Macbeth's Strengths And Weaknesses

Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action.

In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Macbeth begins as a man of integrity and is a noble man. Infact he was one of the king’s favorite fighters and subjects. But over time Macbeth becomes corrupt once the power and the crown are his. Macbeth first becomes power thirsty when he and Banquo were given a prophecy by the three weird sisters. The theme ambition shows up frequently in the character Macbeth, especially when it has some relation to murder and the throne, to get the throne to begin with, some examples are when he killed King Duncan, Macduff’s family and Banquo, to keep the throne.

Through the tragic play Macbeth, William Shakespeare depicts that unchecked ambition unsupported with effort will lead to nothing but detrimental outcomes. More specifically, Macbeth's “vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself” ended up being a larger hinderance than advantage, single handedly leading to the demise of himself and the demise of others around him.

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. 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.

Helen Keller once said “character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” People inspired by ambition can accomplish great things. However, when tempted by their desires, people can destroy themselves as well. These desires can simply be too much for any one person or two to overcome. In William Shakespeare’s dramatic tragedy ‘Macbeth’, ambition is portrayed throughout and Macbeth, a Scottish Noblemen is overcome by his desires. His downfall and destruction was caused by his blind ambition leading to his fatal flaw.

Thesis: Uncontrolled thirst for power has led to the demise and destruction of many characters in novels and plays and Macbeth undoubtedly consciously chooses to go down the same path, ultimately costing the healthiness of his mental state as it progressively deteriorates as the murders grow more reckless and cruel due to Macbeth’s escalating need for power.

“God is lining things up for you. He always has been and always will” (brainyquote) Ambition and failure don’t seem connected for failure is perceived as bad and ambition is a way to getting somewhere good. Failure and ambition creates a bad mix of thought and causes internal flaws. These people took their ambitions and went to the extremes to get their, but failing than succeeding. Lady Macbeth, Kiah and Empress Elisabeth of Austria were seen as crazy for the decisions they made, which were their own internal flaws.

Those who are weak often manipulate others to do the things they cannot. Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth describes two characters’ desire for power, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth displays many facets to her personality. She is such a diverse and complicated character that it is hard to know if she is truly evil or weak. However, no matter how strong and evil Lady Macbeth appears to be to others, her weakness is clearly apparent when she is alone.

In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses shifting diction and dramatic characterization to reveal how unrestrained desire for power leads to corruption of the mind. The diction that Shakespeare utilizes for the dialogue of each character reveals the different layers that pertain to the characters. For example, in 1.7, Macbeth pleads Lady Macbeth not to kill Duncan:

Macbeth says, “Duncan is in his grave. After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well. Treason has done his worst; nor steel nor poison, malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing can touch him further” (3.2.25-29). This shows that Macbeth seems to envy Duncan and wants to join him in this everlasting peace, death. Macbeth also shows that he is filled with guilt and is suicidal when he says, “I have almost forgot the taste of fears…I have supped full with horrors. Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts, cannot once start me” (5.5.11,15-17). This shows that Macbeth is familiar with his horrible thoughts and that they can’t startle him anymore. He has lost touch with reality and has become numb to his violent thoughts. Another time Macbeth feels guilty is right after murdering Duncan and forgetting to leave the daggers with the servants. He says, “I’ll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done. Look on ’t again I dare not” (2.2.65-67). This shows that even right after killing Duncan, Macbeth feels regret and remorse for his actions. He refuses to go back and be forced to see the dead and bloody

One of Macbeth’s fatal flaws is his ambition. His desire for power and position, namely to be king, is more important to him than anything

There is a possibility that Macbeth could have been a good leader at one point. The reason he wasn’t was that he had too much ambition. Ambition was his tragic, or fatal, flaw. The most dangerous fatal flaw. Are those that are beneficial in moderation. Through examining the inner workings of a fatal flaw, the results of having no fatal flaw at all, and reviewing the appearance of the fatal flaw in Elizabethan literature, this conclusion becomes the only logical one.

Obsession to stand politically dominant is Macbeth’s primary flaw. Macbeth’s progressive deterioration begins after his encounter with the witches, who declare Macbeth’s prophecies. The last prophecy contributes the most to his downfall; Macbeth shall be King of Scotland. Macbeth’s intention to be the king contradict his honourability to Duncan. The obsessive trait Macbeth develops worsens through the play, prior to Duncan’s visit to Inverness, Macbeth advances with his prophecy. In a letter, Macbeth writes to his wife, he promises a greatness to them according to the prophecies. Lady Macbeth aggressively gambles with the prophecy until Macbeth is in agreement with her and his fate. Lady Macbeth knows her husband contemplates his honourability

Written by William Shakespeare, the tragedy “Macbeth” is written dramatizing the consequences of physical and mental effects of greedy ambition on those who seek power for their own benefit. Throughout this play Shakespeare focuses on the downfall of Macbeth, the main character of whom the play portrays. In beginning Macbeth is praised for being a great knight, and is honored by the king, Duncan; however, Macbeth had spoke to witches who told him that he was destined to be a great king. Macbeth then tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, of this prophecy, she then proclaims that he must kill Duncan. Macbeth, thus feeling the need to fulfill this prophecy, attacks Duncan and murders him. As the story continues Macbeth faces grief, regret, and deranged upon his actions. Though Macbeth is to blame for his own actions, Lady Macbeth and the witches had a great impact on his downfall as well. Therefore; Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and the witches are all to blame for Macbeth’s downfall.

“But when [Nebuchadnezzar’s] heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.”