Various authors often discuss similar topics in their works, incorporating their understanding of numerous universal themes. Multiple classic literary writings represent the creators’ ideas regarding justice, independence, and the elements of their everyday lives. Works What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and Macbeth share several common subjects that portray their authors’ unique perspectives on the nature of human relationships, explaining the value of intimate attachments, the failure of language, and the impact of violence on communication.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver is an excellent discussion that focuses on the nature of love. Centered around married couples who debate the characteristics of intimate connections, the short story evaluates the attributes of love, attempting to create a definition for this phenomenon. Throughout the story, the characters began to argue and direct their attention towards the darkest and most difficult periods of their marriages, even incorporating cruel phrases (Carver 20).
A similar notion is manifested in Macbeth, where lady Macbeth is illustrated as a devoted and loving wife, Who is completely infatuated with her husband and is prepared to perform any task to ensure his success (Shakespeare 15). Nevertheless, such passion towards Macbeth causes the couple to destroy themselves, as lady Macbeth committed suicide after King Duncan’s murder.
Another common theme evident in both works is the subject of violence. In What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, the characters are discussing violence and love as contradicting concepts that cannot coexist. For instance, McGinnis states that a person can’t commit murder when they are completely and intimately devoted to another individual (Carver 9). However, violence and brutality become pertinent topics in the conversation. In Macbeth, a corresponding trend to combine violence with love can also be observed, as both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth himself are participating in murderous acts for each other (Shakespeare 84). Altogether, both of these works declare that the discussed notions are deeply connected and, despite the contradiction, can manifest together.
Works Cited
Carver, Raymond. What we talk about when we talk about love: Stories. Vintage, 1989.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2021.