Luke Arms Mrs.Meierhofer English 10 May 15, 2023 Cause and Effect in Macbeth In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the cause-and-effect relationship between two significant moments displays the pivotal shifts in Macbeth’s actions. The first moment takes place when the three witches prophesied that Macbeth will be king, and Banquo will father kings. This prophecy leads to Macbeth's cruel pursuit of power. It also causes conflict between Macbeth and Banquo for the reason that Banquo's bloodline may pose a threat to Macbeth's throne. The second moment comes about when Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to murder Duncan, who is the king of Scotland at the time of this point in the play. This moment inevitably starts Macbeth's rampage for security. …show more content…
This was seen at the beginning of Macbeth when the witches approach Banquou and Macbeth after defeating the Norwegian troops. The three witches appear in an ominous setting and the third witch says to Macbeth, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (1.3.54). This prophecy begins to poison Macbeth’s mind. This idea that he should kill Duncan is now in his mind and Macbeth is quickly obsessed with the thought of that power. Macbeth arrives at Duncan's castle and later on kills King Duncan and is crowned King of Scotland. As an effect of being given the throne, Macbeth goes to the extent of murder to defend his reign. His loss of sanity and gain madness is transparent after this event because Macbeth previously believed that fate would steer this prophecy, but his obsession for power counters this and he starts to use free will to control his fate as King of Scotland. In conclusion, The effect of the Three Witches' prophecies led Macbeth to show no remorse and do anything in his will to retain …show more content…
Though Macbeth had the idea to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth significantly urges Macbeth to commit the crime because she is ambitious and sees the opportunity to elevate their status. Lady Macbeth says this to Macbeth “When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more than the man” (1.7.49-51). In this quote, Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth by threatening his manhood. Macbeth is challenged by guilt and must prove his manhood and courage to Lady Macbeth by killing Duncan. Lady Macbeth's influence over Macbeth leads him to go against his own conscience and kill Duncan. The effect of this event leads to Macbeth’s descent into madness; He is filled with guilt and cannot be happy with himself. The guilt he endures is displayed right after the murder when Macbeth cannot finish the crime and hide the daggers. Macbeth is afraid of what he has done and he swears to not return to see Duncan’s deceased body. This moment relates to the theme because Lady Macbeth shows the evil in her conscience by guilt-tripping Macbeth into committing an evil deed, all in the pursuit of power. Overall, Macbeth’s paranoia and guilt lead him to his downfall, but Lady Macbeth is the one whose initial push sets it all in
Eventually leading him to descend further into madness and instability. We can see his downfall as he hallucinates a dagger, his dead friend Banquo and three apparitions. To begin with, Macbeth has conflicting emotions and is filled with fear about killing King Duncan as he lacks foresight about his first murder. His
Macbeth decides he needs to take action to keep his crown, “Given to the common enemy of man/ to make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings/ Rather than so, come Fate into the list” (3. 1. 70-72). After seeing that all of his prophecies come true Macbeth thinks about Banquo and fears losing his crown. Macbeth hires murderers to go and kill Banquo and Fleance so that he remains king.
Immediately following the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth comes into the room shaken by what he has just done, but Lady Macbeth shrugs it off, coldly replying that “a little water clears us of this deed” easily and that “your constancy hath left you unattended” (2.2.86-88). Lady Macbeth’s pride and satisfaction with the successful murder shield her from the implications of the horrible moral sin she has just committed. Ironically, she is affected the hardest once her actions’ full effect becomes clear to her, becoming mentally afflicted and dying soon after. Despite these prophetic events, the now unstable Macbeth is unconcerned for his safety, remarking that “the spirits that know all mortal consequences” have declared that “no man that’s born of woman shall e’er have power upon [him]” and that as a result “the mind [he] sway[s] by” and “the heart [he] bear[s]” will hold steadfast against the army (5.3.4-7, 10-11). Macbeth has been entranced by the witch’s prophecy, keeping blind faith that the promising future he was told is unchangeable and that it will come to pass no matter what.
During a soliloquy in act 3 scene 1 Banquo seems very suspicious of Macbeth and how he is now King. During this soliloquy he says “Thou hast it now—king, Cawdor, Glamis, all As the Weïrd Women promised, and I fear Thou played’st most foully for ’t” (3.1.1-3). Even Macbeth’s best friend is wondering if Macbeth was the one who killed duncan. These two events are huge turning points in the play because if it is found that Macbeth is the murderer, we will see the eventual downfall of Macbeth and he will lose everything that he and Lady Macbeth have including their
This occurs when Macbeth remembers of the prophecy Banquo had received when the witches first materialized “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo” spoken by the third witch — Macbeth feels intimidated by this and employs two assassins later on another who joins them to kill Banquo and his son Fleance, Banquo is killed, but Fleance flees this, of course, outrages Macbeth when he discovers Fleance had not been killed, despite Fleance being so young he still risks Macbeth's crown and authority without his own
Act 3 is known as the turning point for Macbeth within the play because we can see the plot unfolding just as the witches’ prophecy predicted from the beginning. In Act 3, Banquo has noticed a change in Macbeth; he begins to suspect him of treachery. When Macbeth becomes aware of his suspicion, he orders the murder of Banquo and Fleance, Banquo’s son. Banquo is successfully murdered, though Fleance escapes; this worries Macbeth because he knows it is not Banquo who is a threat to him but Fleance. When we refer back to the Witches' prophecy from the beginning of the play, they state that Macbeth is capable of becoming king, while Banquo is not, but he will become a father of kings to come.
Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is a play that mainly focuses on one common theme of insanity. Macbeth gradually becomes plagued by intense guilt as his desire for power drives him to attain his goals by any means necessary, including committing murder. He kills Duncan in cold blood in order to become King, has Banquo killed by three murderers because he wishes to maintain his position as King, and finally, he has Macduff’s family slaughtered. Each of these occurrences takes place because of Macbeth’s will to be King, or they are a result of his guilt. Nonetheless, they are all completed of his free will, which is what causes him to deteriorate mentally.
In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare many characters are driven by emotion but the main character Macbeth makes the biggest impact. At the beginning of the play, three witches tell Macbeth that he will be king. After hearing this Macbeth wanted to become powerful so he killed the king once he got to where he wanted to be everything went sideways and he became an evil ruler who enjoyed killing. Macbeth held a guilty conscience that prohibited him from making rational decisions like who he should trust. At the end of the play Macbeth’s mistakes catch up with him and he is beheaded in battle.
The witches thereby initiate a calamitous chain of events. The witches intentionally leave with Macbeth entranced in his thoughts as he fanaticizes murder unconscious of the danger. Although the witches predict that Macbeth will be king, they never suggest murdering Duncan. Macbeth mentions murder when he says,” my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical.” It is he who links the idea of kingship and murder.
First, Macbeth expresses fear when it comes to Banquo’s prophecy. “Then, prophet-like, they hailed him father to a line of kings. Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, and put a barren scepter in my gripe, thence to be wretched with an unlineal hand, no son of mine succeeding” (Shakespeare 3. 1. 57-61). This shows that in Banquo’s prophecy he will heir kings and Macbeth will not. This proves that Macbeth killed Duncan for no reason and Banquo is making him look like a fool for doing so.
Macbeth, by Shakespeare, is a story of a great warrior named Macbeth who was told by three witches that he would become king. This prediction makes him think it is justified to kill the current king and once he is king he believes that he is invincible. In Macbeth, many symbols are used such as a dagger that isn’t there, hallucinations of blood, and ghosts to show the overwhelming guilt that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have over the murders to highlight the theme that guilt can drive people to insanity when kept in secret. First of all, Macbeth is alone and has decided that he is going to kill King Duncan. All of a sudden he sees a dagger but can’t feel it and says, “I have thee not, and yet I see thee still” (Shakespeare 2.1.35).
Lady Macbeth plans to invite king Duncan over for dinner, but really she is convincing Macbeth to murder him. She influences him to kill Duncan because he is the only one standing in the way of Macbeth becoming king. Lady Macbeth plans the killing but convinces Macbeth to do the dirty deed. Lastly, Lady Macbeth is one of the causes of Macbeth’s failure because she repeatedly questions Macbeth’s manhood until she persuades him to make a bad choice. “When you durst do it then you were a man” (1.7.53-58).
This demonstrates that rather let Banquo be king, he is going to challenge and fight him for his crown. Banquo is the only person that knows about the prophecy and he is also suspicious of Macbeth killing Duncan. Instead of letting Banquo's’ son receiving the crown easily, Macbeth is going to challenge him for the crown. In order that Macbeth can be king, he has to kill Banquo and his son, so they don’t take crown from
Macbeth’s decision to assassinate Banquo causes permanent damage and haunts him throughout the remainder of the play. No issues exist between Macbeth and Banquo, but the moment the witches plant a seed of desire in Macbeth’s head, he becomes paranoid and merciless. This incident began Macbeth’s downfall because it led others to suspect him of foul play and distrust him, eventually leading to a revolution. This decline of
Macbeth’s ambition is one of the most prominent things that drive Macbeth in the play and truly becomes evident when he hears of the Witches prophecies. When the witches stop talking, he demands to know more. “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (I, III, 73-74). This portrays his excessive curiosity on the subject as well as his craving for more desirable prophecies. This ambitious nature and craving for power is also demonstrated only moments after hearing the witches, when he starts formulating a plan to kill Duncan in order to make the third prophecy come true.