Have you ever come across a couple of stories that seem to be the same, but don’t have any resemblance to the plot? This is probably because the stories have the same thematic topic. Some well known thematic topics are blind ambition, corruption of power, and betrayal. Blind ambition can be seen as having too much ambition to where your logical thinking is going. Corruption of power is when a person or group of people uses their wealth or power to manipulate people or a situation. Betrayal is the act of betraying someone or betraying yourself. These thematic topics are learned in thousands of different pieces of writing. Themes are very important to understand as a reader because you will never fully understand the plot of a story without the …show more content…
Blind ambition is a lesson that is learned in multiple types of literature, including classic literature, modern literature, and modern society. One piece of classic literature is Macbeth. In this story, Macbeth shows blind ambition when he is in battle fighting for his King. When he sees the Thane of Cawdor betray their kingdom he takes action by killing him, “For brave Macbeth - disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked his body with bloody execution” (Macbeth 1.2.16).Macbeth stepped up and saw that Macdonwald was betraying his team, so he killed him with no second thought. This portrays blind ambition because he does not think twice about the consequences he might face as a result of this murder. Another piece of literature that shows blind ambition is modern literature. A short story called “The Most Dangerous Game”. Hunting for a 'Hunting'? Great Guns, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder.’” (Connell). Rainsford is determined to find where his gunshot came from, even though he knows that there is a good chance there is a dangerous animal in the forest. He risks his life to find the man with the gun so he can get …show more content…
Betrayal is a theme that has occurred in several works of art such as “Macbeth”, “The Cask of Amontillado”, and “Lance Armstrong Biography”. In the classic piece of Macbeth betrayal shown in Act 3 Scene 2 when Macbeth is planning to kill his close friend Banquo, “There’s comfort yet;... A deed of dreadful note” (Macbeth 3. 2). The adage of the adage. This is betrayal because Banqup believed that he and Macbeth were on good terms with their friendship, but Macbeth had other plans. Macbeth is considering a terrible act: he's planning to kill Banquo. He is somehow finding comfort in the idea, but he knows it's a dreadful thing to do. This shows how far Macbeth has fallen, betraying not just Banquo but also his own values. Another example of betrayal could be shown in a short story titled The Cask of Amontillado, it is about a man named Montresor who is out for revenge. He manipulates his enemy, Fortunato, into trusting him. Betrayal is shown on line 87- 89 when Montresor is checking to see if there is any life left in Fortunato, “‘No answer. I called again—Fortunato—No answer still’” (The Cask of
The play “Macbeth”, by Shakespeare, contains many motifs. Two very powerful motifs that Shakespeare illustrates in this play are blood, and weather. Blood is important because it shows that this play is violent, and the blood physically shows that these characters in the play are warriors. Weather plays an important role because it usually foreshadows events that are about to take place. For example, a storm usually foreshadows terrible things, like death and destruction.
This essay earned a 89/100. it was a lot of work considering the lines from macbeth for textual support.
The definition of a tragic hero, as stated on dictionary.com, is a literary character that makes an error in judgment that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. It has been argued for years whether Macbeth from Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Macbeth, can truly be considered a tragic hero or whether he is solely a villainous tyrant. Although there are some valid arguments for the Macbeth is pure evil viewpoint, by looking at Macbeth in a holistic way you can see the tragic, the heroic, and the tragic hero within him. Macbeth is a tragic hero in every sense of the definition.
“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir?” Macbeth ponders after three witches foresee that he will become king in the tragic play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare (349). Macbeth is wondering how he could become king of Scotland without him intervening as he is not in line for the throne. He believes that he will have to take action to gain this position. Macbeth was right to doubt fate, because his choices led to his ascension to the throne and, later in the play, to his downfall.
Macbeth, a tragedy, starts with a dying, bloody Captain talking about the valor with which Macbeth fought. How does this brave, devoted, valiant soldier become an insane, cold-blooded murderer, killing men, women, and children alike? The story of his downfall begins with his new-found ambition to become king after three witches tell him of his “imperial theme.” After fighting so courageously in battle, Macbeth, Thane of Glamis a title inherited from his late father, and fellow nobleman Banquo, encounter three witches. They greet Macbeth by his current title, by a title soon to be bestowed upon him, and last by the title of king. Immediately, Macbeth is intrigued by their prophecies, but unsure since the King and the
In Macbeth, Shakespeare examines the significance of time in the form of one’s present and future through the unfortunate character of Macbeth. Macbeth is an ordinary soldier, loyal to the king as the Thane of Glamis, prior to his meeting with the three witches. The three witches reveal to Macbeth his future “All, hail Macbeth! Hail to three, Thane of Cawdor! All, hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3. 49-50). For the most part one does not know his or her own future. Our futures are uncertain and predictions like these do not always come true, yet Shakespeare has set Macbeth up in a way that he knows these predictions will come true. Not long after the witches state their claims
"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" is the world famous sentence of a standout amongst the most well-known written in Shakespeare's tragedy book Macbeth. It happens in the second sentence of the fifth scene of Act 5, amid the time when the English troops, drove by Malcolm and Macduff, are drawing nearer Macbeth's palace to siege it. Macbeth, the play's hero, is certain that he can withstand any attack from Malcolm's powers. He hears the cry of a lady and mirrors that some time ago his hair would have remained on end if he had heard such a cry, yet he is currently so brimming with fear and murderous musings that it can no more startle him.
After being named Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth is wonders if he can believe the rest of the witches' prophecies, saying “Glamis and Thane of Cawdor/ The greatest is behind,” (1.3.125-126) in other words it’s just what they said, and the best part of what they predicted is coming! To that, Banquo remarks, "oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to betrays / In deepest consequence" (1.3.123-126). Banquo is much more cautious, and warns Macbeth to be calmer; that the witches are just trying to trick him. “To win us our harm” is achieved by manipulating Macbeth into doing small things that will all add up to dire consequences- in this case, equivocation.
The “strong independent woman” is an amalgamation of modern attitudes towards women. Feminist, outspoken, and sexually liberated, this entity breaks the “mother figure” stereotype usually attributed to women. Current society reinforces these unconventional notions, however this was not so in Shakespearian times. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, most female characters are portrayed in “unstereotypical” ways. Lady Macbeth’s “unsex me speech” leads her to acquire male attributes throughout the play, Lady Macduff openly criticizes her husband for leaving, and minor characters such as “the sailor’s wife” are inhospitable and unaccommodating. Although this seems to portray support for modern views of women, this is not true. It, in fact, reinforces traditional roles, as every “strong independent woman” within the play is punished. Women that go against “natural gender roles” disrupt order and lose their personal stability. This is evidenced by the actions of Lady Macbeth, minor female characters such as the sailor’s wife and the gentlewoman, and Lady Macduff.
One of the most important themes in Macbeth involves the witches' statement in Act 1, Scene1 that "fair is foul and foul is fair." (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 10) This phrase aptly describes the macabre status quo within the character Macbeth and without. When Macbeth and Banquo first see the weird sisters, Banquo is horrified by their hideous appearances. Conversely, Macbeth immediately began to converse with these universally known evil creatures. After hearing their prophecies, one can say that Macbeth considered the witches to be "fair" when in reality their intentions were quite "foul." Macbeth's possession of the titles of Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland came by foul means. Macbeth became the Thane of Glamis by his father Sinel's death; he became Thane of Cawdor when the former namesake was executed for treason; and he was ordained King of Scotland after murdering the venerable Duncan. Thus, Macbeth has a rather ghastly way of advancing in life.
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
When anything in life first begins to grow, it begins as a seed. The seed of a plant, or of a thought, or of an idea. Once created, the seed can do one of two things. It can grow, or it can die. Shakespeare’s play Macbeth tells the story of an innocent man who is turned evil from the seeds planted by those around him, allowing readers to explore the repetition of growth and how it is implied through characters. Throughout the play, growth is used to display Macbeth and Banquo as foil characters, show Banquo’s “goodness” through positive imagery, and to show Macbeth’s “evilness” through negative growth imagery. By analyzing Shakespeare’s use of growth imagery, critical readers recognize that growth enforces the idea that growth triumphs evil, embodied in the actions and consequences of Macbeth and Banquo as they make one of two crucial choices? Good, or evil?
away if she isnt grateful for the food that she has recieved. Katharine eventually thanks her husband, but still does not get enough food to satisfy her hunger. Katharine is then told by his “loving” husband to get ready in her best outfit to meet his dad at his house. The tailor then enters the scene, and Petruchio sends the man to get a bigger cap than he initially brought for his wife. Katharine told Petruchio that she is able to talk for herself, and shows more of a dominant role in the relationship that was not initially expressed before. Then, although Katherine thinks highly of the dress, Petruchio fires the tailor after complaining about the dress that he made. Petruchio decides that it is what’s on the inside that counts, and announces
In Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, Shakespeare creates the ruthless character Macbeth, who is willing to go beyond any measure in order to attain the power of being king, including murder, deceit, betrayal and overpowering the chain of being. Macbeth was first tempted by the idea of kingship when three witches presented him with their portent of Macbeth becoming the next King of Scotland. Ebullient, Macbeth, immediately informed his wife of the news and they both pondered the thought of having the power to rule all of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, a power seeker herself, promptly schemed a plan to kill King Duncan in order for her and her husband to rule, displaying her ready ambition for power. Macbeth’s thirst for power ate away at his conscience
a) If I were Freud I would focus on Santiago’s conscious and unconscious the most. I would use my Freudian theoretical base to explain the issues and this case by breaking down Santiago’s unconscious (Id, Ego, and Superego). Santiago’s I d would be him being prescribed medication for pain but instead of taking them as prescribed, taking 25 at once and attempting suicide. Santiago’s