Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on What Makes William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” a Pessimistic Play. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 3 page paper which examines the qualities and values embodied by the characters as well as the outcomes of events and how they reflect the pessimistic ideas of the play. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGmacpess.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
condition is shrouded in darkness as characters pessimistic acts "hover through the fog and filthy air" (I.i.13). The Bard makes it clear in Macbeth that he shares the conclusions
drawn by political philosophers Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes - that man is essentially evil, that is if overtaken by the corrupting influences of excessive ambition and an insatiable appetite
for power. The leading instruments of pessimism are the gloomy Lord and Lady Macbeth, who believe becoming King and Queen will provide them with the happiness and the fulfillment
they have been denied as the result of being childless. The murderous lengths the couple goes to underscores the basic themes of the play - the corrupting nature of
infinite ambition, the correlation between masculinity and violent cruelty, and the distinction between divine and true kinship and despotism. But they also offer a chilling commentary on how surface
optimism (symbolized by the kingship of good King Duncan of Scotland) can be so easily subdued by the pessimistic and destructive forces that lurk within the evil Macbeth and (each
one of us) if these tendencies are allowed to freely proceed without moral constraints. The play begins on a hopeful note with King Duncan naming his loyal lieutenant Macbeth Thane
of Cawdor in recognition for his faithful service. But a fateful meeting with a trio of witches signal a significant turning point. One of the witches remarks, "All
hail, Macbeth... shalt be King hereafter" (I.iii.52). This ignites the fuse of ambition that has always fueled Macbeths actions, something he must have been aware of as evidenced by
his observation shortly after receiving the prophecy, "Let not light see my black and deep desires. / The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be / Which the
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