Shakespeare's Macbeth And King Lear example essay topic

The Regal Social Tiers In Conjunction With Drama In every society, people are instinctively categorized into a social class based on each person's terms of wealth, power, and privilege. In broad terms, every one existing in a civilization is classified as upper class, middle-class, or lower class. In drama, playwrights follow this social order to characterize the cast of characters they will include in their plays. The correlation between the realities of society's social tiers and drama were especially evident in the ancient Greek plays and in the era of Shakespearean theatre. Sophocles's Oedipus Rex along with William Shakespeare's Macbeth and King Lear are three tragedies that distinguish characters apart through their social status and rank. In Oedipus Rex, Macbeth, and King Lear, it becomes apparent that the home of the most prominent citizens made up its own social unit with members of the upper class, middle class, and lower class being involved in the formulation of a society.

The upper class citizens of both society and drama consist of those people with great wealth, power, and nobility. The kings, queens, princesses, and princes in plays are almost always upper class citizens also known as aristocrats. These characters are easily distinguished from others not only by their impressive titles but also in their excess of material comfort and convenience. In Macbeth, Macbeth becomes the most prominent of the elite upper class after taking murderous actions to become the all-powerful king. Once Macbeth gains the kingship, he embellishes his role in society by mistreating his subjects and his countrymen to flaunt his power and turn to tyrannical rule. Macbeth orders, "Send out more horses; skirr the country round.

/Hang those who talk of fear" (5.6. 36-37). In the dramatic interpretation of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is quite comparable to Macbeth has he gains the foremost of titles as King although he, like Macbeth, already belonged to the noble upper class of citizens. However, the major difference is that Oedipus's power is used in a well-meaning way to save the civilization first from the Sphinx and then the plague. Oedipus's prominent status is even revealed through direct dialogue when the priest in calls Oedipus "our greatest power" (1.1 27-31) and describes him as rated first among all the men. The tragedy of King Lear, obviously by the title, also has characters of the upper rank of society.

King Lear, the tired ruler of England, has an immense amount of worth as seen when he begins to divide his kingdom into three parts to give to his three daughters. Sadly, the humble king loses all power after enduring multiple humiliations and betrayals. As in reality, the status of upper class can be taken away quickly at any time as in the case of King Lear. Macbeth, King Lear, and Oedipus can be compared to the elite upper class of actual society as they rank the very highest, at least for some time, over their society. The middle class of society and dramatic literature can be described as being made up of "commoners" who live comfortably but are neither rich nor very distinguished. Drama and literature also parallel in such a way that most often the middle class group of people hold upright professions and are respected by the other members of their community.

In Sophocles's Oedipus Rex, the priest is an excellent example of a middle class citizen. The priest plays only a minor role in the play, however, if the play is to mirror a realistic society, his presence must exist. At the beginning of the play, the priest's presence becomes known as he urges his followers to make sacrifices to the gods in hopes that they will lift the blight that hangs over the city. It is the priest that Oedipus chooses to inquire to about the chaotic events he observes when he first comes to the city. In the prologue leading up to the play Oedipus says to the priest, "You, there since you are eldest in the company / Speak for them all / Tell me what press upon you... ".

(3.2 10-11). The unnamed doctor in Macbeth models a middle class society member in actuality. It is the doctor who confides in the gentlewoman that Lady Macbeth sleepwalks because of some mental and internal suffering as stated, "This disease is beyond my practice / yet I have known those which have walk'd in their sleeps who have died holily in their beds" (5.1, 56-58). This bit of information foreshadows the death of Lady Macbeth and tells the audience that Lady Macbeth is suffering from the guilt of Duncan's murder.

In King Lear, Oswald is an excellent example of middle class society. His minor roll in the play is only important in the shadow of King Lear himself. Oswald will not be remembered for his character but merely for his mistreatment of the king in such a way that he prompts King Lear to leave Goneril's castle. Oswald meets his fate as Edgar murders him while trying to kill the harmless Gloucester. The priest, the doctor, and Oswald are examples of the middle class role in society both at the present time and in the long ago days of castles and kings. Both realized and dramatized society has members of lower class that are differentiated by poverty and no title to speak of.

At the present time, lower class people are most often transients without a home and without a job. However, in the past centuries, the people who would not have a job or a place to live take up work as a servant to the more dignified members of society such as the royal families. In King Lear, the servant who remains most memorable is Earl of Kent, the loyal attendant to King Lear. The good hearted Earl is banished for pleading with the King to reconsider Cordelia's fate but remains committed to King Earl while remaining in disguise. Kent is quite a philosophical character that tells Goneril, "Some time I shall sleep out. The rest I'll whistle (4.3, 23) In Oedipus Rex, the attendant to Oedipus and Jocasta is the revealer of what happened in the palace after Oedipus discovered his parentage.

While the attendant may not be of great esteem, it is he who acts as messenger to the audience He tells them", the full horror you can not know / For you did not see it; but I, who did, will tell you as clearly as I can how she met her death" (EXODUS, 13-15). In Macbeth, servants again represent the lower class part of society. The gentlewoman to Lady Macbeth is of the lower class, but it is she who holds the discussion with the respectable doctor about Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking condition. The gentlewoman expresses her own character when she tells the doctor "I would not have such a heart in my bosom for the dignity of the whole body" (5.1, 52-53). It is not very often that the audience gets a glimpse of the personal feelings of such a minor character. The servants in the three tragedies represent the lowest members of the ancient society just as the homeless transients represent the poverty stricken lower rank citizens of the present day society.

Hence, there has always been a social order among civilizations in which people are divided into social tiers based on such factors as economic wealth, status of power, and rank in comparison to others. Dramatic literature often parallels with the realistic society to give plays a more realistic style. In an actual society the different classes of people collaborate to fulfill the needs of the society. In medieval times these civilizations formed in kingdoms in which hundreds of people may live. The kingdom population was automatically divided into social classes in which playwrights such as Shakespeare and Sophocles's derived characters for their plays. Shakespeare, William.

The Tragedy of Macbeth. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1908. Shakespeare, William. The Tale Of King Lear. Sophocles. The Ancient Greek Plays.

Cambridge: Princeton UP, 1986.