Introduction:
Oh boy, loved getting to talk about all of these weird and cool postmodern qualities in different forms. However, I am here to say that this will be the final post of the year. I know, I know we are all extremely upset.
In William Shakespeare’s infamous play entitled, “Macbeth”, we follow the story of a nobleman, Macbeth. Who would’ve thought. It delves into a story about ambition, power, and of course my favorite quality, manipulation. Who doesn’t love a little manipulation in their plays. His wife, Lady Macbeth, encourages him to kill the king in order to take control of the throne. Karma soon comes to grab Macbeth by the throat and eats at him alive. Remember ladies and gentlemen, power can be good and bad. However, let’s put our postmodern lenses on and see what goodies we can find.
Element One: Fragmentation
Fragmentation through literature refers to the multiple perspectives throughout writing. The fractured narrative through Macbeth is shown whenever we read from the characters different point of views. We find out Lady Macbeth’s perspective through her soliloques. She shares her drive and ambition for power in Act 1, Scene 5, “Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly, that wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false, and yet wouldst wrongly win. Thou'ld’st have, great Glamis, that which cries, “Thus thou must do,” if thou have it, and that which rather thou dost fear to do, than wishest should be undone.”(Shakespeare, Act 1, Scene 5). Through the element of fractured narrative we see the influence that Lady Macbeth had on Macbeth’s decisions. Guy’s don’t listen to your girlfriends. Girlfriends take some advice from Lady Macbeth on how to get what you want.
Postmodern Media:
In E.E. Cummings, “ [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]”, the use of fragmentation allowed for a better understanding of the true feelings and thoughts that went into his love for his woman. Through delving deeper into his feelings we find out just how clingy this man is. RED FLAG!!!! What is scary about that is if you were to read the poem without the parts that are in parenthesis, I would assume that he is a sweet man. Wrong. Walking red flag. The fractured narrative allows for this to happen. Maybe we should have all men write love poems using fragmentation before we decide to go on a date.
My Take:
Both of these works use the postmodern quality of fragmentation in order to offer more insight on what the characters are feeling and experiencing. It offers a unique perspective on why the characters make the decisions they make. Remember, there is always two side to every story and fragmentation is going to bring that to the table every time.
Element two: Temporal Distortion
Looking at Macbeth through the post modern lens we can see the element of temporal distortion. This refers to the manipulating of the concept of time. Shakespeare uses the concept of time in multiple ways throughout the play. One way that he uses temporal distortion is through the compression of time. In Act 1, Scene 7, we see where Macbeth faces an internal struggle on whether or not to go through with the killing of Duncan. Glad he isn’t a complete sociopath and has some morals. Obviously not enough though. “First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself,”(Shakespeare, Act 1, Scene 7). This scene is quite short which heightens the tension. This tension allows the audience to be skeptical of which path he is going to take. For his sake I wish he would’ve skipped his way down the other path.
Postmodern Media:
In Tool’s music video for their song “Schism”, they utilize this technique of manipulating time. They use this quality towards the end of their video where the little monsters are biting the alien all over. It is obvious that they used stop motion to make the effect of this more prevalent. Let me just tell you that if you haven’t watched this music video, you need to do it now. It is like a horror movie in 7 minutes. These clay monsters sent SHIVERS down my spine. It is almost like a jumpscare. It's linked below if you would like to add a little horror to your day! :)
My Take:
Macbeth and Schism both have the postmodern quality of temporal distortion. While they use them in different ways, their intentions are both the same. They both have very high tensions. Manipulating time within both of these stories allows for a more lively journey. PSA, if you couldn’t watch the Tool music video, I would not try watching any kind of horror movie in the future.
Element Three: Intertextuality
In Shakespeare’s, “Macbeth”, we are able to identify the postmodern element of intertextuality. Intertextuality can be anything from pastiche to the use of alluding to other’s works. We are going to focus on the portion of referencing to another text. Within Macbeth, Shakespeare alludes the Bible. In Act 2, Scene 2, Macbeth has killed Duncan and says, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather. The multitudinous seas in incarnadine, Making the green one red.”(Shakespeare, Act 2, Scene 2). Macbeth is hyperfixating on the blood on his hands. This shows that he is facing extreme guilt. These feelings can be connected to the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible. After Cain had killed Abel, God had basically cursed Cain. It wasn’t so much as curse as it was a lifelong punishment. Macbeth was having to deal with the guilt which allows the readers to make this connection.
Postmodern Media:
In Johnathan Haidt’s essay entitled “ WHY THE PAST 10 YEARS OF AMERICAN LIFE HAVE BEEN UNIQUELY STUPID. It’s not just a phase” he talks about, well you probably guessed it, why America is stupid. He references and alludes to theories such as the Sapir- Whorf theory. He uses the intertextuality in order to get his point across in a way that the readers might be quicker to understand.
My Take:
Through both of these works we see qualities of intertextuality. Both of these authors use it in order to make their point more understandable. It allows the author’s purpose to deeper resonate within the reader’s mind.
Conclusion:
I think it is safe to say that we all understand that Macbeth is not anything like these forms of post modern media. However, Macbeth does possess qualities that can be linked to the weird and funky postmodern movement. The qualities help enhance our understanding for the topic and the author’s purpose. Intertextuality, temporal distortion, and fragmentation are used to grasp the audience’s attention.
Work’s Cited:
Cummings, E.E. “[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]” Poetry Foundation.
www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/49493/i-carry-your-heart-with-mei-carry-it-in. Accessed 4 May 2024.
Haidt, Johnathan. "WHY THE PAST 10 YEARS OF AMERICAN LIFE HAVE BEEN UNIQUELY STUPID. It's not just a
phase," The Atlantic, 11 April 2022,www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/social-media-democracy-
trust-babel/629369/. Accessed 29 April 2024.
Leach, Holly. “Highlights of Postmodernism.” Nerd Central, 3 May 2023,
nerdcentralorg.files.wordpress.com/2024/05/highlights-of-postmodernism.pdf. Accessed 3 May 2024.
Shakespeare, William.The Tragedy of Macbeth, 1606. Folger Shakespeare Library, www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/macbeth/read/. Accessed 8 May 2024