Act 2

CASTLE

As the owl screamed and the cricket cried, I walked through my own castle like a thief. Every voice and every foot step louder and closer. With every breath, I shivered in fear that someone would find me and brand me a traitor for my thoughts. I never saw the servant coming from the hallway. When I encountered him, I refused to show panic in my face and fought the paranoia threatening to take over my head. I walked through the castle with the servant for a while talking as calmly as a soon-to-be-murderer could be. Then I ran into Banquo and Fleance. After talking to Banquo briefly, I casually sent off the servant to seek my wife. When I was left alone with my thoughts, I saw a ghostly dagger just within reach but never to be caught. It pointed toward King Duncan’s chamber. When I tried to grab it, my hand passed through it as if the dagger was made of air itself. As I feverishly continued to reach for the ghastly replica of my dagger, sudden gouts of blood appeared on its dudgeon. I started doubting my brain! That was when the bell rang and the dagger vanished. I pushed downed the bile coming up my throat and went into Duncan’s Chamber. Everything was like a fast moving picture for a while, both blurred and clear at the same time. Upon my return to the mortal world, my hands were red as roses and I was sweating from crown to toe. I talked with my wife but everything around me looked as if it was underwater. My wife’s voice seemed far away and everything was blurry. I was washing my hands with water, feeling that I could never come clean of this deed, when a loud knock on the door woke me from a dazed stupor. After Lady Macbeth cleaned up after me and scolded me or my cowardice, we went up and hid in our chamber like two mice hiding from a cat, knowing that if the truth came to light, our life would be forfeited. I acted naturally when I walked back out of my chamber to greet Macduff and Lennox. As we walked to the King’s chamber I prepared for the worst. But the worst never happened. Lady Macbeth and I acted as if the sky had fallen apart when Macduff ran out of the chamber screaming “Murder!”  I camouflaged myself to avoid suspicion like a stick bug hiding among branches to escape its predators. Everything went according to plan and no one cast the eye of suspicion my way when the king’s two sons fled my castle. I live to see another day...



Blood soaked dagger



Act 1

BATTLE SCENE

Bloody winter is closing all around us. As the battle ended and my fury cooled I felt the chill penetrating my armor like dagger through silk and piercing through my bones. After surveying the battle scene, Banquo and I decided to take the short cut to Forres and leave behind the main party in order to beat the foul storm cloud slowly strangling the fair sky. As our battle worn horses made their way through the ever snaking trail to Forres, we came upon three imperfect speakers, very foul in their appearance. They each hailed me and gave me a prophecy. First one told my current title, Thane of Glamis. Second one told me that I’ll be the Thane of Cawdor. The last one told me that I’ll be the king! They also predicted that Banquo would be the father of kings. Banquo was skeptical of witches so I stopped discussing it, but I could not get my mind off the prophecy.  As we laughed off these ‘ridiculous’ predictions, we ran in to Ross and Angus. They came to place the title Thane of Cawdor upon me! I realized then that those foul creatures already told me two truths. I was divided in the matter of deciding whether this supernatural temptation is fair or foul like the weather itself. As soon as I was left alone I sent a messenger to my castle telling my wife the news. When Banquo and I finally arrived at the palace, the king was waiting for us. He showered us with praise, as he should. What I was really waiting for, the title of Prince of Cumberland, never came to me. When, instead, Duncan   named his son his heir, I had trouble keeping my face from showing my heart’s desire.  As soon as the opportunity presented itself in the form of the king visiting my castle, I took my leave to race ahead to start preparations. My wife was waiting for me with praise and affection. As we conversed, my wife told me of her plan to kill Duncan. As the king arrived, I was unsure whether to follow my wife’s plan. After all, King Duncan was a cousin and a guest at my castle. As I hesitated, my wife called me a coward and convinced me. False face must hide what the false heart doth know.

Macbeth VS Breaking Bad




Macbeth

Breaking Bad

Macbeth is considered one of Shakespeare's darkest and most powerful tragedies about a Scottish tyrant's struggle for power and his fall. Breaking bad is a famous AMC TV drama about a chemistry teacher going bad and cooking meth when he is diagnosed with cancer. Though there are some disparities among their specific details, overall they are strikingly similar. In fact, the themes, character flaws, and concept of Shakespeare’s Macbeth are pervasive throughout AMC’s Breaking Bad. Both protagonists come to conflict with themselves when they meet a bump in their life. Three witches foretell Macbeth's rise to the throne. With his wife, Lady Macbeth, egging him on, he decides to kill King Duncan, his cousin and a guest in his castle. Walter White has a teenage son with physical disabilities and, at this point, a new-born daughter. Knowing he is going to die sooner rather than later, he wants to provide for them and what better way to earn some quick cash than to become the cook of the purest methamphetamine possible. Macbeth becomes corrupted by his power until it leads to his downfall. As Walter achieves his financial goal, he finds himself getting sucked down deeper in to the rabbit hole of darkness. If Macbeth had Lady Macbeth, Walter has his former chemistry student, Jesse. Both Lady Macbeth and Jesse do not at first think that the protagonist is capable of the deed. When the first murder is committed, both Lady Macbeth and Jesse finish up the dirty work for the protagonist. They both push the protagonist into the darkness. The themes, character flaws, and characteristics of Macbeth occur frequently throughout Breaking Bad. Though these stories take place in different settings, follow different plots, and belong to different genres, they have much in common.

P.S start watching Breaking Bad!(I deliberately stayed away from any spoilers so you can enjoy the show yourself.)