Examples Of Irony In Macbeth

Macbeth is a classic play written by no other than the great William Shakespeare. Macbeth has a lot of literary devices in it but the one that some may say is the most intriguing is the irony. The very beginning of the play even starts with irony and has many situations of irony throughout the play. All the way from the granting of the Thane of Cawdor to the most trustful man in Macbeth, to Macbeth trying to slay Banquo and his son Fleance to prevent the prophecy from coming true, and how Macbeth was a very decorated and popular hero and evolving to a blood thirsty tyranny. Macbeth would not be known as a tragedy if it didn't all types of irony in it to show the downfall of a once great hero to a monster of a king.

Macbeth was considered

a great war hero. He was known for his braveness and being the best fighter on the battlefield. He was considered very loyal to the king and the king was very aware of it. When Ross and Angus grant the title of Thane of Cawdor to Macbeth, he replies "The Thane of Cawdor lives, why do you dress me in borrowed robes." (Macbeth 1. 3. 109-110). Angus then goes on to explain that the Thane of Cawdor betrayed his country and tried to become the king. After Angus explaining Macbeth then questions why he has been chosen for this and Banquo states to Macbeth, "That, trusted home, might yet enkindle you unto the thrown." (Macbeth 1.3. 122-123). Banquo basically tells Macbeth that he is one of the most trustful men and can be trusted with such a high position. The extremely ironic part of this is when King Duncan goes to the celebration of Macbeth being named Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth actually indeed murders him and betrays the kings trust entirely.
During the first act, the witches tell the prophecy to Macbeth and Banquo. Originally both Macbeth and Banquo laugh and think nothing of it. However, once Macbeth becomes the Thane of Cawdor and eventually the King as the witches had predicted, Macbeth begins to fear that the prophecies may actually be true. The witches told Banquo in act 1, "Thou shalt father kings, though thou be none." (1.3. 68) and this begins to concern Macbeth. He begins to be suspicious of Banquo because he fears that he is close to discovering that he betrayed the king. Because of this and the fact he is scared that the witches prophecy of Banquo's son, Fleance, becoming king, he enlists murderers to take care of Banquo and young Fleance. When the murderers do attack, they do slay Banquo, but while in the fight young Fleance manages to escape. The reason why this is irony is because in Macbeth's attempt to prevent the witch's prophecies, he actually puts the so called prophecy into place.
Macbeth evolves seriously in this play.

He was labeled a hero and very loyal towards the King. The captain in act 1 really respected Macbeth and went on with stating all the following qualities, " For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name-Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, Like valour's minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave; Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps, And fix'd his head upon our battlements." (1.1. 17-23). That is the words of a captain, who knows Macbeth and just watched him fight in the battle. He went on about the hero he was and just admired him. But as sort of a tragic flaw, Macbeth starts to listen to the prophecies and ultimately tries to take fate into his own hands. He then begins to kill off everyone. He lets his wife talk him into murdering Duncan, he kills his friend Banquo all in order to prevent a prophecy, and kills Macduff's family to draw him back to Scotland. A reader may wonder why he does all of these horrible actions. Macbeth though does explain very clearly and clears up the reason for his actions with this quote, ""I am in blood / Stepp'd in so far, that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er." (3.4. 137-139) . Macbeth states the reason why he keeps performing these monstrous acts is because he has already gone so far with spilling blood, why stop when he can just go ahead and complete

all of the witches prophecies. That is how Macbeth truly changed and the irony came out. He went from being loyal to being a complete backstabber.
The story of Macbeth is truly amazing, and makes you realize how this truly tragic play, was actually a "huge basket" of irony. The irony when Macbeth was named Thane of Cawdor because the King needed a trustful person to be in charge, was that Macbeth ultimately murdered King Duncan. The irony when Macbeth sought to kill Banquo and Fleance to prevent the prophecy was that he actually set the prophecy into motion. And the last set of irony is how originally was a great and loyal fighter and ultimately turned in a monster of a king. This play is called, "The Tragedy of Macbeth", but honestly should be called "The Downfall of Macbeth" because of the way he let prophecies get to him and turn him into a monster of a person.