Brian Pennisi
Walker (3)
Eng III
14 Oct 2010
Song and Story Blend
Throughout Macbeth, King Macbeth makes a transformation from a well-liked,
ambitious king, to a paranoid mess full of remorse. Not only does this affect him, but
does it everybody around him; negatively. Lady Macbeth also sees this change in many
ways, changing from an innocent wife of a kinsman to a haughty, power driven, twofaced queen of Scotland. As modern day endorsement tactics entail, music can be found
in relation to many works of literature, movies, or other programs of the arts, since they
both are, series’ of the arts and therefore work side by side. Two songs that are applicable
for highlighting Macbeth are “Crawling” by Linkin Park and “Give Me Novocain” by
Green Day. “Crawling” outlines through the rest of the play post mortem to the
assassinations of Duncan and Banquo, that Macbeth is feeling severe regret along with
paranoia. While “Give Me Novocain” charts the thoughts Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
could be feeling as it would be the only reason way to cope with the guilt and remorse
yielded from their terrible deeds. These two songs can be looked at and compared to
portions of the play.
Paranoia is a common theme throughout Macbeth which is why the song
“Crawling” by Linkin Park can be compared and contrasted with the play. Throughout
Macbeth, King Macbeth is troubled by hallucinations, regret, and guilt, (to list a few) and
he is unfortunately does not overcome these fears. In “Crawling” the lyricist includes in
his song: “Crawling in my skin, these wounds they will not heal,” (Linkin Park, 2001)
which undoubtedly relates to the wounds that Macbeth has given to himself because of
the guilt he is allowing himself to feel because of the murders he has committed. In the
song the character feels guilt toward something that he or she did wrong as well. The two
are both aware that they had done something wrong and, whether or not they will be able
to atone for these actions, they are dealing with stress and mental wounds seemingly
incorrect able. “I am a man again…pray you sit still” (“Macbeth” 107) Macbeth says as
he recollects himself after trembling in fear due to the sight of the ghost of Banquo,
which is a hallucination created by his own mind because he cannot cope with the guilt.
This piece can also report the fact that Macduff seeks revenge from Macbeth because he
killed his entire family due to guilt that Macbeth himself felt - “discomfort, endlessly has
pulled itself upon me, distracting, reacting” (Linkin Park, 2001) as he gives the orders to
have Macduff’s family murdered. Towards the end of the song he or she begins to
completely lose their mind “confusing what is real” with “fear inside my bones” possibly
attributed to hallucinations just like Macbeth had of a bloody dagger before killing
Duncan and Banquo after he killed him due to suspicion. “I can’t seem to find myself, my
walls are closing in” as Macbeth is conquered by his madness and eventually Macduff.
The theme of paranoia and madness increases almost exponentially throughout the play
after his first murder and it eventually leads to his and his lady’s death.
The theme that “Give me Novocain” gives off is sort of a post-trauma sense
credited to his possible desires - due to his everlasting guilt because of the murder – to go
numb in order to rid the pain. The song is about how the character in this song has just
experienced something terrible that requires Novocain. He is going through a whirlwind
of emotions because of all that has happened and has chosen Novocain as his means of
relief. He goes on to talk about how “the sensation is overwhelming - drain the pressure
and the swelling” (Green Day, 2004) because he is in pain, much like Macbeth. He is in
mental pain due to the burden of guilt that he feels for the murder of Duncan along with
Banquo. He is haunted by Banquo’s ghost and the guilt he himself feels, which causes
pain, mentally and physically because of his insomnia. Macbeth realizes that what he did
was wrong, unfixable, and he just wants to somehow numb the pain even though there is
no way of doing so. “Out of body and out of mind” is probably just what Lady Macbeth
felt just before her suicide. The guilt and regret finally caught up to the lady after
displaying an important two-faced persona temporarily to cover up the couples deeds. It
came to her as a rush of negative emotion combined with the fact that the king himself
was on the brink of total insanity himself, along with Macduff’s evident return for
revenge. She could take her own life in order to achieve “out of body/out of mind” as an
outwardly reliable way of pain relief. To characters that cannot deal with what they have
done, and seek pain relief for an ache so great that it can conquer the most formidable of
minds, most of the time will end up forever scarred if not dead.
Shakespeare’s plays largely influenced modern day music. Much like how a lot
of his plays including this one focused around death, revenge, corruption, rotting of
character, and many negative things, has become a very popular theme in modern day
music. These two song “Crawling” and “Give Me Novocain” together are about paranoia,
regret, not being able to cope with pain (cause by what they have done), and
hallucinations. It is not just irony that many works of modern day music reflect many of
Shakespeare’s plays. All of his plays highlight themes of interest throughout society and
given the proper tune/twist can easily become popular because people can relate. Not
only was Shakespeare inadvertently paving a path for a popular theme (and genre) of
music/films, but he was writing great plays with many alliterations, rhyming schemes,
and making up words that we actually use today like accused, bedroom, and even hint.
Macbeth is a prime example of Shakespeare’s ability to make popular themes/plots in
that it was a very popular play and most importantly how many themes that it used can
now be related to modern day music and overall, the entertainment industry.
Works Cited
"Crawling Lyrics." MetroLyrics. MetroLyrics, 24 Oct 2010. Web. 24 Oct 2010.
<http://www.metrolyrics.com/crawling-lyrics-linkin-park.html>.
"Give Me Novocain." Sing365. Sing365, 24 Oct 2010. Web. 24 Oct 2010.
<http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Give-Me-Novacaine-lyrics-GreenDay/4337A8F7B6E4F50F48256F0F00080DFD>.
Mowat, Barbara. The Tragedy of Macbeth. New York: Folger Library, 1992. Print.
"No Fear Shakespeare Macbeth." No Fear Shakespeare . SparkNotes, 24 Oct 2010. Web.
24 Oct 2010. <http://nfs.sparknotes.com/macbeth>.