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Crowning Moment
Being the leader of a country is no easy undertaking by any means, and it takes fierce and resolute individuals, who know their limits, to be successful. In Macbeth William Shakespeare reveals the bounds to which a person will go in order to gain the crown and all that comes with it. As the power in the monarchy changes hands, the motivation behind the crown experiences a change. Each and every act committed in the name of or for it alters the perception of it and its meaning. The motivating force behind the crown experiences an evolution; this drives transforms from one of wholesomeness and divinity, to one of the ultimate evil used for personal gain, and ends at one of revolution and reconstruction for the betterment of Scotland.
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Originally, Macbeth portrays the motivation behind the crown and monarchy as inherently good because of the direct and indirect characterization of King Duncan. Through his praises of Macbeth and Banquo, Duncan indirectly shows that he is virtuous and for the people: DUNCAN. The sin of my ingratitude even now Was heavy on me. Thou art so far before, That the swiftest wing of recompense is slow To overtake thee. Would thou hadst less deserved That the proportion both of thanks and payment Might have been mine! only I have left to say, More is thy due than more than all can pay. (1. 4. 15-21) Despite a crown being representative of “rank and superior force,” Duncan maintains a humble and praiseful demeanor (Magalis 2072).
His actions help the crown to be presented as being of noble and righteous bounds. The crown’s reputation is one with its ruler; therefore, the crown, up to this point, was something holy that motivated actions for the betterment of a country and not ones of selfishness. Also, through Macbeth’s direct characterization of King Duncan, it is shown how moralistic this monarchy has been during his reign: “Besides, this Duncan/ Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been/ So clear in his great office…” (1. 7. 18). There has not been a straying off of the path of the straight and narrow for the him nor the crown; however, that is subject to …show more content…
change. Much like the crown, Macbeth was initially a champion for good in Scotland, and he would have ascended to king without murder since “crowns… [are] awarded to victors in war or contests” (Magalis 2073).
The crown’s evolution coincides with Macbeth’s development into King Duncan’s foil character. No longer is the crown a symbol of wholesomeness, but now it has become the driving force behind intrinsically evil actions. Macbeth’s desire to have this immense power motivates every evil action he committed. His thirst for total control is only permitted because of the crown, making this monarchy and object seem like the ultimate evil by allowing murder. His plunge into evil becomes more obvious than ever when the witches announce his presence: “By the pricking of my thumbs,/ Something wicked this way comes” (4. 1. 44-45). Macbeth was a war hero who loved his country, but the idea of power, or the crown, turned him into a bloodthirsty mongrel. This is not a foreign concept because the Stanford Prison Experiment proved that this would happen to any individual who is given even miniscule amounts of power: “The Stanford Prison Experiment is cited as evidence of the atavistic impulses that lurk within [him]; it is said to show that, with a little nudge, [he] could become a tyrant” (Konnikova 3). Not only did Macbeth have those “killer” instincts, he had others, such as Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters, behind him nudging him to do what he must in order to gain this crown. This
power, represented by the crown, pushed Macbeth to the very limits of his sanity. All of his horrific actions were motivated by the crown, whether it was to acquire it or to retain it, and this causes the perception of the crown to become that of the driving force behind evil. Paranoia began to take over every aspect of Macbeth’s life because of his decisions that the crown instigated, and this instability would soon spark another change to the crown. As history has proved, tyrants often do not last long in their standing because “monarchs who engage in tyrannical actions could be threatened with divine judgment unless they mend their ways” (Nederman 1494). Malcolm, King Duncan’s son and the rightful heir, demonstrates, for the last time, a change to the driving force behind the crown in the denouement. After the death of Macbeth, he finds it necessary to call back their “exiled friends abroad/ that fled the snares of watchful tyranny” (5. 7. 95-96). In order to spark a revolution within the masses, Malcolm was “not just a champion of felt needs or a catalyst but also a cause of the movement he was heading” (Lewy 7791). His goals are to allow Scotland to not only recover but to come back stronger than before. The crown drives Malcolm’s decision to do anything in his power to rid Scotland of tyranny and allow reconstruction to occur. His motivation to gain the crown was for the betterment of Scotland, not for his own personal gain. The crown became symbolic of a stronger Scotland not just tyranny and power. Malcolm’s attitude toward the crown is representative of its last step in its evolution to a symbol of reconstruction and revolution. Macbeth demonstrated that leading a country is a sizable task not for the faint of heart. Three different leaders each demonstrated attributes and qualities that were unique to them. The resulting monarchy from each of those rulers was heavily influenced by the motivating force behind their drive for the crown. Every step that each monarch took in the name of the crown impacted the prestige it held and its reputation. William Shakespeare demonstrated the consequences power can have on individuals. The crown formed three different drives within unique individuals: the drive for good and wholesomeness, the drive of ultimate evil for personal gain, and the drive to revolt for the betterment of a country. Each leader somehow symbolized a motivation for the crown. The different attitudes allowed a peek into the drive to gain the crown and its power.
“Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been / So clear in his great office, that his virtues /Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against / The deep damnation of his taking-off; (1.7.16-20)” The powerful values of being a good king in Macbeth, all the king's learn to manage throughout the book. William Shakespeare's ideas towards kingship can be seen throughout the play Macbeth, and shows that a king should be chosen by a divine right. Throughout the play Macbeth the most important topic is kingship. Followed by knowing the difference of kingship and tyranny. Shakespeare closed it out with cruelty and masculinity along with staying true to principles.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play. Macbeth’s rise to the throne was brought about by the same external forces that ensure his downfall.
The drastic measures for the attainment of power are necessary for any upcoming ruler to obtain what they desire. Macbeth had the right ambitions and aspirations when stepping up to rule Scotland, but unfortunately the increase in power increased his greed and paranoia which also painted a larger target upon his back. The people did not appreciate the means of how he obtained his power and especially did not appreciate the ways he kept and defended it. No evidence in the play exists to say Macbeth ruled as a tyrant one could speculate he was an excellent ruler like many that came before him but that would be a large speculation to make. Under the circumstances, Macbeth had great potential, but became corrupted and sank due to his greed, desires, and the opinion of his
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.
This paper will focus on the traits of a tyrannical leader and a benevolent monarch as described by Shakespeare in Act IV, scene iii, and demonstrate how they apply to Macbeth and other characters involved in the play. Furthermore, this paper will address how the characteristics are magnified depending on which source is being reviewed by the reader.
What drove him to become a power hungry tyrant was his wife. She put ideas in his head that changed him. A day before Macbeth would not speak of the idea of killing the king and now he was considering it. By killing the Duncan, gaining the title and king, and not being caught, Macbeth was given an enormous boost. He now felt invincible and let power finally get to him and corrupt him. With this new amount of power, Macbeth was not willing to let it slip away. To protect his power, he did whatever was necessary. Macbeth cowardly had Banquo killed, going against everything he ever believed in. Killing Banquo was not enough for Macbeth. Shakespeare shows to the audience how power can make a person go higher in the world but at the same time make them more vulnerable. Macbeth was now vulnerable, to solve this he sent the murderers to kill Macduff.
...in order to possess the crown. This is not entirely true. Although there is truth in this statement, Macbeth would not have committed a single crime in this play if it weren’t for the other figures whose words influenced, and drove him to do so. Macbeth did not act alone. He was manipulated by the witches and encouraged by his wife. It is because of his impressionable personality that he was convinced to kill his king, and fellow subjects.
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 chooses the wrong path to accomplish his ambition. Killing Duncan is wrong and he knows it but can’t help himself. An example for dominance of power in addition to Macbeth can be presented in Brian De Palma’s movie Scarface. Al Pacino as Tony Montana creates excessive wealth from distributing cocaine because he thrives for power. As the movie progresses, the drugs make him crazy and he kills more and more people who die in violence followed by the main character. Similarly, Macbeth’s ambition for power becomes his weakness which finally brings tragedy to his character. He is a tragic hero because he can’t seem to help himself even though in the beginning he was good and was a hero in Scotland. Similarly to Dr. Mathur, Faith Nostbakken argues that “The witches do not completely determine Macbeth’s actions. If they did, Macbeth would simply be a victim rather than a tragic figure who suffers the consequences of his own choices. As he wades deeper and deeper into his own darkness, pulling the kingdom down with him, the weird sisters spur Macbeth to his own corruption…In the service of evil rather than good, they equivocate in their prophecies, encouraging destructive behavior.” (Understanding Macbeth
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.
Macbeth, one of the darkest and most powerful plays written by Shakespeare, dramatizes the disastrous psychological effects that occur when evil is chosen to fulfill the ambition for power. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s character loses mental stability and becomes enthralled with the idea of being king. Empowered by the three witches, this situation consumes Macbeth’s consciousness until his mental state becomes deranged. This mental deterioration is evident in what he says and does as he evolves into a tyrannical ruler attempting to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. In an attempt to fulfill his ambition for power, Macbeth displays mental deterioration and becomes increasingly bloodthirsty.
In the play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare has a strong theme of power. Macbeth is a king who is given three predictions from three witches, one of which is that he will become king. The one problem is he doesn’t know what he has to do in order to become king. His wife then decides that in order for him to become king, he must kill the current king. This one murder then leads to others in order to cover the original murder up. Once Macbeth becomes king, he doesn’t want anything to change, he wants to stay king until he dies. He then begins to kill again, but instead of killing to cover something, he is killing anyone who stands in his way of staying king. Macbeth’s fate is affected by the personality trait of bravery, his ability to be manipulated, and his determination.
forced Macbeth to be proactive in chasing the crown at a time when he was of the
In Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, Shakespeare creates the ruthless character Macbeth, who is willing to go beyond any measure in order to attain the power of being king, including murder, deceit, betrayal and overpowering the chain of being. Macbeth was first tempted by the idea of kingship when three witches presented him with their portent of Macbeth becoming the next King of Scotland. Ebullient, Macbeth, immediately informed his wife of the news and they both pondered the thought of having the power to rule all of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, a power seeker herself, promptly schemed a plan to kill King Duncan in order for her and her husband to rule, displaying her ready ambition for power. Macbeth’s thirst for power ate away at his conscience
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...