Throughout many forms of literature we, the readers, see an enormous amount of concepts such as the good guy and bad guy. In some forms of literature, we can see dualism, when one concept can be seen as “good” but instead is the opposite. There are many forms of showing a similar concept, equivocation. Equivocation is something that has to meanings, one being bad and another being good. In the play, Macbeth by Shakespeare, the main character, Macbeth, shows dualism in his actions towards the prophecies he was trying to achieve. The prophecies were misleading because they were not going to be achieved unless the persona worked towards reaching them. The prophecies were often misleading towards Macbeth because they were instilled with good and …show more content…
The more positive side would be that his posterity will be successful, Macbeth takes this a threat to his crown and pursues to stop this from going on. The prophecy has two meanings to Macbeth, one being that he is safe from Banquo because he will not be king but that he is not safe from Banquo’s posterity. Upon learning and realizing this, Macbeth takes further measures which show duality. Duality is an action which can be seen one way but is actually the opposite. The duality of Macbeth’s choices towards the prophecy is, “ Good and evil may be said to only come into existence when a man in his evolution develops the power of knowledge and of choice.” Considering Macbeth’s actions, Macbeth would have never thought about killing his closest friend, Banquo but upon learning that his posterity could be a future threat to his crown, Macbeth took the initiative by hiring people to satisfy his needs, killing Banquo and his son, which failed because only Banquo dies. Act 1, scene 7 exemplifies and is another example of, “ Good and evil may be said to only come into existence when a man in his evolution develops the power of knowledge and of choice.” Act 1, scene 7 was after learning that Macbeth was capable of becoming king, if had Macbeth had no knowledge …show more content…
A prophecy addressed to Macbeth is that he should beware of the Thane of Fife, Macduff. Of course, Macbeth took the initiative of stopping Macduff from becoming more of a threat to him. Instead of killing Macduff, Macbeth sent people to kill Macduff’s wife and son, which would end up hurting Macduff. The equivocal meaning of the prophecy is that for Macbeth this would mean that he has more competitive aside from Banquo’s posterity, which would lead to him committing more bad decision. For Macduff, this prophecy shows that he is capable of dethroning Macbeth from the position of being king. The duality of the outcome from the situation is, “In the oldest Zoroastrian scriptures, heaven and hell do not place, but states of mind that result from right or wrong choices.” The outcome this duality was Macbeth not going to hell, he did not feel remorse for the outcome he caused because felt like he was in heaven physically. Act 2, scene 3 also exemplifies this prophecy because the murder of Duncan left Macbeth feeling like he was in hell mentally rather than physically. Another prophecy that exemplifies that hell and heaven are felt in the mind not physically is the prophecy of Macbeth only vanishing if the forest moves towards Dunsinane Hill Wall. When Macbeth was first told this prophecy he had laughed at it because he knew that forests cannot move. When the soldiers on
In the later acts of the play, Shakespeare furthered the definition of a good man by portraying what a bad one was not. In Macbeth's darkest hours, he showed no sign of prudence and logic as he slayed King Duncan, and hired assassins to murder his friend Banquo. Macbeth displayed his temerity in Act IV, Scene 1 saying, from this moment “the very firstlings of my heart shall be / The firstlings of my hand. / And even now, / To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done” (Act #, Scene #, Line #). Macbeth was no longer the logical, thinking man whom many admired. He had become reckless, acting with only his passion and not his mind. The tragedy of the murders he brought on fair Scotland was a direct result of this violation of the criterion of a good man.
The second prophecy is that he will become the king in the future. The third was that Banquo’s sons will also become kings in the future (Banquo is a good friend of Macbeth). Macbeth took his future into his own hands. Lady Macbeth was the one who encouraged and persuaded Macbeth into the horrible circumstances. Guilt plays a role in the couple differently on certain occasions.
...it by his wife, Macbeth is plagued with guilt when he sees Banquo’s apparition, and him being panic-stricken by the prophecy all exhibit the fallacy of Macbeth’s character. Were it not for the external factors that surround Macbeth within the play, then maybe there was a chance that he would have never committed the acts. “Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more” (5.5.26-29). Macbeth reflects on his exceedingly ambitious life and how it really had no meaning to the world. Because Macbeth never got to enjoy any of his accomplishments in life, Shakespeare proposes that it is far better to achieve your goals fairly rather than foully. Also, if Macbeth followed his ethical instinct the result would have never transgressed into his death, or perhaps it was just meant to be.
History has been filled with evil people doing evil things for power whether that means killing or putting other people down. The truth is everyone wants power and once that power is gained they will do whatever to maintain it. In the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare the main character receives a prophecy from witches (wierd sisters) telling him he will become king. Acting in response Macbeth kills the king and soon becomes the new king. The play follows his story as he struggles to maintain his power and battles against those threaten his rule. In Act 3 scene 1, Macbeth's’ soliloquy about Banquo, his best friend, expresses the tones of fear, jealousy, and anger through the literary devices of metaphors, repetition, and foreshadowing, which
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 the third scene, he encounters the witches who truthfully predict that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and further predict that he will become king of all Scotland. At first Macbeth is merely intrigued by what the witches say, but when their prophecy starts to come true, a seed of evil is planted within him and he can no longer see the reality of the situation – the evil nature of the
... the witches is too mysterious. The forest came to Dunsinane meant the soldiers were hiding under cut trees, so it looked like the forest was actually moving closer. But it was just the appearance of reality. And another prophecy that he misunderstood is that only a man not born of a woman could kill him. But this prophecy only meant the man that would kill Macbeth was born by C-section, maybe that was an operation too new so that Macbeth did not know about it. But Macbeth lives long enough to see that everything came to a bad ending. No wonder he wants to die and not see the “sun” anymore. But if he felt sorry for all his wrongs, maybe he did not go to hell. Macbeth paid, just like his wife, for believing in lies and doing wrong. But Shakespeare is a genius because he found one place where liars and people who believe in magic can find an honest job: acting.
In this statement he basically says that he is extremely happy that two of the prophecies that have been told came true and he is elated that the third one must come true then too. Macbeth tries to play it off and lie to Banquo that he is worried that the current king is going to die and is worried about who will murder him, but in his previous aside he foreshadows that he will kill King Duncan to be one step closer to omnipotence. Macbeth lies even more by sucking up to the king when he returns to the palace, saying that the only reason that he had won was because of King Duncan’s leadership and Macbeth’s so-called loyalty to his gracious king This shows Macbeth’s true colors. He is and always has been an antagonist throughout the entire play
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.
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
As Macbeth progressed further into his downfall and more of the witches’ prophecies came true, Macbeth started to believe that their statements could not be false. “The spirits that know/ All mortal consequences...” (V.iii. lines 4-5). This fact is reiterated when Macbeth drew all of his confidence from those prophecies near the end of the play: “But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn,/ Brandished by man that’s of a woman born.” (V.vii. lines 12-13). (In ...
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
As with all great works of literature, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth has spawned countless essays concerning its interpretation. Two such essays, “Shakespearean Tragedy” and “General Macbeth,” produced by two eminent literary critics, A.C. Bradley and Mary McCarthy, find themselves in conflict. The essays’ respective authors diverge on subjective points such as interpretation of character, original intent, and meaning. Bradley’s Macbeth is courageous and encumbered by the dregs of guilt, while McCarthy’s version takes a less orthodox path.
This specific action consequently resulted in Macbeth’s level of morality to continually decline as he is acutely aware of his own tyranny. Therefore Macbeth attempts to forget the horrific deed he has committed and be the figure that orders and disorders. Our perception of Macbeth being a wise and loyal soldier is now eroded, as we start to view Macbeth constantly questioning his own actions, and is also impelled to perpetrate further atrocities with the intention of covering up his previous wrong-doings.
Macbeth takes his first step toward becoming evil when he is confronted with the knowledge that he will be king. When the witches tell him "All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king thereafter!" he makes the mistake of letting his ambition overrule his judgment. If his judgment had remained intact in the face of the witches' powerful prophecy, he certainly would have decided not to let his actions be dictated by a prophecy given to him by three strange witches who evade most of the questions he asks. With great trepidation and considerable pressure from Lady Macbeth, he commits his second mistake by proceeding to murder King Duncan. Driven by a persecution complex that starts with the knowledge that Banquo is meant to be the f...