normal. I can relate to him in specific ways. He's relatable because he's ambitious. He wants upward mobility in his life. He's already a thane and well liked by the king, but he isn't opposed to being rewarded with money and new titles. He's not even against the idea of being king. I wouldn't want to be king, but I do appreciate moving up through the ranks of my job and being rewarded for work well done. Macbeth does consider doing a great evil to shortcut his rise. I can't fault him for that. I think most people have dreamt of getting away with something wrong, but Macbeth ultimately decides that it isn't worth it. He has a strong enough moral compass to tellLady Macbeth that he is not going to go through with the murder. That is absolutely compelling. He has a conscience. Unfortunately, he can't stick to it in the face of his wife's insults.

As previous posts have mentioned, Macbeth has something for everyone!  It is a very assessable play because it ultimately asks the audience "what influences you and to what degree?"  Everyone has a character or a circumstance in the play that they can make a direct correlation to:  have you ever been talked into something?  have you ever wanted something that wasn't yours?  have you ever felt so guilty you couldn't control it? have you ever regretted your actions but had no easy way to reverse the course of events?  Most people can relate to these themes, and therefore the play is very interesting.

We have the supernatural elements of the witches, great battles, passionate relationships, murder, jealousy, ambition, violence and death. We still use many of these elements to create exciting stories today. Think of our obsession with detactive shows, competition and of course 'true-life dramas' (the story of Macbeth is loosely based in historical fact) and you see that Shakespeare hit on a formula for entertainment which we are still captivated by.

With the elements of the preternatural world, unsexing, treachery, murder, suicide, and insanity how can Macbeth not interesting?  Added to all this, Shakespeare's tragedy is based upon historical characters.  Hollywood should do so well!

I think that Macbeth is interesting because it brings out some of the themes that intrigues readers today: murder, darkness, power, and witchcraft. These themes are relevant today- think Harry Potter or The Twilight Saga.  While Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in the early 1600s, it still speaks to active readers, while at the same time, and those not so interested given the themes of the play.

Also, it makes us look at the issues of ambition and morality.  We have to think about how a person can be both ambitious (which is not necessarily a bad thing) and moral at the same time.  Macbeth allows his ambition to take over and loses his morality.  Why does this happen?  Is it inevitable?  Is Macbeth a bad person?  Is it his wife's fault that he lets his ambition take over?

All of these questions present themselves to us.  This play is interesting because it forces us to think about these issues and to try to apply them to our own lives.