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A comparison between Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Voltaire’s Candide.
Introduction.
Macbeth and Candide are some of the greatest literary works in history with strong themes that have echoed throughout history and are reviewed to date. They challenged the moral, political and religious affiliations of the times in which they were written. The proficiency with which the works were delivered while different, proved effective at addressing the issues conceptualized by the authors. While Shakespeare chose to deliver his work in the form of plays, Voltaire chose to deliver his as a novel. Candide and Macbeth depict several themes, some of which are common to them and others which differ. Though Shakespeare is famous for his various plays, Candide is widely regarded as Voltaire’s magnum opus.
Thesis statement.
While Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Voltaire’s Candide both depict a protagonist who is faced with challenges throughout their journey, Candide exhibits personal growth and willingness to change while Macbeth exhibits no real personal growth.
Similarities between themes.
Power corrupts.
This is a major theme that transcends both literary works. In Macbeth, this theme is very evident when Macbeth is approached by the three witches while with Banquo. Their revelation of the future in which he would be named Thane of Cawdor and consequently the king of Scotland, sparks the ambitious ember in Macbeth. This spark is enflamed by the confirmation by king Duncan of his title as Thane of Cawdor on his return. The acquisition of this, coupled with the prophecy and encouragement by his wife, drives Macbeth towards murdering the Duncan. Throughout the play, we witness how, in efforts to retain his crown, he continuously engages in murderous acts. This is a clear portrayal of the theme power corrupts.
In Voltaire’s Candide, after passing through Eldorado, Candide acquires a fortune. At first it seems as though all his problems will be swept away by his immense wealth. However, through the continuous loss of his wealth to unscrupulous merchants and officials, his faith in the inherent goodness of the world and moreover the people in it is put to the test. He becomes unhappier at these malicious actions of people towards others in a manner that is deeper than any flogging he had to endure during his journey. Candide’s money attracts false friends such as Vanderdendur who cheats him. His optimism hits an all-time low during this period. His gift to Paquette and Brother Giroflée only serves to drive them into “the last stages of misery.” This is evidence of the theme that power corrupts.
A tragedy of moral order.
In both literary works, moral compass is not followed whether by the protagonist or by other characters. In Voltaire’s Candide, this can be illustrated by all the horrible things that occur to Candide, Cunégonde, Professor Pangloss, and Paquette in the story. From the beginning of the novel, Candide is flogged, nearly executed and forced to join a battle between the Abares and the Bulgars. Cunégonde’s family is murdered, she is raped and at the latter parts of the novel, sold into slavery. Pangloss is flogged and hanged for heresy and Paquette is forced to become a prostitute. The unscrupulous merchants who cheat and steal Candide’s wealth acquired from Eldorado further illustrates the evil and consequently the broken moral compass inherent to the world. The old woman, trying to save Cunégonde from her self-pity due to the horrible things that had been done to her, narrates to Candide and Cunégonde about her own experiences in the past. Some of which had driven her toward suicidal thoughts. A hundred times I wanted to kill myself, but always I loved life more (Voltaire and Havens 84). In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, perhaps the most significant character depicting a tragedy of moral order is Macbeth himself. First driven by his ambition, he murders the then king Duncan in his sleep while on visit to Macbeths castle in Inverness. Consequently, Macbeth proceeds to kill more and more people including his friend Banquo in an attempt to secure his position as the King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth also illustrates a broken moral compass when she coerces her husband to kill King Duncan and later on her continued support of Macbeths murderous actions. The three witches, led by Hecate, do not have Macbeths best interest in their plans. They reveal horrible atrocities to him which serve as clues but do not offer interpretation as to their meaning. By doing this, they intentionally lead Macbeth into the throws of paranoia and eventually despondency. Hence the theme of tragedy in moral order is evident through these characters and actions.
Differences between the literary works.
Personal growth and development.
Voltaire’s Candide takes the reader through the journey “life” as it were, through the adventures of Candide the main protagonist. At the start of his journey Candide is mentored by Professor Pangloss, who is a philosopher, true to Leibnizian optimism. Thus all Candide knows is that the world is inherently good and that everything will always work out for the best. However, once he is expelled from the castle for kissing Cunégonde, he is exposed to the outside world which is the complete opposite of the teachings from Professor Pangloss. He is publicly flogged numerous times and almost executed. The occurrences of natural calamities further illustrate just how ruthless the world outside the castle was. There are few instances of goodwill among the people Candide encounters such as the old woman who took him in after he escapes his execution as a result of an earthquake. Candide reconciled that sometimes justice is served by natural disasters such as his escape from execution and the sinking of the Vanderdendur’s ship. The enormous riches which this rascal had stolen were sunk beside him in the sea, and nothing was saved but a single sheep (Voltaire and Havens 98)
Another instance of goodness of people is Jacques. He is an Anabaptist who provides aid to both Candide and Pangloss. He helps Candide by taking care of him after he escapes from the army and he cured Pangloss of syphilis which he contracted from Paquette. These actions by Jacques serve to strengthen Candide’s optimism towards the world. However, compared to the large number of atrocities that befall the characters in Voltaire’s Candide, at the end of the novel he opts to choose a more realistic approach to life. Rather than concerning himself with the philosophies revolving around whether the world is good or evil he chooses to embrace a simple existence of cultivating his land. This shows significant growth of the main protagonist. At first he is naïve and completely oblivious to the world outside the castle only knowing the teachings of Pangloss but by the end, by weighing all his encounters and experiences, he is able to embrace his own view on life.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth however, portrays a protagonist who is solely intent on his ambitions and does not consider the repercussions of his actions in pursuit of the same. "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me." (Act I, Scene III). This quote depicts Macbeths ambition. The three witches, initially target Macbeth since they realized that he is willing to do anything in order to obtain and retain power. Macbeth, at the beginning of the play, is depicted to have achieved a great victory in his conquest of the allied forces of Norway and Ireland. When the three witches intercept him and Banquo on their way back, they feed Macbeths ambition by revealing a prophecy of him becoming the King of Scotland. This begins a chain of desperate actions by Macbeth in order to attain this feat. When Macbeth involves his wife, Lady Macbeth, she coerces him to murder King Duncan in his sleep claiming that “a little water clears us of this deed.” (Harris and Shakespeare 66).
What Macbeth lacked was a clear defining line between what he wanted to achieve, the best way to achieve it and possible repercussions of any illegal or unorthodox means he might choose to employ in his pursuit of the same. Macbeth also does not carefully consider the information provided to him by the witches. They are clearly not for his best interest depicted by their demeanor. Macbeth instead chooses to blindly follow the vagaries of future events provided to him by the witches. He holds on to these delusional beliefs even as Malcom and Macduff are storming his castle. Macbeths largest belief is that since the prophecy stated that no man born of woman could kill him then he was safe. However, he is proved wrong by Macduff who reveals that he was “from his mother’s womb untimely ripped.” (Harris and Shakespeare 88).
Macbeth does not exhibit personal growth in observing the actions he took in order to obtain the crown were flawed. He is oblivious of this even after supernatural portents were revealing the same to him. These include the hallucination of bloody daggers he had before he killed King Duncan. Other portents were such as the ghost of Banquo when it appeared in his night of merriment. Macbeth was clearly distraught about his actions and as such was causing him to have guilt ridden hallucinations. His consequent visit to the witches, further reveals more supernatural evidence of his bleak future but Macbeth does not recognize this and instead observes that he is invincible to all mortal men. Macbeth’s refusal to accept the atrocities he has committed and amend his ways leads to his eventual and inevitable demise.
Supernatural entities and occurrences.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth is rife with supernatural entities and events. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." (Act I, Scene I) this quote depicts just how evil the witches were. From the very beginning of the play, the thunder and lightning are a bad omen of things to come. The play starts with the three witches conspiring on how to manipulate Macbeth. Their manipulation is effective especially since it comes in the wake of Macbeth and Banquo’s victory. The three witches meeting with Macbeth and Banquo within which they inform them of the prophecy, is a clear indication that the witches have the supernatural capability of observing the future. "Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?" (Act II, Scene I). Macbeth experiences hallucinations of bloody daggers before he stabs Duncan in his sleep. After killing Banquo and holding a celebration with his generals, Macbeth witnesses the ghost of Banquo at the celebration and becomes hysterical.
The ghost of Banquo is only visible to Macbeth and this serves only to make him more upset over the situation. Lady Macbeth is not without her share of guilt ridden supernatural occurrences. She begins to sleep walk in the night due to the inability to reconcile both her husband and her actions which involved the murder of several people in order to attain their position as the King and Queen of Scotland. Lady Macbeth enters a room with a doctor and a gentlewoman discussing her actions of sleepwalking, she is holding a candle and is in a trance confessing about the murders she and her husband had committed. She tries to wash off imaginary blood from her hands. Macbeth seeks to consult the three witches concerning his future as the king.
The witches depict the future by conjuring horrible apparitions such as the armored head. The armored head tells him to beware of Macduff (Flatter 113). A bloody child tells Macbeth that no one born of woman shall be able to harm him (Harris and Shakespeare 74). Thirdly a bloody child holding a tree tells Macbeth that he would be safe until Great Birnam wood comes to Dusinane hill (Harris and Shakespeare 74). These are instances in which Shakespeare employed supernatural entities and occurrences to serve as warning to Macbeth of his impending doom. Voltaire’s Candide does not employ use of supernatural entities. It however employs use of natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes.

Works Cited
BALD, R. C. "MACBETH AND THE SHORT PLAYS". Review of English Studies os-IV.16 (1928): 429-431. Web.
Flatter, Richard. "The Latest Edition of "Macbeth”: Macbeth John Dover Wilson, William Shakespeare". MOD PHILOLOGY 49.2 (1951): 124. Web.
Harris, Laurilyn J., and William Shakespeare. "Macbeth". Theatre Journal 31.1 (1979): 115. Web.
Marsh, Leonard. "Voltaire's Candide". The Explicator 62.3 (2004): 144-146. Web.
Voltaire, and George R Havens. Candide. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969. Print.