Musical Macbeth: Believer by Macbeth ft Macduff family

Believer by Macbeth ft. Macduff Family

Ambition ripple effect:

Thesis

Verse 1:

Verse 2:

Second things second

Don't you tell me what you think that I could be

I'm the one at the sail

I'm the master of my sea, oh-ooh

The master of my sea, oh-ooh

This stanza is Macbeth's transition into a king and is talking to Lady Macbeth but no longer listens to the inferior opinion of women. “I'm the master of my sea” is a metaphor that correlates to Macbeth being the king of Scotland and is referred to as “My royal lord”(3.4.36) by Lady Macbeth.

First things first

I'ma say all the words inside my head

I'm fired up and tired of

The way that things have been, oh-ooh

The way that things have been, oh-ooh

“Believer” by Imagine Dragons mirrors Shakespeare’s Macbeth, through metaphors, imagery, and personification to depict Macbeth's destructive ambition, ultimately illustrating the coexistence of guilt and the pursuit of power, fueling societal corruption.

Macbeth is talking about the Witches, where “the words inside [his] head” represent Macbeth grappling with the thoughts introduced by the witches who implanted the idea of Macbeth having a greater title than Thane of Glamis. The witches call Macbeth, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.3.53). This stanza is about Macbeth before he rose to the throne and his internal struggle over whether he should give in to his ambition.

Key:

Macbeth

Lady Macbeth

Fleance

Witches

Macduff

Overview:

Lyric Link:

Imagine Dragons' song "Believer" is by Macbeth ft. Macduff family. Macbeth is singing either to himself, Lady Macbeth, or the witches. Macduff and Fleance are singing their lines to Macbeth, about Lady Macduff or about Malcolm. This song is about Macbeth's growing ambition, which causes his guilt and affects those around him. This takes place at the end of the play where Macbeth is reflecting back on the events that occurred.

Chorus interpretation #1:

Pain! You made me a, you made me a

Believer, believer

Pain! You break me down, you build me up

Believer, believer

Pain! Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain

My life, my love, my drive, it came from…

Pain! You made me a, you made me a

Believer, believer

Verse 4:

Pre-Chorus:

At the beginning of the chorus, Fleance is speaking about Macbeth's impact and how he emotionally broke Fleance down since he orchestrated his mom's death. The chorus then shifts to Macduff seeking revenge on Macbeth because Malcolm metaphorically built Macduff up and encouraged him to kill Macbeth. “Bullets fly” aligns with Macduff killing Macbeth, marking the final war that results in bloodshed metaphorically “raining” down. Lady Macduff is his “life, love, and drive." Despite Macduff's pain from his wife's tragic death, it paradoxically serves to empower Macduff, fueling his determination for vengeance.

Last things last

By the grace of the fire and the flames

[Im] the face of the future

The blood in my veins, oh-ooh

The blood in my veins, oh-ooh

The song now shifts to the Macduff family where Fleance metaphorically speaks to Macbeth describing his emotional turmoil after witnessing his mother's murder. The lyrics “took to me” and “shook at me” symbolize the murderers who tried to kill Fleance but he was able to escape. However, "feelin' me" represents how Macbeth emotionally got to him. Fleance is now “heartbroken” from the pain of his mother's death.

I was broken from a young age

Taking my sulkin' to the masses

Writing my poems for the few

That look at me, took to me, shook at me, feelin' me

Singing from heartache from the pain

Taking [his] message from the veins

Speaking my lesson from the brain

Seeing the beauty through the...Pain!

The Overarching Theme:

The consequences of Macbeth's actions and the destructive nature of his ambition.

NO GENERATIONS

DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

BLOOD AND FIRE IMAGERY

Macbeth has no generations to take his spot as king after him so the future ends with him.

Blood and fire also correlate to death and destruction, alluding to the consequences of Macbeth's actions and the destructive nature of his ambition.

Chorus interpretation #2

The blood and fire imagery ultimately relate to Macbeth's power hunger that got the best of him, consuming his veins.

It then transitions to Macduff "taking [Malcoms] message from the veins" on how to deal with the pain, “Let's make us medicines of our great revenge,/ To cure this deadly grief”(4.3.214-215), as grieving is unmanly so must be turned into revenge. “The beauty through the pain” encapsulates Macduff finding the silver lining to his pain, recognizing the opportunity to get rid of Macbeth that resulted from Lady Macduff's death.

Pre-Chorus #2

• Another interpretation of the chorus is Macbeth singing the verse to the witches.
• The witches made him a "believer" and by killing King Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff, he would be able to maintain his role.
• The witches use illusions through ghosts saying, “Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn /The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth”(4.1.87-89), boosting Macbeth's self-confidence.
• The bullets symbolize all the people he has killed; however, the “let them rain" reveals how Macbeth got out of control because the witches only hinted at killing Macduff, not his family. The witches say, "Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff!"(4.1.81).

I was chokin' in the crowd

Building my rain up in the cloud

Falling like ashes to the ground

Hoping my feelings, they would drown

But they never did, ever lived, ebbin' and flowin'

Inhibited, limited 'til it broke open and rained down

It rained down, like…

In addition, the line "Hoping my feelings, they would drown" personifies emotions, paralleling Macbeth's attempts to suppress his ambitious desires. "Stars, hide your fires, / Let not light see my black and deep desires. / The eye wink at the hand"(1.4.51-53), illustrates Macbeth personifying the stars to hide their light so that no one sees his mischievous desires for the throne. "But they never did" relates to his inevitable failure to conceal his actions from judgment, including his own.

This stanza reveals Macbeth's ongoing torment and how, despite killing his threat, Banquo, the ghost of Banquo still haunts Macbeth. Macbeth metaphorically “chokes in the crowd” as he sees Banquo's ghost during the dinner scene. Macbeth says to the ghost, “Never shake / thy gory locks at me” (3.4.51-52), unable to escape his deceitful act and makes a fool of himself. “Falling like ashes to the ground” serves as a metaphor for Macbeth's growing guilt that ultimately leads to his death. Macbeth tried to suppress his guilt but he was unable to do so, as the rain symbolizes washing away his facade and exposing it in front of everyone ("it broke down").

Parallel:

Verse 3:

"Believer" by Imagine Dragons explores the theme of finding meaning and learning from pain. This song parallels Shakespeare's Macbeth as they both explore the consequences of ambition. The person in "Believer" gains insight from their struggles, but Macbeth develops newfound guilt from his ambitious pursuits. Furthermore, the person in "Believer" overcomes their internal turmoil , but Macbeth never does.

Third things third

Send a prayer to the ones up above

All the hate that you've heard

Has turned your spirit to a dove, oh-ooh

Your spirit up above, oh-ooh

Dove symbolizes purity which reveals how Banquo and Lady Macduff were truly innocent and good people.

This verse reveals the beginning of Macbeth's overwhelming guilt for killing Banquo. Macbeth reflects on all the pain he caused Banquo, who is now a spirit up above. The animal imagery with the dove contrasts Macbeth's earlier portrayal of Banquo as a snake, remarking on how “[he] has scorched the snake but not yet killed it”(3.2.14). However, now Banquo is depicted as a dove, no longer posing as a threat to Macbeth.

INTERPRETATION TWO:

This verse could also symbolize Macduff singing to the spirit of his wife, who did not deserve all the hate she received, even from Macduff, who left her. Lady Macduff is metaphorically a dove up above, highlighting how ambition can cause undeserved tragedies.

By: Abby Hodes