A Reflection Upon Macbeth
Introduction
For this English assignment I am going to write about William
Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth”. Through this essay I am hoping that I
will be able to comment upon many things about the story of Macbeth,
for example the actions of the characters.
I will only be monitoring two of the scenes, these are Act 1 scene 3
and Act 4 Scene 1 as I see these as the most influential scenes in the
play and they each show how the play is progressing and the changes in
the characters as the story is unfolding. They are also the scenes
which feature the witches.
Macbeth was first performed in 1606, early in the reign of king James
I, who had succeeded queen Elizabeth, and during the time the theatre
was becoming more popular between all the different ‘classes’. The
play would be performed in front of a crowd who, if they did not like
the play, would walk out and leave. The play was performed by men only
because of the Elizabethan beliefs of women’s roles in society.
Elizabethan Beliefs
The Elizabethans believed that witches were evil and they were seen as
being the devil on earth, all Elizabethans that would see this play
thought this and would, when they saw the witches, automatically
dislike the witches. In the play Shakespeare presents the witches as
evil, unpleasant characters throughout the whole play. It is
ultimately they who are responsible for the killing spree that Macbeth
embarks upon, as it was they who planted the idea that he may one day
become king. This raging ambition led the once noble Macbeth to murder
king Duncan, and then to brutally kill many other innocent people in a
bid t...
... middle of paper ...
.... The story is an old classic play and to this
day is still used often by groups of people to act out and because of
the betrayal, evil witches and death I feel that this play will never
become overused and un-interesting.
The beliefs of the Elizabethan people are shown immensely all through
the play, all of which are now believed to be stupid folk stories used
to scare the people of the time into using the church.
The play was first performed in 1606 when King James the first was
crowned king and at the time there was the same belief that James had
taken the thrown in the same way as Macbeth did in the play which kept
the audiences interested.
So to conclude this essay, this play shows Elizabethan beliefs about
witches and shows just how strongly they felt regarding witches powers
amongst other things.
Act 3, scene 5 is one of the most dramatic and crucial scenes of the
Scene 2 act 2 is one of the most important scenes in the play. This is
Act 1 scene 5 is very important in the play because it is when Romeo
Act 3 scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet is one of the most dramatic of
Act 3, Scene 1 in 'Romeo and Juliet' is very important to the play as
When looking back on the recent decades or even last week, it is not difficult to find a Macbeth-like figure in mainstream American culture. In this it is meant that these individuals experience a downfall in an attempt to gain power. One such figure was former President Richard Nixon.
“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir?” Macbeth ponders after three witches foresee that he will become king in the tragic play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare (349). Macbeth is wondering how he could become king of Scotland without him intervening as he is not in line for the throne. He believes that he will have to take action to gain this position. Macbeth was right to doubt fate, because his choices led to his ascension to the throne and, later in the play, to his downfall.
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the protagonist, Macbeth, murders the king of Scotland and eventually murders several other people. In the end, Macbeth meets his tragic fate of being killed by the nobleman Macduff. Throughout the play, Macbeth makes decisions that affect his fate, but other characters manipulate his choices and his actions. Early in the play Macbeth, Macbeth has control over his actions, but due to the influence of other characters and his subsequent insanity, by the end of the play, Macbeth has no control over his fate.
text of the play seems to imply that Macbeth is indeed responsible for his own
Act 3 scene 1 is one of the most important parts in the play; there
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
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.
Lady Macbeth, one of the main characters in the play Macbeth, is an example of a character that throughout the course of the play has had a change of heart of some sorts. Lady Macbeth's conscience, which seems to have never appeared or mattered to her before, suddenly becomes an uncontrollable part of her psychological state of being.
According to the classical view, tragedy should arouse feelings of pity and fear in the audience. Does macbeth do this?