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Theme of darkness in play macbeth
Theme of darkness in play macbeth
Themes in Macbeth
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The one who thinks blindly following ambitions is the goal in life is being deceived by the illusion of the pursuit of objectives being the principle of human development. The prevailing notion of the relentless quest for attaining aspirations being the goal in life is profoundly dangerous as it deceives people into their downfall, and subsequently others as well. William Shakespeare uses his play, Macbeth, to outline the detrimental consequences of, in turn, pursing of a burning desire. The Vindictive pursuit of ambition about Macbeth's goal to become King becomes a virus within Macbeth's life which infects him, and those who are close to him, like Lady Macbeth, both in equal measure.
Shakespear explores a narrative from Macbeth's fall from
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After receiving his title "Thane of Cawdor"(1.111.105.10), realizing the that the witches prophecy bore truth, Shakespear presents a vital soliloquy from Macbeth in which he states that "[his] thought who's murder yet is but fantastical shakes so my single state of man/That function is smother'd in surmise and nothing is but what it is not"(1.111). Through showing his insight into Macbeth's psychology, it reveals Macbeth's immediate contemplation of murdering Duncan, after he is presented with a prophecy from the witches, a promise to achieve the king's throne. From this monologue, it is displayed that when Macbeth is given a chance to transcend the futile hierarchy, the change in his mindset and character is nearly immediate. Macbeth's lust for kingship clouds his thinking and decision making and is also is what makes a cynical change in his personality. Macbeth's deadly thought of regicide shakes him and is what fundamentally turns his once noble status into a bloody demoralising tyrant. Macbeth addresses his ambition in his key soliloquy as he states that he "[has] no spur to prick the sides of [his] intent but only vaulting …show more content…
This illustrates the consequences of Macbeth's the pursuit of his ambition has done to him, infecting him by turning him into a monster that keeps on going, with no where to stop. Macbeth's ambition also makes him deceive people like the murderers into killing his once noble friend Banquo, as he persuades them by crying out "know that it was [Banqo] in the past which held you so under fortune" (111.1.75-77.41). From this, it is evident that there is a shift in Macbeth's social sphere as he is now stooped so low that he is indulging in corrupted murders to do his bidding. This highlights the effect his virus has in making his deceitful and form new lows by being the slave to his sickness from within, allowing it to infect him. Macbeth has exorbitantly descended the moral ladder by betraying his once close friend Banquo and the divine king, and with that himself. He betrays himself by overriding his once clear moral compass and instead accepts being the slave to his virus even when it plagues him meticulously. Furthermore, Macbeth is falling victim to his demise is apparent as at the end of the play he has lost connection to his soul and
After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140). Macbeth has just gained more power, and his immediate thought is of how to gain an even higher status as king. He imagines how to kill Duncan, and then is troubled by his thoughts, telling himself it is wrong. This inner struggle between Macbeth’s ambition and his hesitation to kill Duncan is the first sure sign of his mental deterioration. Although Macbeth does kill Duncan, he questions whether or not he should to do so, which is far different from how Macbeth feels about murder later in the play. Macbeth becomes king, and this power leads
In the play of “Macbeth”, Shakespeare gradually and effectively deepens our understanding of the themes and most importantly the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The main theme of Macbeth is ambition, and how it compels the main characters to pursue it. The antagonists of the play are the three witches, who symbolise the theme appearance and reality. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relation is an irony throughout the play, as most of their relation is based on greed and power. This is different from most of Shakespeare’s other plays, which are mostly based on romance and trust. There is also guilt that leads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to the final consequences of the play. As the progresses, the constant changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are exposed.
Macbeth begins to defer from his original character when he learns of the witches’ prophecies, which leads him to believe he is fated to be king and to pursue that “destiny.” After the witches make the prophecies, he merely views the thought of himself becoming king as something that “Stands not within the prospect of belief” (I. iii. 77). Macbeth’s disbelief of their claim of him obtaining the crown reveals how Macbeth does not trust the witches’ words and has no true ambition to become king. However soon after Banquo’s and Macbeth’s encounter with the witches, a messenger of the King greets him with the title of Thane of Cawdor as well as the title of Thane of Glamis as the witches had also done. These two titles are seen from Macbeth as “Two truths [that] are told/ As happy prologues to the swelling act/ Of the imperial theme” (I. iii. 140-142). Having one of the two prophecies become reality validates the witches’ words and makes Macbeth take their words seriously to be the truth, sparking his desire for power to fulfill the last prophecy. He now believes that what the witches have made it his destiny to become king, and it is his duty to fulfill it. Through Duncan and Macbeth’s dialogue, Macbeth hears about Malcolm b...
After Macbeth committed a dreadful crime at the start of the play, he realizes that by killing even more people he can get what he wants whenever he wants. Macbeth reaches a point where he is too busy fulfilling his own ambitions that he was not fulfilling his obligations as king. “Those he command move only in command, / Nothing in love…” (5.2.22-23). His obsession with power caused him to murder his good friend Banquo, and Banquo’s son. Macbeth’s out of control ambition has caused him to lose his emotion. He progressively sta...
Ambition is frequently seen as desirable - it provides purpose, motivation to work hard, and a goal to strive towards. Yet it also has a dangerous side, when it becomes too great and out of control. Although ambition is often positive, excess of it can have detrimental effects. This unrestrained ambition is predominant in the tragedy of Macbeth. In this play, Shakespeare employs the use of hallucination, blood, and prophecy motifs to emphasize the theme of ambition, which, when goes unchecked by moral constraints, wreaks destruction upon an individual.
...rn day society, illusive ambitions can be incredibly detrimental, just as they are demonstrated to be in Macbeth. Ambitions, if they are untamed, can be an impediment to free will; they can overpower your good conscience, possibly leading you into causing death and destruction. They can also corrupt one’s mental health, while practically morphing that person’s perception of reality into something demonstrably wrong and twisted. Finally, they can boost ones ego to a point where that person is engulfed and imprisoned in the vehemence of their own denial, which can ultimately bear fatal consequences. If one’s hopes and desires are innately destructive, then it logically follows that that one’s ambition is also innately destructive; be wary of one with an immense ambition.
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 vigorous desire to achieve and willingly attain something holds the capability to greatly affect one's life. William Shakespeare's play Macbeth establishes the immense effect and influence of ambition. After gaining power over his country Scotland, the protagonist, Macbeth, experiences an internal downfall as he battles between his wants and moral judgement. He struggles to maintain stable relationships with others as his selfish desires and goals hurt those around him when achieved. In addition to clashing with himself and others, he is seen as a tyrant leader and is slowly turned against by Scotland's nation as well as England. Shakespeare's play Macbeth provides the reader with a clear understanding of ambition's corrupting power in Shakespeare's tragic character Macbeth, through his inner conflicts, struggle to maintain stable relationships with those surrounding him, and clash with society.
While Macbeth is losing his morals, Lady Macbeth is developing hers. After Macbeth reveals his plot to kill Banquo, she is reluctant to add another murder to those already committed: “You must leave this”(3.3.40). In act three, another prophecy foretold by the witches comes true. The paradox “fair is foul and foul is fair” characterizes the changes the protagonists undergo in acts one, two, and three. Throughout the play, Macbeth, the “fair” one, becomes overcome by guilt and becomes “foul”.
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:
Macbeth shows how greed and ambition can bring down a person as well as others and how the changes of power occur because of loyalty and betrayal. Macbeth is the play’s main unhappy character. The play tells of Macbeth's greedy thirst for power is a dangerous trait.
Seeking for greater power, Macbeth murders Duncan who is the king at that time, which caused a great pain for the kingdom. Duncan is a great king, but just not a so good human reader. He has never been aware of Macbeth. He never have a thought that Macbeth might be a danger, who is willing to kill him for the throne. On the other hand, Macbeth does not accept to be just a general for the rest of his life. He wants a greater power, higher position than he is having at the time. Because of the suggests from the trio witches: “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.2.49-50), Macbeth has the thinking about killing the king to take his throne. By calling Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor, they give Macbeth the thought that being a king is his fate. On the night Macbeth is planning to murder Duncan, the Old Man see many strange events: “And Duncan’s horses (a thing most strange and certain),/ Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, /Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out/ Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would/ Make war with mankind” (2.4.14-18). It creates a scary feeling in the kingdom, and means something bad will happen to the kingdom.
Soon after he achieves the title Thane of Cawdor as predicted by the three witches; whom drive Macbeth’s ambition to murder King Duncan- due to the fulfilment of the witches’ first prophecy, Macbeth is foolish enough to commit to treason and murder King Duncan. The first change of Macbeth’s personality happens during Act II, Scene 2, where he starts to become overwhelmed with ambition and self-doubt; "To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself" (II.ii)
Throughout this play, Macbeth journeys from a noble, loyal soldier to a power-hungry, deceptive monster, destroying any obstacle in his path. These obstacles are sometimes people, including the former King Duncan and his “friend” Banquo. Evil and greed take over his every thought, and in the process of destroying his obstacles, he never realizes that his own actions will lead to his downfall. Many quotes in this play prove this to be true. Throughout the play his attitude goes through drastic changes, and he ends up thinking he is indestructible.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare confronts audiences with universal and powerful themes of ambition and evil along with its consequences. Shakespeare explores the powerful theme of the human mind’s decent into madness, audiences find this theme most confronting because of its universal relevance. His use of dramatic devices includes soliloquies, animal imagery, clear characterisation and dramatic language. Themes of ambition and mental instability are evident in Lady Macbeth’s reaction to Macbeth’s letter detailing the prophecies, Macbeth’s hallucinations of Banquo’s ghost and finally in the scene where Lady Macbeth is found sleep walking, tortured by her involvement.