Fate (8)

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For me, fate is something that ‘the higher power or god’ has already plan for us, but we can still work hard to change it because God is nice and He only want what best for His servant. In this story, Macbeth is really believed that he is fated to be a king. Therefore, he fought very hard to achieve it. For me, his intention to get the throne is not really wrong (I didn’t say it’s right, just not really wrong.. J), because I believe that everyone wants power right? Everyone wants to be in charge of something. But his way of doing it is totally wrong.

As a Muslim, I strongly believe in Qada’ and qadar, which is closely connected to fate. In Islamic teachings, there’s a saying that “Allah tidak akan mengubah nasib sesuatu kaum itu melainkan mereka berusaha untuk mengubah nasib mereka sendiri”(surah QS. Ar-Ra'du (13):11). This shows that we can change our fate, but not in a negative way.

For me, it is my fate to be here, and I’ll try as hard as I can to make it better. I don’t really planning on to be a teacher because I know my abilities. I know my limit, I am a glossophobic person. So how can I teach students in that condition? But my mum ask me to take this course, she says that it will benefit me in many ways. Teaching is a really interesting jobs but it need lots of passion and patient. I don’t think I can handle it (but we’ll see what will happen after my teaching practice in semester 8), maybe I’ll fall in love with this field because I know this is a very noble job. 

Lastly, I found a very interesting quote about fate that makes me understand more clearly about it;

“Fate is the supposed force, principle, or power that predetermines events, as well as the inevitable events predestined by this force. Those who believe in fate, believe (whether directly or indirectly) that their stay on earth has been decided long before they became a resident of said planet. So here we are, an insignificant blurb, on a planet not bigger than a speck of dust (in the grand scheme of things), hurtling (seemingly) endlessly through space, progressing towards some fate decided by the cosmos and therefore out of our understanding. We can, however, at least try to grasp what it truly means to accept fate and then determine whether or not to believe in it.”

Daulat….(7)

Nik Musaini Nik Mustapha

In our last discussion, one of my classmates Maal did mention about this ‘Daulat’ things. And miss Dzeelfa said that they (western kings) also have this things just like our king because ‘Raja adalah wakil Tuhan’ (I’m sorry, I don’t know how to put it in English-it might bring another meaning..huhu). It makes me think that what Daulat is actually about? Is it the bad things will happen if we harm the king? Or is it they have the power to punished the wrong-doing person?

We start talking about this when we read act 2 scene 3 where Lennox tell the earth situation to Macbeth;

The night has been unruly. Where we lay,

Our chimneys were blown down and, as they say,

Lamentings heard i' th' air, strange screams of death,

And prophesying with accents terrible

Of dire combustion and confused events

New hatched to the woeful time. The obscure bird

Clamored the livelong night. Some say the Earth

Was feverous and did shake.

We as the readers know that it happen when Macbeth is killing Duncan, but Lennox didn’t know about it.  So I’m confused, did they know about this ‘Daulat’ that they have? What are their perceptions about this? As for Malays, we really need to respect and obey our king. If we disobeyed their words, we will get curse because we are under their oath. I just can’t connect the western ruling system with our ruling system because it seems like there is so much differences in both system. But I believe that we need to respect our leader.

Weird sisters (6)

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I think the three witches in this story is really interesting. They are in the opening scene of the play (which in my opinion to show that they play an important role in this story). They are portrayed as an ugly creature and not the residence of this earth. This can be prove in this part (act 1 scene 3):

What are these

So withered and so wild in their attire,

That look not like th' inhabitants o' th' Earth,

And yet are on ’t?—Live you? Or are you aught

That man may question? You seem to understand me,

By each at once her choppy finger laying

Upon her skinny lips. You should be women,

And yet your beards forbid me to interpret

That you are so.

Other than physical appearance, I also like their sisterhood spirit. They will always be together through thick and thin. The thing that attract me the most about witches is their mantra. I really like this mantra because it has a catchy rhythm:

The weird sisters, hand in

hand,     

Posters of the sea and land,

Thus do go about, about,

Thrice to thine and thrice to mine

And thrice again, to make up nine.

Peace! The charm’s wound up.

Then it strikes me, why three? Why not other numbers? Then my roommate tells me a brief history about witches. It starts at Salem, where they first discover about witchcraft and there is three witches that being caught. They were accused to start all of the chaos that happened at that place. Since then, it has been like a custom to describe three witches together.

Shakespeare (5)

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William Shakespeare is renowned as the English playwright and poet whose body of works is considered the greatest in history of English literature (absoluteshakespeare.com). For me he is a really great man. His mind is way ahead of the time. He is very creative in writing good plays and really very creative in describing each and every character in his plays. I wonder how it feels like to have a great mind like Shakespeare. I mean does it make him feel happy because he is brilliant? Does it make him feel proud of himself? Or does it make him feel being use for his skill? Before this, I didn’t really care about all these literature things and didn’t want to know about Shakespeare at all even if I’ve heard so many people were talking about his great plays. But recently, I’ve fall in love with his artistic work till’ I look up for his biography to know more about this great man, and here is some interesting fact (for me)that I  found about him.

William Shakespeare Facts: 1

Shakespeare lived to 52. It is known that he was born in April 1564 and that he died on 23rd April 1616. We know that he was baptised on 26th April 1564 and scholars now believe that he was born on April 23rd. He therefore died on his fifty-second birthday, coinciding with St George’s Day.

William Shakespeare Facts: 2

Shakespeare had seven siblings. They were: Joan (1558); Margaret (1562); Gilbert (1566); Joan II (1569); Anne (1571); Richard (1574) and Edmund (1580)

William Shakespeare Facts: 3

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway when he was 17. She was 26 and she was pregnant when they married. Their first child was born six months after the wedding. Shakespeare and Anne Hathawy had three children together – a son, Hamnet, who died in 1596, and two daughters, Susanna and Judith. His only granddaughter Elizabeth – daughter of Susanna – died childless in 1670. Shakespeare therefore has no descendants.

William Shakespeare Facts: 4

Shakespeare was buried in the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. He put a curse on anyone daring to move his body from that final resting place. His epitaph was:
Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here:
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.
Though it was customary to dig up the bones from previous graves to make room for others, Shakespeare’s remains are still undisturbed.

William Shakespeare Facts: 5

One of Shakespeare’s relatives on his mother’s side, William Arden, was arrested for plotting against Queen Elizabeth I, imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed.

William Shakespeare Facts: 6

All Uranus’ satellites are named after Shakespearean characters.

William Shakespeare Facts: 7

‘William Shakespeare’ is an anagram of ‘I am a weakish speller’.

Banquo (4)

Nik Musaini Nik Mustapha

Banquo is a rebuke to Macbeth, because he din’t choose the path that Macbeth take. He is the brave, noble general whose children, according to the witches' prophecy, will inherit the Scottish throne. Like Macbeth, Banquo also thinks ambitiously, but he does not translate those thoughts into action. Later in the story, it is Banquo's ghost-and not Duncan's-that haunts Macbeth. In addition to shows Macbeth's guilt for killing Banquo, the ghost also reminds Macbeth that he did not emulate Banquo's reaction to the witches' prophecy. Banquo als can be describe as a loyal friend because it never cross his mind to betray his friend to get the throne.

I think, we can hardly found a man with this quality these days. There will always be a person with self interest, a person who acts nice to another just to get a reward or a good name. Sincerity is really hard to find in one’s character traits nowadays. I say that Banquo is “one of a kind man” because he is a noble person.