Macbeth Critical Lens

"It is the responsibility of the writer to expose our many grievous faults and failures and to hold up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams, for the purpose of improvement." This quote suggests that writers must face their failures and confront their dangerous desires for purpose of learning from their own mistakes, people who don't learn from past mistakes are bound to repeat them. This quote holds true in a lot of literature, for example two examples are Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

One work that establishes this idea is Macbeth by William Shakespeare. By use of plot, Shakespeare shows that it is necessary to look at past problems and confront the darkest of desires for the use of improvement. In the play Macbeth becomes over-ambitious and wants to gain maximum power, however he doesn't let morality control his decisions. He commits harmful deeds and conjures up mischievous dreams. If Macbeth had assessed his problems and confronted his failures and sinister desires, he would have learned from his mistakes and could of prevented his downfall. However, he does not and it eventually leads to his downfall. This use of plot helps show the reader that if a character doesn't evaluate their flaws, it could have a tragic consequence.

Another work of literature that conveys this idea is Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Golding conveys this idea through use of setting and symbolism. A group of boys become abandoned on a tropical island and the quest for power becomes evident. Jack, the choirboy leader often ponders about taking control savagely. He doesn't think about the consequences of his dark dreams and starts to kill. This leads to Jack's downfall as well. Golding uses a lot of symbolism to help convey this idea. He associates the pig head with the evil side of human nature and the ocean with adulthood and a normal life. The pig head helps show that if a character doesn't re-evaluate his dark dreams, the evil could manifest itself into a larger problem. The ocean represents the need for assessment. If the boys never learned from their own mistakes or confront their dark desires they would never be able to make the journey off the island and back into the real world. This also helps show the necessity for evaluation of dreams and learning from one's mistakes to help mature and become a better person.

Overall