Can loyalty make a difference when someone is craving a higher rank of power? The author William Shakespeare wrote a drama titled “The Tragedy of Macbeth” which took place in Scotland during the 1000s. In the drama, the main character Macbeth became consumed with the idea of becoming king. During Macbeth’s quest, he was willing to take any means necessary to obtain the throne. The prevailing theme and moral of this drama is honor vs. disloyalty. This was exemplified through Macbeth’s interactions with Duncan, Lady Macbeth, and Macduff. To begin with, Macbeth’s interactions with King Duncan truly illustrate the theme of honor vs. disloyalty. Macbeth became so consumed with the idea of becoming the king that he began to contemplate his plan. …show more content…
Macbeth felt as if Macduff was disloyal to him when Macduff fled to England where Malcolm was. Therefore, Macbeth saw Macduff as a threat to the throne, stating in Act IV, “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.” (Scn i, lns 150-153) In the statement above Shakespeare illustrates how Macbeth ordered murderers to go to Macduff’s castle to slaughter Macduff’s family. The reader can see that this is an explicit example of treachery, because Macbeth was willing to take any means necessary to eliminate any threats to the throne. Macduff, on the other-hand, was an all-around loyal, dependable, and a conscientious nobleman of Scotland. When Macbeth began his plot to gain the throne, Macduff feared for his life and the rest of Scotland’s sanity. Because of this, Macduff went to find Malcolm in England and talk to him and King Edward of England about defeating Macbeth. While in England, Macduff discovered that Macbeth had slaughtered his family. To gain honor for Macduff’s deceased family, Macduff went to kill Macbeth in Act V saying, “… Tyrant, show thy face! If thou be’st slain and with no stroke of mine, My wife, and children’s ghost will haunt me still.” (Scn vii, lns 14-16) In Macduff’s statement, he was saying that if did not seek vengeance on Macbeth, then …show more content…
disloyalty plays a crucial role in the development of the acts. The themes are portrayed numerous ways in the interactions between various characters such as Macbeth vs. Duncan, Lady Macbeth, and Macduff in the drama. Therefore, it is obvious to see that loyalty in fact does make a difference when someone is craving a higher rank of
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
Once Macbeth heard of this he considered Macduff's actions as those of a trader. Macbeth’s punishment for Macduff's offence was to kill his whole family. These murders can all be classified as dishonourable, they had no principle, these people didn't do anything wrong. Macbeth was an unjust leader who used dishonourable and deceptive violence to prove who had power within the country of
When in a relationship, one's quest for power, can result in an endless effort to satisfy this desire, producing a tragic outcome. In the tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare explores how greed and ambition has an influence on one’s actions, leading to the occurrence of a tragedy. In the case of Macbeth, greed and ambition results in Macbeth becoming a highly manipulative, and dangerous individual. The dominant status Lady Macbeth owns, allows her to influence Macbeth into committing harmful acts. When Lady Macbeth’s dominant status begins to deteriorate, Macbeth begins to mature, gradually becoming the more dominant individual within their relationship.
Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff; Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.” Macbeth goes out of his way in an attempt to change fate and orders the murder of Macduff’s entire family.
Macduff went to England to find Malcolm, King Duncan’s son, who fled Scotland so he would not be killed like his father. Macbeth no longer considers Macduff loyal to him and becomes apprehensive. Macbeth consorts with the murderers again to kill Macduff’s family, “give to the edge o’ the sword his wife, babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line” (Act 4, Scene 1). When a messenger comes to deliver the news to Macduff, he becomes sad but Malcolm tells him “… Let grief convert to anger…” (Act 4, Scene 3).
Killing his family was not a wise move because this just makes Macduff want to kill Macbeth even
“The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword his wife his babes, and all the unfortunate souls” (4.1. 165-167). This shows Macbeth’s complete disregard for human life and his willingness to commit crimes to maintain his power. He sees Macduff as a significant threat and is willing to do whatever it takes to eliminate him, including murdering Macduff’s wife and children. His ambition has consumed him, and he has lost touch with morality or compassion.
Frantic, he orders a group of murderers to kill Macduff’s family. Consequently, when the time comes for Macbeth to encounter Macduff on the battlefield, he exhibits a moment of hesitation before proceeding to the duel. Feeling remorse for having Macduff’s entire family violently killed, Macbeth admits that he has a guilty conscience that he does not want to kill Macduff as well. “Of all men else I have avoided thee: / But get thee back; my soul is too much charged / With blood of thine already,” (Shakespeare 5. VIII.
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.
In this scene, Macduff comes to Macbeth’s castle, looking to awake the King. He begins to say how the night was a ruthless one. It was so bad that chimneys were blown down and that Macduff can’t remember a night as terrible as that. Macbeth continues to deceive Macduff by acting that he has no idea that King Duncan is murdered in his room. When they open the door to his room, Macduff is horrified by the murder of his King.
In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macduff proves to be the true hero. Macduff proves to be the true hero of the play for being loyal to his country and killing Macbeth. Macbeth and Macduff differ because Macbeth is conceded and a killer, while Macduff is not. Macduff, the Thane of Fife, proves to be a loyal man when it comes to his country and his people. For example, Macduff deserts his family in order to go to England to meet with Malcolm and the king of England, so all three of them can go back to Scotland to defeat Macbeth for once and all.
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
In act four of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" Macbeth murders most of a noble man's family out of impulse and paranoia. He suspected said nobleman of plotting against him, and much like the murder of his friend Banquo, he killed him before he got the chance. But this murder is not like the ones before it, this one is much more sinister. The man Macbeth suspected, Maduff, was suspect because he refused to show up to any events that Macbeth attended, and when Macbeth went to ask the witches they warned him Macduff was to be cautioned. This time Macbeth decides right away that Macduff must go.
Lady Macbeth wasn’t involved in the death of Macduff’s family, yet she still feels the guilt for his losses: “The Thane of Fife has a Wife. Where is she now? What will there hands we’re be clean? No more o’ that. You mar all with this starting.
In the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare many different themes can be revealed throughout the play. Betrayal has different definitions like one friend going against another for their own gain. The theme of betrayal is illustrated in Macbeth actions to murder King Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff leaving his family. Macbeth demonstrates betrayal by killing King Duncan.