The tragedy of Macbeth is a story of a man reaping the consequences of selfishness, pride, lust, and, ultimately, greed. Macbeth is greatly honoured in the eyes of King Duncan. He allows the opinions of others and the evil prophecies of sorcery to dictate his attitude and actions. Macbeth commits a series of gruesome deeds, convinced that he will have complete happiness as king. He gets everything he desires, yet is still overwhelmed by the power of paranoia and guilt from his actions. His greed brings temporal joy, but later causes social and mental insanity. Although the fictional tragedy portrays a practical lesson for one’s character, it also has a spiritual application. He is merely an ordinary man, a respected general of King Duncan’s army. Macbeth is living a pleasant life, "For brave Macbeth — well he deserves that name” (Act I Scene II), until three witches prophesy of a greater future. Although he believes it is an impossible fate, Macbeth allows the prophecies to linger in his thoughts. “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! / All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of …show more content…
“Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth death.” (James 1:15 KJV) Macbeth has potential to have a better future for himself and his wife. He is remembered as a man of treachery and deceit but becomes a man of wasted potential, ruining the lives of the kingdom, his friends, and his wife. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Corinth. 10:5 KJV). The disastrous outcome of the man’s life is a lesson that vividly displays the effect of greed. The cruel acts could have been prevented prevented if Macbeth had remained content. In relation to the life of a Christian, surrender to and trust in the Lord liberates the soul from relentless guilt and sorrowful disunion from
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.
Greed, death and regret. These are just some of the major emotions going on in Macbeth’s mind during his play. When the play starts, three witches tell Macbeth that he will be king as he is returning from a victorious battle. When he returns the current king of Scotland acknowledges his bravery in battel and commends him. Macbeth then invites the king to his own castle and the king accepts.
Both greed and power, if not controlled, can lead to destruction. Throughout William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses both characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to demonstrate how ambition can change one’s personal relationships. As in the beginning of Act 1, Scene 7 Macbeth and Lady Macbeth do not share the same ambition, and it is because of this that their relationship lacks love and affection however through the use of persuasion and other means, Lady Macbeth is able to get Macbeth to pursue her ambition. This not only changes their relationship drastically but it also changes Macbeth’s attitude towards ambition. Throughout the play, Shakespeare shows us through Macbeth, the possibility for ambition to eventually turn into greed and how the lust for power may corrupt us.
When ambition is overlooked, it has the ability to become extremely dangerous. Macbeth from Shakespeare is a clear example of this. As he rises to power, he becomes more and more of a threat to those around him, killing those he was once loyal to. Destruction when ambition goes unchecked is present throughout the play because of Macbeth’s strong desires that ultimately lead to the deaths of Duncan, Banquo, and nearly Macduff. The death of Duncan was the first corrupt act stemming from Macbeth’s ambition.
The play entitled Macbeth by William Shakespeare portrays Macbeth, a loyal and brave thane to the king. When a prophecy reveals he will become king, Macbeth is overcome with ambition and greed. Convinced of this prophecy and the encouragement from his wife, he is able to kill the king and take the throne. Although Macbeth was able to obtain the throne, he was was overwhelmed by power and guilt leading to internal conflict, which suggests that success is not desirable through cheating and corruption and ultimately cost more than its actually worth, Macbeth`s reckless pursuit of killing and becoming the king is representative of the power he has and what he is able to do with the power he's gained; therefore. His relentless ambition for king reveals the guilt behind power.
Sean Smith Mrs. Anthony Senior English 8 March 2018 The Danger of Ambition In Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, the author proposes a perpetual loop of struggle through his use of fate and imagery of the character’s deaths in order to express the consequences for one’s actions if they are foolish enough to make these decisions. “The Tragedy of Macbeth” is a uniquely portrayed concept of fate, internal struggle, and paradox; the story depicts a human with intentions to receive power.
Macbeth’s jump to murder illustrates the depth of his greed clouding his rational judgement. Shakespeare spotlights the hold greed can take on a righteous individual to emphasis the need for self control. Secondly, Macbeth, jealous of the prophecy stating Banquo “Shalt get kings” Macbeth fears he wears a “fruitless” crown, Macbeth orders the murder of his friend to
Greed for power has always been evil and even made a saint turn into a demon. As the quote goes “All power tends to corrupt and an absolute power corrupts absolutely” (unquote), which is true not only in the fictitious stories but also in real life and Shakespeare, th9e greatest writer ever known, has always been in habit of making fictitious character come alive and Macbeth is no exception to the rule. The character of Macbeth has two sides, one which is wholesome while other been dubious. He symbolized great ambition but went overboard and in the process not only became corrupt but also became a killer. Macbeth reflects great strength but within he has his own weakness and thus good over took evil resulting in its downfall and finally his own death.
Macbeth illustrates the tragic consequences that arise when an individual becomes consumed by their ambitions and loses their sense of morality by becoming possessed and enveloped by their thoughts and
Heaven’s Guilt and Hell’s Desire People’s views of Heaven and Hell can change their beliefs of Trust and Betrayal. The idea common concepts for people is that: If the person wants to go to Heaven they shouldn’t betray people and should be trustworthy while if they betrays someone they are likely to get thrown in Hell. In Macbeth, most characters try to avoid damnation by remaining trustworthy.
This play captures the rise and fall of King Macbeth. Shakespeare shows the reader that one persons greed can get him killed and other people around to turn on him, By showing the reader what decisions Macbeth made to elevate his status in power. The kind of people who changed around them and how they changed. Furthermore in Act 1, Macbeth is given a prophecy that he would become king by three witches. This leads to him into thinking greedy and commiting murder.
Macbeth’s impatience for power leads to drastic actions. He murders the king in the belief that “this blow might be the be-all and end-all” (1.7.5). This assassination could never “trammel up the consequence” (1.7.2-3), as Macbeth believes, but only leads to more trouble. Although Macbeth seizes the throne, Macbeth had to betray his loyalty to the king whose “virtues will plead like angels” (1.7.18-19), and his morality has paid the price. Macbeth has now lost all sense of what honor is by using such dishonest ways to become king.
The reader is able to see this through Macbeth’s contemplation on whether or not he should kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth's lust for power and Macbeth’s final yet selfish decision. The overall comparisons are able to demonstrate the harmful physical and psychological effects of power throughout a community. As a result, the reader can learn from both Queen and Shakespeare that one's evil pleasure and desires can be a result of one's destruction all
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 the story “Macbeth”, Macbeth was considered a very well-respected warrior. He was known for being chivalrous as well as ambitious. Although ambition is typically a good thing, Macbeth turns it into the complete opposite. He lets his ambition get the best of him and it ruins Macbeth entirely. He was given the title Thane of Cawdor and, due to greed, he continued to push for more.