What can young people today learn from Shakespeare’s Macbeth?

L5 English students have been studying Shakespeare’s Macbeth for their literature coursework.

One of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Macbeth tells the story of one man's violent rise to a position of power as king of his country, and of his even more violent downfall.

Our L5 students were asked a number of philosophical questions about the play, addressing subjects such as the moral of the play, what is learnt about human nature, issues of gender, ambition, crime.

Perhaps the most important question asked was: ‘What relevance does Shakespeare’s Macbeth have for young people in our 2020 society?’

Flo and Emily shared their thoughts on what young people can take from this famous historical play:

“I think that Macbeth is relevant for young people in 2020 although not necessarily directly from the play or no more than as part of your English GCSE. However, I believe there are probably many ways that it influences us such as through the language. We are potentially subconscious consumers of Macbeth, hearing Shakespeare's themes through music, books or tv programmes. One particular way that the play could be viewed as particularly relevant is the idea of having ambition which, in a modern context, could be something such as wanting to get into a good university.

Another way in which it is very relevant to students is the point the play makes between appearance and reality, how it links to social media and the desire to present the best version, or an untrue version, of yourself online. The key line from the play in this context is when Lady Macbeth is advising her husband to ‘look like th’innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t’.” - Flo (L5)

“Macbeth is relevant for young people in our 2020 society, mainly because it examines the idea of corruption and how easily it is to be led astray by ambition. This is very relevant for today’s society because some leaders are corrupt, run a dictatorship and do not listen to their people. It is also relevant because of the unbalanced gender relationship; there are very few Shakespeare plays where the woman takes the lead.

There are lots of morals to be learnt from the play. Firstly, I think the main moral of the play is not to be tempted to do bad things in order to gain power. In addition, another moral of the play would be that even if you think you are in too deep there is always a way out; and you can stop. It also teaches you to trust yourself and to stand up for yourself.

I have learnt that sometimes your ambition can lead you astray and you can do bad things. I have learnt that with enough pressure you can do something you never thought you could do. Furthermore, that people can use you because of what you have.

Personally, I think women have almost equal power to men nowadays. But sometimes it is easy to slip into typical gender stereotypes; for example, nursing is mainly considered a woman’s job, whereas a doctor is considered as a role for men. As a woman I feel I should be equal to men.

As far as crime goes, I think that you can reach a certain point before your conscience stops you, but there are a few people who do not have a conscience.” - Emily (L5)

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