Macbeth Essay The story written by William Shakespeare is ultimately a series of tragic events. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” This quote plays a big meaning in this play, as it tells the reader that something good can be bad and something bad can be good. The whole play revolves around this quote as it plays a deep meaning. Macbeth is a play where a man attempts to become king by overthrowing the current king. The man succeeds and lets his greedy intrusive thoughts win the best of him and his family. Throughout the eventful story Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, characters pursue their ambitions through corrupt ways to bring each other down. Macbeth attempts his ambitions by slaughtering every person in his path, Lady Macbeth shows …show more content…
Lady Macbeth is the wife to Macbeth, she has been by her husband's side throughout the whole plot. Lady Macbeth is a very persuasive character and is willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. Shakespeare writes, “When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man” (Shakespeare 1.7. 49-51). This quote is Lady Macbeth questioning her husband's manliness, she is taking control of him and persuading him to perform actions that she wants. This shows corruptness because Lady Macbeth had started everything by forcing her husband to kill and become king leading to more murders and problems. Lady MAcbeth jumps on any opportunity she has to gain power for herself. The author writes “Come you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/ And fill me from the crown to the toe top full Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood, Stop up th' access and passage to remorse.” (Shakespeare 1.5. 38-42). This quote is explaining that Lady Macbeth has such a high desire for power to the point where she wishes that the spirit would turn her to a man. She realizes that in life only men hold the power so she believes that she deserves to hold power. However this is not the case, so she uses her husband to give her power. This shows corruption because she is …show more content…
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the two most corrupt characters in the book, however there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Shakespeare plays. The three witches were the masterminds behind all the chaos. The witches deceived and manipulated Macbeth, the witches did not tell him the full prophecies. Shakespeare writes, “All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!”(Shakespeare 1,3, 52). The witches create this prophecy causing Macbeth to become very ambitious and hungary for more power, this then results in Macbeth killing King Duncan. This shows that they are corrupt as the three witches make Macbeth hungry for power but have yet to tell him any consequences. The witches essentially create these prophecies to give Macbeth false hope and watch his whole life fall apart. They tempt Macbeth to follow the Prophecies, “Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him”(Shakespeare 4,1, 87-90). Macbeth believes that he is invincible after hearing this prophecy, the prophecy is talking about the forest moving. Macbeth believes that this will never ever happen leaving him invincible and will not be defeated. This shows corruption as the witches know what really happens and are watching Macbeth create horrible decisions, thus leading up to his death. Macbeth says, “I have no
Macbeth Essay The play Macbeth by Shakespeare is about the journey of a man named Macbeth doing whatever he can to get power. Throughout the play Macbeth does ruthless things just to get closer to becoming king. Macbeth starts out as a kind man who fought for his king and was loyal.
Macbeth is a well trained soldier who seems like he’d be a great leader and lots of people look up to him which makes him powerful. “All hail Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, be king hereafter”(Act 1, Scene 1). This quote is showing what Macbeth will become in the future and why people will respect him and his power. People are too scared to stand up to King Macbeth because they are afraid of what he’ll do and the confidence he has with his power is dangerous. “The power of man for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”(Act 4, Scene 1).
Readers of Macbeth can look at him from different perspectives; a troubled man who fell to the dark side, or an arrogant, power hungry man who got what he deserved at the end. Macbeth by William Shakespeare tells the story about a man who was so desperate for power that he was willing to do anything to keep it. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is considered a war hero and along with his then friend, Banquo, is called upon by three witches who tell him he will be the next king. His wife, Lady Macbeth, is a power hungry figure who convinces him to kill King Duncan, to fulfill his prophecies.
This shows Macbeth’s desire to become king, even though he already has a high ranking position in the land. He is not content with he has and desires an even higher position. He desires it so much to the point of betraying the trust of people who are close to him just for his own greedy self gain. Macbeth betrays and backstabs many characters in the story, an example being King Duncan himself.
Macbeth's unwavering belief in his invulnerability deceives him of the true capabilities of his opponents, leading him to underestimate them and make reckless decisions. The quote can also highlight Macbeth's desperation to cling to power. He desperately clings to the witches' words as a source of reassurance, seeking reassurance that he is impossible to harm. However, this turns out not to be accurate as he ends up defeated by Macduff, as his overconfidence becomes his
Macbeth is a dark play written by Shakespeare. It is about a kingdom in Scotland in which the people living there turn on each other and don't know who to trust. Macbeth changes from an innocent man to a murderous villain. In the end, his cockiness will get the best of him. Throughout the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses many literary devices to convey the theme, “guilt cannot be washed away.”
Macbeth’s already harmful mindset collides with the witches. “(S)he is propelled in this direction by environmental circumstances” (McLeod). In this case, Macbeth is not in the correct state of mind to realize the witches are just another voice and the decision is ultimately
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Let’s fly away through the fog and filthy air.” That was the witches in the Shakespearean play Macbeth. These witches tell the character Macbeth about a prophecy that he shall be king. In his way to be king and while he is king he tries to bury the past and control the future.
“Fair is foul and foul is fair”. This is possibly the most iconic quote from the play Macbeth. Written in 1606, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the play dramatizes the effect of the greediness for power, strong lust after a goal, and envy, all of which are three of the seven deadly sins that many people believed in during this day age of England, in which, Macbeth takes place. Macbeth was written about eleventh century Scotland, which was troubled, violent, and lead by feuding families. To make his plays as realistic as possible and as entertaining as he could, Shakespeare reflected history in his plays.
Who is the True Villain in Macbeth Historian Lord Acton once cautioned, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men. " In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the three witches use their supernatural powers to lead Macbeth astray from his destiny, which ultimately leads to many murders and the corruption of Scotland.
Throughout life, most people have the chance to make their own decisions. With these decisions, there will either be good or bad outcomes. In the case of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, these decisions lead to a very grave consequence; a tragedy. The main character in the play, aptly named Macbeth, makes some choices that do not match with the morals of mankind.
At the beginning of William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ the protagonist Macbeth is described as ‘brave’, ‘noble’ and ‘honourable’, however Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeths desire for power consumes them. Macbeth’s ambition overrides his conscience and transformed his greatest strength into his greatest weakness. Macbeth’s inability to resist temptations that led him to be greedy for power, Macbeth’s easily manipulative nature which allowed his mind to be swayed, Macbeth having no self control and his excessive pride was what allowed him to renew his previously honourable and celebrated title into one of an evil ‘tyrant’. Macbeth is led by the prophecies of the witches after they foretell he will become the Thane of Cawdor. Not only the witches, but also his wife easily manipulate Macbeth as she attacks his manhood in order to provoke him to act on his desires.
On the other hand, Shakespeare wrote Macbeth with King James I in mind, and he wrote a book on wizardry. Many of the ideas that the king expressed to the public were included in Macbeth, such as predicting the future. Apart from that, witches were always seen as female, and not as male. Therefore, two embodiments of evil in the play are the Witches and Lady Macbeth (both mentioned above). They play a large part in the downfall of Macbeth as they put the initial idea of becoming king into Macbeth´s head by “predicting” it.
William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character; Macbeth, is seen as an evil character. The play is based off of Macbeth’s decisions and his actions to become King. In the beginning Macbeth starts out as a hero in Scotland’s war with Ireland and towards the end he is transformed into a murderer. Macbeth is not wholly evil because of is heroism in the war, his love for Scotland, and because he didn’t want to kill King Duncan initially. Macbeth was brain washed by his wife and tricked into killing the King.
This quotation shows the relationship Lady Macbeth holds with power as she is encouraging herself to kill the