Which is more important, your own life, or remaining loyal to those close to you? In his play Macbeth, Shakespeare introduces the main character, Macbeth, as an honorable and loyal character. However Shakespeare introduces the dilemma to Macbeth of choosing between his obligation to Duncan and his personal ambitions. It is this conflict that illuminates Macbeth’s character and enhances the play to represent a major lesson in the importance of remaining moral and honorable in life. In the first act of the play, Three Witches introduce a prophecy that Macbeth will soon become Thane of Cawdor, and then King.
Macbeth loses his last scrap of morality when he orders the murder of innocents to enrage a rival. Shakespeare’s Macbeth shows that humans will do whatever it takes to achieve and maintain power by charting Macbeth’s descent from noble thane to murderous tyrant. Macbeth’s position of thane is already quite powerful but the need for more power overwhelms his loyalties to others. Macbeth believes that the Prince of Cumberland stands in his way to more power. “The Prince of Cumberland!
In conclusion, the idea that Macbeth is a work in which human feelings mix with enigma and mystery should be highlighted. The struggle between good and evil plays a very significant role in the success of Macbeth. In this case, the good would be Macbeth’s thoughts towards the murder of King Duncan, before when he thought as a loyal soldier would. The evil won and he became ambitious and oblivious to his actions just to end up dead, killed by Macduff as revenge for his family. The blood on every page of the play shows the guilt of Macbeth and how it drove him to the end, just for his
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. Similar to Oedipus, Macbeth desired to save their kingdoms either from the plague or Scottish traitors.
The first act of cruelty that contributes to Macbeth’s downfall is the murder of Duncan. After contemplating the consequences associated with planning the murder, Macbeth kills Duncan, convinced that it is the only way he can become king. Following the murder, Macbeth becomes overwhelmed with shock and begins to experience auditory hallucinations. Upon experiencing shock, Macbeth is unaware that he brings back the daggers from the crime. Commanded by Lady Macbeth to return the daggers to the scene, he claims, “I am afraid to think what I have done.” Riddled with guilt, Macbeth feels remorse.
Macbeth is the unquestionably the main character in the book Macbeth by William Shakespeare, however we can question whether or not Macbeth’s free will is legitimate, and I say he is tied by fate and/or chance throughout the play. This essay will expose how outside forces influence and destroy the nature of self-determinism in Macbeth by looking at how the words the witches say relate to the words Macbeth speaks verbally, the witches’ predictions and the fulfilling of the witches’ prophecies. Elements before the first encounter between Macbeth and the witches show that the mind that Macbeth has, is not his. Before even seeing Macbeth, the witches mutter his words before we see him saying them, the two words said by both parties are “foul”
Although Macbeth has done some really bad deeds, he cannot be called a bad person out and out who goes on to achieve his ambitions without any consideration. He’s also a victim of the realization that there is no meaning as such in this world. This instability snatches his power to think and he gives in to his wife’s provoking speeches without providing any counter arguments to her. If he had any of his individuality left, he certainly must have had given some thought to her speeches but the lack of it shows his confusion. As soon as he joins the opposites foul and fair, he’s encountered by the weird (which is undefined because in the world of Macbeth nothing is normal).
Macbeth’s Murder In today’s society, people are pressured by several forces to conform and carry out actions that are considered to be socially acceptable. Although it still happens today, coercion was an act from a long time ago that lets a person execute one’s bidding under duress. While some used the technique of blackmail, others utilized the weakness of a person’s judgement to impel them into acting in ways they should not be. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the protagonist, Macbeth, undergoes several instances where outside forces sway his judgement and virtues. It is evident that these factors play a heavy role in Macbeth’s life for these urge him to commit the unthinkable crime, which is to assassinate the king.
Subsequently, Shakespeare highlights the decay of Macbeth’s morality as the story progresses. Lastly, he enjoins the audience to question how Macbeth’s identity has changed because of morality. In short, Macbeth explores how morality shapes the identity of man. At first, the people around Macbeth perceive him as
Throughout the story of Macbeth, Macbeth’s ambition for power, provoked by his significant other, Lady Macbeth, and the witches’ prophecies consumed his life. At first he committed murder against King Duncan so he could become king himself, but the one murder had a domino affect. Although ambition can be a positive attribute for someone to acquire, Macbeth’s ambition began in Act One and proved dangerous as his death approached in Act Five. In Act One of Macbeth, Macbeth and Banquo meet three witches that tell them three prophecies. One at a time, each witch mentioned a prophecy, “All hail Macbeth, Thane of Glamis!