Compare and Contrast Essay on King Lear and Macbeth

Shakespe are had written many an(prenominal) plays in his life time, some of them included various tragedies which included baron Lear and Macbeth. All of Shakespeares plays had a ascendent which was used to help the scores plot to advance further, ma great power events much more interesting. pouf Lear and Macbeth both have a common theme of furore that is apparent(a) throughout the play which has been depicted differently. They are both written in different ways but still share a selfsame(prenominal) purpose. The essay will be broken down into three move firstly we will look at the way madness is viewed in Macbeth.Secondly, we will look at the way King Lear portrays madness eventually we will compare the two to see how differently madness is displayed. eyepatch both plays share this similarity, the plays differ by the way the theme of madness is executed. In Macbeth, both the of import reference points Macbeth and Lady Macbeth begin to furnish overhaul signs of madne ss through alterations in their physical senses. (smell, sight etc. ) this is apparent(a) when Lady Macbeth hallucinates that her hands are still covered in king Duncans blood despite having washed then several times. heres the smell of blood still all the perfumes of Arabia will non sweeten this little hand. (Act 5, scene 1, 46-47) Shakespeare uses imagery to give a unwrap understanding of what is going on within the characters psyche. Here madness is mend Lady Macbeths sense of smell and sight, this tricks her into believing that King Duncans blood will neer dissipate from her hands even though they are perfectly clean. An another(prenominal) example of the theme of madness that is characterized by Macbeth is found in act three, scene four, the climax of the play.Immediately iniquity ridden from ordering the murder of Banquo, Macbeth reaches his pinnacle of madness exemplified by his delusion of Banquos ghost. viewing that he can no longer differentiate between do importa nt and his imagination Macbeth shouts, Avaunt And quit my sight Let the earth hide thee Thy finger cymbals are marrowless, thy blood is cold Thou hast no speculation in those eyes Which thou dost glare with (III. iv. 93-97). Ross responds to him, What sights, my lord (III. iii. 118). The Insanity of Macbeth is shown in these quotes.Shakespeares rendering of Macbeths thoughts visibly reveals the theme of madness. Shakespeare portrays madness among many of his characters, and he returns to the theme over again and again. Indirect characterization in the form of Lears mad speeches allows Shakespeare to convey the theme of madness. For example one of Lears first speeches after things started to go bad for him, deplorable naked wretches, wheresoeer you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, How shall your house-hold heads and unfed sides, Your loopd and windowd rag-gedness, defend you (III. iv. 35-38).Lears derangement increases throughout the play, demonstrated to the c onsultation through more speeches, until his emotions overthrow his sympathy at the climax of the play. Lear randomly shouts in to the storm, Rumble thy bellyfull Spit, fire Spout, rainfall Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters. I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness. I never gave you kingdom, called you children (III. ii. 14-17). The example of Lear invoking the storm to destroy the seeds of matter along with many other absurd statements illustrates that he has an unsound mind and it is made clear to the audience by his words.Shakespeare expands on the theme of madness in King Lear by Lear again using his words to express the designer for his insanity. The cause is the realization that his daughters Goneril and Regan do not love him. What finally pushed him over the edge was the roughshod actions afflicted on him by the people that supposedly loved him. To such(prenominal) a lowness but his unkind daughters. Twas this flesh begot Those pelican daughters describ es Lear of the cruelty of his daughters (III. iii. 76,80-81). The character of Lear produces the theme of madness by expressing his own increasing insanity and reasons the reason for it in raving tangents.The style and depiction of the theme of madness are very different in both plays. Macbeth shows madness in the main characters with lots of imagery, giving a very physical sense of emotion towards the audience making them have a better understanding of what the characters are feeling. In King Lear madness is depicted through the main characters dialogue. This is meant to show the psychological turmoil going through the characters mind which helps the audience understand why and what the character is doing within the play.In coda it is clear that madness was a very re occurring theme in both plays King Lear and Macbeth. However, the style in which the madness was depicted in each play is very different, in Macbeth madness within the main characters is shown through basic hallucina tions through sight and smell, whereas in King Lear Shakespeare cherished the main characters to display madness through the dialogue. Both techniques used by Shakespeare were made to ultimately give more of an understanding of what is going on within the play. Both uses of madness are equally effective depending on which kind of play is written