Michael Alemu Mr. Shields ENG 2 D May 23, 2024 Macbeth tragic flaw In classical tragedy, a tragic flaw manifests as a character trait that precipitates the protagonist’s downfall. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, reveals such a flaw. His urgent ambition to ascend to the throne of Scotland moves him towards increasingly terrible decisions. Blinded by ambition, Macbeth remains neglectful of the horrible consequences of his actions, resorting to murder in his ruthless pursuit of power. Eventually, traumatized by guilt and consumed by paranoia, Macbeth’s descent into tragedy becomes inevitable. His tragic flaw, ambition, forces him to pursue the kingship at any cost, leading to his tragic downfall. As Macbeth's …show more content…
Macbeth is alone, contemplating murdering King Duncan after Lady Macbeth urged him to consider it. Act One, Scene Seven, 1-2. “If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well/ it were done quickly.” Macbeth shows his desire for power and how ambitious he can be. Macbeth thinks about murdering King Duncan, recognizing that his ambition is the only thing driving him, and it might lead to his downfall. Act one, Scene seven, 25-28. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which overleaps itself and falls on the other.” Macbeth reveals his awareness of his dangerous ambition and foreshadows his eventual downfall. Macbeth is expressing his worries and delusions after achieving his ambition to become king of Scotland. He realizes that his power is meaningless if he cannot hold onto it securely. Act Three Scene One 52-55 “To be thus is nothing, / But to be safely thus. Our fears in the Banquo. / Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature/ Reigns that which would be feared.” Macbeth's ambition led to him being feared. Even after becoming king, he is not satisfied and feels threatened by Banquo, showing how his ambition has not brought him peace, but rather a constant state of insecurity. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, his journey vividly demonstrates how the …show more content…
Macbeth says these lines after hearing about Lady Macbeth’s death, showing his profound hopelessness. (Act 5 scene 5 27-31) “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.” Macbeth realizes that his ruthless ambition and his wanting power have brought him nothing but emptiness. Macbeth is tempting himself to kill King Duncan to become King of Scotland. In Act Two, Scene One, lines 44-46, he says, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.” The appearance of the dagger that Macbeth sees just before committing the deed shows his emotional state. Macbeth is saying that he must be the next prince and wants Malcolm to kill him to be a prince. Act One Scene, 55-60, Macbeth says, “The prince of Cumberland – that is a step/ On which l must fall down, or overleap, / For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires, / Let not light see my black and deep desires. / The eye winks at the hand; yet let that be/ Which the eye fears, when it's done, to see.” Macbeth is too greedy and wants everything quick, this foreshadows the future play where Macbeth does not plan it out the well. The downfall of Macbeth in Shakespeare’s
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
He says, “Better be with the dead, whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, than on the torture of the mind”(III.2.46). This quote takes place just before he does the daring deed and shows the reader that he knows it is not the right thing to do before he even goes to do it. His conscience tries to stay strong but he wants all the power as soon as possible so his conscience gives out and he decides that he will kill Duncan. He states before the domino effect of murders starts that he would rather be dead, than to be a guilty murderer. As the character gives into his dream of being the king he goes to do the deed and murder King Duncan. After he commits the murder, Macbeth feels immediate guilt. This is shown in a conversation with his wife yet again. He says, “I am afraid to think what I have done. Look on’t again I dare not”(II.2.56-57). This quote takes place right after the murder of King Duncan but he accidentally left the daggers in the bedroom with the corpse of Duncan. He immediately feels the guilt which is good for his conscience because he realizes he did something he should not have. He says to Lady Macbeth that he can not stand to even see what he has done anymore. Soon after Macbeth’s daring act his guilt begins to haunt him
Greed is a quality that many have, but too much of it can be catastrophic. In the tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the character Macbeth has a tragic flaw that leads to his eventual downfall. A tragic hero is generally defined as someone who has great potential; someone who is born into nobility and could have a great future. However, they are doomed to fail and often die because of a tragic flaw. These characters usually learn a lesson from their deeds. However, it is usually too late for them to have a happy ending. These characteristics apply to Macbeth, whose greatest flaw is his greed for power. Shakespeare uses characterization, conflict, irony, and foreshadowing to show the audience that Macbeth is a tragic hero.
Macbeth is captured by his wild ambition at the opening of the play when he and Banqou meet the three witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he is the Thane of Cawdor, and later will be king. They tell Banquo that his sons will be kings. Instantly Macbeth started to fantasize how he is going to be king. He understood that in order for him to become king he has to kill Duncan. “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”(Act 1 Sc. 3, p.23). He was pondering about the assassination until the moment that he could no longer control his emotions. “To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself and falls on the other-“(Act 1 Sc. 7, p.41). Because of his “vaulting ambition” he killed Duncan.
As Shakespeare guides the audience through the rise and fall of Macbeth, they see the perilous route that ambition can take them. Within the first act of the play, Shakespeare immediately introduces Macbeth as an ambitious character. Upon hearing Macbeth’s fate of becoming king, Macbeth’s first thought is to overthrow the current king. So, in the comfort of his own home, Macbeth contemplates the witches’ prophecy and decides he wants Duncan’s power for himself. He soliloquizes: “I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself / And falls on the other” (Mac. 1.7.25-28). Macbeth admits that there is not a particularly good reason to kill Duncan; he even acknowledges Duncan’s exceptional leadership as the king of Scotland. However, Macbeth’s unrelenting
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth is a classic example of a tragic hero who is constantly struggling with his fate. In the opening scene of the play Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches. They proclaim that he will be the thane of Cawdor. He responds by saying, “By Sinel’s death I know that I am thane of Glamis/ but how of Cawdor”(I, iii, 70-73)? At first, he does not realize to earn this title what he must do, but when he realizes he is taken aback. His bewilderment prefigures his perpetual struggle with his fate. Macbeth also is excessively ambitious which constantly affects him throughout the play. He is too determined to become king and will kill anyone to ensure that this will transpire. Macbeth’s struggle and ambition make him the quintessence of tragic hero.
Nobody is born evil however certain events or people can make someone become evil. In the beginning Macbeth was not an evil person. Many different events caused Macbeth to kill innocent people. Witches influenced Macbeth’s decision to become evil by messing with Macbeth; and telling the events that would happen to Macbeth and Banquo. Macbeth was a hero to king Duncan; then the witches messed with Macbeth to make him go crazy; and Lady Macbeth challenged his manliness; which made Macbeth carry out multiple murders that led him to become evil.
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.
Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act One Scene Seven marks a pivotal part in Act 1 because he struggles to uphold his values and develops awareness that the only reasoning to kill Duncan sprouts from his simple aspiration to do so. In the first segment of the soliloquy, Macbeth reflects on gaining the throne by killing Duncan, but also establishes his relationship with Duncan as “his kinsman and his subject”(I.vii.13). This acknowledgment leads Macbeth to the conclusion that by attempting to steal the throne from Duncan can result in “even-handed justice” (I.vii.10); in other words, someone could backlash and attempt to plot the same scheme against him. Betrayal could not be escaped no matter how Macbeth perceived the situation. He notices his “spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition” (I.vii.25-28). Duncan had been “so clear in his great office” (I.vii.18) and upheld virtues that a king would be expected to acquire. The soliloquy terminates with a mood of uncertainty because he still did not reach a conclusion of whether or not to murder Duncan. Macbeth recognizes the results of betraying Duncan, and knows that his reason to kill Duncan does not justify doing so, and would be caused solely by a personal craving to betray.
Lady Macbeth is a vicious and overly ambitious woman, her desire of having something over rules all the moral behaviors that one should follow. On the beginning of the novel, Macbeth receives the news that if Duncan, the current king, passed away he would be the next one to the throne. So, Lady Macbeth induces Macbeth into killing Duncan by filling his mind with ambition and planting cruel seeds into his head. After accomplishing his deed of killing the king, he brings out the daggers that were used during the murder, and says, “I’ll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done; look on’t again I dare not.” This is his first crime and Macbeth is already filled with guilt and regret. He shows the reader to be the weak one of the duo. Lady Macbeth as the cruel partner still has some sentiment and somewhat a weakness in her heart and mind. When talking about Duncan she says, “Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.” Weakness is still present and will always be there throughout the novel but this one change the fact that Lady Macbeth is still the stronger and cruel one.
Macbeth is seen as a “valiant cousin, worthy gentleman” (I, ii, 24). He is a brave warrior who is well respected in his community, until the witches prophesied to him that he would one day be king (I, iii, 50). Macbeth interprets that he must act to fulfill the prophecy. He sends a letter to lady Macbeth asking what to do. She suggests that he should kill Duncan. Macbeth follows the plan and kills Duncan (II, ii, 15). Directly following the murder Macbeth can no longer say amen (II, iii, 31-33). Macbeth also hears a voice in his head say, “sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep”(II, ii, 35, 36). For the rest of the play Macbeth suffers from insomnia. When Macbeth pretends to be surprised by Duncan’s death he says, “ Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time, for, from this instant, there’s nothing serious in mortality. (II, iii, 92-95) he is saying that if he had died before he murdered Duncan he would have lived a great life, but now that he’s committed murder, life is just a game and nothing is important anymore. These are suicidal thoughts and show how his grip on reality has greatly slipped.
How does guilt affect one’s relationship? Guilt can significantly impact any relationship, such as friends, dating, or even a relationship with a parent. Healthy relationships are built on trust and should be the foundation for any successful relationship. Feeling guilty can lead to feelings of regret, self-hatred, shame, and remorse. These feelings can lead to an individual becoming distant in fear of communicating their feelings.
Throughout the American history of many heroic leaders an excessive want for the power, leadership, and territory is what led to defeat, downfall, and even death. In the beginning of the play Macbeth was a good man ,but influenced by Lady Macbeth and her question of his manhood and the witches manipulative accusations of becoming King of Scotland forced Macbeth to murder his way to leadership and his death. Macbeth was valiant and brave ,but was influenced by the witches, Lady Macbeth, and ultimately himself.
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.