After reading this climactic and literarily intriguing section of William Shakespeare's venerated play, Macbeth, I started to chuckle about the foolishness of Macbeth's actions. The play opened with Duncan's murder, for Duncan was too trusting in his seemingly loyal subjects, namely, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Later on, Banquo lost his life due to this immense trust in another, Macbeth. Finally, it is Macbeth now that falls after believing whole-heartedly in the witch's prophecies, for he trusted that his demise would come only after Birnam Wood would come to his castle and a man "not born of a woman" would kill him. The common connection that all these three murdered characters have is that they all trust everything for its face-value, not thinking outside of the box and looking for hidden meanings. For example, Duncan and Banquo didn't notice Macbeth's frenzied breakdown, just like Macbeth trusted wholly in the witch's prophecies.
Lady Macbeth by George Cattermole.
Macbeth Consulting the Vision of the Armed Head. B...
English: Poster of Thos. W. Keene in William Shake...Shakespeare, thus, is expressing that you cannot trust anything and you have to think creatively in order to not foolishly take everything for its face-value. If you do, as all these characters exemplify, your demise is sure to come.
However, in my opinion, what Shakespeare is saying - never to trust anyone - is, in reality, quite sad. Where would you be in life today if you didn't trust in another? Doesn't teamwork, which is much better than working alone, require at least some levels of trust? Thus, I highly disagree with Shakespeare, for society needs to trust others in certain cases in order for life to progress harmoniously. Without any trust, everyone would be in a constant state of fear, much like Macbeth, eventually leading to one's collapse. One's sense of security would be lost, and even a baby would have to be in a constant state of apprehension...