Okay, what a lame start.... So, this will be one of my first serious entry about Macbeth in this blog.... So, let me talk about my journey on Macbeth okay....
When i was in Form 1, obviously i did Life's brief candle... But, that was just Shakespeare and i had no idea about what i was studying... I just went around irritating everyone saying "tommorow and tommorow and tommorow"...
Then, in Form 5, my English teacher took it to her head that she wanted to tell us the origins of that long forgotten poem... Why? Don't ask me, i hve no idea... So that is when, i learnt about Macbeth.... And, my teacher only gave a summary, but from that time onwards, i was intrigued about the three witches... I had no chance to get on internet at that time for more research, so it was just buried like that....
Studying Hamlet in Form 6 pure literature, my teacher then had to talk about other Shakespearean works, and i managed to figure out that Macbeth was all about greed and so on.
So then, i entered university, and looks like Macbeth had followed me here, and it started off in semester 6.... Doing literature materials, obviously, there is video making involved... And this time, it is about Macbeth.... Yes, Macbeth has followed me all the way here....
And yet, all this time, after Macbeth following me round and round like a good little puppy, i never took the time to actually sit and read the story, though i did know the important events in the story... So, when now, i have to read Macbeth for my video making project, I feel, so...overwhelmed!!!!
Yes...you may ask me , my dear friends.... That, "hey, if you can read hamlet, why is Macbeth so difficult"...Oh well, yes, but while i was reading hamlet, i was completely and surely guided, line by line, verse by verse, by my dearest Literature teacher, god bless her soul.... But now, left all alone in the desert of Shakespeare, I just feel overwhelmed reading old english.... I have always been a firm believer of reading Shakespeare through the translated version, the modern version, and only then, moving back to the old version....
Which is what i am trying to do now.... Trying to understand the language of Macbetholgy....
That, will be my first post, on my struggles to read Macbeth..... Trust me, knowing the elements, knowing the story line, plot, characters, themes, settings and whatever nots...reading the translated versions, will never ever prepare one to the hurricane of the real, original Shakespeare... But however, at the end of the day, the real, original Shakespeare is still, intriguing, beautiful...and is worth reading...
For now, i am still trying to understand what the witch meant by nine times nine in scene three... Now you know where i am stuck..... In shakespeare, his Symbolisms are seriously overwhelming... AND, trust me, old English is not all that bad, but, how he strings his words togather...making the meaning is definitely tough...
I hope this journey of Macbethology will give me an experiance that i shalt' not forget.....
O Macbeth Macbeth, why thou art so difficult to understand???
You said yourself that Shakespeare has been following you around like a good dog. Now the dog mustnt be ignored.
ReplyDeleteI find you to be a passionate person and i assure you that the minimum 10 entries won't be enough for you.
Macbethology it is and do embrace this challenge. You will gain so much.
p/s tomorrow is spelt with two Rs and not two Ms!