Throughout our journey in life, we all share this common desire to gain more control over our lives and decisions. What most people fail to understand is that just because you have physical control over your actions and decisions does not mean that you have mental control. Even if it feels like we have control over our lives, we need to be careful not to hand over that control to others and let them influence us easily. We should learn to discern and become self-aware of the positive and negative influences around us. While some people can recognize when something or someone is a bad influence, others do not have this ability. Author William Shakespeare, in the play Macbeth, reveals a few ways in which letting others control our decisions can …show more content…
Individuals who are controlled by bad influences tend to make bad decisions. These bad decisions tend to push the good and positive things and people in their lives away. This leaves the individual feeling isolated and like no good comes from their life. In the novel Macbeth, after Macbeth receives the prophecies, Banquo warns him about being careful when it comes to the words of the witches and their true intentions with his statement, "And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray's / In deepest consequence." 1.3.123-126. -. Still, Macbeth ignores this warning and lets this unchecked ambition grow within him. He goes down a path of murder and tyranny and even murders the very person who was looking out for him, Banquo. The second Macbeth murdered Duncan, the witches had successfully gained control of Macbeth, and their evil plan to push him toward his demise was already succeeding. With this control over Macbeth, they play him and manipulate his actions by giving him prophecies with hidden meanings. His words reflect his loss of meaning and isolation as he prepares to go into battle, which will be his last. "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing." 5.24-28 His words in this quote reveal his reflection on life. He speaks about how life is but a stage that people put on an act for, and there is no meaning to life. The shift in control to the witches was the wave that washed all the people who cared about Macbeth away, leaving him in despair and feeling isolated towards the end of Macbeth's
...it by his wife, Macbeth is plagued with guilt when he sees Banquo’s apparition, and him being panic-stricken by the prophecy all exhibit the fallacy of Macbeth’s character. Were it not for the external factors that surround Macbeth within the play, then maybe there was a chance that he would have never committed the acts. “Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more” (5.5.26-29). Macbeth reflects on his exceedingly ambitious life and how it really had no meaning to the world. Because Macbeth never got to enjoy any of his accomplishments in life, Shakespeare proposes that it is far better to achieve your goals fairly rather than foully. Also, if Macbeth followed his ethical instinct the result would have never transgressed into his death, or perhaps it was just meant to be.
Macbeth is a brave Scottish general that receives a prophecy from three witches that he will one day become King of Scotland. In the beginning of the story you first meet Macbeth as a kind, innocent young man but as the story progresses he becomes the most hated man out there. Macbeth has the pressure of whether or not he wants to kill Duncan so that he can become king and at first he doesn't want to. However, as he talks to Lady Macbeth he conforms to her thoughts and opinions and ends up killing him. This leads to a whole new Macbeth who ends up losing site of who he truly is. He starts to care more about having the power then actually caring about his friends and family. This even leads him into killing his best friend Banquo and in the end Macbeth gets killed. This is a perfect example of why following your own thoughts and not conforming to others is better in the long run. Along the way Macbeth ended up losing the most important thing, himself just because he decided to conform to the thoughts of his
Macbeth Even though Macbeth is influenced by Lady Macbeth and the witches throughout the play, his hamartia causes him to do things that he might not have done. When Macbeth receives his prophecy from the witches about becoming king, it causes him to believe that it will come true. In all actuality, the prophecy causes him to commit murder so he can become king, but at the same time the witches knew this would happen. Macbeth is driven mad when he tries to make the witches prophecy come true. When he commits the murder of Duncan, the madness begins, and from that point on he is in a state of paranoia.
Everyone has control over something, weather it be themselves, someone else, or a possession, they have control. Throughout the play “MacBeth”, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is so called controlled by three witches and their fate. Macbeth is not a helpless victim of fate as he was completely in control, so he was responsible for his actions that he committed.
History has been filled with evil people doing evil things for power whether that means killing or putting other people down. The truth is everyone wants power and once that power is gained they will do whatever to maintain it. In the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare the main character receives a prophecy from witches (wierd sisters) telling him he will become king. Acting in response Macbeth kills the king and soon becomes the new king. The play follows his story as he struggles to maintain his power and battles against those threaten his rule. In Act 3 scene 1, Macbeth's’ soliloquy about Banquo, his best friend, expresses the tones of fear, jealousy, and anger through the literary devices of metaphors, repetition, and foreshadowing, which
Despite however strong-willed someone may think he is, everyone is subject to peer pressure. Peer pressure, especially when coming from a loved one or a family member, can cause people to make decisions that are contrary to their moral compass. Throughout the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the actions of the character Lady Macbeth have a direct influence over Macbeth’s decision making, and his varying degrees of trust in her advice lead him to do things that he believes are morally wrong. In the play, Macbeth receives a prophecy from three mysterious witches, revealing to him that he will one day become the king of Scotland. Upon hearing this news, Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, urges him to take immediate action and kill the current king, King Duncan. Although he is initially hesitant, Macbeth gives in under
The nature of both control and fate are explored in Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s most horrific tragedies, in which the titular king is driven to murder in a quest to gain power. Under Macbeth’s kingship, more and more people die as both Macbeth and his kingdom are driven to chaos. Despite Macbeth’s apparent control over his own fate, other characters have an integral role in determining how the plot unfolds. The weïrd sisters give Macbeth the initial desire to murder King Duncan, while Lady Macbeth gives him the final push he needs to commit this act. Throughout this play, control appears as a fluid entity—constantly changing hands and shared unequally between the characters mentioned previously. Although all three appear to have influence
After Duncan’s death, Macbeth feels that Banquo is suspicious of him because he knows about the prophecy. With the goal of eliminating a possible threat, Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. Macbeth convinces the murderers that he is not only their enemy but, “so is he mine; and in such bloody distance/ that every minute of his being thrusts/ against my near’st of life,” (III.i.119-121). Here Macbeth explains that Banquo is also his enemy, and that every minute Banquo is alive, is a threat to his own life. While Banquo may be suspicious, this is far from the truth. Banquo is Macbeth’s closest friend, and his willingness to kill him without hesitation shows how much he has changed. He is willing to harm not only his best friend, but also Banquo’s innocent son who may pose a threat in the distant future. Macbeth’s instinct for self-preservation outweighs his morals, and his extreme caution leads to the downfall of others. In doing so, he digs himself into an even deeper hole, and is surrounding himself in secrets in order to protect himself. This takes a toll on Macbeth mentally, because he fears that everyone is his enemy, and that he can only trust
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.
Who controls the world’s fate? Is it man? Women? The supernatural? In the Shakespearean play, Macbeth, control bounces between Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the three witches, but only one is truly in control. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the only ones who want power over one another but the witches are the ones who have complete control. The witches are the ones responsible for the actions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and this is what gives them control.
Throughout the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth continuously makes bad choices and the consequences of these decisions catch up to Macbeth and result in his mental deterioration, however with Macbeth’s almost infant feel for ambition this makes him susceptible to manipulation, which then grows into an insatiable appetite for power. The acts of this, with the manipulation from outsiders, causes his blind ambition, his false sense of security and then finally his guilt, which all contribute to his derangement. Some will argue that all the choices made by Macbeth were continuously his own, that he had these opportunities as a man to put his foot down and say no, and be able to draw the line where things should come to an end, the fault of a mental deterioration was not there, that from the beginning Macbeth was an evil man who had a twisted way of achieving things. Macbeth’s ambition is to remain king for as long as possible, and he will kill anybody who stops this from happening. Macbeth feels as if he was given a childless rule, and that his legacy will not continue on in fear his rule will be taken away by someone outside his family.
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...
Macbeth is swaying between the forces of good and evil. He wants to stop killing but he also wants to become king and in his mind the only way to do that is to kill whoever is in his path, saying “I am in blood/ Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,/ Returning were as tedious as go o'er.” (3.4.168-170). Macbeth is already deep into this situation and if he were to turn back now, it would cause him greater hardship than relief. Macbeth has been dealing with this inner conflict ever since he was told by the weird sisters that he is fated to become king. This conflict ties everything together, between fate versus free will and sane or insane. Macbeth started the play as being a glorified war hero, however as time moved on he transformed into a bloodthirsty tyrant. Macbeth has gone through so much that he has shifted into a guilty man haunted by nightmares and hallucinations but will not stop until he gets what he came for. Macbeth has gone so far into the void of guilt that his name has now fell into infamy, as shown by quote by Young Siward saying “The devil himself could not pronounce a title/ More hateful to mine ear.” (5.7.10-11). Macbeth had already grown a name for himself while he kept his innocence, however with all the killings macbeth has made, he has done nothing but shame his name. Macbeth name to others is more hateful and there is nothing that Siward would rather do than to end Macbeth’s life, thus ending all the guilt and evil inside
Macbeth’s provocative or violent actions on the challenges placed before him cause him to build an effect of downfall and dismay throughout the play. Originally, Macbeth handles his challenges in different ways and manners and is constantly changing his procedure. From handling situations carefully to not caring, Macbeth and his violence resulted in guilt and selfishness which he had to overcome. By the end of the play, Macbeth had become a selfish, greedy king and the challenges as well as experiences he encountered shaped him into who he is. He was shaped by the guilt of killing Banquo and Duncan, just to become powerful and a king. For example, in Act 3 Scene 4, Macbeth faces adversity when his mind creates a ghost of Banquo, who he just found out was killed. In Macbeth, the uprising of adversity was often handled in various manners. By dealing with his own challenges, Macbeth transforms his handling of adversity from being cautious to thoughtless, which reflected his character and the transformation he portrayed throughout the
Macbeth’s ambition was not only to become king, he to keep the throne no matter what cost, and when he remember the prophecy the witches had told Banquo he felt threatened by his son becoming king and the witch tell Macbeth three new prophecies that will lead him to his tragic death. “He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor To act in safety. There is none but he Whose being I do fear…”(3.1.53-55). This quote shows how Macbeth fears of Banquo, the way he acts so brave but is always being careful of his every move and Macbeth states that he does not fear anyone but Banquo. This is a tragedy because he is killing someone because he is afraid of losing the crown for his own ambition of staying king.