Connecting with others... through Macbeth?

So this week we have been challenged to go beyond our own little bubble and try to connect with others through our personal Shakespeare play. This, for me, means Macbeth.

Now I was thinking, how can you connect with someone through Macbeth? ...

      ... So... have you had any run-ins with evil Scottish tyrants lately? ...
   Nope...

      ... So... what do you think about murdering for your own personal gain? ...
   Not quite right...

      ... So... how well do you know Shakespeare? ...
   Eh, getting closer, but the nerd factor is still high.

I tried convincing my brother to come see Macbeth with me (you can check out my previous post to see how I liked it) yet, he wasn't all too interested. He thought it was going to be a bunch of men in tights.

Not exactly.

The closest thing was a kilt. I told him about the action-packed plot, but he said "so, pretty much everyone just dies." Close, but not everyone dies, or we'd have a Hamlet repeat. I was able to share with him, however, about Macduff and his challenge to Macbeth. I was able to explain that Macduff wasn't simply trying to take over the throne hemself, but that he was revenging his family's cruel murder. That got him thinking, but he still refers to Macbeth as 'the play where everyone kills each other'.

That wasn't the most thought-provoking or positive message.


So then with my boyfriend Ian. He was thoroughly interested in Macbeth after watching the trailer for the Patrick Stewart production of Macbeth. So, we watched it together and his curiosity was piqued. Then, reading my previous post in which I compared Macbeth to Oedipus, we were able to have a great discussion concerning the role of fate and whether or not Macbeth could have escaped the witches' prophecy or if the only thing that sealed it was his hearing about it. This helped me to solidify my own opinions concerning Shakespeare's tragedies.

And on the topic of fate...

As I tried to expand my horizons and reach out to people I don't know, I stumbled upon a blog that contained a review of Macbeth and broke it down into distinct themes that were found therein. This blog was perfect as it was created by a group of women who share my faith and who have formed a book club in order to further their learning. I was able to comment about some of the points that this fellow blogger made about the relevance of the themes today and she was flattered that I had found their site. We really were able to connect with our similar beliefs as well as through our shared goal for continual learning. I was also amazed at some of the connections she had made on the religious aspects of Macbeth which I had never thought of before. It was great being able to see our common interest and viewpoints as well as to learn from each others' different insights.

So... am I just rambling on now? I think so. I just want to say that if anyone has any thoughts concerning Macbeth, or needs any sort of help understanding it, feel free to ask. It's really all together that we figure things out.