The longing for power can seem to be that empty hole that anyone would try to fill inside themselves, but one should always be careful what they wish for, because as we can see in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Macbeth’s ascension to the throne of Scotland is unlike the typical reign of a monarch in any country for that matter. The rising glory of Macbeth is primarily what this play focuses on, but there are several steps Macbeth must take to reach his desired destination. There are multiple aspects that lead to Macbeth becoming king, but in actuality, there are three key ideas that are the most compelling. The first of these three factors happens to be Macbeth’s ambitions just in general, especially in early parts of the play before the …show more content…
king arrives at Macbeth’s castle. Another important factor which contributes to Macbeth’s rule over Scotland is without a doubt, Lady Macbeth’s encouraging words and the vocal impact that she has in Macbeth’s mind. Lastly, the final argument that needs to be mentioned is the witches’ prophecies, because some will agree with the statement that the entire plot of Macbeth becoming king starts with the prophecies that Macbeth hears from the weird sisters. So, the three leading factors that hasten Macbeth’s ascension to the throne are his ambitions, Lady Macbeth’s encouragement, and the witches’ prophecies. The most important factor that leads to Macbeth becoming king of Scotland happens to be his personal ambitions which is something we witness early on in the play.
Ever since Macbeth finds out about the witches’ prophecies, we can see that something inside of him changes, and he wants to be more than just the Thane of Cawdor. This is evident when the witches tell Banquo and him, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!” (Shakespeare 1.3.53). After this moment Macbeth turns into a completely different person, because now his thoughts dwell on this prophecy, and he cannot stop thinking about it. These thoughts compose of him being the king and the potential path that he will take to become king. Furthermore, we can see this when Macbeth leaves to prepare for Duncan’s arrival, “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step / On which I must fall down, or else overleap, / For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires! / Let not light see my black and deep desires.” (1.4.56-59). This quotation overall sums up the argument better than any other in the play because Macbeth says overleap, meaning he can build higher upon the title, Prince of Cumberland. He also says, hide your fires, which is referring to the treasonous actions that he is planning. The final line in this quotation was the most impactful because Macbeth is saying he doesn’t want anyone to see his dark mind and the evil thoughts that are inside his head. It was throughout the first couple of scenes in act one where Macbeth’s true ambitions were at a display, and the text from these passages evidently proves how his ambitions hasten his rise to the
top. The second reason that leads to Macbeth’s ascension to the throne of Scotland happens to be Lady Macbeth’s encouragement, which is evident countless time during the play. From the play, we know that Lady Macbeth is most eager to kill the king when it is decided that he will be sleeping in Macbeth’s castle that fateful night. Even though Macbeth shows his ambitions, it was Lady Macbeth who makes the call for action. There are some very powerful quotations used in the play like, “That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan / Under my battlements. Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here / And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full / Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood.” (Shakespeare 1.5.42-46). This quote shows us Lady Macbeth scheming while Macbeth is not even currently in the room. She is just thinking to herself right now after reading the letter from Macbeth. One of the most famous lines of the play which was said by Lady Macbeth is, “Look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under it.” (1.5.72-73). In this quote, Lady Macbeth is trying to deceive Macbeth by saying in Duncan’s eyes we will look welcoming and friendly like a flower, but on the inside, we have evil thoughts on our minds like a serpent. This is the passage when Macbeth enters, and the two engage in a one-sided argument where Lady Macbeth seems to be in complete control. Another key influence that Lady Macbeth has is when Macbeth wants to change his mind, she is the one who stays committed to the plan and convinces him to do the same. It is quite clear that without the influence of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth would never have made it to the top of the throne in Scotland, and this evidence proves that. Lastly, there is one final element that leads to Macbeth becoming king, and this is a significant factor because Macbeth’s ascension is sparked by this event in particular. That event happens to be the witches’ prophecies, and the reason why this cause has such a dramatic effect on Macbeth’s ascension to the throne is that the prophecies are what sparked the other events. For example, Macbeth’s ambitious thoughts start coming to him after he hears about the prophecies. The prophecies also play a role in effecting Lady Macbeth because after she reads a letter from her husband about the encounter with the witches, she immediately resolves to have Duncan killed to fulfill the prophecy. As we can see, the witches prophecies are what start Macbeth’s uprising. It all starts when the witches say, “All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane / of Cawdor!” (Shakespeare 1.3.51-52). Even though this quotation does not mention Macbeth becoming king, it represents the title that Macbeth will be given, so it is something that starts to settle in Macbeth’s mind. Shortly after, the third witch predicts that Macbeth will be king, but it was the second prophecy that starts twisting Macbeth’s mind. When Macbeth’s thoughts start to settle he says, “Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more. / By Sinel’s death I know I am Thane of Glamis, / But how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives, / A prosperous gentleman, and to be King / Stands not within the prospect of belief, / No more than to be Cawdor.” (1.3.72-77). In this quotation, we can see that Macbeth wants the witches to stay and tell him more information about his future, which implies that he is convinced about their prophecies being true. Macbeth than questions how he can be the Thane of Cawdor if he is the Thane of Glamis, which shows us that he wants to hear more prophecies about himself. Once the witches vanish, Macbeth is left with the prophecies circling around in his mind and from this moment on we know the damage has been done, and Macbeth’s uprising has begun. All in all, it has been quite evident throughout William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, that there were three major factors which hasten Macbeth's ascension to the throne in Scotland. These factors happen to be Macbeth's ambitions, Lady Macbeth's encouragement, and the witches' prophecies. In the end, Macbeth did reach his desired destination Despite the fact that his reign over Scotland did not last very long. Ultimately, the balance in the Great Chain of Being becomes restored once again.
People have a hard time getting what they want; in fact, the things they want can be incompatible with each other and any attempt to reach one of these goals hurt the other. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1606), the protagonist is lured to murder the king, Duncan, by the desire for power, an appetite whetted by witch’s prophecies and his wife’s encouragement. But when he reaches the kingship, he finds himself insecure. He attempts to remove threats that decrease his security, including his companion Banquo and his son Fleance, prophesied to be king. His lords grow angry and revolt successfully, after witches lure Macbeth into a false sense of security by further foretelling. In Macbeth, we see that, despite appearances of paradox, man’s goals of comfort and power are forever opposed in increment, though the two may decline together.
“Macbeth” is an age-old tragedy by, William Shakespeare, that tells the story of the disastrous down fall of Scotland and it’s Kings. The protagonist, Macbeth, starts out as a thriving Thane in Scotland, but ends up destroying his own prosperity as well as Scotland’s. Certain witches who tell people their fate convince Macbeth that he will be King and that his dear friend Banquo’s children will be kings. In an effort to be sure his prophecy is true and with some encouragement from his rash wife, he kills King Duncan, the current king of Scotland. To continue on this path of destruction Macbeth, acts on impulse and has his friend Banquo killed, because he is afraid that he killed Duncan for someone else’s fortune. Throughout the play Macbeth’s degeneration continues until the tragic ending when the country turns against him and seizes his castle. Macbeth’s demise can be attributed to his abandoning his belief in fate for a need to prove his masculinity.
During a low point in Macbeth’s life he faces struggles with power, ambition and the thoughts of death surrounding him. Grabbing ahold of him strongly he is shown many ideas that are very promising at first, especially when the witches tell him of all of the control he could have, he wants the power, the fame and will do anything to get it. In act 1, scene 3, lines 140-145 Macbeth is recalling a conversation with the witches which brings about a thought in him of murder and the ambition to kill Duncan. Creating this supremacy trip that we see later, almost causing total insanity. In this we see Macbeth come across three of the major themes in the play, power, death and ambition as he struggles to make the right decision with what the three witches tell him.
Macbeth feeds off on the rewards of success as it satisfies him with new titles, fame, and royal favor. He seeks to please with no malicious intent and grabs attention from many. Although he wants people to look up to him and potentially desires power, his independent self never shows ideas of heinous methods to achieve such cravings. He asserts to the king his noble deeds, “The service and the loyalty I owe / In doing it, pays itself.” (1.4, 10) Macbeth, without fetter, finds himself doing wha...
Macbeth, a classic tragedy, is perhaps one of the most recognised pieces in english literature by playwright, William Shakespeare. In Macbeth, Shakespeare successfully explores a diverse range of key themes within the play, however, Shakespeare precisely represents power as a divine right with which one should not tamper with, lest disaster ensue. The representation of power clearly reflects the socio-cultural views of the Elizabethan era, and hence, the audience can successfully foreshadow Macbeth’s usurp of the Scottish throne will ultimately lead to his destruction caused by his hubristic actions. Macbeth’s vaulting ambition has lead to his illegitimate power that epitomises additional representations of power as being transitory, easily
Macbeth’s ambition to obtain power convinces him that it is his destiny to become King of Scotland, and that he should do anything to fulfill that destiny, even if it involves him committing tremendously immoral acts such as murder. After Macbeth realizes that the witches may actually speak the truth due to the second prophecy (Thane of Cawdor) becoming true, he begins to have an eerie and frightening thought of him killing his king and friend, Duncan, in order to ac...
Macbeth is a man who at first seems content to defend his king and country against treason and rebellion. However, when he is told of a prophecy by the witches, which implies that he will become Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland, it seems to spark Macbeth's already existing evil desires inside his head. It is Banquo who first responds to the prophecy of the witches because Macbeth is so deep in thought ‘My noble partner/You greet with present grace and great prediction/Of noble having and of royal hope/That he seems rapt withal.’, so it seems that the witches initiate Macbeth’s inner conflict and ambition for power as he struggles between good and evil.
Macbeth is presented as a mature man of definitely established character, successful in certain fields ofactivity and enjoying an enviable reputation. We must notconclude, there, that all his volitions and actions arepredictable; Macbeth's character, like any other man's at agiven moment, is what is being made out of potentialitiesplus environment, and no one, not even Macbeth himself, canknow all his inordinate self-love whose actions arediscovered to be-and no doubt have been for a long time-determined mainly by an inordinate desire for some temporalor mutable good. Macbeth is actuated in his conduct mainly by aninordinate desire for worldly honors; his delight liesprimarily in buying golden opinions from all sorts of people.But we must not, therefore, deny him an entirely humancomplexity of motives. For example, his fighting in Duncan'sservice is magnificent and courageous, and his evident joy init is traceable in art to the natural pleasure whichaccompanies the explosive expenditure of prodigious physicalenergy and the euphoria which follows. He also rejoices nodoubt in the success which crowns his efforts in battle - andso on. He may even conceived of the proper motive whichshould energize back of his great deed: The service and the loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself.But while he destroys the king's enemies, such motives workbut dimly at best and are obscured in his consciousness bymore vigorous urges. In the main, as we have said, his natureviolently demands rewards: he fights valiantly in order thathe may be reported in such terms a "valour's minion" and"Bellona's bridegroom"' he values success because it bringsspectacular fame and new titles and royal favor heaped uponhim in public.
The three witches prophecy at the beginning of the play sparks Macbeth’s ambition. The prophecy says that, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.54-55). Because the witches say that Macbeth will be crowned king after he becomes Thane of Cawdor, makes him believe that he does not have to put any work into becoming king. Macbeth is then given the title Thane of Cawdor, which sets his mind up to doing whatever he has to do to become king. Upon Macbeth wanting to become king he says “I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent but only/ Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself/ And all falls on the other.” (1.7.26-29). Macbeth is simply saying that he is truly only motivated through his ambition at the moment, because if he rushes ahead of himself, he will lead himself to disaster. Which is foreshadowing the future because, Macbeth rushes ahead of himself with his wanting of the crown, and it causes him to lead himself to disaster. Macbeth then says in an aside “If chance will have me King, why,/ Chance may crown me,/ Without my stir.” (1.3.165-167.) Macbeth believes that fate has everything to do with him becoming king, and he will not have to do anything to receive that title.
Macbeth’s blind ambition leads him to surrender to his dark desires that taunt him throughout the play. Macbeth is frequently tempted to result to the wrongful methods that seem to roam inside of him. In the beginning however Macbeth tends to ignore these desires and depends on chance. He declares “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 3, 143-144). This declaration by Macbeth shows his initial stand, which is reliant on fate and sin free. Yet as Macbeth’s character develops throughout the play, he moves farther from his dependence on chance and closer to his darker desires. Eventually his blind ambition to become king overp...
Macbeth possesses almost none of the ‘‘king becoming graces’’ , except for courage, but as his kind of courage is better suited to the battlefield, he cannot deal with political intrigue very well, driving him to tyranny as well.
Lady Macbeth and the witches have both planted the seed of ambition inside of Macbeth Because of Lady Macbeth’s wicked behavior, which resulted in Macbeth’s evil transition; he was led to become a murderer. Macbeth should not be held accountable for his actions completely since she is the one who lead him towards committing both crimes. The major theme ambition and greed for power have played a key part in Macbeth’s fall from a great Scottish general to a murderer. People should be content on what they have and not strive for things which destroy a person even if we are influenced. In this case Shakespeare’s thought proving play of Macbeth.
MacBeth meets three witches in his war camp at Forres, Scotland. The witches present MacBeth and his companion Banquo with a prophecy - they are to be kings. The supernatural nature of witches and prophecy in an otherwise worldly setting can easily be attributed to a daylight hallucination due to delusional or paranoid schizophrenia. In this regard, I will concede and compromise with the mental illness theory; MacBeth received this prophecy not from a supernatural trinity of sisters, but as an internal premonition after victory in battle. In other words, after a battle that was considered by the minor Captain character to be as memorable as the site of Christ’s crucifixion, MacBeth’s sense of importance, vanity, and pride implanted in his id a notion not that he would be king, but that he should be king. All later mentions of the witches later in the play are merely references to this ambition. In this regard, the prophecy upon which the tragedy is based is given to MacBeth not by a hallucination caused by an unmentioned mental illness, but by an idea implanted in his subconscious by a swollen sense of pride and importance. Rather than hallucinatory schizophrenia or delusions, MacBeth suffers from the more realistic human condition; specifically pride and its effect of man’s sense of importance and
Another vital part of a tragedy is that the main character will have a flaw in him that will later lead to his demise. In Macbeth his flaw is that he wants power. “ The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies. Stars hide your fires; let not light see my blank and deep desires. The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be which the eye fear, when it is done, to see.”(29) Having heard the prophecy that he will be king, Macbeth looks for ways to make it happen more quickly. We see both Macbeth's potential for greatness and his obsessive aspirations. He has vaulting ambitions and knows that Duncan and Malcom both stand in the way.
The temptation Macbeth faces can be seen as his willingness to believe and defend his ‘manifest destiny’ to become King as has been fated by the three witches and the manipulations of his wife, Lady Macbeth. Although Macbeth knows the difference between right and wrong, his ‘moral compass’ fails him in the face of these temptations to fulfill ‘his...