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Explore and discuss themes in Macbeth
Effect of religion on human society
Elements of violence in literature
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Macbeth by William Shakespeare, is a play that exhibits fighting and bloodshed. Regardless of social views, there are instances where violence is considered an honorable deed. However, some characters in the play blur the lines between right and wrong and their actions make blood shedding a point of discussion. Through the course of the play violence is the most prominent theme.
Violence is defined as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation” (Krug). The theme of violence is evident throughout Macbeth. In the characters’ thoughts, actions, words, and intentions. Rivalry, jealousy, and ambition all lead to violence among the characters.
Violence is considered as something that should be reprimanded and scorned. Society does not praise cruelty, however in Macbeth it seems to be justified. There are several different kinds of violence.
The first type of violence is known as self directed. Suicide falls under this category. When one attempts and commits suicide, that person is directing harm towards them self. This type of violence is accepted in religions like the one that Islamic terrorists belong to. They believe that if they sacrifice themselves for their God, there will be virgins waiting for their arrival at the gates of heaven. In religions such as Christianity, though, suicide is considered to be going against what the Christian God wants. Christians believe that only God decides when your time is up, not you.
A second type of violence is collective violence. Collective vi...
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... an unsung hero when he was truly and evil man with unholy decisions on mind. His unique ways of blaming the rest of the world for his problems started with his wife was the plot to his whole scheme. His ways in making those believe that it was there conches that were unclean, that they were the cause of all this wrong. Although it was all his violent gestures to get his way in life.
Violence is an evident theme in the play of Macbeth. There are many different kinds of violence. Violence can be done in honorable or dishonorable means. Macbeths cruelty and search for power lead him to violence that was not accepted by the people. On the other hand, Macduffs actions against Macbeth were praised. These events show how violence can take on different forms.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William, and John Wilders. Macbeth. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2004. Print.
Handling the adversity that develops within a character’s life is something that requires ultimate determination, dedication and thought. However, when the given adverse situation is handled in a violent manner, the following occurrences include downfall and destruction. Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, he is able to convey the realistic negative consequences that may follow the effects of violence on adversity. From the very genesis of the play, Macbeth is constantly handling adversity, which at times results in various dilemmas as a result of his tragic flaw. The violent acting on adversity or challenges placed before main character Macbeth, causes him to build a “snowball effect” of downfall and dismay throughout the play. Initially, Macbeth begins handling his challenges in different manners and is constantly altering his procedure. From handling situations cautiously to thoughtlessly, or having his own opinions to none of his own at all, and finally from fighting the truth to accepting his fate, regardless of the type of task, his violent handlings of them causes his own domino effect of transformations. By applying a variety of literary techniques such as personification and foreshadowing, William Shakespeare is able to effectively prove that acting violently upon adversity has a strong potential of resulting in pure disaster.
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is a five-act drama that shows a clear example of how pride, greed, and power can alter a man's actions and personality. The taste of power blinds the story's main character, Macbeth. Sparked by Lady Macbeth, he becomes heartless and cruel as he kills anyone who is a threat to his power due to his paranoia of losing the throne. This fear ironically leads to his downfall and loss of the throne. The theme of the story is deceit and evil and how they affect a man's decisions.
Shakespeare used imagery to present the idea that violence will always come back to haunt us. Throughout Shakespeare’s Macbeth imagery is used to help provide a visually descriptive understanding on his literary work. Images of Hallucinations help to back up the idea of violence and how it comes back to haunt us, these ongoing visions of the dagger and the sound of the execution bell play on Macbeths awareness of the situation put into plan. Whether used to emphasise each tragedy present throughout Shakespeare’s Macbeth and it was also used to portray the witches as a character, Storms were used to present all the violence that corrupted throughout the play.
In Macbeth desire and violence are prevalent throughout the book. Desire blinds one’s ability to think clearly when making a decision. If violence is used due to one’s desire than violence becomes a never ending cycle until the outcome of the violence goes against the one whose desire led to violence. When making a decision, one should use reason, which is having a logical justification or motive. Violence is committed many times in the book but not all for the same motive. Macbeth commits several acts of violence in the book due to his desire for the kingship of Scotland.
“The Tragedy of Macbeth” goes into the darkest and deepest morals of any Shakespearean play. Each character in the play portrays a very important role and each character gives off their own form of sincerities towards the advancing plot. Macbeth
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play centred around opposing forces trying to gain power in the succession for the throne of Scotland. Macbeth, in the beginning, is known to be a noble and strong willed man, who is ready to fight for his country. However, one may see that Macbeth has a darker side to him, he is power hungry and blood thirsty, and will not stop until he has secured his spot as King of Scotland. Though Macbeth may be a tyrant, he is very nave, gullible, and vulnerable.
Prior to deciding whether or not conflict is central to the dramatic development of MACBETH, one must consider all the dramatic factors that contribute to the Shakespearean play. The gradual decline of the protagonist , the role portrayed by characters and the order in which the events occur, greatly influence the direction in which the development of the play takes place. After reading the text MACBETH, by Shakespeare and viewing the film version, directed by Roman Polanski, it is logical to see that ambition and the deceptive appearances of what really is, is central to the dramatic development of MACBETH.
The main theme that is presented throughout the whole movie is power. There are many ways power and thirst of power can be seen from many different perspectives. Macbeth gets sucked into the world of power and wealth that he is ready to commit many murderous acts to defend his crown. He is ready to killed Macduff’s family, in order to get rid of the fact that there was a chance of him getting the throne. Although at the start of the movie, he is quite hesitant to commit any murderous act, but as the movie goes on, Macbeth gets paranoid and blinded by his own power that he chooses to go against morals. As also mentioned, it is said that the previous king also killed the prior king in order to gain the title. Conclusively, it is quite a contest for power and therefore conscience, friendship and trust are completely forgotten. In a more modern take, the world now still has dictatorial governments that are corrupted and is power hungry. When you have power, you are never safe. There are many murder cases and sudden death of important figures in politics or big companies and such. This could link back well with Macbeth in ...
In Conclusion, Macbeth is a play based on Morality as seen the deaths of Duncan, Banquo and Macduff’s family. Macbeth is a bloody play and as a character
Macbeth is an extremely violent play and is present in both the uprising and downfall of the tragic hero. Macbeth is first introduced to us by the Captain, speaking in ore of Macbeth's brave and glamorous actions. ‘‘For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name), Till he un-seamed him from the nave to th' chops.’’ Macbeth is being praised for his violent and gruesome actions of disembowelling a person, without condemnation. Shakespeare is expressing that violence is both a blessing and a curse depending on the morals behind his actions. Macbeth’s error in judgment is his constant and excessive killing of people. This derives from his for
Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" is considered one of his great tragedies. The play fully uses plot, character, setting, atmosphere, diction and imagery to create a compelling drama. The general setting of Macbeth is tenth and eleventh century Scotland. The play is about a once loyal and trusted noble of Scotland who, after a meeting with three witches, becomes ambitious and plans the murder of the king. After doing so and claiming the throne, he faces the other nobles of Scotland who try to stop him. In the play, Macbeth faces an internal conflict with his opposing decisions. On one hand, he has to decide of he is to assassinate the king in order to claim his throne. This would result in his death for treason if he is caught, and he would also have to kill his friend. On the other hand, if he is to not kill him, he may never realize his ambitious dreams of ruling Scotland. Another of his internal struggles is his decision of killing his friend Banquo. After hiring murderers to kill him, Macbeth begins to see Banquo's ghost which drives him crazy, possibly a result of his guilty conscience. Macbeth's external conflict is with Macduff and his forces trying to avenge the king and end Macbeth's reign over Scotland. One specific motif is considered the major theme, which represents the overall atmosphere throughout the play. This motif is "fair is foul and foul is fair."
When Macbeth is trying to gain power, one would notice that he uses violence to get what he wants. Though he felt guilt leading up to the decision of killing King Duncan, he was able to overcome his fear with a bit of encouragement from his gluttonous wife Lady Macbeth. From than on Macbeth realized what he was capable of and no longer needed the guidance from his wife. He took the power into his own hands and went over the deep end. The reader could see this as a prime example of when the influence of others (Lady Macbeth) and power change Macbeth for the worse. “There is no peace in the play. Lurking behind every scene, every dialogue, every fantastic appearance or event, is the spectre of violence with death following.” (Cohen 56). Cohen makes a point that William Shakespeare constantly mentions the subject of violence throughout the play, it begins to be an ongoing theme in almost every event and conversation. The reader begins to notice the use of violence turns into a normal routine for Macbeth, in any case Cohen stated violence was a part of most dialogue and events in...
One of the most important themes in Macbeth involves the witches' statement in Act 1, Scene1 that "fair is foul and foul is fair." (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 10) This phrase aptly describes the macabre status quo within the character Macbeth and without. When Macbeth and Banquo first see the weird sisters, Banquo is horrified by their hideous appearances. Conversely, Macbeth immediately began to converse with these universally known evil creatures. After hearing their prophecies, one can say that Macbeth considered the witches to be "fair" when in reality their intentions were quite "foul." Macbeth's possession of the titles of Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland came by foul means. Macbeth became the Thane of Glamis by his father Sinel's death; he became Thane of Cawdor when the former namesake was executed for treason; and he was ordained King of Scotland after murdering the venerable Duncan. Thus, Macbeth has a rather ghastly way of advancing in life.
Macbeth is a fearless warrior and an important lord who defends his King against treachery but his fatal flaw is ambition which he allows to be set into motion in his mind first by the witches’ prophecy and then the amount of ambition for him from his wife soon undermines his righteousness. He is not easily won over to committing the deed of treason and has many objections to the murder, however he is easily influence by his own desire to be King. This is the starting point of a violent and ruthless nature.
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” explores a fundamental struggle of the human conscience. The reader is transported into the journey of a man who recognizes and acknowledges evil but still succumbs to its destructive powers. The character of Macbeth is shrouded in ambiguity that scholars have claimed as both being a tyrant and tragic hero. Macbeth’s inner turmoil and anxieties that burden him throughout the entire play evoke sympathy and pity in the reader. Though he has the characteristics of an irredeemable tyrant, Macbeth realizes his mistakes and knows there is no redemption for his sins. And that is indeed tragic.