Topic: Show how Macbeth’s tragic flaw eventually dominates and changes his entire personality. Macbeth’s Tragic Flaw: Macbeth cannot control his desire to achieve kingship, possessing the tragic flaw of unchecked ambition. This character defect destroys his ethics and replaces it with wickedness, driving him to his own demise. Thesis: In the quest for a position on the throne, Macbeth’s unchecked ambition supersedes his morality and initiates a gradual change in persona from remorseful to callous, manifesting into paranoia and greed which ultimately leads him to his downfall. Argument - Greed For Power Macbeth’s greed strongly influences his desire for kingship, where wickedness gradually surpasses his courteous persona. As his selfish ambition …show more content…
intensifies, it steers him to eliminate those who stand in his way in order to gain power all to himself, putting an end to his integrity. Example 1 - Early in the play, the prophecy of the three witches and Lady Macbeth's influence kick-starts Macbeth's ambition to attain the throne. To satisfy his desire, Macbeth knows he must murder those in power, but is guilt-ridden about the whole scheme. However, his attitude starts to alter once King Duncan names Malcolm the Prince of Cumberland and says to himself, “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 black and deep desires, The eye wink at the hand. Yet let that be, Which the eye fears when it is done to see.” (I. iv. 48-53) Macbeth’s statement illustrates his view on Malcolm; being another obstacle he must overcome in order to grasp the throne. After learning the king’s heir is Malcolm, Macbeth’s selfishness quickly leads to an increase in his determination to execute those who act as barriers. As he envies Malcolm’s new position, greed amplifies his uncontrollable ambition to quickly become king, demanding both Duncan and Malcolm to be eliminated. This emphasizes Macbeth’s new mentality where he focuses on the immediate advantages of murdering others that help him achieve power, ignoring both remorse and consequences. He also commands the stars to remain dark to keep his wicked intentions a secret from others. This exhibits Macbeth’s eagerness to murder in a sneaky fashion to become king, demonstrating cruel intentions behind his determination. He isn’t concerned about anyone else but himself, revealing both his hunger for power and unsympathetic personality. Macbeth’s sudden urge to kill for his own good illustrates his actions becoming depraved by the “promise” of authority over …show more content…
Scotland. Example 2 - As the play progresses, Macbeth is alone home one day and begins to contemplate whether he should murder King Duncan or not. He wonders what’s playing a role in his motivation to execute this scheme and states, “I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on the other” (I.vii.25-28) Denoted in the quote, Macbeth is aware of having no justification for the murder scheme because Duncan is such a good king and a dear relative, briefly exhibiting Macbeth’s concern and thoughtfulness. However, he quickly contradicts himself. Instead, it is his greedy attitude that impacts his determination to satisfy kingship, so he decides to take a dark, but fast, route in order to fulfill his desire. Macbeth demonstrates that he doesn’t need a rationale to commit crimes but rather self-interest, illustrating a swift change in attitude. Furthermore, he also recognizes how his ambition is wrecking his identity, but decides to disregard it instead of erasing his cruel ideas. This indicates that Macbeth’s aspiration for power is under the influence of greed, driving him to kill for his own sake. The increase in desire ultimately dominates his virtue and replaces it with evilness. Example 3 - Later in the play, Macbeth murders his best friend, Banquo, because he didn’t want Banquo’s sons to rule the throne after him. Shortly afterwards, Macbeth recognizes the excessive amount of blood on his hands from his crimes. He states, “For now I am bent to know By the worst means, the worst; for mine own good All causes should give way.
I am in blood Stepp’d in so far that should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er. Strange things I have in head that will to hand, Which must be acted ere there may be scann’d.” (III. iv. 134-140) Macbeth illustrates his awareness upon every murder he has committed and how it contributes to the trail of blood that constantly follows him. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth doesn’t fail to express shame and despair, especially right after his first murder of Duncan. However, as Macbeth murders more and more, his yearning for power enters him into a state of insanity where murder becomes an ordinary task for him, manipulating himself into in a trap of self-serving aspiration. He believes rewinding his bloody path would be tedious and instead, lengthening it would be just easy. Macbeth’s decision reveals his surrender to the dark, accepting his callous persona to overtake his identity. From here on, Macbeth is constantly in a state of premeditation where the only thing running through his mind is who to kill next in order to retain possession of
kingship.
After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140). Macbeth has just gained more power, and his immediate thought is of how to gain an even higher status as king. He imagines how to kill Duncan, and then is troubled by his thoughts, telling himself it is wrong. This inner struggle between Macbeth’s ambition and his hesitation to kill Duncan is the first sure sign of his mental deterioration. Although Macbeth does kill Duncan, he questions whether or not he should to do so, which is far different from how Macbeth feels about murder later in the play. Macbeth becomes king, and this power leads
Macbeth’s capacity for suffering also leads him to be a tragic hero. Before the murder of Duncan, Macbeth has a personal moment of truth and thinks about what he is going to do. He imagines the dagger in his hand and thinks about the nightmares he will be invaded with. Macbeth is so obsessed with murder; he begins seeing things, and must be quiet and not wake anyone, for he would give himself away.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play centred around opposing forces trying to gain power in the succession for the throne of Scotland. Macbeth, in the beginning, is known to be a noble and strong willed man, who is ready to fight for his country. However, one may see that Macbeth has a darker side to him, he is power hungry and blood thirsty, and will not stop until he has secured his spot as King of Scotland. Though Macbeth may be a tyrant, he is very nave, gullible, and vulnerable.
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...
The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is a tale of a man and his un-bridled ambition, set in ancient Scotland. Macbeth is a nobleman of the king of Scotland, Duncan, who is in mid-war with Norway. Macbeth and his fellow general Banquo encounter three witches. The witches tell the pair that Macbeth will be king, and Banquo’s children will also be kings. Any person in their right mind would question information given to them by strangers, let alone witches, but for some reason these statements intrigue Macbeth. They temp Macbeth to do evil things such as treason, and worse, to kill. Although un-bridled ambition is his main tragic flaw, there is one more that plays a big role in his decisions and the outcome of the story; Macbeth is far too impressionable.
The vigorous desire to achieve and willingly attain something holds the capability to greatly affect one's life. William Shakespeare's play Macbeth establishes the immense effect and influence of ambition. After gaining power over his country Scotland, the protagonist, Macbeth, experiences an internal downfall as he battles between his wants and moral judgement. He struggles to maintain stable relationships with others as his selfish desires and goals hurt those around him when achieved. In addition to clashing with himself and others, he is seen as a tyrant leader and is slowly turned against by Scotland's nation as well as England. Shakespeare's play Macbeth provides the reader with a clear understanding of ambition's corrupting power in Shakespeare's tragic character Macbeth, through his inner conflicts, struggle to maintain stable relationships with those surrounding him, and clash with society.
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is a five-act drama that shows a clear example of how pride, greed, and power can alter a man's actions and personality. The taste of power blinds the story's main character, Macbeth. Sparked by Lady Macbeth, he becomes heartless and cruel as he kills anyone who is a threat to his power due to his paranoia of losing the throne. This fear ironically leads to his downfall and loss of the throne. The theme of the story is deceit and evil and how they affect a man's decisions.
Macbeth, one of the darkest and most powerful plays written by Shakespeare, dramatizes the disastrous psychological effects that occur when evil is chosen to fulfill the ambition for power. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s character loses mental stability and becomes enthralled with the idea of being king. Empowered by the three witches, this situation consumes Macbeth’s consciousness until his mental state becomes deranged. This mental deterioration is evident in what he says and does as he evolves into a tyrannical ruler attempting to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. In an attempt to fulfill his ambition for power, Macbeth displays mental deterioration and becomes increasingly bloodthirsty.
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
Among the greatest gifts that the renaissance produced was the eloquent and incredible Shakespearean plays. Written mostly in the 1590s these plays have been performed and admired countless times; entertaining mass audiences by providing interesting tales that explore the depth of human insights and the different universal themes. Among the many Shakespearean plays Macbeth, written in 1606, stands out with its short composition but multiple themes. This tragedy narrates the tale of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s quest to grasp ultimate power by ignoring their morals and succumbing to their dark desires, which ultimately leads to their downfall. This tragic play portrays the desires, needs, and temptations that accompany ambition in men and women. However the ambition in Macbeth is blind, it does not abide to the morals, but it allows space for dark actions as means necessary for accomplishment. Blind ambition serves as the main driving force that drives Macbeth to subdue to his dark desires, defy his noble behavior, and ultimately his downfall.
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
He killed anybody in his way. He was willing to give up everything that he has in his life in order to possess the crown to sit on the throne. An issue that the play raises is that once one decides to use violence to further one's quest for power, it is difficult to stop. Macbeth finds that there are always potential threats to the throne such as Banquo, Fleance, and Macduff and he is tempted to use violent means to dispose of them. "Macbeth 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;not light see my black and deep desires.The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see."(Shakespeare, Act I, Scene IV). Macbeth’s ambition and desire to gain more puts everyone in front of him in harm. He fears that someone will take him down. Macbeth proves himself better suited to the battlefield than to being a king, because he lacks the skills necessary to rule without being a tyrant. His response to every problem is violence and
This specific action consequently resulted in Macbeth’s level of morality to continually decline as he is acutely aware of his own tyranny. Therefore Macbeth attempts to forget the horrific deed he has committed and be the figure that orders and disorders. Our perception of Macbeth being a wise and loyal soldier is now eroded, as we start to view Macbeth constantly questioning his own actions, and is also impelled to perpetrate further atrocities with the intention of covering up his previous wrong-doings.
Macbeth, who at the beginning of his play’s plot is in a position of some honor and power, obtains position as king of Scotland through secretive foul play, spurred on by some external manipulation as well as personal ambition. “Macbeth’s ambition is unchecked by both moral and legal considerations-he will stop at nothing to get what he desires… Macbeth’s unbridled ambition is the root of the play’s evil because he is willing to throw the world into chaos in order to satisfy his personal desires.” (Thrasher, 92). His rebellion is heinous, but so long undiscovered. His ambition, though present in some degree from the beginning, metastasizes within him through the play as more obstacles to his retention of royal status crop up. “He begins well…but this...
Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his ambition and it consequentially leads to his downfall and ultimate demise. Macbeth is a tragic hero who is introduced in the the play as being well-liked and respected by the general and the people. He brings his death upon himself from this tragic flaw. His strengths turn into his weaknesses and his ambition drives him to the edge and sets himself up for his tragic death.