Engaged in Murder

ENGAGED IN MURDER

JANICE T. BURDEN

ENG 125 INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

INSTRUCTOR: DR. TONY GOSS

3 SEPTEMBER 2012

What is murder, and why are some people compelled to kill others? Murder is the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. (Online Etymology Dictionary 2012) In the case of Shakespeare's Macbeth, he found himself in a bad situation when he felt compelled to murder not only the king but a few others. He wanted to be a king so bad that he not only listened to three sister witches that were psychic, but he also listened to his wife. Lady Macbeth wanted her husband to become king. She wanted power and money so she encouraged her husband to commit murder, not just one murder but several. This was not just a killing, it was planned. In society today, we call this type of murder premeditated. Some people kill for the sport of it, some kill for money and power, while still others kill for the thrill. We do however, know that a large portion of people in our society commit murder unintentionally. They are engaged in a heated argument and somewhere along the line something snaps in their brains and the compulsion to hit the object of their anger is evident when they kill. The murders are usually so heinous because of the perpetrators anger that they usually beat the person senseless, stab them countless, or even shoot them over and over again even though the person is already dead. In the case of Macbeth I feel that he was coerced into murder by the witches prophesy and his wife's want and need for money and power. The language of the play although hard to read, it was also engaging in itself because it was a story of power, greed and murder. The content of the play was about a beloved king and his family along with his loyal subjects. Although, the content was about betrayal that lead to murder, we as humans seem to be drawn to this type of literature whether in books or in film. Although Shakespeare was a wonderful storyteller, I found this story to be hard to read. I'm not saying that I didn't like the play I'm just saying that I wish that it were written in today's English language. I don't feel that the story affected my opinion of the play or poem, I just feel that it was a hard piece of literature to read. All in all, I was more focused on the way the play was written then in the way it was portrayed. The language had me reading it over and over again in some stances because I couldn't grasp it all in the first reading of the sentences. Murder can lead some people to commit suicide, while others have a hard time coping with what they have done. Some people could care less about the crimes they have committed.