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Analysis of Macbeth by William Shakespeare
PROPHECIES IN tragedy of macbeth
Macbeth characters analysis
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Everyone has some kind of ambition. They will do absolutely anything to get what they want, but how far would you go to get what you want? In “Macbeth” by Shakespeare, Macbeth’s life changed when prophecies were told to him by the witches. Him becoming King was one of the prophecies the witches told him but he was not told how he would get there, therefore it was his choice as to how he would get to that position. Although Macbeth is told his fate, it is free will that fulfills the prophecies of Macbeth because of his ambition to get what he wants.
In Macbeth, the witches are the ones who manipulated Macbeth which lead him to murder. Even though Macbeth was loyal to King Duncan, they put things in his head to bring out the selfishness in him. If it were not for the witches, Macbeth would not have known
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Macbeth even admits to himself that he has “vaulting ambition”(I.VII.25). When Macbeth was named Thane, he started telling himself that if the prophecies are true, they will come true no matter what therefore he didn’t plan on doing anything. When Malcolm got named Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth was furious and thought to himself “This is a step on which I must fall down or else o’erleap. For in my way it lies”(I.IV.55). No one influenced him to get angry about Malcolm being Prince. Macbeth did not have to go along with Lady Macbeth's plan. Whether it was Macbeth’s idea or not, it was him who did the deed. He was not forced, just influenced, He was responsible for his own actions. When he ordered the murderers to get rid of Banquo, that was completely up to him. It was his choice to believe the witches prophecy yet he was trying to get rid of one of the prophecies that was told that Banquo would be the father of Kings. It was the witches and his wife who gave him terrible ideas but he could have ignored them all but it was his ambition that got him murder
Guilt surrounds Macbeth for the second time when he sends out the murderers to kill Banquo, his old friend. Macbeth had no other choice but to get rid of Banquo. Banquo had witnessed the three witches and the prophecies. One prophecy was that his son would become king one day "To make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings"(Act3 scene1 line70). In order for Macbeth to be safe is to kill Banquo. Banquo may assume what had happened and tell the people of Scotland. "For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; for them the gracious Duncan have I murdered; Put rancors in the vessel of my peace only for them, and mine eternal jewel".
Both Banquo and Macbeth are introduced as loyal captains in the king`s army, but as the play progresses, Macbeth is overcome with the desire of power due to his reception of the prophecies. Upon hearing, Banquo does not become greedy for power, but, alternatively, he is suspect and cautious begins wondering if “we [Macbeth and Banquo] eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner?” (1.3). Realizing the witches were simply trying to make him ambitious, Banquo remains loyal to his king and his country, despite knowing that he will have a dynasty to rule Scotland. Despite having the motivation, Banquo does not commit treason against his king but rather wants to “keep my [his] bosom franchis'd and allegiance clear” (2.1), meaning that he has no desire to betray the king for personal gain. Conversely, upon hearing the witches’ prophecies, Macbeth becomes ambitious for power and follows them blindly. He is curious about the witches’ prophecies and demands they “stay… [and] tell me [him] more” (1.3). When he hears that the prophecy that his heirs will rule Scotland he will be king, Macbeth`s ambition is born and his thoughts instantly turn to murder, even though the witches had not mentioned murdering King Duncan which shows that Macbeth has previously thought about murdering his king. As a result, Macbeth has no loyalty to neither his king nor his country and commits treason. While both Banquo and Macbeth hear the witches` prophecies that promised power, only Macbeth conceded to their prophecy and became overcame with ambition. Macbeth is a direct antithesis to the honorable, dependent Banquo. He transforms into a greedy man who is obsessed with his
In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, there is a deep relation to ambition. Macbeth's ambition started after the witches told him that he was going to be king after Duncan died, so then Macbeth and Lady Macbeth just decided to kill Duncan. After this first murder he then decided that he would do anything to keep his crown, since he was so hungry for power. Guilt soon got the best of him which then led to his demise.
Macbeth’s ambition is to remain king for as long as possible and he will kill anybody who stops this from happening. Macbeth feels as if he was given a childless rule, and that his legacy will not continue on in fears his rule will be taken away by someone outside his family. Macbeth states, “For Banquo’s issue, I have filed my mind; For them the gracious Duncan have I murder 'd, put rancors in the vessel of my peace only for them, and mine eternal jewel given to the common enemy of man. to make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings”(Shakspeare 3.1.64-69). Macbeth had committed murder, poisoned his own mind, and destroyed his soul only to end up benefiting Banquo’s heirs. Macbeth, being the paranoid character that he is, feels threatened by this and orders both Banquo and Fleance to be killed. In Act 3, Macbeth says that, “and mine eternal jewel, given to the common enemy of man, to make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!” (Shakspeare 3.1.67-9). Seeing this choice of act, leads Macbeth’s blind ambition doing all he can, in order to remain where he is, even if he is ‘blind’ to what it going on and fails to truly understand the concept of his choices in killing Banquo, which only further deteriorates his mind because of his thirst for power, causing
In addition to this, the witches' prophecies gave Macbeth a false sense of security. Finally, their predictions falsely led Macbeth to believe he would some day be happy. The Witches' contributed the most to Macbeth's destruction by first stirring his deep lying ambitions, also by giving him a false sense of security and finally, by allowing Macbeth to believe he would someday be content. Naturally, Macbeth was third in line to become King of Scotland. Deep in his heart, he desperately wanted the crown, and all the power that came with it.
Later in the play Banquo starts to have a bad feeling about Macbeth. "Thou hast it now: King, Cowdor, Glamis, all,/ as the weird women promised, and I fear/ thou play'dst most foully for `t." III i 1-3, this is a quote from Banquo explaining how he feels about Macbeth's predictions coming true. Macbeth realizes this about Banquo and he starts to have feelings about killing Banquo. This isn't the only reason he feels this way, the witches had also made predictions for Banquo. "Thou shall get kings, though thou be none." I iii 67, Macbeth doesn't want any of Banquo's family to rule Scotland; he wants his own family to continue to rule. Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his on Fleance. The murderers end up killing Banquo, but Fleance gets away.
MACBETH ESSAY In life, everyone has goals that they hope to attain and there are many ways that one can achieve these goals. To achieve what you desire, you can either wait for time to take its toll, or take matters into your own hands and do what you have to do in order to fulfill your desires. You can attain your goal as long as you have ambition. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had the goal of Macbeth becoming king: to obtain this they took matters into their hands and killed Duncan.
Ambition and desire are double-edged notions present in all who crave success and power. While ambition is most often associated with unfavorable greed and overwhelming need, people who express this desire are simultaneously praised for being goal-oriented and steadfast in achieving their goals. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, this duality of ambition is explored through the character of Lady Macbeth. In the play, Lady Macbeth’s husband, Macbeth, is prophesied to be king, and in order to expedite his path to the throne and their combined rise to power, Lady Macbeth plots to murder the current King Duncan. Throughout her Act I soliloquy, Lady Macbeth reveals not only her malevolent and scheming nature, but also profound determination
The second malicious decision chosen by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth was to have Banquo and his sons killed. This would cancel out the possibility of Banquo's sons becoming kings. In Act III scene 1, Macbeth states that Banquo and his sons would be murdered by saying, "Banquo, thy soul's flight, if it find heaven, must find it out tonight." (p.91) The consequence of the decision to kill Banquo and his sons started when Macbeth felt more guilt and developed a worried conscience in the form of a vision of Banquo's ghost.
Macbeth’s blind ambition leads him to surrender to his dark desires that taunt him throughout the play. Macbeth is frequently tempted to result to the wrongful methods that seem to roam inside of him. In the beginning however Macbeth tends to ignore these desires and depends on chance. He declares “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 3, 143-144). This declaration by Macbeth shows his initial stand, which is reliant on fate and sin free. Yet as Macbeth’s character develops throughout the play, he moves farther from his dependence on chance and closer to his darker desires. Eventually his blind ambition to become king overp...
This proves his vaulting ambition and how it had taken over Macbeth. Macbeth continues to murder Banquo and does so out of fear of losing the throne. This is evident in (III, i, 47 – 50) where Macbeth says “…To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus. – Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be fear’d…” this demonstrates Macbeths fear and the threat he faces. Macbeth says that Banquo’s royalty of nature should be feared, through this we are able to understand that Macbeth is evidently lost his grasp on his moral conscience and begins to take down any threat he sees, even if that threat is his best friend. Macbeth goes on to refer to Banquo as his enemy and although he could kill him himself, he fears to offend mutual friend they may have (III, i, 115 – 120). Macbeth then orchestrates the murder of Banquo and Fleance showing no remorse. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that she should appear innocent and act nicely as to not draw any suspicion to themselves. “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed…” (III, ii, 46 – 47). Although Macbeth still refers to Lady Macbeth as his dearest chuck he has planned the murder by himself and without any help, demonstrating his inherent evil nature. Macbeth’s quest for power not only ends his life, but he continues the murders due to malice. When Macbeth plans to murder the
Macbeth, whom initially was a very reasonable and moral man, could not hold off the lure of ambition. This idea is stated in the following passage: "One of the most significant reasons for the enduring critical interest in Macbeth's character is that he represents humankind's universal propensity to temptation and sin. Macbeth's excessive ambition motivates him to murder Duncan, and once the evil act is accomplished, he sets into motion a series of sinister events that ultimately lead to his downfall." (Scott; 236). Macbeth is told by three witches, in a seemingly random and isolated area, that he will become Thank of Cawdor and eventually king. Only before his ambition overpowers his reasoning does he question their motives. One place this questioning takes place is in the following passage:
The witches have a strong effect on Macbeth's character; they highly influence him in his accomplishments and awake his ambitions. They give Macbeth a false sense of security with their apparitions of truths. Instead they prove to be harmful for Macbeth who takes too much comfort and confidence in his interpretation of the truths. They are the ones who plant the actual idea of killing Duncan into Macbeth's mind. But if it were only the witches prophecies, then Macbeth surely would not have murdered the king. 'When you durst to do it, then you were a man,' (Macbeth, Shakespeare Act 1 Scene 7) Lady Macbeth's constant harassment pushed Macbeth and made him commit all this evil. When you reason things out by yourself you tend to now what is right and what is wrong, a conscience. But with the outside influence from the witches he thinks that that is his destiny and he must do everything to fulfill it. One can wonder if Macbeth ever had a chance of doing what was right after he met with the witches. He is overthrown and killed. Through his own ambitions, the ambition of his wife and the witches' prophesies, Macbeth has caused his own destruction and downfall. We can now clearly see that ambition not achieved through our own ability leads to destruction. 'Hail Thane of Glamis and of Cawdor and shalt be King hereafter'. (Act 1 Scene 3) These prophecies from three strangers are taken without question and probably without good judgment. Just the thought that he may be King clouds his thoughts and ambition takes over. The witches can predict the future, they can add temptation, and influence Macbeth, but they cannot control his destiny.
Macbeth does want to become King, although he does not want to commit any evil: "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself and falls on th' other". Macbeth would
Macbeth, who at the beginning of his play’s plot is in a position of some honor and power, obtains position as king of Scotland through secretive foul play, spurred on by some external manipulation as well as personal ambition. “Macbeth’s ambition is unchecked by both moral and legal considerations-he will stop at nothing to get what he desires… Macbeth’s unbridled ambition is the root of the play’s evil because he is willing to throw the world into chaos in order to satisfy his personal desires.” (Thrasher, 92). His rebellion is heinous, but so long undiscovered. His ambition, though present in some degree from the beginning, metastasizes within him through the play as more obstacles to his retention of royal status crop up. “He begins well…but this...