JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE STUDIES

The Concept of Death in William Shakespeare's Macbeth and Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Qusay Jaddoa Ahmed Al-Azzawy

Department of English language / College of Education / Al-Kitab University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.25130/Lang.8.6.7

Keywords: Ambition, Church, Death, Power, Prophecy, Witchcraft

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Abstract

This paper aims to examine the concept of “death” in William Shakespeare's Macbeth and Arthur Miller's The Crucible in an analytical method as these two plays are filled with murder, executions, and assassinations. These plays show the subject of death in classical and modern drama by the two famous playwrights. The paper is divided into two parts: the first part tackles Shakespeare's Macbeth in (1606) and how the idea of death occupies a great place as the hero falls dead in the end. The second discusses Miller's The Crucible and the tragic events that put to death many people, fearing to spread the thoughts of communists in America. It also reveals people who are hung, crushed, and stifled by society powers, which filled its citizens' minds with certain myths, witchcraft and superstitions that may be against ethics and honor. The concept of “death” will be analyzed in two methods, the first one is a symbolic, spiritual, method while the second is a physical method. These two methods will examine the main characters. The death is the main feature that includes the heroes of selected plays to achieve nobility and perception. Consequently, this paper attempts to show how the dramatists succeed in providing a moral and human lesson to readers around the world, as well as changing this terrible truth of murder into something highly meaningful that it is a step towards the eternal life.

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