Radio-Beth?

We can all agree on two things: William Shakespeare is one of, if not the greatest english writer of all time, and that Radiohead are almost as equally sonically and lyrically talented.

While Radiohead aren't as apparent today as they were in the mid-2000s, their influence is still felt. "OK Computer," their greatest album, redefined rock music, and their incorporation of synthetic music in "Kid A" introduced many to the power of synthesizers. Shakespeare's influence is far greater, however. He created hundreds of words we still use today, and his plays are some of the most well known and influential works of literature throughout all of history. With such a difference, one might think that the talents of the two parties are leagues different. But they overlap more than one might expect.

Take, for example, the song "Paranoid Android" off "OK Computer."

Not only do these lyrics paint a haunting image of power and free will, the music sends chills through your spine. Shakespeare creates emotion through complex, well defined characters, and a deep understanding of human interaction and thought. Radiohead accomplishes this same feat through visceral, complex music. They appeal to our primal nature, understanding the effect of sound on the human brain. Shakespeare terrifies us through realistic, potential people and events, yet Radiohead scares us through auditory tricks. However, that isn't to put down the lyrics of Thom Yorke- in fact, they provide a deeper insight into his songs, and allow us to find even more parallels between Radiohead and Macbeth.

Throughout "Macbeth," Macbeth himself becomes a cocky, power-hungry king, ordering murder of anyone he fears. Once he hears the prophecy of the witches, claiming that eh can only be killed by a man not born of a woman, he shouts, “Then live, Macduff; what need I fear of thee? / But yet I’ll make assurance double sure / And take a bond of fate. Thou shalt not live” (4.1). Even with nothing to worry about, Macbeths's arrogance overtakes him, causing a fervorous bloodlust, one also found in "Paranoid Android." When Thom Yorke exclaims "You don't remember / You don't remember / Why don't you remember my name? / Off with his head, man / Off with his head, man / Why don't you remember my name?" ("Paranoid Android"), it shows this same level of aggression and arrogance. Yorke orders murder just because someone doesn't know his name! Karma also seems to be present in both, as Macbeth and Yorke's character reach their respective ends with a death, Macbeth's more clearly as Macduff enters the room with his head on a stick, but Yorke through a repetition of the phrase "Rain down, rain down / come on, rain down on me" ('Paranoid Android") and other cryptic lines that feel almost like last words.

Which scared you more, the haunting tones of Radiohead, or the chilling actions of Macbeth? Let me know by voting in this this strawpoll.

Macbeth and "Viva la Vida"

Have you realized many people who are dishonest never win in the end? This idea is clearly shown in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth and in Coldplay’s song “Viva la Vida.” There are many parallels between both pieces, which include a leader’s dishonesty, influences and demise.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are conniving characters. Throughout the play they murder others to secure the position as king on the throne. First, they kill Duncan, the current king. Lady Macbeth begins the crime by framing his guards. Macbeth continues and kills Duncan, however, he is reluctant to smear blood on the guards, so she does it herself. Subsequently, the others are surprised to find Duncan dead. To keep his secret, he acts as though he is unaware of the situation. “I go and it’s done. The bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell” (Act II, Scene I). When Macbeth is alone, he expresses his feelings and his guilt in a soliloquy. He hallucinates and sees a dagger, a symbol of his guilt, before himself. This deception can also be heard in Coldplay’s song “Viva la Vida.” “once you go there was never an honest word And that was when I ruled the world” (“Viva la Vida” 18-19). This is similar to Macbeth. The leader of the song was 

never honest.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in the 2010 adaptation of Macbeth




Lady Macbeth is an accomplice of her husband, Macbeth. She assists him in killing people on and off the throne. Without Lady Macbeth, he would not have a queen or someone to create a deceptive plan. When she dies, the perfect plan of deceit plummets. After her death, he expresses his feelings in another soliloquy. “Out our 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 V, Scene V). Macbeth believes his life is now insignificant without her. He has no desire for power and has no one to command him on what to do. “Just a puppet on a lonely string Oh, who would ever want to be king?” (“Viva la Vida” 30-31). The ruler in the song is also commanded by others. The decisions are not solely made by him. In Macbeth’s case, Lady Macbeth is his puppeteer and controls his actions. She encourages him to become king even when he is hesitant and not as passionate about it.



Album cover of Viva la Vida




The fade to end of “Viva la Vida” is parallel to the fall of Macbeth’s power and demise. As the song progresses, the background music gets louder and more forceful, creating a sense of strength, while the singer describes the leader’s journey. Macbeth is seen as a strong character. In reality, he is weak because of his need of reassurance he will keep the throne. In the middle of the song, the music is the loudest, reflecting his peak in power. At the end, the lyrics and sounds begin to repeat themselves and start to fade. “He’s worth no more They say he parted well, and paid his score, And so, God be with him. Here comes newer comfort” (Act V, Scene VII) Macbeth finally falls to macduff after a life of dishonesty. Macduff enters the scene holding his head and Siward exclaims that Macbeth is dead. Now that he is dead, the chaos is over and, all of his crimes and accusations are settled.

Macbeth and “Viva la Vida” have many similarities . Both protagonists seem powerful through being dishonest and killing others to win the throne. They both are forced by others to rule, and their power dwindles at the end of each piece. These aspects are included in many other songs, showing how dishonesty is never the answer and how it will be harmful to one’s power, as well.

Immortality, Sin, and Madness in Hip-hop and Shakespeare

Immortality, Sin, and Madness in Hip-hop and Shakespeare

         Shakespeare has influenced hip-hop since its birth in the 70’s. Emcee ‘Akala’ comments on this phenomena in his 2011 TEDx talk in Aldeburgh. Akala is an award winning hip-hop artist and founder of ‘The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company,’ that explores the “social, cultural and linguistic parallels between the works of William Shakespeare and that of modern day hip-hop artists” (hiphopshakespeare.com). In Akala’s TEDx talk, he focuses primarily on the rhythmic parallels between Shakespeare and hip-hop using the Iambic pentameter as a prime example. Although the rhythmic comparisons drawn between the two subjects are essential to defining hip-hops identity, I believe that more impactful comparisons can be made between the themes in Shakespeare’s plays and those of stories told within popular hip-hop songs. Kendrick Lamar, a Grammy award winning rapper, is renowned by his ability to spin stories with his lyricism. Off of his award winning album good kid, m.A.A.d city comes a 12-minute compilation of the stories of Compton residents in the form of the song “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst.”  Kendrick Lamar’s “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth share the common themes of manipulation by evil, a mad pursuit for power, and the yearn to feel immortal.

Prior to Macbeth’s rise to power as king, he is hesitant about murdering Duncan in order to seize the crown. This internal struggle produces conflict between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as she believes she is deserving of the life he refuses to provide for her. Upon learning his hesitation she voices,“Was the hope drunk / Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since? / And wakes it now, to look so green and pale / At what it did so freely? From this time / Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard /To be the same in thine own act and valor / As thou art in desire” (Act 1 scene 7). Shakespeare, in this interaction, portrays Lady Macbeth as the root of Macbeth’s evil and the force that drives him into madness. She questions his honor and guilts him into committing acts that disobey his moral codes. Kendrick Lamar uses a similar idea of manipulation of evil taking the perspective of a man after the death of his brother. He writes, “My plan’s rather vindictive / Everybody’s a victim in my eyes / When I ride it’s a murderous rhythm / And outside became pitch black / A demon glued to my back, whispering / ‘Get’em!’” (Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst). In this example, Lamar uses a more concrete representation of manipulation through its personification in the “demon.” This demon looms over the narrator and encourages him to commit vengeful acts against his better judgement or will.

As Macbeth’s power and status grew, alongside it grew his madness. After the murder of Duncan, and the departure of his sons, Macbeth was named the king of Scotland. With this new title came a newfound obsession of protecting his royal position. This obsession lead to the murder of countless other in Macbeth’s court and the deterioration of his own mental health. In a state of delusion Macbeth speaks, “A dagger of the mind, a false creation, / Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable / As this which now I draw. / Thou marshal’st me the way that I was going … It is the bloody business which informs thus to mine eyes” (Act 2, scene 1). Macbeth, although able to distinguish the vision as a delusion, is still influenced by the presence of violence at the forefront of his mind. As the play progresses, instead of reconciling with his feelings of guilt, Macbeth delves deeper into his madness stranding him in a place with no return. This propagation of madness is similarly represented in the second part of Lamar’s “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst.” This section of the song revolves around Lamar’s thirst for salvation from the heinous acts he committed as part of gangbanger culture in Compton. As the song progresses his thirst grows stronger and his desperation for salvation becomes too much to bear. He writes, “You dyin’ of thirst, you dyin’ of thirst / So hop in that water, and pray that it works” (Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst). In his conclusion to the song, Lamar throws caution to the wind as he attempts to find solace within the “water” of hip-hop. Although he is unsure whether or not it will cure his thirst, he surrounds himself with this new situation out of desperation and hopes for the best.

As the end of the play draws near, so does the end of Macbeth’s legacy. With his obsession with preserving his title dictating his actions, Macbeth seeks aid from the Three Weird Sisters. They provide him cryptic prophecies that assist him in eliminating threats to his power. The prophecies, at a point, begin to suggest Macbeth being unkillable by any man born of a woman. This gives Macbeth a false sense of security with his position that leads to his downfall. A similar prophecy reads, “Sweet bodements, good! / Rebellious dead, rise never till the wood / Of Birnam rise, and our high-placed Macbeth / Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath/ To time and mortal custom” (Act 4, scene 1). This prediction from the Weird Sisters solidifies the idea of Macbeth’s immortality at the hands of others. His power is destined to remain intact until a forest uproots itself and moves to another location. At this point, Macbeth begins to obsess over his legacy and how to maintain it. A similar obsession with legacy is seen in the chorus of  Lamar’s “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst.” He repeats throughout the song, “When the lights shut off and it’s my turn / To settle down, my main concern /Promise that you will sing about me / Promise that you will sing about me” (Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst). Throughout the multiple stories of Compton residents, Lamar suggests their inability to cope with their mortality. Each character he portrays ends their verse with this mantra telling Kendrick Lamar to keep their memory alive and to put them in one of his songs. Lamar voices this same fear of mortality in the verse form his own perspective, speaking about his close association to death being from Compton.

Shakespeare has influenced hip-hop since its birth. Although many comparisons can be drawn between the rhythmic performance of Shakespeare plays and popular hip-hop songs, his influence goes deeper than the surface level. Many of the issues and themes tackled in Shakespeare’s Macbeth are also the focus of Kendrick Lamar’s social commentary that is “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst.” Sin, madness, and immortality are the focus of both these works and create a beautiful parallel that transcends generations.
 

Fear in Macbeth

If you were to address your feeling after reading Macbeth by William Shakespeare with an emoji, one of your choices would probably be 😱. This emoji, code-named Face Screaming in Fear, is a perfect expression for the main theme of Macbeth. However, this writing is not about an emoji. Rather, it is about the source of inspiration of this emoji – a painting.

The Scream by Edvard Munch, 1893

This artwork was inspired by emotions and created for evoking emotions. So, what emotions do you feel from this artwork? If your answer is fear, nicely done! Fear is the main theme of Macbeth. If you had read Macbeth, you may disagree with me and tell me that the main theme is violence or ambition or anxiety. So, please continue reading and let me prove my point.

Fear is one of emotions we, the homo sapiens, have had since the beginning of our time – it is a heritage from our ancestors. Because of the fear of darkness, we start a fire; because of the fear of inclement weathers, we build shelters; because of the fear of starvation, we farm; because of the fear of lack of resources, we migrate; because of fear of tiredness, we collaborate; because of fear, we establish civilizations. Therefore, fear is actually our strongest motivation.

Throughout the play, fear affects Macbeth’s decisions. Imagine the person in The Scream is facing something fearful, be it physical or not. So, he (I use the masculine pronoun here because the artist wrote that the person in this painting is himself) screams. What would he do after he finished screaming? He may either turn and run away, or leap forward to eliminate the source of fear. Macbeth is not different. In response to the fear of loss, he chooses to eliminate the source of his fear.

In Act I, when Macbeth is hesitating whether he should murder Duncan or not, his morality and loyalty dissolve his resolution to kill the King. “We will proceed no further in this business,” (Act I Scene VII) Macbeth tells his wife. However, he changes his mind shortly after talking to his wife, because of the fear of losing his wife’s love and respect. Eventually, Macbeth commits the regicide.

After becoming the King of Scotland, Macbeth starts to fear the prophecy of Banquo having decedents as Kings. Macbeth, however, does not have a child. Therefore, there is no point to fear his son not being the King. What he truly fears is the possibility of Banquo taking the crown. He comments on Banquo as having “a wisdom that doth guide his valor to act in safety.” (Act III Scene I). In other words, he fears that Banquo may assassinate him. When Macbeth’s “fears in Banquo stick deep” (Act III Scene I), he summons two murderers to eliminate his friend Banquo, who is his source of fear.

In the production of Macbeth by Rupert Goold, Macbeth loses all his motivation to do anything productive when he believes that he has eliminated all threats. He has no fear. He has been drinking until Malcolm attacks the castle. Even then, he has no will to fight because he is brainwashed by the prophecies and has no fear of losing the battle.

Therefore, it is evident that Macbeth’s actions are almost all driven by fear. You  may want to argue that this does not necessarily mean fear is the main theme of Macbeth, and that main theme can still be something else. I agree. However, I have a much more conclusive piece of evidence – frequency analysis.

I wrote a simple Python script to count the occurrence of words in Macbeth. Due to technical limitations, synonyms and different forms of a word are not taken into consideration. The word “fear” occurred 35 times in the entire play and is the 91st most frequent word (Table 1). However, if you look at the table, you will find that the top 20 of most frequent words don’t actually mean anything, because they are almost all pronouns and prepositions.

To get a more meaningful result, I filtered out all the prepositions, pronouns, articles, conjunctions, the verb “to be” and names. Now the word “fear” is actually on the top 30 of the list. Even after the filtering, most of the words ranked higher on the list still don’t have any significant meaning. The only two emotions on the entire list are “love” and “fear,” with love having only 54% of occurrence of fear. Therefore, it is statistically proven that fear is the main theme of Macbeth.

In conclusion, when it comes to the root, it is not ambition or greed that motivates Macbeth. It is fear–the fear of loss, the fear of the unknown, the fear of death, the fear of fear–that motivates Macbeth, me, you, and everyone. The Scream and its derivation Face Screaming in Fear are so popular because they are expressions of human’s biggest motivation. So is Macbeth. Over centuries, these two artworks have been modified, reproduced, referenced, and imitated repeatedly not only because of their extremely high literary values, but also because of the emotion they express. This emotion, when present, is what alters our perception of the value of an abstract or concrete entity most strongly. When we have hard choices to make, we don’t always choose the best one; however, we always choose the one that is not the worst. Hidden deep inside, fear is what connects The Scream and Macbeth, what motivates us, and what controls us.

 

Rank	Word	Occurrence	Rank	Word	Occurrence	Rank	Word	Occurrence
1	the	731	34	we	87	67	well	44
2	and	577	35	are	83	68	who	42
3	to	382	36	do	83	69	if	42
4	of	368	37	which	80	70	should	41
5	i	326	38	will	73	71	her	41
6	macbeth	283	39	they	72	72	did	41
7	a	244	40	banquo	69	73	when	40
8	that	233	41	shall	67	74	like	40
9	in	205	42	no	66	75	say	40
10	you	202	43	by	63	76	there	39
11	my	192	44	upon	61	77	were	39
12	is	188	45	thee	61	78	enter	39
13	not	167	46	on	60	79	make	39
14	with	155	47	malcolm	59	80	lord	38
15	it	153	48	their	59	81	duncan	37
16	his	152	49	yet	57	82	o	36
17	be	135	50	from	56	83	here	36
18	your	127	51	us	55	84	ill	36
19	but	122	52	ross	52	85	tis	36
20	have	122	53	first	52	86	lennox	35
21	for	121	54	now	52	87	man	35
22	our	118	55	or	51	88	may	35
23	he	117	56	time	51	89	done	35
24	me	111	57	at	51	90	must	35
25	macduff	109	58	witch	50	91	fear	35
26	what	103	59	come	50	92	then	35
27	this	102	60	good	50	93	let	35
28	so	100	61	thy	50	94	had	34
29	all	100	62	hath	50	95	murtherer	34
30	lady	98	63	them	50	96	king	33
31	as	95	64	more	49	97	where	33
32	him	89	65	would	47	98	know	33
33	thou	88	66	was	45	99	how	33

Table 1: Most frequent 99 words in Macbeth. For the purpose of analysis, all punctuation marks are removed and all characters converted to lowercase.

 

 

Rank	Word	Occurrence	Rank	Word	Occurrence	Rank	Word	Occurrence
1	not	167	34	king	33	67	death	20
2	have	122	35	where	33	68	has	19
3	lady	98	36	know	33	69	love	19
4	do	83	37	how	33	70	day	18
5	will	73	38	why	32	71	show	18
6	shall	67	39	doctor	31	72	way	18
7	first	52	40	great	31	73	life	18
8	time	51	41	see	31	74	hear	18
9	witch	50	42	son	30	75	ay	18
10	come	50	43	speak	30	76	only	17
11	good	50	44	thane	28	77	exeuntscene	17
12	hath	50	45	sir	28	78	hail	17
13	more	49	46	second	27	79	art	17
14	would	47	47	go	26	80	worthy	17
15	well	44	48	sleep	26	81	own	17
16	should	41	49	too	25	82	take	17
17	did	41	50	siward	24	83	men	16
18	say	40	51	can	24	84	strange	16
19	enter	39	52	look	24	85	put	16
20	make	39	53	give	24	86	poor	16
21	lord	38	54	does	24	87	knocking	16
22	o	36	55	things	23	88	wife	15
23	here	36	56	blood	23	89	old	15
24	ill	36	57	cawdor	22	90	bloody	15
25	tis	36	58	exit	22	91	heaven	15
26	man	35	59	night	22	92	deed	15
27	may	35	60	again	21	93	three	14
28	done	35	61	third	21	94	air	14
29	must	35	62	been	21	95	name	14
30	fear	35	63	heart	21	96	god	14
31	let	35	64	scotland	20	97	thought	14
32	had	34	65	nature	20	98	theres	14
33	murtherer	34	66	cannot	20	99	dead	14

Table 2: Most frequent 99 words of Macbeth, with all names, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, articles and word “to be” removed. For the purpose of analysis, all punctuation marks are removed and all characters converted to lowercase.