Love, Murder, and Jealousy in Shakespeares Macbeth and...

How do Shakespeare and Browning present ideas about love, murder and jealousy in Macbeth, My Last Duchess and The Laboratory? This essay will look at ways William Shakespeare (1564-1616, English actor and playwright) and Robert Browning (1812-1889, English poet and playwright) consider love, murder and jealousy in the play Macbeth and the poems, My Last Duchess and The Laboratory. When comparing these themes it is of interest to consider their historical context and setting. Macbeth was first performed in 1611 and is considered to be one of Shakespeare’s darkest and powerful tragedies. Browning’s poem The Laboratory was also based in the seventeenth century and My Last Duchess in the sixteenth century. Love as depicted in Macbeth and My Last Duchess is not about a conventional sense of love where, for example, boy meets girl but other forms of love. In Macbeth love is described between Macbeth and his wife in terms of â€Å"dearest love† and â€Å"dearest chuck†. Macbeth’s devotion and love for his country finds expression in, â€Å"the service and loyalty I owe†. I n My Last Duchess, however, love appears to be concerned with the extent to which the Duke loves himself, â€Å"I choose/never stoop†. This infers that the Duke views himself in a superior way and would not lower himself to intervene in small annoyances. This is an indication that the Duke is also a selfish man lacking in humility, who puts his own needs and desire for happiness above that of others, including those closest