Macbeth

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Representation of Social Groups in Macbeth
In Macbeth, William Shakespeare portrays societal segregation into different social groups. Most importantly, the society in the Elizabethan era is divided into royalty/kingship and commoners/citizens (Gibson 11). The kings are taken to be chosen by God to rule over others or in other words; they are depicted as God’s representative. Shakespeare represents the Elizabethan era in this way to show how kings ruled and citizens suffered at the expense of politicians’ hunger for power. Ross is right about the cause of Duncan’s death when he says, “Gainst nature still! Thriftless ambition that will ravin up. Thine own lives’ means! Then ’tis most like. The sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth” (Shakespeare 02). Therefore, this representation is vital in the novel because nothing has changed regarding how leader acquires power and the author is insistent on that fact.
The author does more social classification in other different ways. For instance, various characters belong to either the good or evil social group. Cohen (38) says that at first, Macbeth, Banquo, and Duncan’s loyal followers belong to the good social group. Lady Macbeth and the Witches, as well as MacDonald and his rebellious followers, belong to the evil social group. As such, Shakespeare uses this classification to assert that things change when good leaders become obsessed with power. King Duncan says, “Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter The Prince of Cumberland” (Shakespeare 04), suggesting that his eldest son would succeed him despite the territory being an elective monarchy at the moment.

 On the other hand, Macbeth is at first a loyal servant of King Duncan, but his desire to be king makes him a traitor and the cause of Duncan’s demise.
According to Rank (113), there is no doubt Macbeth thinks of killing King Duncan immediately after his encounter with the witches. He says, “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man that function is smothering’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (Books, Macaw & Shakespeare 142). It is evident that in every society there is a group of evil people and another one of good people. Therefore, this author does this representation as a way of educating the reader on good and evil while maintaining an exciting plot.
Works Cited
Books, Macaw, and William Shakespeare. The tragedy of Macbeth. Sweet Cherry Publishing, 2013.Cohen, Walter. “Political criticism of Shakespeare.” Shakespeare Reproduced: The text in history and ideology 38 (1987).
Gibson, Rex. Teaching Shakespeare. Cambridge University Press, 2016.Rank, Sven. Twentieth-century adaptations of Macbeth : writing between influence, intervention, and cultural transfer. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2010. Print.
Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Macbeth. Vol. 2. Classic Books Company, 2001.