing Duncan. Cipriano has beentrying to form an image of God--he has to have direct knowledge of good orevil rather than accepting them on faith as he should. The herotakes responsibility for his or her failure--this is the lesson learned andimparted to the audience and only reinforces the power of the gods and theneed for the human spirit to obey. From the first, the play makes use of the surroundingenvironment as a character in its own right, and the natural order is upsetby the actions of Macbeth to the point where his downfall comes in a waythat emphasizes that the world is turned upside down, a stage convention ofthe time indicating one way in which evil is manifested. Visions of evil operating in this world serve as the subject materfor the dramatist, especially in an era when good and evil were seen moreclearly as battling for the human soul directly, often personified as angeland devil. The Devil selects Justina, defames her virtue, arousesjealousy in her suitors, and causes Cipriano to fall in love with her, atwhich point he does abandon his studies and seeks Justina. Doctor Faustus. This is never their intention whenfirst seduced. Macbeth is not an evil man when he first meets the witches, buthe allows his ambition to overcome his nature. From the moment they make their pronouncement, Macbeth is set on acourse that will destroy the natural order and lead to his own death justas the witches foretell. They look forward tothe future they have been shown by the witches, and yet Macbeth discoversthat there is no future for him and that trying to discover the future is afoolish endeavor: Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death (V.v.19-23). Good is morepowerful, but evil gains power when those it selects are seduced and admitevil into their lives. Macbeth also has a reason to believe he will beking. New York: Signet, 1998.----------------------- 8 When the first of the predictions come true, Macbeth and his wifedetermine to help the final one come true as well, as if fate needed ahelping hand. He is told that he will be king--he could wait and become king. The flaw and its consequences can be seen to takedifferent forms in different plays and always to emphasize both theblindness of the hero in not seeing what is happening to him beforehandand/or his inability to do anything other than what he does. It is in the third scene where the characterof Macbeth is introduced and where the three witches set the tone for therest of the play. In Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth challenge the natural orderthrough regicide. Works Citedde la Barca, Calderón. The Devil admits this and so shows howgood and evil fight back and forth over individual souls. In truth, he is doomed even before he makes the deal because hehas trafficked with the devil through his necromancy. Hiswife counsels him to take action and to make this happen. Lady Macbeth spurs him toaction which leads to his downfall. Good operates in this world as doesevil. Macbeth. There are elements running through all three of these plays simplybecause they are classified as tragedies. In the first scene, the three witchesappear amid thunder and lightning and cast a spell over the proceedings.In the second scene, the exposition is managed as messengers deliver thebattle news to King Duncan. Both Macbeth and Doctor Faustus repent of their sins only to befurther seduced into accepting their reward. In the Elizabethan era, William Shakespeare in Macbeth andChristopher Marlowe in Doctor Faustus in England explored these issues indifferent ways, though each saw evil as manifest and physical as well assometimes supernatural. and knows that he is dealingwith the supernatural. In the Calderónversion of the story, Cipriano is not the easy target Faustus or Macbethare and indeed bests the devil in their first encounter by referring to theall-powerful nature of God, something the Devil cannot counter. New York: New American Library, 1969.Shakespeare, William. Though the Devil tries to besmirch Justina's reputation, this doesnot occur because God intervenes. Faustus is certain that he will be given the rewards he requestsbecause he has seen the power of the demon. Similarly, it wouldseem that Macbeth has no real choice and is doomed from the time he is toldhis future, a future already set. The Marlowe and Calderón works are both based on theFaust legend, while Shakespeare's play is based on a historical individualreported in Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles, though Shakespeare took manyliberties with history as Holinshed presented it. He considers bothimpossible, but he is wrong. There is noescape for the tragic hero from the calamity facing him, even when he knowsfull well what that calamity will be and even its source. . The result is similar--Cipriano takes lessons in black magic,hoping to win the love of Justina. The Prodigious Magician. In Spain, Calderón de la Barca a few years latersimilarly expressed the palpable nature of evil in human life in his Elmágico prodigioso. Ambition infuses Faustus and Macbeth, while Cipriano is not ambitiousbut lustful. The historical Macbethreigned from 1 4 to 1 57, a period which Shakespeare reduces to a fewhours of real time and an indeterminate, though brief, period of stagetime. In the Calderón version of the Faustus legend, Cipriano is a studentwho searches his books for truth, much as did Faustus. . For his part, Macbeth believes that what thewitches say about his death protects him because he will not die at thehand of any man born of woman and because they say that he will not dieuntil the woods of Dunsinane move to the castle. For Faustus, good and evilappear before him in visual form as a Good Angel, who tells him to flee andnot to have anything to do with this evil, and Mephostophilis, who returnswith an offer from Lucifer of great wealth and power, which makes Faustusdecide to accept: Had I as many souls as there be stars I'd give them all for Mephostophilis. By him I'll be great emperor of the world, And make a bridge through the moving air To pass the ocean with a band of men . The openingscenes in Macbeth set the stage with a sense of doom and foreboding as wellas an overlay of the supernatural. Madrid: Studia Humanitatis, 1982.Marlowe, Christopher. Their ambition is what undoes them. All three protagonists are destroyed by the wrong choices they make.Evil places a certain vision before their eyes, but they are responsible inthe end because they make the choice that leads to their downfall. Faustus alsotakes action to bring about what he wants, and in addition, Mephostophilisleaves him alone for a time during which he has the opportunity toreconsider and to see that what he is doing will destroy him. Dr. JohnFaustus, the renowned scholar of Wittenberg in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus,also has an ambition greater than his present position, and what he does tosatisfy this ambition is more directly to search out evil than doesMacbeth. This also indicates another element related to the nature of evil--evil cannot be trusted, and even when it tells the truth, human beings arefooled into destroying themselves. The flaw is usually a form of pride,but it need not be. Faustus, however, becomesinvolved by choice with necromancy, or black magic, and through this seeksgodlike powers. At first, Macbeth seems content tolet nature take its course: "If chance will have me King, why, chance maycrown me/ Without my stir" (I.iii.162-163). Macbeth is also spurred toreconsider by events such as the appearance of the ghost of Banquo.Faustus comes to believe he has purchased a cheap bg of magic tricks and sorepents, but he gets over his moment of doubt and tries to enjoy hisrewards. Macbeth has the opportunity to refuse to do what his wife asks and towait. For Macbeth,any good he considers is countered by his wife. However,the Devil can fight in another way, and he determines that he will seduceCipriano to evil by making him forget his religious studies and fall for abeautiful woman. He knows that this involves forbidden traffic with demons,with the evil forces that tempt humans and interfere in human life.Faustus conjures the demon spirit, Mephostophilis, and offers a deal--hewill give his immortal soul to the devil in exchange for 24 years of magicand success in whatever he pursues. The witches not only see the future but seem in some wayto create it, and so they are an evil influence which appeals throughpredictions to the ambition and gullibility of Macbeth. The tragic hero derives from theGreek drama, as elucidated by the criticism of Aristotle in particular.Tragedy in this conception is struggling against something over which wereally have no control, and the tragedy develops from a recognition of thefutility of the struggle, leading to the resignation of the tragic hero tohis or her fate and indeed even to their embracing that fate. Underlying the actions of the tragichero is a fatal flaw in his character, and it is because of this flaw thathe is not able to escape his fate. Macbeth means to satisfy his wife and become king; he thenmeans to rule; and he means to live out his full span of years. (I.iii.1 1-1 5).
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