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Monster?
Description
Welcome to Hall of Wonder - part of Celebrate Creativity. Today I want to start exploring Shakespeare's play–Macbeth.And here is the wax figure character of Macbeth, himself. You know Macbeth, I will get directly to the point. Some people call you a monster.
Mr. Barley, I would not be so quick with such a judgment. Mr. Shakespeare's trick is much sharper than that: he shows someone who can still choose—and then shows you the exact moment when I start out sourcing my choices to ambition, marriage, and prophecy.
I am thane, hero, newly honored… and about to discover that wanting something is not the same as deserving it.
Macbeth, to most of our listeners in the United States, the word THANE might be unfamiliar. It simply means a basically a Scottish noble—a trusted local lord who holds land from the king and, in return, owes loyalty and military service. So when you hear “Macbeth, Thane of Glamis” (and later “Thane of Cawdor”), think:
Title + job: a high-ranking lord
Power base: he rules an area/estate for the king
Obligation: he’s expected to fight for the king and keep order
Status: important, but below the king (not royalty)
Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.