Macbeth: Courageous or Cowardly "Cowards die many times before their death." Macbeth displayed many noticeable characteristics throughout Shakespeare's play Macbeth. He was courageous at times and cowardly at others. The most noticeable characteristic in my opinion was that Macbeth seemed very ambitious throughout the play. He also seems to be a moral coward as he depends on others more than himself to make decisions. All of these factors soon lead to his tragic death at the end of the play. At the beginning of Shakespeare's play, Macbeth is described as a hero very clearly. He becomes very ambitious to be king and was very loyal to the king in the opening scenes. This is shown in the quote "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir". His ambition to be king dissolved his good nature and morality. When Duncan arrives at Inverness, Macbeth controlled his ambition for the time being and thought very firmly on the plotting of Duncan's murder. A quote by Lady Macbeth stated "My hands are of your color; but I shame to wear a heart so white". When Lady Macbeth called him a coward, before you knew it, the murder was taking place. After the successful murder of Duncan, Macbeth entered a life of evil. Ambition was also clearly stated when he thought of killing his friend Banquo to protect the kingship. The witches' predictions sent Macbeth into his own world where he could not be stopped on his way to becoming king. Macbeth shows his courageousness by overcoming his personal matters to plot the death of the king. In the scene where the murder of Duncan is taking place, he also shows he is a coward when he will not complete the successful murder by taking the daggers back and placing them with the guards. This also showed a sense of insecurity, as Macbeth seemed no longer confidant in the success of the murder. Macbeth, who no longer needed any encouragement from Lady Macbeth, started to leave her to deploy his plans. The power of destiny comes back to haunt Macbeth towards the end of the play. Macbeth would have never guessed that Macduff would come back for revenge for all of the killings of Macduff's family. This is proven when he Macbeth says "Thou wast born of woman, but swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, brandished by man that's of a woman born". This shows a force beyond Macbeth's control. His strong ambition of the witches and they're predictions soon deceived him when he found out that Macduff was not born of woman and that the third apparition seemed to be true. He then understood that he was no longer safe. His characteristics proved to be beneficial to the story and its ending by enabling the reader to get a better understanding of the situations Macbeth faces. Some of the characteristics also influenced the opinions of others and sometimes his own. Macbeth turned from good to evil over the progression of the play. Macbeth's character traits played a major role in Shakespeare's play and gave insight on the happenings to come.
The Essential Macduff in Macbeth & nbsp; Like in all (or most) Shakespeare plays, there is always a hero that overcomes evil supernatural forces. Macduff is an essential character in this play. His loyalty and patriotism to his dear country, Scotland, is more exceeding unlike the likes of the other Scottish nobles, Macduff was devastated by the murder of his dear king, and he also somewhat sacrifices his family for his country. These three transactions add up to one hell of an admirable hero. Conflict of forces is reflected in the character of Macduff.
When the play started Macbeth was a very loyal person towards the King, therefore the King treated Macbeth like a son. The king tells Macbeth that he is in great debt to Macbeth and there is no amount of money or land to repay Macbeth for his services. Macbeth responds to the King telling him that all he wants is for the King to accept his services and duties to his throne and kingdom (Act I, scene IV). Macbeth shows a great deal of friendliness when he invites King Duncan to his house (Act I, scene VI ). Macbeth is thoughtful and very compassionate in the way of the king but without the King's knowledge he has a plan to kill the King while the King is sleeping.
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
Macbeth is captured by his wild ambition at the opening of the play when he and Banqou meet the three witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he is the Thane of Cawdor, and later will be king. They tell Banquo that his sons will be kings. Instantly Macbeth started to fantasize how he is going to be king. He understood that in order for him to become king he has to kill Duncan. “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”(Act 1 Sc. 3, p.23). He was pondering about the assassination until the moment that he could no longer control his emotions. “To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself and falls on the other-“(Act 1 Sc. 7, p.41). Because of his “vaulting ambition” he killed Duncan.
Macbeth’s capacity for suffering also leads him to be a tragic hero. Before the murder of Duncan, Macbeth has a personal moment of truth and thinks about what he is going to do. He imagines the dagger in his hand and thinks about the nightmares he will be invaded with. Macbeth is so obsessed with murder; he begins seeing things, and must be quiet and not wake anyone, for he would give himself away.
Firstly, the protagonist of the play is a monster due to the murders he committed. Throughout the play, we encounter that he has killed Duncan for power, Banquo and more. To prove this, Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth “That I may pour my spirits in thine ear,/ And chastise with the valour of my tongue/ All that impedes thee from the golden round” which indicates that his
He is manipulated by Lady Macbeth to commit the murder of King Duncan, and Macbeth feels extreme remorse after the murder. Originally Macbeth was wavering with committing the murder. That scene contains the following quote “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man.” In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is seen as a brave and great nobleman, however, when Macbeth receives news that there is a chance for him to rise to great power he conspires to murder the current king to gain the
Macbeth shifts from being loyal and courageous to a murderer executing a treacherous plan to kill the current king due to supernatural suggestions that he would be king himself. Macbeth is discussed as a man worthy of recognition by other characters in act one scene two. In this scene, the Captain states: “For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)” (1. 2. 18). Macbeth is being praised for his courage and loyalty to Scotland and the king. This first impression is hastily contrasted after hearing the prophecy of the witches stating he will be “king hereafter” (1. 3. 53). Immediately after hearing this, Macbet...
After hearing the witches and getting the idea of becoming king planted in his mind, greed overtakes him. He starts to want power, and will do anything it takes to get it. This greed and lack of patience makes him kill Duncan and Banquo, which inevitably led to his demise. The greed is not shown at the start of the play. It starts after the dagger soliloquy. This was the start of the changes that occurred to Macbeth’s character. From this point forward, his character begins to diminish, becoming more and more evil as time goes
The contrast between Macbeth’s character in the beginning and the middle of the play portrays to the audience his original noble nature, thus setting up his role as a tragic hero. In the opening of the play, a sergeant of Duncan’s army rushes in to inform the King of Macbeth’s heroic deeds on the battlefield. King Duncan responds with admiration, proclaiming that Macbeth is “[his] valiant cousin [and a] worthy gentleman” (1. 2. 24), thus highlighting Macbeth’s noble and courageous reputation at the beginning of the play. Furthermore, Macbeth’s resolve to adhere to his own moral values an ability to think logically are demonstrated when he decides against killing the King, pointing out that “as [he is] his kinsman and his subject, strong both against [killing the King]”
When Macbeth is first introduced, the first impression that we have of him is that he was an incredible and worthy fighter and the King speaks very highly of him. An example of this is "O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!" The phrase shows that Duncan is very proud of Macbeth, his soldier, and his cousin. In the witches prophecies, Macbeth was told he would be Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and then eventually become King. He was already Thane of Glamis and he becomes Thane of Cawdor shortly after the execution of the previous Thane, but one prophecy sticks in his mind. He is to become King. Macbeth had the thoughts of becoming King but there was no way he would ever think of murdering his King. He had neither the heart nor determination to do such a violent act. He expresses his discomfort with this in a soliloquy. "That tears shall down the wind. I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself, and falls on the other." Macbeth mentions he has no motive to do the deed.
At the beginning Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a sort of hero. He is presented as a great warrior and loyal servant of the king, Duncan. However, as we progress through the play we see another side of Macbeth. This is the side of evil all powered by his unstoppable lust for power and greatness. We see this lust for power become stronger and stronger until he leaves the whole of Scotland in a terrible state.
Macbeth yearned to be the most powerful and this ambition drove him to the assassination of his king. He had many self-debates, prior to the murder, whether to unleash his “expedition of violence”(Act II Scene iii line 126) upon the king. Often Macbeth told himself to “let not light see [his] black and deep desires”(Act I Scene iv line 58), for they were beginning to truly cloud his mind. The temptation ended up being too immense to deny for Macbeth; “if the assassination/ Could trammel up the consequence, and catch, / With his surcease, success”(Act I Scene vii line 2) then Macbeth would have what he so desired. Macbeth knew that he was “[King Duncan’s] kinsman and his subject, / Strong both against the deed: then, as his host, / Who should against his murderer shut the door, / Not bear the knife [himself]”(Act I Scene vii line 13). Yet as the time grew near for which the murder was to take place, Macbeth did not fail in pursuing his plan. Wi...
The Computer Misuse Act was introduced in 1990 and is designed to protect people and companies from computer misuse. Before the Computer Misuse Act was introduced in 1990 there was no law to prevent computer misuse meaning nothing could be done to stop hackers. This caused hacking to become more and more popular as the problem became more severe it was realised that something had to be done to stop hackers so in 1990 the Computer Misuse Act was passed. This new Act made it an offence to Change or modify information on a computer you don’t own without the permission of the owner (this involves altering data, removing data or adding something to a computer without permission), Accessing a computer without permission or accessing
over long periods of time, or when a computer operator uses a computer to steal