In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, one character has always baffled the audience on who he really is—Macbeth. He appears strong to the world, but that is just a wall. Hidden behind that wall is his true cowardness. And both his strength, and weakness can be seen throughout the play. But what does make someone strong or weak? Does the definition of weak fit for Macbeth? It easily does fit Macbeth. He is a coward, morally, mentally, and physically weak.
Being strong can be defined in many ways. For this situation, strength could mean plain power, the higher title you have, the stronger you are. It seems as if all of the play is just a game of power between every character. A game of king of the hill. The player (or in this case the lord) at the top of the hill has the most strength. Everyone else wants to be on the top of the hill and have the most power as well, but only one person can be that king. While on the other hand, strength in the play could also mean how mentally or morally strong you are. In other words one can gain strength depending on, if he/she gets tricked easily, how he/she gains his/her power, or if they are mentally able to. Both definitions of the word strong apply to the situation. Macbeth is strong on the outside due to his power, but in the inside he is weak, morally ruined, and cowardly.
While he may seem strong, Macbeth is in a way powerless. Throughout the play there is evidence of his non-powerful alter ego. One example is of early in the play when Macbeth hires three murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance. Macbeth stated that the murderers would kill Banquo right after he hired them. Here is that part: “I'll call upon you straight: abide within. It is concluded. Banquo, thy soul's flight, If it ...
... middle of paper ...
...l King Duncan. The Witches and Lady Macbeth are what ultimately alter Macbeth’s thoughts on killing Duncan. Again, a strong individual would make up his/her own mind, not let others like witches or his/her own partner make decisions for him/her.
All in all, Macbeth is weak. He is morally poor, mentally unstable, and eventually not even on the throne because of his own death. Even that was caused by his feeling of invulnerability that the witches convinced him into having. He doesn’t have the courage or strength to kill people on his own. He lets the witches manipulate him as a person, and manipulate his thoughts. Lastly, Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth into killing Duncan. Macbeth isn’t strong enough to make a decision on his own. He appears as the most powerful man in Scotland on the outside, but on the inside, within his thoughts and decisions, he is a failure.
The drastic measures for the attainment of power are necessary for any upcoming ruler to obtain what they desire. Macbeth had the right ambitions and aspirations when stepping up to rule Scotland, but unfortunately the increase in power increased his greed and paranoia which also painted a larger target upon his back. The people did not appreciate the means of how he obtained his power and especially did not appreciate the ways he kept and defended it. No evidence in the play exists to say Macbeth ruled as a tyrant one could speculate he was an excellent ruler like many that came before him but that would be a large speculation to make. Under the circumstances, Macbeth had great potential, but became corrupted and sank due to his greed, desires, and the opinion of his
manliness and tempt him to prove to her he is strong. On the other hand, Macbeth, being a man at that time, holds legitimate power over. Lady Macbeth, because women were expected to stay home, cook, clean. and take care of the children. We can clearly see that Lady Macbeth isn't one of these women; she is strong-willed and determined. The The more comments that she made, the stronger she got.
What drove him to become a power hungry tyrant was his wife. She put ideas in his head that changed him. A day before Macbeth would not speak of the idea of killing the king and now he was considering it. By killing the Duncan, gaining the title and king, and not being caught, Macbeth was given an enormous boost. He now felt invincible and let power finally get to him and corrupt him. With this new amount of power, Macbeth was not willing to let it slip away. To protect his power, he did whatever was necessary. Macbeth cowardly had Banquo killed, going against everything he ever believed in. Killing Banquo was not enough for Macbeth. Shakespeare shows to the audience how power can make a person go higher in the world but at the same time make them more vulnerable. Macbeth was now vulnerable, to solve this he sent the murderers to kill Macduff.
... physically yet extremely weak mentally, this is the weakness which causes his downfall. In addition to his mind, it is his never-ending ambition and his blind trust of the witches prophesies which ultimately change Macbeth from what he once was to the monster he had become.
Macbeth, the main character in William Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth was not secure in his manhood. This insecurity led to the downfall of Macbeth because he felt the need to prove himself to Lady Macbeth. After he proved himself by killing Duncan, Macbeth became desensitized to killing.
Humans are always fascinated by power. Sadly, they do not realize the danger of it until it is too late. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare's underscores how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both consumed by power. In the beginning, Lady Macbeth dominates Macbeth, manipulating him to kill Duncan. After the death of Duncan, Macbeth becomes ambitious, and hires murderers to kill Banquo without notifying Lady Macbeth. Even though he is a decorated soldier, when Macbeth rises to power, he becomes ruthless. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth becomes weak, and insane. Shakespeare illustrates how Macbeth’s obsession with power undermines his moral judgement, leads to his mental deterioration, and ultimately results in his death.
“O worthiest cousin, the sin of my gratitude even now was heavy on me!”(I. i. 347) the king cannot repay him for what he has done for their kingdom. Macbeth is a highly respected warrior because he is loyal, trusted, and honest man. Macbeth is a vulnerable man; he is weak. Letting other people make decisions for him, he becomes more incapable of resisting how people will view him as a “loyal” soldier since he cannot follow through. In the film Macbeth the setting is right in the middle of war. Macbeth has held the enemy facing him, but he hesitates and looks at his soldiers for the okay to kill the enemy. With that being said, he is seriously self conscious and lets others makes the decisions for him. Before he is going to kill King Duncan, he speaks to himself in the If soliloquy. “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly.”(I. vii. 343) in this quote it shows that he is truly evil since he wants it done quick and easy.
Initially, Macbeth is a confident man battle-hardened and fearless. He cuts an enemy “from naval to jaw” in battle and seeks to gain glory and power. The captain says, “fear brave Macbeth,” and well he deserved that name. Macbeth is a great warrior and never would consider a murderous act before Lady Macbeth’s interference. The witches’ prophesies do not seem feasible to him at first so he does not act upon them. Lady Macbeth is a wicked woman who does much to affect Macbeth’s overall character.
In conclusion, if Macbeth was more headstrong in his scruples and his honored his position with integrity, he would have never been persuaded to do any of the horrible things he did. Macbeth was not an obstinate man; he was compliant with everything and rarely questioned what was asked of him. It wasn’t a lack of wisdom necessarily, but a lack of judgment, which created his impressionable flaw that ultimately leads to his demise.
Tragic heroes, who destined for a serious downfall, are the protagonist of a dramatic tragedy. A tragic hero is usually a great hero, who gets the most respect from other people; on the other hand, a tragic hero can also lose everything he gained because of his mistakes. His downfall is the result of a wrong judgment, a flaw which might combined with fated and external forces. The downfall can cause the tragic hero to suffer for the rest of his life. In many literary works, the downfall of the tragic heroes usually happen in their highest point. In the same way, Macbeth is a tragic hero in the play called “The Tragedy of Macbeth” which is written by a legendary writer, William Shakespeares. Macbeth is a great general who gained many respect from the people and even the king. In the highest point of his life, because of seeking for greater power, it created Macbeth’s downfall. Macbeth, a tragic hero, causes suffering for himself and others by committing murders and creating distress, which are the negative effects of seeking for a greater power.
In order for Macbeth to become king, he killed King Duncan, which made a lot of people dislike Macbeth. MAcbeth chose to do this since he chose power over integrity. Macbeth made his image even worse as he continued to murder people and act like a fool. This led people to dislike Macbeth even more and then realize that he was not a smart King. Lastly, since Macbeth was not a likeable character he should be condemned and disdained due to his idiotic behaviors. In the end of the play, he was killed, which was the right thing to do in order to have Scotland back as a happy and striving
In Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, Shakespeare creates the ruthless character Macbeth, who is willing to go beyond any measure in order to attain the power of being king, including murder, deceit, betrayal and overpowering the chain of being. Macbeth was first tempted by the idea of kingship when three witches presented him with their portent of Macbeth becoming the next King of Scotland. Ebullient, Macbeth, immediately informed his wife of the news and they both pondered the thought of having the power to rule all of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, a power seeker herself, promptly schemed a plan to kill King Duncan in order for her and her husband to rule, displaying her ready ambition for power. Macbeth’s thirst for power ate away at his conscience
Macbeth is a very complex character whom reflects man's thirst for power through the drastic changes of his personality; thus being one of the slightest reasons in which make this intriguing character, greatest of all Shakespearean’s well-known works.
Firstly, Macbeth is clearly capable in battle and loyal to Duncan. In the start of the play in Act I, Macbeth is perceived through the eyes of the other characters as noble and a hero due to his accomplishments in battle. One such remark is “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name- / Disdaining Fortune, with his brandish’d steel, / Which smok’d with bloody execution, / Like Valour’s minion carv’d out his passage” (I, ii, 16-19). From this we can see that Macbeth is clearly able to fight, demonstrating his battle ability and heroism in battle. This also gives the impression that he fights for his king to the best of his ability.
where others may not. Macbeth is weak. He gave in to his evil side by even