Symbolism of Nature in Macbeth's Downfall

Andrea Pinto

Ms. Wong

ENG 3UA

16 July 2015

The Downfall of Macbeth through the Symbolism of Nature One of the greatest authors of the past century, Joko Beck, once said “We have self-centered minds which get us into plenty of trouble. If we do not come to understand the error in the way we think about our self-awareness, which is our greatest blessing, is also our downfall”. A character’s greatest quality can also become their greatest flaw. In William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, the main character, Macbeth, becomes both the protagonist and the antagonist of the play. This is evident as, Macbeth allows certain qualities of his personality to overthrow his sense of morality. Due to Macbeth’s dynamic personality, some may argue that Macbeth is

Moments after Duncan’s death and Macbeth’s coronation as king, Macbeth ponders on the thought of murdering his close friend Banquo. Macbeth’s foundation of envy flourishes at the beginning of the play when he learns that Malcolm is a direct heir to the throne. After Malcolm flees, his jealousy continues to latch on, when he realizes his reign could be short-lived and quickly taken over by Banquo’s descendants. Macbeth justifies his reason by stating “ [I] have scotch 'd the snake, not killed it” (3.2.15). In this quote the snake symbolizes Macbeth’s image. In his perspective, he believes that his envious behaviour has only scratched his image and not completely harmed it. Throughout the first act of the play, Macbeth and his wife appear to be loyal to the king and his people. However, his true malicious identity is hidden by this false appearance. As the play goes on, Macbeth’s envy grows and finally reaches a climax when he murders Macduff’s family. This becomes the final straw for Macduff to claim revenge on Macbeth. Therefore, by symbolizing the serpent as his ‘false identity’, Macbeth’s envy towards Macduff is evident and eventually leads to his

Macbeth’s hubris personality is displayed when the witches reveal his first three prophecies, at the beginning of the play. These prophecies give Macbeth confidence that he will have a long-term reign as king of Scotland. Macbeth receives a great deal of pride that he is willing to murder a man who is of higher importance and a wise leader. Ross describes to his father that during the murder of Duncan “...Duncan’s horses… /beauteous and swift, the minions of their race,/ Turn’d wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out,/ Contending ‘gainst obedience…”(2.4. 16-20). The horses in this quote represents Macbeth because he is “the minion of [Duncan’s] race”. It seems that Macbeth is confined by his title, represented by the stall, and through his excessive pride, symbolized by nature, from his prophecies. Macbeth disobeys Duncan by betraying him and his country. However, Macbeth’s hubris personality continues to flourish when he learns of his last three prophecies, at the end of the play. One of his prophecies states that “none of woman born/ Shall harm [him]”, resulting in Macbeth earning more pride. Macbeth’s hubris attitude causes him to make a risky move by confronting Macduff. However, since Macduff was born of cesarean section, he was able to defeat Macbeth. Therefore, Macbeth’s hubris character caused him to make perilous decisions, resulting in his