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Macbeth, a play written by William Shakespeare, portrays Macbeth as a kinsman, subject and trusted friend to King Duncan I of Scotland. A trusted friend, that is, until Macbeth has a chance encounter with the “three witches” (Shakespeare) or the “Weird Sisters”. The witches predict that Macbeth will become the next King and that his fellow companion, Banquo, will be the father of a line of kings. A change comes over Macbeth after his meeting; he is no longer content to be a follower of the King, he will “be” King at any cost. After killing the King and his friend Banquo, losing his wife to madness and ordering the execution of many, Macbeth is killed in much the same fashion as he has killed. But does this really reflect the real King MacBeth of Scotland? While examining the characteristics and actions of the two Macbeths and decide if Shakespeare’s writing was historically sound or was it just “double, double, toil and trouble” (4.1.22-26) playing with MacBeth’s character. In order to keep our two characters separate, the Shakespearian character will be referred to as Macbeth and the actual historical character as MacBeth or King MacBeth, depending on the time. The following areas will be examined to find the “real” MacBeth: heritage and title, personality, deeds and death. The heritage will determine the legitimacy as heir to the throne and title to reflect rank and class; their personality, deeds and death to illustrate their worthiness of being king. In 1005 MacBeth MacFindlaech was born to Findlaech MacRuaridh and Doada, daughter of Malcolm I, making him in line to be King. It was around this same time that his grandfather (Malcolm II) became king. As was required for the children of important chieftains, M... ... middle of paper ... ...ge Accommodation in Castles,cottages,hotels,bed and Breakfast,boats,dream Weddings, Living History and History Magazine. Web. 26 Feb. 2011. Law, Celtic. "MacBeth MacFindlaech." EHistory at OSU | Welcome to EHistory. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. "Macbeth Character Analysis." Angelfire: Welcome to Angelfire. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. "Macbeth, King of Scotland." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 26 Feb. 2011. "Macbeth." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. McAllister, Neil H. "Macbeth Was Framed. By Neil Harding McAlister (Neil McAlister)Brigadoonery Canada." Durham.Net - Durham's Premium Internet Service Provider. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. Tuchman, Mitch. "The Real Macbeth - The Real Macbeth - Los Angeles Times." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 10 Aug. 1986. Web. 25 Feb. 2011. Wells, Catherine. "The Real Macbeth." SFF Net. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.
2000, 3/8/2005. Phillips, Brian and Douthat, Ross. SparkNote on Macbeth. 9 Mar. 2005. Review: Scotland, PA. 2002, 3/8/2005.
“For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name – Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution.”
Wills, Gary. "The Historical Context of Macbeth." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 30-37.
Evans, G. Blackemore. "Macbeth." In The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blackemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mufflin Company. 1974: 1307- 1311
The. MacBeth. Ed. Sylvan Barnett. New York: Signet. 1987
Over the last six months we have seen Macbeth degrade from a fearless and heroic warrior to a murderer, a conscious villain who felt extreme guilt after killing his King out of pure greed and ambition. His servant, as testified, overheard Macbeth express his guilt to his wife on the night of the murder: “I am afraid to think what I have done; Look on ‘t again I dare not.” Following his crowning at Scone, King Macbeth hired three assassins to murder his long-time friend Banquo, in order to protect his crown. It was after the murder of Banquo that Macbeth then turned into an unmerciful, non-repentant tyrant. This man, once heralded as a hero, became the bane of Scotland and his people.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square, 1992. Print. The New Folger Library Shakespeare.
As people go through life, they will be met with many partial truths and misleading pieces of evidence, but Shakespeare reminds us in Macbeth that we should be cautious of the words we believe and judge the speaker’s character before we accept anything spoken by them even if there is some truth in what they say. Set in eleventh century Great Britain, Macbeth begins with Macbeth killing the armies of the Irish and Norwegians for his king, Duncan. He then receives a prophecy from three witches that he will be the future king of Scotland which leads him down a dark and bloodied road. Deception is a key theme of this book for it is how the protagonist, Macbeth, is lead astray from loyalty to his king.
Shakespeare, William, and Kenneth Muir. The Arden Edition of the Works of William Shakespeare: Macbeth. London, 1951. Print.
The essence of Macbeth lies not only in the fact that it is written by the universal talent William Shakespeare; the royal-conspiracy, the political unethical activity, the killin...
Macbeth is a brave general who fights for his country Scotland, defeating the King of Norway. He is loyal to his king Duncan, but Macbeth has ambition to take over the kingdom for himself. He has lots of doubts of if he is doing the right thing, but still murders Duncan and then Banquo who is another general who fought with Macbeth. These murders and guilt about his treason are leading Macbeth to become insane. This essay shows that although Macbeth’s strong desire for power is influenced by the three witches in the play and also the planning and ambition of his wife Lady Macbeth, in the end he is responsible for his self-destruction.
Perhaps the most fundamental theme of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the inherent corruptibility of even a seemingly good man when ambition turns to greed, and Macbeth himself exemplifies this concept throughout the play. While at the outset he is seen to be loyal to his king, generally considered trustworthy, and displaying numerous other laudable qualities, Macbeth ultimately succumbs to the influence of those around him and becomes unequivocally evil, setting aside all his previously held morals and coming to be driven only by his lust for power. This transition is brought about by a wide variety of factors and plays an integral role in the development of the plot. In his tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare employs
A.C. Bradley’s interpretation of Macbeth finds him human, conflicted, and comparable to his wife, Lady Macbeth, in many respects. They share a common ambition and a common conscience sensitive enough to feel the effects of their ambition. But the story, Bradley contends, is built upon the traits that set them apart. He focuses mainly on Macbeth. Macbeth is a character of two battling halves: his reason, or ambition, and his “imagination.” Bradley attributes the hysterical nature of Macbeth’s visions, the dagger, the specter of Banquo, and other ghosts, to his wild imagination. He “acts badly” (Bradley, 136) and loses his composure whenever his imagination triumphs over his practical side; however, Bradley also asserts that Macbeth’s imagination is “the best of him, something usually deeper and higher than his conscious thoughts” (133). Macbeth is therefore unable to make use of the “better” imagination with which he was endowed and instead only appears “firm, self-controlled and practical” when he is “hateful” (136). A product of these clashing sides, Macbeth’s murder of Duncan is borne of his inability to properly acknowledge the conclusions drawn by his imagination. In his soliloquies and in...
113 Macbeth. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1990. The. Coursen, H. R. Macbeth: A Guide to the Play. London: Greenwood Press, 1997.