Macbeth Vs Beowulf

The two stories of Macbeth and Beowulf have different plot, but hold similar elements. The legend of Beowulf, set in 500 A.D., begins with an evil monster terrorizing the mead hall of Heorot. The monster, Grendel, attacks Heorot with desire for wickedness. For copious amount of years, Grendel slaughters the men by night, each night. Until a hero named Beowulf hears the Geats cries and comes to their rescue. Beowulf arrives and devises a plan to kill the beast at night when he comes to attack the soldiers while they are sleeping. When the devil spawn, Grendel, appears in the hall slaughtering warrioriors, Beowulf attacks him with surprise ripping the monster’s arm from his socket. The monster escapes and later dies. Soon after Grendel’s death, the warriors encounter his mother. Beowulf tracks her to her underwater cave and kills her with a magic sword. Story of Beowulf ends with the hero being martyred in a battle with an evil dragon. Macbeth takes place during 1040. Macbeth Is about a Thane who becomes a king by killing different people all because he heard a prophecy from three witches. Macbeth fulfills the prophecy, but dies when, Macduff, the Thane of Fife,

It can obtain many forms, and it can happen in many ways. It could happen to anyone, including a loyal and brave soldier. Macbeth being a respectable soldier and friend had let power corrupt him, but what ensures us that power is what corrupted him.

This concept of Macbeths lust for power and at large ambition is first conveyed in Act 1 scene 2. Firstly, Shakespeare conveys these ideas by using phrases such as "Valour 's minion" (the servant of Courage) and "Bellona 's bridegroom" (the husband of War) which exemplify Macbeths heroism which is effective as it sets the Kings critique of Macbeths integrity (2016 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). In Macbeth one of the very first lines a captain announces a speech to King Duncan about ‘brave’ Macbeth saying, “For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name—Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like valour’s minion carved out his passage” (1.2.16-19). At first glimpse it is highly evident that Macbeth is a loyal man to the King this is better explained by the epithet that has been used in order to portray Macbeth; as things like

Greed for power leads corrupt leaders to pursue power through ruthless and violent ways, putting their countries in an unstable state.

Thousands of leaders have come and gone, yet not all were true to their people and often chose a corrupted path full of absolute power and tyranny. Although determination and willpower helps people obtain a position of leadership, this same drive can lead to arrogance and an abuse of power. Hundreds of pieces of literature highlight this frequently seen concept of leaders and William Shakespeare was no different when he wrote the play Macbeth. Shakespeare wrote many tragedies to reflect humanity’s turmoils and shining moments and the tragic hero of the play, Macbeth, best displays such truths as the reader is led through his immoral path to overthrow King Duncan and assume the throne. The corruption of power is not that uncommon and Macbeth

“In the end, cowards are those who follow the dark side.” (Yoda). In William Shakespeare 's play Macbeth the character Macbeth feeds into his own ambition to become King, after he had this encounter with three witches and they told him, his so called destiny. Macbeth is a coward because he didn 't fight his temptation to be King, he fell for the Dark Side because he did great evil to get there. In order to become king he murders some of the closest people to him. He also later finds out that he is a difficult man to murder, so it goes to his head and he believes he 's invincible. In Shakespeare 's Macbeth, the theme of blind ambition is developed through the motif of blood as seen in the assassination of King Duncan, the murder of Banquo, and the outcome of the second apparition.

To be loyal to the king is to have integrity, to show this in a tragedy such as William Shakespeare’s Scottish play Macbeth, the use of literary devices is mandatory. Shakespeare showcases a variety in character and plot development; he manipulates this ability he possesses to dissolve the character’s integrity within the play. The overall thematic message of the play is ‘Disloyalty to the king means to lose integrity, consequently to lose integrity is to be destroyed.’ Macbeth shows his integrity in Act one, Scene two. Shakespeare proves Macbeth possesses integrity in Act one, Scene two. Macbeth’s integrity becomes undone in Act two, Scene two, consequently, the complete destruction of his honour is delivered in a killing blow in Act Five, Scene eight.

In the “Tragedy of Macbeth”, the main character Macbeth has a constant power struggle throughout the entire play. He is constantly seeking to gain more power over others and then once he has it, he only kills more people to keep the power in his possession. The first instance of this power grab comes from Macbeth when he says “That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on th’ other-” (I, vii, 25-28). When Macbeth says this he is debating whether or not to kill King Duncan, and then claims his ambition will drive him. Although when it came down to the actual assassination he was nervous he did go through with it and gained the initial power that

A myriad of common themes exist in literature, employed by authors for an infinite number of effects: among these are the basic human experiences such as life, death, joy, and adversity. As defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary, adversity is “a state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune.” A subject commonly explicated upon, adversity is present in literature’s earliest works, all the way through modern compositions. The role of adversity in literature can vary: if a character triumphs over or falls to adversity can paint the work in a positive or negative light, and be the difference between a tragedy and a triumph.

Macbeth’s greatest weakness is his ambition, but it is also his greatest strength. Despite his ambition being one of his major weaknesses, it is not his sole weakness he exhibits that contributes to his inevitable death. 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’.

Throughout History, Novels and Movies it has been proving that heroes always has an Achilles heel. An Achilles heel is a weakness in spite of overall strength, which can actually or potentially lead to a person downfall. It doesn't matter how perfect a person may be are the world which the person may lived there is always a weakness, it just take the right person to find it. In Beowulf and Lanval both men are honorable men that people may look up as heroes but even honorable men can still fall to the seven sins of men. Even though they are seven sins there are two of which most people fall to and they Lust and Pride.

Shakespeare's “Macbeth” uses this poetic device to create a deeper story. By adding different characters with different background stories creates a deeper are more meaningful story. “Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace. With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth.” Tarquin was a roman ruler who raped and murdered his cousin’s wife. Macbeth is using this character to explain his preparations to attack and kill Duncan, the original king of Scotland. An other allusion from Macbeth is towards the roman Goddess of war, Bellona. “The thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict; Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof, Confronted him with self-comparisons, Point against point rebellious, arm against arm.” Ross explains how Bellona would have recognized Macbeth’s bravery and “godlike” qualities. Allusion is a way to take different ideas from other pieces of literature tying them into the story at hand. Macbeth ties in ideas from the different religions and cultures such as, christianity and roman beliefs. Adding in these other characters and referring to their beliefs or ideas creates a different way to look at the situation taking

During the time period of Beowulf and Sir Gawain, a variety of wars and conquests were raging which considerably discouraged the individuals surrounding them. Therefore, authors took it upon themselves to uplift their readers, giving them a reason to think that there may be people in the world who still have purity, integrity, nobility, chivalry, and honesty. Furthermore, I believe that authors create heroes today for similar reasons. This is because in the present-day world, we are constantly overcome by internal and external conflicts— whether that be within oneself, one’s country, or in the world as a whole. So, in some ways, we “need” heroes to keep our mind off the wicked in world, as well as to encourage us to believe that one day these conflicts and issues will end because of a force stronger and more powerful than

As Macbeth heard all about the plans of Macduff and Malcolm to kill and overthrow him in his throne, he showed his bravery and courage by giving them a fight, instead of doing redemption to his self and to those people he had sinned. At that time he had gone over the deep end at that point, but he still thought that he is invincible for he assumed that no one of woman born will harm him. Macbeth prepared for a deadly battle which his fate will be

In the literary works that we studied this year: The Book Thief, Purple Hibiscus, Macbeth, Sonnet 101,Sonnet 154 , Kevin Pietersen The Autobiography and Dead Poets Society- all the works have the same central theme :”Words have had the power to transform, for better or worse”. The character’s lives have all been affected and transformed by the power of words that has a great effect on their development rather than other external factors that the characters face in their daily lives. This will be shown by analysing how words lead these characters to achieve success and as well as to their demise.