Violence. Betrayal. Gore. Ambition. Do I have your attention?

William Shakespeare’s notorious play, Macbeth, is loaded with blood, regicide and war. For centuries audiences have been drawn to the violence of “the Scottish Play” and the rise and fall of the villainous Macbeth. Richard Yao immerses himself in the sanguine and violent world of Macbeth to shed light on the Bard’s goriest play. For centuries “the Scottish Play” has been a source of superstition and controversy, a notorious tragedy filled with ill omens and violence that has often spilled from the page into real life. That is not to say that the scene is not bleak on page either as bad weather, sedition and murder most foul collide in the wake of Macbeth’s regicide. As often as actors dread stepping on stage to act out the play, audiences often debate about the dubious morality of the titular hero who throws away everything for vain ambition. Macbeth personifies the treacherous nature of ambition through the violent ascension of his ambitions from victorious thane to bloodied king. Violence is at the core of the play and the plot relies on it to reach the calamitous conclusion.

The Acceptable and Criminal
The “Scottish Play” dips into the pool of violence and leaves us with two types of violence; the acceptable and the criminal. Both filled with blood and gore, they are different from one another. The acceptable is too be expected, when a battle is served, blood and deaths are served along with it. It is the inevitable, it is inescapable. The