[Joseonggwan's Global Humanities Journey] The Lesson the Message of 'Macbeth' Gives to the Political Sphere

"People learn when they are young and understand when they grow old."

This is a sentence I once noted in my notebook while reading a book long ago.

One of the difficult phrases I learned during Korean language classes in school was "Life is but a fleeting spring dream." I probably encountered it while studying Tang and Song dynasty poetry, but back then, why did the teacher say that a long life is nothing more than a brief spring dream? Time seems to pass slowly for everyone during their teenage years. It is impossible for teenagers to truly understand this phrase.

The person who truly embodies the phrase "understand when they grow old" is William Shakespeare (1564?1616). Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Giuseppe Verdi, Sigmund Freud, Akira Kurosawa, Justin Kurzel, Joel Coen... Though they come from different fields and eras, they are all connected by one link: William Shakespeare. They all revered Shakespeare.

Movie poster of "Macbeth" starring Denzel Washington. Photo by Yeonghwa Still

During my university days, I majored in English Language and Literature. Looking back on those four years, the best decision I made was participating twice in English plays. I took part in "Macbeth" as a cast member and in "Hamlet" as a crew member. I still vividly remember my senior, who played the lead role of Macbeth, memorizing those long English lines as if it were just yesterday.

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time; and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing..." (Act 5, Scene 5)

This famous soliloquy is uttered by Macbeth on stage upon hearing the news of his wife's death. If one were to choose a sentence that encapsulates the message of "Macbeth," it might be "Life is just a walking shadow." Things that were invisible when our eyes were sharp begin to appear one by one as our vision dims.

The tragedy of Macbeth originates from his wife. After hearing the witches' prophecy from her husband, Lady Macbeth urges him to kill the king and seize the throne. Macbeth wavers under his wife's influence and eventually blinded by ambition, commits regicide. Shakespeare's greatness lies perhaps in awakening the "conscience" in Lady Macbeth. Tormented by guilt, Lady Macbeth suffers from sleepwalking every night, washing her hands stained with blood. Eventually, she commits suicide.

Macbeth, translated by Lee Sung-il, published by Nanam. Photo by Seonggwan Cho

For a work to transcend immortality and become a classic, it must withstand the waves of time. I recalled "Macbeth," written over 400 years ago, thanks to Denzel Washington and Giuseppe Verdi. When I heard that director Joel Coen cast Denzel Washington as the lead in "Macbeth," and that Coen emphasized theatrical elements and shot the film in black and white to highlight the tragedy's message, I was genuinely excited.

The National Opera Company staged Verdi's opera "Macbeth" from April 27 to April 30 in celebration of Verdi's 210th birthday. Verdi composed this opera in 1847 at the age of 34, and it premiered that year. The "Macbeth opera" exists solely in Verdi's version, which is proof that no other composer has surpassed Verdi's composition.

Among Shakespeare's four great tragedies, except for "Othello," "Hamlet," "Macbeth," and "King Lear" are works that directors and actors aspire to perform at least once. They are staged almost every year in Korea as well. There is a saying that when a male actor is young, he plays Hamlet; in middle age, Macbeth; and in old age, King Lear. Among these, King Lear is a role reserved for the greatest actors of the era. The legendary British actor Laurence Olivier performed King Lear in his seventies, and in Korea, Lee Soon-jae took on King Lear in his eighties.

Renowned Hollywood directors recognized for their directing skills all share one dream: to film "Macbeth" and "King Lear." They want to be acknowledged as directors who can successfully adapt Shakespearean tragedies into films. Shakespeare's tragedies possess a fatal charm. In fact, many contemporary film directors have challenged Shakespeare but mostly failed. They were overwhelmed by the weight of Shakespeare's plays and failed to interpret them in their own language.

Director Akira Kurosawa. Photo by Naver

Akira Kurosawa (1910?1998), also recognized worldwide for his directing, challenged Shakespeare. His first work was "Macbeth." Unlike Hollywood directors, Kurosawa only took the theme and transformed everything into a Japanese style. The setting was Japan's Sengoku period. The title was "Throne of Blood." While shooting in black and white, the ornate rhetoric characteristic of Shakespeare's plays was ruthlessly cut.

To be honest, although I appeared in a minor role in "Macbeth" and read the play several times, I did not fully understand "Macbeth" until I encountered "Throne of Blood." Changing the stage from Scotland to Sengoku-era Japan and stripping away the elaborate rhetoric, "Throne of Blood" made me finally realize Shakespeare's greatness. Joel Coen's recent "Macbeth" is said to be on par with Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood."

Among Shakespeare's works, "Macbeth" is almost unique in having a female lead. In "Hamlet," Ophelia has a certain significance but remains a supporting character. Lady Macbeth is a confident lead. The role of Lady Macbeth is a coveted part among talented actresses due to its intense character. The long-held stereotype that women are weak and passive, lacking ambition for power, is shattered. French actress Marion Cotillard's portrayal of Lady Macbeth in Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth" exemplifies this well. Cotillard brilliantly embodied the incarnation of greed.

The Russian writer Nikolai Leskov's novel is titled "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District." The plot revolves around a young wife sold for money who, unable to endure her husband's infidelity and neglect, falls in love with a servant. In January 1934, the young composer Dmitri Shostakovich premiered the opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" at the Moscow Maly Theatre. The opera was popular enough to be performed in five countries over two years. However, in January 1936, the Communist Party's newspaper Pravda criticized it as "nonsense, not music," putting Shostakovich on a knife's edge. He struggled to survive Stalin's bloody tyranny.

The 2017 British film "Lady Macbeth" has a similar plot structure to "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District." A seventeen-year-old girl is sold to an old landowner and marries his son in a loveless marriage. The husband is often away from home. Catherine, deprived of fulfilling her desires, is drawn to a rebellious servant and falls in love. Eventually, she kills her husband and becomes increasingly cunning and evil. In "Lady Macbeth," the servant Sebastian is portrayed as tormented by conscience.

Looking at recent politics, it is no different from a pack of hyenas salivating over prey with wild eyes. Since democratization in 1987, such behavior has never been seen. They speak with slick words but behave almost like gangsters. More seriously, they feel no guilt whatsoever. The message of "Macbeth" is that the end of greed always leads to destruction. Lady Macbeth at least realized her sins late and suffered from them.