15 Dec Who Owns Shakespeare? Is it everyone?

Shakespeare belongs to everyone, as everyone feels cozy with his art of characterization, his extraordinary language, and beautiful stories. However, among all his most significant works, the work which appeals to me most is Macbeth, as I want to interpret it through Freudian psychological aspects. Freud distinguished three components of the human psyche; Id, Ego, and Superego.

Here Macbeth’s desire for power and his vaulting ambition, which were latent in his mind, can be correlated with Id, as, according to Freud, Id is the area of instincts and desires. And all that does not come to the fore in our consciousness. Where Lady Macbeth, as Ego, which is the source of our decision making instigates Macbeth to murder Duncan and gain the throne. Banquo, whom I want to associate with the superego, forbids Macbeth not to do any guilt to gratify his desire. But as our Id always wants to satisfy its desire, Macbeth also, with the instigation of Lady Macbeth, i.e., Ego, killed Duncan to fulfill his desire.

As a result, they both suffered from the prick of consciousness, which is supposed to be the most dangerous punishment ever. But, as sometimes, we can see, with the help of power and authority, many influential people get rid of their penalization. Still, they can not set themselves free from this universal law of self-punishment as their guilt-ridden minds collapse forever in the act of repentance.

Here all the readers and audience can associate themselves with the psychological understanding of guilt and repentance. This can be called divine punishment because no one, even a king like Macbeth, can set himself free from the act of repentance. I think everyone who will read Shakespeare can associate themselves with their social and psychological perspective. That is why everyone owns Shakespeare.