At the beginning of the play, Macbeth was a noble and loyal person, but by the end of the play, his “vaulting ambition” had taken over him. This caused him to become malicious and nihilistic and above all murderous, Macbeth portrays a tragic hero. Shakespeare portrays a tragic hero as someone who is noble and valiant but turns out to have a tragic flaw and Macbeth portrays this by fighting for his country and king but then murdering the king because of his hamartia, “his vaulting ambition”. Macbeth is greatly responsible for his downfall, but the witches have an impact on Macbeth’s actions. In Greek tragedies characters face a point in which they turn towards death, almost all plays have someone die and, in the end, justice prevails.
Along came the witches and prophesied that Macbeth will be king of Scotland. The good trait of ambition that gave him a title of the new Thane also gave him the title of king but through the action of murder. It was not long lasting though, and his flaw of ambition that got him those high-class titles also ended him with defeat and death. Macbeth through all this knows that he has gone too far and that he can not escape his problems. Macbeth expresses this by stating,“ I am in blood/
Not only is this murder different in terms of reasoning, but the consequence itself proved to be a complete backfire as Macduff, fueled with rage, returns to England to end Macbeth’s life. Following the metaphorical trail of blood, each murder presents a new and more developed stage of dementia. “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 / That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool; / This deed I’ll do before this purpose cool (IV, i, 150-154).
The first murder was King Duncan’s. Macbeth murdered King Duncan because the witches told him he would be the next King. Duncan was the
There is a saying that says: “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” But in the case of Macbeth, this does not apply. The worst enemy of Macbeth was in fact, himself. A great example of this is when he kills the noble King Duncan. But instead of sticking to the plan made by Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, he kills the guards out of fear that they would find out about him.
“If good, why do I yield to that suggestion[killing Duncan]/Whose horrid image doth unify my hair” (I, III, 144-145). This quote indicates that the force of ambition is so strong within Macbeth that even he himself cannot understand why it is making him think of killing Duncan. Likewise, Macbeth’s ambition to become king is further emphasized after Duncan names his son Malcolm as his successor. Here, Macbeth says that he will have to “oerleap,/For in my way it [Malcolm] it lies” (I, III, 55-57).
When Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle, Lady Macbeth’s fake attitude towards the king resemble the prophecies of Macbeth’s are corrupting her also. Macbeth wants to kill Duncan, but still feels loyalty to his king and friend as “his kinsman and his subject (I.vii.13).” A deadly illusion is created, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle towards my hand? Come, let me clutch thee (II.ii.32-33)” to make sure he does not move away from his ambition of becoming king. Macbeth, under the urgings of his wife, murders Duncan in the dead of night, blaming Duncan’s two servants.
Jaylin Wilson Ms. Morris English 12- 1st Period 5 December 2016 The Good and Evil in Macbeth In the tragedy, Macbeth, the good and evil shows a relation between the killing of characters throughout the story. It was evil that the characters are being killed, but it was good for the other characters that did the killing.
The prophecies were the reasoning of the awakening of this ambitious mindset of
Now that the tragic hero has risen and fell, he will not give up even if it leads to doom. Macduff and Macbeth battle and Macduff returns to stage with Macbeth’s head in his hand. Now that Macbeth is dead Malcolm will be king. Macbeth is a tragic hero but others may see him as an antagonist.
Macbeth’s lust for power has overtaken him, that is why he hired assassins to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. Out of spite of Fleance for being heir to the throne, but it backfires on him and Fleance escapes. Macbeth then became unstable after killing his best friend; seeing the deceased ghost and speaking of things that did not make any sense. Macbeth is deranged, losing himself because of the murders he had partaken in. ” Things without all remedy should be without regard: what 's done is done.”
Macbeth states that he is not born from a woman like the witches said in one of the prophecies rather he is ripped out of her mother 's womb. Macduff made a decision to do the right thing which was to fight for his country and for Malcolm to be king. Macbeth’s decision to murder changed his whole way of life negatively. With that being said, what goes around does come around.
Macbeth got everything he desired for. But the consequence of his sins aren’t paid yet. The eldest son of Duncan and Macduff united together in England with King Edward to start a war with Malcolm. When Macduff was in England, all of his family member were killed by Macbeth and his servant. This cause Maduff really irritated and senseless and eagerness to kill Malcolm as a revenge for his family.
The supernatural motivates Macbeth comprehensively, to the extent that he murders King Duncan, Banquo and Macduff 's family. It galvanises him to do things that otherwise he would have thought were ludicrous. Firstly, the witches prophecies stimulated Macbeth to kill the ones he loves, as a consequence losing friends that were loyal to him. Additionally, Banquo 's ghost caused Macbeth to feel guilt and fear, causing him to rely on the witches’ predictions and having a false feeling of security. Finally, the vision of a bloody dagger that appeared right before the murder encouraged Macbeth to kill King Duncan.
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.