Macbeth's Fall from Grace to Evil

The character Glinda the Broadway musical, Wicked, poses the question, "Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" An interesting question which can be connected to Macbeth and his involvement with wickedness. Had fate already played a predetermined role in Macbeth's decision to complete evil deeds? Or did he decide to participate in evil doings because of his desire to become King? Macbeth was not an evil man before he decided to kill King Duncan.  He was a brave warrior who was well respected.  Why did he change?

Every man has his own desires and temptations.  People who are not "evil" may walk into evil in order to achieve these desires and give into their temptations.  Macbeth began his journey to the dark side when he decided to kill King Duncan.  Macbeth's desire to become King was ultimately the reason for his evil downfall.  He believed that killing Duncan was the only way to become King as prophesied by the three witches. Lady Macbeth encouraging Macbeth to kill Duncan also had a large impact on his decision.  

Once a person takes a first step on the path of evil, it can be very hard to go back to the path of grace. People begin rationalizing and justifying their actions. Deeds that they once may have viewed as evil begin to seem not quite as harmful as what they had been.  Macbeth began to view the completion of evil deeds as necessary.  Macbeth later in the play felt that he was already too involved in his plot to just give quit.  He had to see his goal through, no matter the cost.  

Actions, especially those of an evil nature, have consequences.  One may find themselves having to lie to cover up their actions.  This manipulation may be too much for one to handle.  These lies may begin to pile up causing the need for more lies.  This could get to be very confusing because it would be hard to keep all the lies straight and in line with one another. Macbeth lied to everyone and said that the guards killed Duncan when in fact he killed Duncan. Macbeth also lied about his motives for killing the guards.  He claimed that he killed them out of loyalty and love for King Duncan.  In reality, Macbeth killed them so that they would not be able to tell their side of the story.   Macbeth had to kill the guards because he originally lied and said that the guards killed Duncan.  The first lie lead to subsequent lies.  

Another consequence of an individual choosing evil is the internal guilt that one may feel.  Just because someone takes part in evil actions does not mean that they don't still have a conscience.  Guilt can eat someone alive.  It can make their stomach churn, head spin, and in Macbeth's case hallucinate.  Macbeth envisioned a bloody dagger floating in the castle before he murdered Duncan.  Later in the play, Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo at the dinner table.  Macbeth is the only one to see the ghost so it is not clear if it is a hallucination or truly a ghost.  Either way, Macbeth seems to go a little mentally insane in front of his guests.  

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Photo Analysis 
Art Piece: Temple of One Thousand Bells
Artist: Laura Belém
Date Created: August 2010
Medium: One thousand cast glass bells, Audio Track
Size: Area large enough to contain one thousand glass bells

     Temple of One Thousand Bells is a piece originally created by Laura Belém in 2010 for the 10th Liverpool Biennial.  The Liverpool Biennial is a contemporary art exhibition that occurs in the United Kingdom every two years.  The legend that inspired this art piece comes from the book The Song of The Bird by Anthony De Mello.  The legend has been around a lot longer than De Mello's book and likely originated in India many of centuries ago.     The artist of this piece is from Brazil which could have also contributed to the culture of this art piece
                         The legend represented in this art piece revolves around an a temple built on an island which at one time contained a numerous amount of bells.  Over many years, the island and the bells became engulfed by the sea.  It is said that even though the bells are underwater, those who pass will still be able to hear their chimes if they stop and listen.  A sailor ventures out on a journey to hear the bells.  After many weeks of searching and listening for the bells he decides to give up on his quest.  On the last day, he laid on the beach and really listened to the ocean. At last, he began to hear the chime of the bells!
     The bells in the piece appear to be missing a clapper. Without a clapper, the bells are not able to make noise.  The audience is limited to only seeing the physical appearance of the bells.  Like the sailor in the beginning of the tale,  the audience members cannot hear the beautiful chimes of the bells. When observing this piece, the members of my group had fallen silent when the audio recording of the tale began to play.  As the tale played the hint of bell chimes rang throughout the recording.  It was as if the bells in the exhibit were chiming.  I looked up to observe the bells and imagined each one had a clapper capable of producing the chimes in the audio track.
     The style of this piece includes the hanging of one thousand glass bells.  The ceiling above the bells is very bare and white.  The bells hang from the ceiling at an assortment of lengths.  This technique creates a more relaxed appearance, as if they were just casually hung up in a tree.  The bells are constructed of clear glass.  The effect of the translucent glass and white ceiling background make the bells appear eerie and haunting atmosphere.  The bells are arranged in a manner that suggests that they represent the "ghosts" (can bells even be ghosts? Sure.) of the long ago bells in the legend.  The glass bells were all hand blown.  The audio track that is played during the observation of this piece also adds to the haunting atmosphere.  A man's voice tells the legend of the temple of the bells and the sailor who journeys to hear the bells chime.  The audio track makes it easy for audiences to imagine themselves making the journey as they stand under the bells of the exhibit.
     I believe the main purpose of this art piece is to make audience members step back and embrace the beauty of silence. A quote by Lawrence Durrell states, “Does not everything depend on our interpretation of the silence around us?” The sailor of the tale only heard the chimes of the bells when he was silent and really listened to ocean waves around him.  The audience members who visit the exhibit can only hear the chimes of the bells when they are silent and listen to the audio recording.          The art piece also is also designed to make audience members to reflect on their pasts.  Everything created in this piece is made up of events that happened in the past.  The island which contained the temple of bells existed above water in the past, the sailor who completed this journey lived in the past, and the bell chimes he heard came from bells present in the past.  All these factors can create a feeling of nostalgia within the audience and perhaps make them reflect on their own past.

My Sketch: