Family kills family for power; people abandon their country out of fear and hatred. Loyalty, In the play it is something that is mentioned but never shown. Starting with the original Thane betraying Scotland. Macbeth is full of disloyalty and betrayal towards those seen as family. Lady Macbeth's relationship with Macbeth, Banquo to Macbeth, and Macbeth to the country. STUFF
Throughout Macbeth, the question of loyalty was on everyone's minds. Macbeth is more for power than loyalty. His fate told by the three witches
“All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!/All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! (Act 1.Scene 3. Lines 51-53).
Macbeth had been keen yet conflicted on what to do. To become king, his cousin Duncan, the current king of Scotland, must die.
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Conflicted by this, he goes to Lady Macbeth for help. Her advice is not quite what he is looking for, but he listens to it allowing himself to change his mindset. “Upon his death?
I am settled and bend up
Each corporal agent to thin this terrible feat
Away, and mock the time with fairest show
False face must hide what the false heart doth
know”(1.7.91-96).
This is the first sign of disloyalty for power and betrayal to a family. The influence on his decision making is based on what Lady Macbeth said. Her desire for power grows, needing to feel the power. She whispers in his ear all that he should do in order to earn power. Regarded her own self, caring little of her “husband.” Lady Macbeth plans the murders of those she called family.
The question of Banquo towards Macbeth is whether he was loyal or disloyal. It is what events allowed a change in their relationship. In the start, he was loyal indeed to Macbeth. Suspecting Macbeth of murdering Duncan, he became weary. Banquo's trust towards him was tested many times. Banquo remembers what the “weird sisters” said. Confronting Macbeth of the uncertainties on his mind.
“Thou hast it now--King, Cawdor, Glamis, all
As the weird women promised, and I fear
Thou played’st most foully for ‘t….
Why by the verities on thee made good.
May they not be my oracles as
well, And set me up in hope? But hush, no more”(3.1.1-10). Testing Macbeth by saying this to him, Banquo hopes to get the truth out of Macbeth. In response, all he got was lies, Macbeth continues to cover up the murder of Duncan. No longer showing him the support, Banquo knows Macbeth will come up with something new. Which just happens to be to kill him. Power hungry, Macbeth knew Banquo's lineage would take the power from him. Their relationship was built on loyalty. Although in need for power, they were willing to turn on each other. Macbeth again plans to murder him, consulting murderers. He convinces them Banquo should live no longer . “Who wear our health but sickly in his life,/Which in his death were prefect.../Both of you/Know Banquo was your enemy”(3.1.119-130). The line “Banquo was your enemy”, shows just how the relationship between them was terminated. Once Macbeth turned on his family it lead to the betrayal of Banquo. Previously in the play, Shakespeare did not mention Banquo doing anyone wrong. Macbeth's loyalty to his country was abandoned once he came into power.
After murdering Duncan, Macbeth feels that he needs to kill Banquo. He is afraid that Banquo is going to be a problem for him. He is suspicious that Banquo believes Macbeth had something to do with Duncan's murder, "Our fears in Banquo/ Stick deep; and in his royalty of nature/ Reigns that which would be feared" (3.1.47-49). He plans to kill him, though Banquo has made no direct threat against Macbeth. He speaks of feeling inferior to Banquo, even though he is king. "There is none but he/ Whose being I do fear; and under him/ My genius is rebuked" (3.1.53-55). Banquo is Macbeth's closest friend, he is starting to lose trust in everyone around him.
Humans are always fascinated by power. Sadly, they do not realize the danger of it until it is too late. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare's underscores how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both consumed by power. In the beginning, Lady Macbeth dominates Macbeth, manipulating him to kill Duncan. After the death of Duncan, Macbeth becomes ambitious, and hires murderers to kill Banquo without notifying Lady Macbeth. Even though he is a decorated soldier, when Macbeth rises to power, he becomes ruthless. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth becomes weak, and insane. Shakespeare illustrates how Macbeth’s obsession with power undermines his moral judgement, leads to his mental deterioration, and ultimately results in his death.
The story of Macbeth is filled with ambition, fate, deception and treachery. Macbeth has been promoted to be the Thane of Cawdor and decides he wants Duncan dead so he can take his spot as King. This eulogy takes place after the slaying of treacherous Macbeth. I will be acting as Malcolm, his son.
Macbeth is the story of a man who falls from his noble state. In the beginning, Macbeth was a courageous fighter for Scotland's King Duncan. Macbeth is soon overcome with greed for power, so he kills the king and crowns himself. He becomes worried of losing his newly gained power causing him to kill more people. In the end the lords and nobles join forces with the king's son, Malcolm, to destroy Macbeth. In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the character Macbeth was persuaded by the three witches to commit evil, leading to his tragic downfall.
This willingness to do whatever is necessary to become the king of Scotland is also what causes Macbeth to commit so many murders, the first of which is Duncan. In order for Macbeth to be king, the current king must die and his successors must be unavailable for the throne. Fate plays a huge hand in the way that Duncan's murder plays out. Duncan's two sons flee so that they will not be suspected of committing a crime that they did not, the murder of their own father. Because they have fled the country, it is Macbeth that is the one who may become king.
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...
Power can be interpreted in many different ways, but in “Macbeth” power isn't just a title or , it also is the ability to control other people as Lady Macbeth does. Power literally means, “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.” (Dictionary.com). Lady Macbeth shows this by convincing Macbeth to kill the king who he respects deeply and even after saying full heartedly, “We will proceed no further in this business” (1.7.32). Lady Macbeth wears “the pants” in the relationship, meaning she is more of a male figure than Macbeth is. Macbeth even agrees to this saying, “Bring forth men-children only, For thy undaunted mettle should compose nothing but males.” (1.7.73-74). This quote means
Later in the play Banquo starts to have a bad feeling about Macbeth. "Thou hast it now: King, Cowdor, Glamis, all,/ as the weird women promised, and I fear/ thou play'dst most foully for `t." III i 1-3, this is a quote from Banquo explaining how he feels about Macbeth's predictions coming true. Macbeth realizes this about Banquo and he starts to have feelings about killing Banquo. This isn't the only reason he feels this way, the witches had also made predictions for Banquo. "Thou shall get kings, though thou be none." I iii 67, Macbeth doesn't want any of Banquo's family to rule Scotland; he wants his own family to continue to rule. Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his on Fleance. The murderers end up killing Banquo, but Fleance gets away.
Two important themes in the play Macbeth are power corrupts good morals and unchecked ambition leads to destruction. Shakespeare uses Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to show how power corrupts good morals; and motifs to illustrate the self-punishment of crime. From the beginning of the play until his death Macbeth’s character changes drastically. At first he is seen as an honorable man, but becomes a power hungry, paranoid man. Lady Macbeth had an immense influence on the corruption of Macbeth. Her lust for power impacted Macbeth in many ways. Both characters were over taken by unchecked ambition and a greed for power.
Macbeth knows from even before he kills Duncan that Banquo’s loyalty lies with Duncan (2.1.26-28). Banquo suspects that Macbeth killed Duncan. (3. 1.1-4). Banquo suspicions of Macbeth seem to show later in the scene in lines 15-18. He says he is bound to serve the king, but this line in much colder than the interactions between Macbeth and Banquo in Acts One and Two. This possibly tipped Macbeth off to the fact that Banquo was doubting his loyalties. Also, Macbeth knows of the witches’ prophecy to Banquo that his descendants will be kings. (1.3.65-68). Macbeth fears that everything he has done will go to Banquo’s heirs even due to the fact Macbeth does not have children and the possibility of what the witches said coming true (3.1.63-64). Macbeth fears for his throne due to this prophecy and Banquo’s questionable loyalties. He decides he needs kill Banquo to ensure that he has absolute security in his throne and not allow Banquo’s heirs to inherit the throne without any
In the play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare has a strong theme of power. Macbeth is a king who is given three predictions from three witches, one of which is that he will become king. The one problem is he doesn’t know what he has to do in order to become king. His wife then decides that in order for him to become king, he must kill the current king. This one murder then leads to others in order to cover the original murder up. Once Macbeth becomes king, he doesn’t want anything to change, he wants to stay king until he dies. He then begins to kill again, but instead of killing to cover something, he is killing anyone who stands in his way of staying king. Macbeth’s fate is affected by the personality trait of bravery, his ability to be manipulated, and his determination.
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
William Shakespeare's Macbeth implies that if a person is influenced by blind ambition then this may cause their morals to be jeopardized. Macbeth's ambition causes him to be blinded in making the right choices. He strives for power but his blind ambition leads him to have conflicts with his morals. Macbeth is in his castle alone. He is starting to question his plans of killing King Duncan. Macbeth is starting to think his plans more thoroughly and realizing the consequences that will follow if he proceeds with his dark plan. Macbeth protected the Kings land and reputation, making Macbeth a very honorable person to the king. In fact he was titled as the thane of Cawdor by the king. From this, Macbeth acknowledges that the king trusts him emencly.
...Macbeth made them happen. With the encouragement of the witches and from Lady Macbeth, he made the destructive action of murdering Duncan. Paranoia and guilt start to take over Macbeth`s emotions, which cause hallucinations and multiple suspicions from his closest of friends. Finally anger and revenge cause Macbeth to fall into ultimate destruction and evil. He kills innocent people and everyone that comes in his way. These actions and thoughts are caused by his human nature that resulted into corruption because of temptation and ambition. His aspirations to be king were acceptable, but to kill his way to get the crown shows his inner character and how easily he can be swayed into dark and evil actions. Macbeth gives the audience a sense of how our human nature is naturally inclined to be dark, but how we must be strong enough to overcome evil and achieve greatness.