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The influence of the witches on macbeth
Macbeth literary analysis
Psychological readings of macbeth
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Psychology is the study of human thoughts, feelings and behaviors and the underlying causes behind them. It can be linked back all the way to early Greek, however it became its own separate nice in the 1870's. William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, is excellently written showcasing how behavior can be altered if the motive is known showing that Shakespeare was very wise depicting human psychology accurately. Macbeth is a play about a tragic character named Macbeth, who listens to the prophecy of witches claiming he will be the next King of Scotland. Macbeth blinded by greed and edged on by his malicious wife Lady Macbeth, kill, lie, and betray to eventually become tyrant of Scotland. Macbeth is later overthrown due to his lack of proper governing and letting Scotland fall to pieces. Shakespeare shows his knowledge of human behavior in Macbeth through motives, symbols and character development. Behaviorism is a psychological school of thought that explains why humans behave the do. Behaviorism means a persons behavior can be modified and adjusted if the motif is known. Behaviorism is shown throughout the whole play, and very prominent in Macbeths tragic journey. Macbeth, a brave heroic noble serving under the king, in the beginning of the play was merely satisfied with his life. However coming across three witches that foretold he would be the king of Cawdor, Thane, and Scotland. Macbeth, not believe any of it until announced king of Thane and Cawdor. He than proceeded by writing Lady Macbeth a letter which proceeded by the Macbeths inviting King Duncan for dinner and to stay overnight. It was here Lady Macbeth used her motive of greed, and power hunger to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan to be king right away rather than wait. Macbe... ... middle of paper ... ...ger into a slender sympathy making Macbeth a more relatable play. That is precisely what makes it a tragedy and why Shakespeare is so known for his tragedies, like Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's knowledge and understanding of the human development helped make the play end contently pleasing the audience by depicting that Macbeth, underneath all this written fiction, is still a human being. Shakespeare is known through out the world for his vast and extensive knowledge and talent with literature. When further inspected, Shakespeare should also be credited as well for his incredible understanding of the human psychology and its motives, especially considering the time frame he was in. Macbeth is an excellent play showing all of these characteristics. Shakespeare shows his knowledge of human behavior in Macbeth through motives, symbols and character development.
Macbeth is an interesting character as he is a respectable man at the beginning of the play however this all changes once he is granted the thane of cawdor as the prophecy the witches made has come half true to him.
Shakespeare's four distinguishable tragedies, the others being Hamlet, Othello and King Lear, but critics regard it as his darkest work. Shakespeare's King Lear is an absolute calamity in which the innate world is amorally unresponsive toward mankind, but in the play Macbeth Shakespeare conspires to add a supernatural factor, where the witches purposely connive to ruin Macbeth's world and Scotland's heritage. A play like Macbeth in the 1600's was a daring move of William Shakespeare. As the King at the time was fixated with the effects of the supernatural, he may have saw this as a threat to take his throne like the Gunpowder plot that had transpired previously, but the ending of the play would have pleased the strongly Christian audience as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who has a leading role in the slaughter of King Duncan, suffered deep humiliation and despair.
Even after four hundred years, Shakespeare's plays still continue to resonate with modern audiences. This is because Shakespeare's plays explore universal themes which still remain relevant in today's society. In Macbeth, Shakespeare dramatically explores how one man's excessive ambition and greed for power led him to tyranny and absolute destruction. The ideas explored in Macbeth still remain relevant in the contemporary world where individuals can get tempted by wealth and power and forget all sense of moral direction.
Shakespeare has created a tragedy with valuable insights that are attained by the past and present audiences of the play. Macbeth is a prime example of this. This is because Macbeth is written as a cautionary tale, to exhibit the consequences of greed, unchecked ambition and temptations.
“Double-consciousness” is a concept W. E. B. Du Bois introduced in the The Souls of Black Folk. “Double-consciousness” as Du Bois says is “always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity" (Du Bois 132). Basically, it is having two opinions about oneself. Throughout history of formation of America, Africans had a hard time trying to merge in this “Melting Pot.” Slavery started around 1600s and ended when the 13th Amendment was passed in 1865 outlawing slavery. Before the 13th Amendment was passed, from 1861-1865 there was a civil war in United States. During the Civil war, in 1863, Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all the slaves in the south. He was afraid that after the war people would not take Emancipation Proclamation seriously so he then passed the 13th Amendment which outlawed slavery throughout United States. After Civil war from 1865-1875 was Reconstruction period in America. Post-Reconstruction things become worse for Africans. Due to all the events that took place in the past, Africans had the sense of not belonging to America and the sense of not being free even after the 13th Amendment. Going through these events caused Africans to be more confused about their identity and place in America. “Double-consciousness” makes one confused about their identity. It is the struggle of trying to figure out where one belongs. The feeling of “two-ness.” The constant struggle of wanting to be “Negro and... American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face" (Du Bois 132). The constant battle between being an American and an African. Throughou...
William Shakespeare had tragedy in Macbeth. Macbeth had been a Thane, which is a noble. Lady Macbeth wants to be Queen of Scotland in Macbeth wants to be king no matter what it takes Macbeth was going be king and Lady Macbeth was going to be queen. Lady Macbeth was a very strong mind person. Lady Macbeth suffered from the effect of bipolar and schizophrenia.
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the author tries to show the true nature of man by using the play’s main character, Macbeth, as an example. He is overly ambitious, courageous, and self-doubting. Throughout the play, Shakespeare displays these characteristics to the audience through Macbeth to show the true nature of man. At the end of the play, these characteristics ultimately lead to Macbeth’s downfall.
William Shakespeare is the most performed and read playwright whose works captured the complete range of human emotions. He wrote various types of plays including comedies, romances, tragedies, and tragicomedies. Macbeth, is one of his most famous tragedies he wrote between 1599-1606. The dramatic alterations made by Shakespeare bear little resemblance to the facts, leading us to conclude to three main purposes. The first being the dramatic. Hoping to capture the attention of his audience Shakespeare changed the plot making it much more dramatic than found in his Holinshed source. Second, the thematic affect. He wanted to create a more complex characterization of Macbeth.
...ions the true nature of human beings. He is ruthless, audacious, and sometimes distrustful. From the very beginning of the play, Macbeth just killed for what he wanted without thinking of the consequences; he used his gut and simple human nature. As the play continued even further, Macbeth’s true humanly actions showed through. He murdered his best friend, and all of his other supposed friends in the final war. Throughout the play, Shakespeare displayed Macbeth’s characteristics to the audience to show the true nature of humans as psychotic. Macbeth made some coldblooded decisions that a person normally wouldn’t make after they had thought it through. Without thinking of the consequence of his actions, Macbeth’s instinct on human nature was to do something completely insane. Shakespeare portrayed through Macbeth’s actions the truly psychotic nature of human beings.
The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare explores human nature as a loyal soldier named Macbeth discovers his fate to become king, but not have any heirs. He responds to this information by killing the reining king, Duncan. However, before committing murder, he contemplates very hard whether he should murder Duncan, against whom he bears no ill will, and great indecision and doubt marks this process. Macbeth’s reaction to killing Duncan, in which he follows a much darker path, reveals and expresses the multi-faceted quality of human nature. Shakespeare expresses the duality of human nature through pairs of opposites, changes within a character’s mind and personality and through the facades and deception many characters practice.
The play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare is about a brave, and noble Scottish general named Macbeth. He received prophecies from three witches that one day he will become king of Scotland. But the very Impatient Macbeth, with pressure on his back from his wife Lady Macbeth, she drives him to murder King duncan, and capture the throne for himself. Throughout the play Macbeth has changed from a brave and noble warrior hero, to a cheating, and lying king. The way Macbeth behaves throughout the play really changes the story, and mood of the play.
Macbeth is a very complex character whom reflects man's thirst for power through the drastic changes of his personality; thus being one of the slightest reasons in which make this intriguing character, greatest of all Shakespearean’s well-known works.
The purpose of tragedy is to arouse in the audience emotions of fear or pity, and to produce a catharsis-a relieving cleansing-of these emotions. Macbeth is the most horrific of Shakespeare's tragedies because the protagonist commits such bloodthirsty acts. Apart from on the battlefield, however, this brutality is not evident when we first meet the hero. General Macbeth is a man of military and political importance, the heroic Thane of Glamis and potential heir to the throne of Scotland. By the end of the play he is an entirely different person than he was in the beginning. In the beginning he is a heroic, decent, and noble soldier, but by the end of the play he is a bloody tyrant.
William Shakespeare on his bloody tragedy, Macbeth, introduces the spectator into a mind-blowing historical event transformed into a play. Though with some questionable accuracy about the real event, Macbeth tells the story of a brave general named Macbeth who, from the encounter with three sister witches, receives the prophecy about him becoming king of Scotland in a near future. Because it is unknown how Macbeth will become king, Shakespeare uses this fact to unravel an array of mysteries around the different characters throughout the play who are moved towards the accomplishment of such prophecy. Through its presentation of human behavior, Shakespeare’s Macbeth suggests that people are willing
During the scene of Duncan’s murder, Shakespeare epitomizes the contradiction between a “valiant” (I. ii. 26) war hero’s personality and Macbeth’s personality. So Macbeth hides behind a shield then, one that makes him seemingly ambitious and honorable while he does not actually have these traits. In most cases, his actions derive from outward motivation. The Witches and Lady Macbeth both offer inspiration to act; and while the Witches do so subtly and efficiently, Lady Macbeth tends to motivate by insulting or humiliating him, indicating again at incompetence not only in ambition, but in his