Macbeth And The Sin From Whence We Are Redeemed

I should probably start a blog, titled Stories of Redemption, with a work that is a bit more uplifting, with a work that speaks of redemption. However, I chose Macbeth. There is a reason for this choice. It is my hope that Macbeth will give an opportunity for discussion on the subject from whence is man redeemed. If there is a need for redemption, where does man initially find himself that forces a need for redemption and a redeemer. That place is sin, and Macbeth does a wonderful job in its portrayal of such.

For me, Macbeth speaks more of sin and less of sins. Many artistic works speak of and often celebrate sins, the evil behaviors of mankind. But what makes Macbeth unique is its understanding of sin, that nature, which is in every man, and for which Christ ultimately died. We are given a look into the dark heart of Macbeth just minutes after his first meeting with the three witches. Upon hearing that he would soon be Thane of Cawdor and eventually King, Macbeth mutters,
"This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, why hath it given me earnest of success, commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs against the use of nature? Present fears are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder yet is fantastical, shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered in surmise and nothing is but what is not....If chance will have me King, why chance may crown me."
So Macbeth begins immediately to wrestle with his inner nature, his dark heart. And this is the power and the purpose of the play, to show the viewer the inner thoughts of a man, the thoughts of which only God is fully aware.
If you take the time to read Macbeth, I would recommend you rent the 1979 video version of the play, starring Ian McKellen and Judi Dench. This is a difficult version to watch, not because it is poorly made or acted - just the opposite. Philp Cason and Trevor Nunn, who direct and conceive this version, take a minimalistic approach. There is no scenery, little to no props, limited costuming, and often only one single spotlight. The intent is to focus the audience on the faces and thus the words of the script. You cannot look away, you cannot escape understanding the man Macbeth and the sin to which he responds.

-Mark