The Capacity Of Greatness In Macbeth

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Macbeth Essay The play Macbeth, performed for the first time for King James VI in 1606, England, is considered by many to be William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy. The play concerns a noble and loyal warrior, Macbeth, who does not fulfil his capacity for greatness and kills a great king to satisfy his immense greed and evil ambition, brought about by his involvement with supernatural beings, the three witches. The true tragedy in Macbeth lies in Macbeth’s capacity for greatness and leadership. Macbeth possesses good qualities and reverence from the king; however, he has many bad qualities that shroud them. Macbeth is the unconventional tragic hero of the play and his downfall in disposition was used by Shakespeare to flatter King James I of England by acting as a comparison to Banquo …show more content…

At the start of the play, Shakespeare uses the dialogue of Ross and the Captain to reveal that Macbeth is a noble warrior, who is brave and determined. “For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name- / disdaining Fortune, with his brandish’d steel…. Like Valour’s minion carv’d out his passage / till he faced the slave.” (1. 2). It is shown to the audience that Macbeth’s good qualities include bravery, loyalty, determination, and confidence. In Elizabethan times, these characteristics were considered to be that of which a true man and leader should possess. All of this puts Macbeth in a positive light and King Duncan shows his delight in Macbeth’s actions when he says, “O valiant cousin, worthy gentlemen,”(1.2) and then awards him with the title of the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth has a high position in the chain of being, as he is the Thane of Glamis and now Cawdor, which means he is the leader of two clans, holds land granted by the king and is ranked with an earl’s son. All of these points show that Macbeth has a high capacity for greatness and

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