Macbeth Analytical Essay

954 Words2 Pages

In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare presents the story of the infamous Macbeth, the noble and courageous Thane of Glamis, and his self inflicted downfall as a tragic hero. Yet, critics have portrayed the view that Macbeth is simply not a tragic hero because he “is a weak man manipulated by others;” additionally, they claim that he does not become self-aware of his problems by the end. However, this belief is simply not true. The text reveals that Macbeth’s eventual downfall was a consequence of blind ambition and struggle, and not simply being a “weak” and “manipulated” man. When reading or viewing a piece of work such as Macbeth, one cannot simply take what they read as true. In movies, plays, or books alike, the writer is constantly depicting characters the wrong way on purpose to create a sense of irony and twist later on in the plot. Irony is immediately present in the plot when the Witches state, “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (Shakespeare 1.1.12). This argument can be shown when King Duncan misjudges the deceitful Macbeth claiming that he was “a gentleman in whom I built an absolute trust” (Shakespeare 1.4.13-14a), and once more when the king proclaims to Macbeth, “The love that follows us sometimes is our trouble, which still we thank as love… fair and noble hostess.” (Shakespeare 1.6.24-25). Both of these experiences show the …show more content…

However, he unravels onto a ferocious and blind quest for the throne, and his decisions begin to blur with this quest, skewing his reasons and morals. These events that occur only lead Macbeth “into a perpetual struggle with the forces of chaos and with the shapes of his own disturbed mind” (Cusik 2). Macbeth makes these misguided choices which inevitably evolve into more misguided choices, making him begin to go insane through his ambition and struggle. This builds the bridge which leads Macbeth to Hell’s

More about Macbeth Analytical Essay

Open Document