An honorable soldier, a tyrannical king. When these personas intertwine, it threatens the livelihood and stability of a highly-acclaimed thane. The tainted nature of Macbeth’s tenure as king in The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare constitutes an insecure rule under psychological siege, highlighting Macbeth’s changes in mentality about kingship. Macbeth’s mentality was under fire the moment he conveyed his plan for kingship to Lady Macbeth. For example, when Macbeth is greeted by the witches while traveling, he is told he is to be king. Upon hearing this, he concocts a plan to murder the current king of Scotland, Duncan, in order to expedite his rise to kingship. However, at the last second, he explains, “We will go no further in this …show more content…
Thinking this means everyone, Macbeth feels he no longer has to worry about Macduff, a main he finds most threatening to his position as king. However, this is not enough to satisfy Macbeth’s mental scorpions. Looking over the situation, Macbeth comments, “Then live, Macduff; what need I fear of thee?/But yet I’ll make assurance double sure/And take a bond of fate. Thou shalt not live,/That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies,/And sleep in spite of thunder” (4.1.93-97). His mentality about kingship has grown so strong that he finds fear in a man he has foreseen to do absolutely no harm to him. The demons laying siege to his conscience compel him to murder not only Macduff, but his family, which is a most unnecessary move given the prophecy he learned. His mentality has taken a cataclysmic shift towards staunch protection of himself and his throne through ruthlessness and bloodshed. This condition is further exemplified when Macbeth rambles, “I have lived long enough. My way of life/Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf,/And that which should accompany old age,/As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,/I must not look to have, but in their stead/Curses, not loud but deep, outh-honor, breath/Which the poor heart would fain deny and dare/not” (5.3.26-33). Macbeth audible expresses his weariness of holding the throne. However, he goes on to state, “I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked” (5.2.38). Despite his weariness of being king, his mind is hardwired at this point to defend the throne with his life. It’s as if his mind has been overtaken by its besiegers and fully corrupted. He is no longer who he once was. Rather than fight for his allies and the common good, he fights for himself against his former allies. This action symbolizes a one-hundred-eighty degree turn in mental attitude, like a contagion that has possessed his
He believes that he can rule as a king however he wants and that no one will be able to replace him. Macbeth feels comforted and releases some of the stress and nightmares he was previously having. His newly gained comfort gives Macbeth a false sense of security that leads to Macbeth’s poor preparation to resist the English troops. Thinking that he cannot be harmed, Macbeth does not take the necessary steps to protect Scotland and his life. When he finally encounters Macduff on the battlefield, he believes it will be an easy fight as he deems himself invincible, but he is slaughtered.
He states, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o' the sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls” (4.1.150-152). At this point Macbeth is out of control and is killing anybody he suspects, showing that he is clearly paranoid and delusional. Once Macduff finds out his family is killed he decides to finally kill
Death by Macduff (A Literary Analysis Of The Importance Of Act 4 Scene 2) When you are a child you think that your dad is going to protect you from everything because that’s what a fathers role is. You never think about what could happen if he wasn’t going to be there when you need him. Macduff is on a mission to England to bring back Malcolm to take back what is his, the throne, because Macbeth is losing his mind. He leaves his family alone in their castle thinking that Macbeth is crazy but he wouldn’t go as far to kill his family. Before Macbeth sends his men to do just that Macduff’s son and his wife have a very heart to heart converation about life in general.
The first apparition the he sees is an armed head that proclaims, “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff” (61). Even though Macbeth does not believe that Macduff is capable of harming him, this prophecy comes true when he is killed by him at the conclusion of the work.
(4.1.137-39) The apparition disappears, leaving Macbeth to ponder (and overthink) the significance of seeing Banquo again. Unlike Macbeth, however, Macduff seems to poise a rational mind, knowing that Macbeth is no longer reasonable or admirable, he declares: “Not in the legions/Of horrid hell can come a devil more damned/ In evils to top Macbeth” (4.3.67-69).
Macbeth is coming inside with two king's friends. They are seeing all this and everyone is shoked. But Macbeth remember something,something really important. Macduff was really brame mand and good solider. So why he needs him?!He can took his power back!Macduff is trying to explaing everything that happened
Macduff realizes from that moment on that Macbeth has reached his breaking point and that Macbeth’s kingdom can finally be
Power is always coveted in any society and the world of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is no different. In the play, Macbeth, a noble lord, shows his hunger for power with thoughts to remove an heir to the throne from power. Macbeth’s impatience to be king leads him to stain his honor by using murder. Macbeth travels further down the path of evil by arranging the assassination of a friend.
In Act 4 Scene 1, in regards to his plan to kill Macduff’s family, Macbeth says, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword, his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls, that trace him in his line.” Macbeth orders the killing of Macduff’s family as a part of his being consumed with doing whatever it takes to keep his crown. Seeking to eliminate Macduff after finding out that he has fled to England to join Malcolm in building an army against him, Macbeth sends murderers to kill Macduff’s entire family out of anger and revenge. By doing so, Macbeth sets Macduff as an example to discourage others from trying to dethrone him. By committing this act of cruelty, it becomes apparent that Macbeth is overly consumed with fear in protecting his throne, and feels the need to eliminate all supposed threats to his power.
(Bradley 345). When his rule is at stake, Macbeth willingly tries to seek reassurance from deceptive, treacherous beings without thinking of the consequences. Additionally, Bradley wrote “and, almost as though to intimate how entirely the responsibility for his deeds still lies with Macbeth, Shakespeare makes his first act after this interview one for which his tempters gave him not a hint - the slaughter of Macduff’s wife and children” (345). Because he saw Macduff as a threat, without any hesitation Macbeth decided to kill the ones he loves because of his acquired ruthlessness. His goal of copious power led to the decay of his character and
He shows signs of a new person and claims, “The very firstlings of my heart shall be/The firstlings of my hand.” (IV.i.167-168). By saying this, Macbeth no longer worries about the consequences of his actions and will go on with his ambition and do what he believes he should do. In the beginning, Macbeth tends to overthink everything, but now whatever he feels to do is what he does. In this case, Macbeth kills Macduff’s family, although he somewhat knows it is or will be soon insignificant.
When Macbeth is told by the first vision that he needs to beware of Macduff, his fears are confirmed that Macduff is a threat. When Macbeth is told this, he decides to kill Macduff’s family (Mac IV.i.71-74). Just like the witches, the apparition does not force Macbeth to act upon what he has been told, but still steers Macbeth towards violent
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.
In William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, the leading motif, ambition, equally serves as the catalyst for Macbeth’s demise. Throughout the play, Shakespeare gradually exposes Macbeth’s weak character and internal darkness as he presents Macbeth with the seductive illusion of power and ambition. Macbeth’s ambition turned him from a noble Thane to a murdering King, encouraged by his wife until his tender character turned ruthless, and eventually led to the final deaths Lady Macbeth and himself. In the beginning of Macbeth, the protagonist possessed respectable qualities.
This causes Macbeth to consult with the witches who call apparitions that tell him to beware Macduff, that no man born of a woman can harm him, and “[he] shall never vanquished be until great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him” (4.1.92-94). At this point, Macbeth has passed normal limitations of control, and his ambition has lead him to a point where he is trying to control his fate. By reaching beyond mortal knowledge and attempting to steer his future, his ambition begins leading to his downfall, because no man can control his future, not even a