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An essay on the drama Macbeth discussing the roles displayed by Macbeth throughout the play
An essay on the drama Macbeth discussing the roles displayed by Macbeth throughout the play
The different roles of Macbeth in the play
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Recommended: An essay on the drama Macbeth discussing the roles displayed by Macbeth throughout the play
In the story of Macbeth the character Macbeth is portrayed as an honest and trustworthy man. In the beginning of the story Macbeth meets three witches that tell him that he will be the Thane of Cowdar and eventually become King. Essentially Macbeth does not believe this and ignores it. Macbeth tells his wife about the series of events with the witches and his wife begins Macbeth’s quest for all power. In the story Lady Macbeth is the force that provokes Macbeth to commit all of these evil deeds. In the story it is easily noticeable that Macbeth can be convinced to do just about anything, but after he is no longer being convinced to do these acts it is realized that Macbeth has a lust for power, a quest for blood, and a weak mindset.
It could not be more obvious that Macbeth had a weak mind-set in the story of Macbeth. It is first noticed when he begins to take into thought what the three witches told him about being king. It is also noticed when he lets his own wife convince him to murder King Duncan to acclaim the throne. Essentially Macbeth does not want to kill King Duncan, but due to some persuading words from his wife Macbeth kills Duncan and regrets it terribly. After Macbeth murders King Duncan his wife has to consol him and make him wash the blood from the murders off of his hands. Furthermore, Macbeth shows off his weak mindset by allowing his mind to become a vicious murderer. The weakening of Macbeth’s mind seemed to begin around the time that King Duncan announces that his son Malcolm is heir to the throne and this is when Macbeth begins to ponder murder. Mainly until act four it is Lady Macbeth who dominates over Macbeth. In the story Lady Macbeth repeatedly pushes Macbeth into doing things he knows is wrong and doe...
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Griffin, Gillian. "Lady Macbeth's Daughter." Booklist 1 Aug. 2014: 56. General One File. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. .
"'Macbeth,' MN." Back Stage, National ed. 27 Aug. 2014: 25. General One File. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
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Stuckey, Connie. "Death of a Valentine." Booklist 1 Dec. 2014: 27+. General One File. Web. 17 Dec. 2014..
Wilhelm, Jeffrey, et al. Glencoe Literature: The Reader’s Choice Columbus, OH: McGraw Hill, 2014.
"'Macbeth,' MN." Back Stage, National ed. 27 Aug. 2014: 25. General OneFile. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
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2000, 3/8/2005. Phillips, Brian and Douthat, Ross. SparkNote on Macbeth. 9 Mar. 2005. Review: Scotland, PA. 2002, 3/8/2005.
Wadsworth, Frank W. "Macbeth." World Book Online American Edition. Online Edition. Online. Netzero. 26 Mar 2002.
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
Wills, Gary. "The Historical Context of Macbeth." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 30-37.
Evans, G. Blackemore. "Macbeth." In The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blackemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mufflin Company. 1974: 1307- 1311
This ambition was planted and nursed in his mind when he was told the prophecy from three witches that he will one day be king. Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, was the spark that ignited the drive in Macbeth to begin his evil ways and kill King Duncan for his power. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on the other”(Shakespeare, 337). Although Macbeth originally knows that what he is doing is wrong, Lady Macbeth continues to push him in the dark void that his ambition has created and his feelings of remorse or wrongdoing will soon enough fade away. Although ambition has plagued Lady Macbeth as well and “has laid its stealthy fingers upon her conscience” (Gerwig, Vol.69). Lady Macbeth is the main reason that Macbeth so easily went to the dark side and she has become blinded by her own desires and that for her husband that she no longer cares for what is right and wrong. Macbeths killing will not stop with just king Duncan though and “by releasing his ambition, Macbeth is successful in destroying his conscience…” (McGrail, 19-46). Everyone is now a threat to his newfound power as king and Macbeth will kill whatever innocents he sees as necessary. Morals do not exist for him now, the only thing that matters is power and sustaining it and this ultimately is what leads him to being killed. Eventually
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square, 1992. Print. The New Folger Library Shakespeare.
Nostbakken, Faith. Understanding Macbeth: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997.
Macbeth is a brave general who fights for his country Scotland, defeating the King of Norway. He is loyal to his king Duncan, but Macbeth has ambition to take over the kingdom for himself. He has lots of doubts of if he is doing the right thing, but still murders Duncan and then Banquo who is another general who fought with Macbeth. These murders and guilt about his treason are leading Macbeth to become insane. This essay shows that although Macbeth’s strong desire for power is influenced by the three witches in the play and also the planning and ambition of his wife Lady Macbeth, in the end he is responsible for his self-destruction.
To begin, Macbeth experiences an internal downfall due to his ambition where he battle between his desires and moralistic values. Initially, the idea of attaining power over Scotland by killing King Duncan sparks a sense of fear and paranoia in Macbeth, however, his conscience struggles to take over his ambition: "that we but teach/ Bloody instructions, which being taught, return/ To plague the inventor. [...] I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only/ Valuing ambition, which o'erleaps itself/ And falls on th' other-" (1.7.8-28). At this moment, Macbeth contemplates on killing King Duncan as he visualizes the long term consequences of committing the crime. The reader can grasp his moral judgement as he understands that by proceeding with the murder, he is only causing his own demise and punishing himself. With that b...
Macbeth's destiny and his lust for power, confirmed by the Three Witches and Lady Macbeth, leads to destruction. Every act that Macbeth commits effects the kingdom as a whole. Macbeth's indecisiveness and his understanding of success cause this destruction. This lust for power leads Macbeth, as it would all men, to an evil that exist in everyone. It is his destiny to fail.
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...
Throughout the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the reasoning of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is completely subverted and undermined by their insatiable ambition. Macbeth was at first reasonable enough to keep his ambition in check, however it eventually became to strong for even Macbeth and therefor over powered him. To the contrary, Lady Macbeth was overcome by her ambition from the very beginning. Reasoning was abandoned after the decision to kill Duncan was made. At that point we see no serious questioning of the motives of the three witches when they told their cunning and misleading predictions. Macbeth even went as far as to ask for their advise a second time - this second time would of course lead to his downfall. The decision to kill Duncan also signified the last serious attempt at moral contemplation on the part of Macbeth. Throughout the novel we see that the Macbeth's ambition completely subverted their reasoning abilities and eventually lead to their downfall.
Campbell, Lily B. "Macbeth : A Study in Fear." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 126-35.
Shakespeare, William, and John Crowther. No Fear Shakespeare: Macbeth. ed. New York: Spark Publishing, 2003. Print.