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Compare and contrast essay: macbeth and beowulf
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A conversation between Macbeth and Beowulf would be one with great disagreements and arguments due to the fact that both portrayed the same traits in distinct ways. Both men have two different ideals and approaches to certain situations. One of the common themes between both men would be of personal growth. They would disagree on this because both of the characters’ intents are different. Also, because personal growth comes through helping others progress as well. For example, Beowulf would speak about how he grew through helping and protecting others. Beowulf, a mighty human, decides to fight a dragon that threatens his people at the expense of his death. His only wish is to only provide riches for his people, but nothing for himself. On
the other hand, everything that Macbeth does is solely for himself. As a result of his own ego and suspicion he kills countless people just because he cannot afford to be found as a murderer by anyone. Even Hecate, the head witch, had said herself that Macbeth’s powers were only being utilized for selfish purposes. Another topic that would be discussed between them would be the sense of urgency because Beowulf always knows what he does, when Macbeth does not. Beowulf would talk about one goal and pursue it no matter what comes his way. When Beowulf decides to fight Grendel’s mother, he knew he could die. Before entering the demonous waters, Beowulf made his own decision to fight the monster. The opposite applies to Macbeth where he his the monster. Macbeth is not capable to make his own decisions based on what he wants to do. In return, he is the monster that kills others based on someone else’s thoughts. Lady Macbeth had the idea of killing Duncan embedded in Macbeth’s head, that he kills him because of her. Macbeth does not show a sense of urgency as his guilt and self-delusion prevents this. Both men would have long, interesting talks about war, ambition and pride as they possess. What sets them apart is how Beowulf never forces anything to happen and is very meticulous about everything. Macbeth constantly waivers in mind and expects everything to come to him. As a result, the conversation would be filled with strong language and a battle
Although Gawain and Beowulf share many similarities, their characters are almost complete opposites. Both aim for some sort of fame, one more than the other; differing in the way they attempt to achieve this success. Gawain remains true and looks to humility to guide him, whereas Beowulf is very prideful and selfish, loving nothing more than boasting about his virtues. Regardless, both go through tremendous changes throughout their quests, dealing with repercussions, and many challenging obstacles along the way.
A quote which really defines Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s ambition regarding power is “Power does not corrupt men; fools; however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power” George Bernard Shaw. Lady Macbeth is more ambitious in terms of gaining power then Macbeth is and that Lady Macbeth will do almost anything to gain power, even evil things that she normally wouldn’t do. This is shown when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth learn about the witches’ predictions, then roles in the plans to murder king Duncan in order to gain power and then finally after the murder, Macbeth doesn’t want to finish the plan making Lady Macbeth angry and causing a chance they might get caught and gain no power at all.
Societies construct heroes that represent and embody the ideals of those who create them and read about them. Their is a stark contrast between the hero in the time of Beowulf and Hamlet’s creation and heroes created in modern times. Current literature, movies, and television portray a different kind of hero from those created in 1000 AD to 1600 AD. A hero is defined as someone who is "admired for achievements and noble qualities"," shows great courage", and in historical texts such as Beowulf and Hamlet is a "legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability" or an "illustrious warrior" (Merriam-Webster). Despite the popular belief that the time for heroes has passed away, based on the needs of society, today's
In the stories of Beowulf and A Knight's Tale, there are many different themes. One of the major themes is the religion that runs through both of them, yet both stories have a very different view of religion. In Beowulf, it seems as if God has chosen where our life will end and where it will begin, everything happens by the will of God in a fair and just way. In The Knight's Tale, we see Greek gods playing with the characters and when they "play" with them, there is no real pattern to how they choose things. Each vies is different and this affects the stories in different ways.
American musician Jimmy Dean once stated, “I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination” (values.com). The tenacity described by this quotation is shared by Macbeth from The Tragedy of Macbeth, Hamlet from The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, and Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Each of these beloved characters are placed in unfavorable circumstances, yet they manage to pursue their own desires despite the will of those around them. In addition, unlike Hamlet and Macbeth, Alice manages to minimize her path of destruction. As demonstrated by Lewis Carrol’s Alice Liddell, the characteristics William Shakespeare’s tragic heroes transcend time and morph to create new modern heroes.
Macbeth: Shakespeare's Comparisons and Contrasts. Throughout Macbeth Shakespeare uses comparison and contrast to bring out characteristics of his main character, Macbeth. Shakespeare uses comparisons with Duncan, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo to bring out aspects of Macbeth's character. After hearing of Macbeth's courageousness on the battlefield, Duncan, a good and honest king, bestows the title of Cawdor on Macbeth.
Imagine the world where everyone has the same characteristics. No one would stand out as a significant being as everyone conforms to the same standard. However, when there is a contrasting standard, one can use that as a stepping stone to compare oneself with and to see what kind of a person he or she really is. The existence of opposing or different characteristics can emphasize another. In the play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s weaknesses, concerning his family, masculinity, and perspectives, are emphasized through contrast with Macduff’s strengths in those same areas in order to illuminate that good always triumphs over evil in the end.
Both Macbeth and Beowulf had a large amount of pride, however, the way the two were influenced by it is where they begin to differ. Macbeth, at the beginning of Macbeth, had a reputation of an honorable war hero, but after he meets the three witches in the street with his friend, Banquo, his pride begins to change to that of a power hungry man who thinks he is invincible. This change was caused by what the witches said to boost his pride, although Banquo warned him not to listen to them and walk away. This pride is one of Macbeth’s tragic flaws, the flaw in which makes a tragic hero fail or fall. His wife, Lady Macbeth, throughout his story, also inflated his pride because she had control over her husband and wanted the power and glory that could come with being queen of the land. This would also aid the witches in ruining Macbeth. Beowulf’s pride did not lead him down a path of devastation and unhappiness. His pride was well earned in the eyes of the people surrounding him and the in eyes of himself. In fact, after he defeated the horrible Grendel and Grendel’s mother, he was warned by King Hrothgar to not be over prideful and tells him of heroes, a lot like Macbeth, who followed the path that led to their destruction. Beowulf decently understood and tried to maintain a level head, though he was extremely full of himself because of his
Despite the matter that both Macbeth and Amir betrayed the people closest to them, they developed contrasting characteristics. While Amir’s demeanor became guilty and remorseful, Macbeth shifted into a cold and intense rendition of his former self.
Beowulf is one of the oldest heroic poems that still exists. Likewise, it has been a theory for many that this poem has inspired authors and screenwriters alike in the creative process of fictional heroes for shows, movies, games, and books. Nonetheless, Beowulf 's trait of a modern-day superhero can be evaluated in almost every type of fictional hero that exists. For example, Beowulf is brave, even willing to die for the greater good, he is abnormally stronger than most humans which in a way makes him superior, and he is somewhat of a natural leader that everyone seems to admire. When comparing this character to other fictional characters, one that particular fits these same characteristics, and that person is Jon Snow. He plays cast in the popular television show, Game of Thrones. Jon Snow shares three fundamental characteristics of Beowulf such as, self-sacrificing for the common good, strength and abilities that are not seen in typical humans, and having natural leadership skills
The warrior ethics in Beowulf and The Tale of the Heike are similar and different at the same time. Their ethics are similar in ways that they wear their clothing. Their differences are that they fight different. Not everyone believes in the same things.
There are a lot of topics that can be compared and contrasted. Whether it be animals, cities, novels, movies, etc. The topic that is being compared and contrasted is movies. The two movies are called The Dark Night, and Beowulf. These movies are considered two epics that have similarities and differences. Whether it be from the villains, the heroes, the landscape etc.
An important comparison between Beowulf and Macbeth was ambition. But there are two types of ambition the good and the bad one. Macbeth is an example of the bad ambition. An evidence that explains this is when Macbeth was talking to Duncan about his desire, “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
who will become king, he will be the father to kings. This confuses them and they head back to the to meet with King Duncan. When they get there they find out that the Thane of Cawdor had sided with the enemy and was killed and that due to his great job in battle Macbeth would be named Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth then realized what the witches had said was true and he begins to think of ways to become king. In Throne of Blood, Washizu, and Miki, Washizu’s best friend that he later ends up killing, meet an evil spirit weaving silk like a spider. The spider-like spirit is singing a song before Washizu and Miki finally talk to him. The spirit tells Washizu that he will be given a section of the fortress for him to control and protect. The spirit also told him that he would soon become lord of the whole fortress. The spirit also told Miki that he would be assigned a section of the fortress to control and that his son will
In the play Othello and the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the main characters in both plays as warriors. Both characters in each of their plays, had constant outside voices seeping into their minds which ultimately contributed to the fate of both Othello and Macbeth. The witches in the play Macbeth had more of an effect of Macbeth’s actions then Iago had on Othello’s actions in the play Othello. Each character had a lot of pressure on them throughout the play however the witches influence on Macbeth resulted in more destruction than Iago’s influence on Othello.