Pressure is inevitable – it is something that is felt by all, whether the source is from within or as a result of other people and events. Throughout Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the main character is faced with many pressures, both internal and external. Although his pressures are external at first, they later become internal and affect his character as well as his sanity. Macbeth feels externally pressured by his wife and the three apparitions given to him by the witches. Consequently, he begins to feel mentally pressured by his fear to secure the throne, his paranoia, and his sense of tyranny and blood lust. These pressures cause his character to change, which leads him into greater downfall. When one is faced with pressure, both from within or from an outer source, their character is greatly influenced and subject to many changes.
Macbeth first feels forced externally, the source of it coming from his wife, Lady Macbeth, who wants for Macbeth to kill Duncan so that he can become king. At first, Macbeth feels apprehensive and tells his wife, “We will proceed no further in this business” (1.7.33). Lady Macbeth begins to pressure him further, even going to the extent of questioning his manhood, saying, “Wouldst thou have that/Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’, Like the poor cat i’th’adage?” (1.7.41-45). In her response, Lady Macbeth calls her husband a coward and accuses him of just fantasizing about becoming king without doing anything, instead of killing Duncan to become king right away. She also makes a reference to an old Latin proverb that loosely translates to, “The cat would eat the fish, but does not want to wet her feet”. After hearing th...
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Pressure is a result of both others and the inner workings of one’s mind. During the tragedy of Macbeth, the main character feels forced externally by his wife, who convinces him to kill Duncan so they he can be crowned king. Macbeth also feels pressured by each of the three apparitions, which causes him to try to kill Macduff, attempt to back out of his final battle with Macduff, and panic and grown tired once Birnam Wood begins moving to Dunsinane. Macbeth later feels internally pressured to secure his throne, leading him to kill Banquo and his son; by his heightened fear, causing him to resort to the witches’ prophecies for a feeling of safety; and lastly, by his tyrant figure, which causes him to become blood lusted when he ends up killing many innocent citizens of Scotland. When faced with pressure, it is easy for one’s character to change significantly.
The poem ‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Henley forms thorough comparisons regarding theme with Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ as Henley conceives themes of fate, circumstance, and struggle in his literary piece. These thematic connections are shown when the protagonist, Okonkwo, of ‘Things Fall Apart’ is faced with the task of emerging from poverty and becoming a man that is successful, yet feared, and most importantly, divergent from his father, Unoka. He is also challenged with his own inner demons as the white man reshapes his way of life, driving Okonkwo to a fate much different than what he anticipated.
Pressure is depicted in Shakespeare’s Macbeth by showing how being put in a position to impress others is not always the best option. Everyone is pressured in different ways and each person handles the pressure differently, but it is clear that pressure exists in everyone’s lives. What we should learn from Macbeth is that we should not succumb to pressures from others in order to avoid regrets in the
Lady Macbeth used peer pressure in order for her to gain power as a queen. After reading the letter Macbeth took the time to send to her, Lady Macbeth doubts her husband. “Yet do I fear thy nature;/ It is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great,/ Art not without ambition, but without/ The illness should attend it” (1, 5, 13-17). Lady Macbeth finds out the fate of her husband, but she still doubts him. In the letter he calls her many nice names, but she ignores them and goes straight to the thought of her having power. She says her husband is too nice to even do anything to ensure his fate comes true. This shows Macbeth has to prove to his wife he will actually do something to prove his loyalty
Handling the adversity that develops within a character’s life is something that requires ultimate determination, dedication and thought. However, when the given adverse situation is handled in a violent manner, the following occurrences include downfall and destruction. Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, he is able to convey the realistic negative consequences that may follow the effects of violence on adversity. From the very genesis of the play, Macbeth is constantly handling adversity, which at times results in various dilemmas as a result of his tragic flaw. The violent acting on adversity or challenges placed before main character Macbeth, causes him to build a “snowball effect” of downfall and dismay throughout the play. Initially, Macbeth begins handling his challenges in different manners and is constantly altering his procedure. From handling situations cautiously to thoughtlessly, or having his own opinions to none of his own at all, and finally from fighting the truth to accepting his fate, regardless of the type of task, his violent handlings of them causes his own domino effect of transformations. By applying a variety of literary techniques such as personification and foreshadowing, William Shakespeare is able to effectively prove that acting violently upon adversity has a strong potential of resulting in pure disaster.
Macbeth, one of the darkest and most powerful plays written by Shakespeare, dramatizes the disastrous psychological effects that occur when evil is chosen to fulfill the ambition for power. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s character loses mental stability and becomes enthralled with the idea of being king. Empowered by the three witches, this situation consumes Macbeth’s consciousness until his mental state becomes deranged. This mental deterioration is evident in what he says and does as he evolves into a tyrannical ruler attempting to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. In an attempt to fulfill his ambition for power, Macbeth displays mental deterioration and becomes increasingly bloodthirsty.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play centring around opposing forces trying to gain power in the succession for the throne of Scotland. Macbeth, in the beginning, is known to be a nobel and strong willed man, who is ready to fight for his country. However, one may see that Macbeth has a darker side to him, he is power hungry and blood thirsty, and will not stop until he has secured his spot as King of Scotland. Though Macbeth may be a tyrant, he is very naïve, gullible, and vulnerable. He is vulnerable and willing to be persuaded by many characters throughout the play, his wife, the witches to name a few, this is the first sign that his mental state is not as sharp as others. One will see the deterioration of Macbeth and his mental state as the play progresses, from level headedness and undisturbed to hallucinogenic, psychopathic and narcissistic. The triggering event for his mental deterioration is caused by the greed created from the witches first prophecy, that Macbeth will become King of Scotland (I.iii.53). Because of the greed causing his mental deterioration, Macbeth’s psychosis is what caused his own demise by the end of the play. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the tragic hero Macbeth’s demise is provoked by his hallucinogenic episodes, psychopathic actions and narcissistic behaviours.
Shakespeare clearly explores the themes ‘Fate and Free Will’, and ‘Ambition’ within this tragedy. Shakespeare weaves these themes around the character of Macbeth, showing us the depth of his insight into human society. Macbeth fell victim to his interpretation of supernatural prophecies and the influence from his wife. His impatience for the throne led to his crimes, subsequent guilt and acknowledgement of his sins. Shakespeare presents Macbeth’s life to his audience as a moral tale, warning them how men should be careful how they regard the ideas of fortune and fate and how in the end, evil intents and actions bring with them their own punishment.
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
The nature of both control and fate are explored in Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s most horrific tragedies, in which the titular king is driven to murder in a quest to gain power. Under Macbeth’s kingship, more and more people die as both Macbeth and his kingdom are driven to chaos. Despite Macbeth’s apparent control over his own fate, other characters have an integral role in determining how the plot unfolds. The weïrd sisters give Macbeth the initial desire to murder King Duncan, while Lady Macbeth gives him the final push he needs to commit this act. Throughout this play, control appears as a fluid entity—constantly changing hands and shared unequally between the characters mentioned previously. Although all three appear to have influence
Macbeth’s pressure for greater power ultimately leads back to his wife, Lady Macbeth. What she personally wanted, more power, she pressed upon Macbeth, even though that was not his ultimate goal. Lady Macbeth used guilt, to tell Macbeth he is not man enough to murder King Duncan. Her remorseful wo...
The vigorous desire to achieve and willingly attain something holds the capability to greatly affect one's life. William Shakespeare's play Macbeth establishes the immense effect and influence of ambition. After gaining power over his country Scotland, the protagonist, Macbeth, experiences an internal downfall as he battles between his wants and moral judgement. He struggles to maintain stable relationships with others as his selfish desires and goals hurt those around him when achieved. In addition to clashing with himself and others, he is seen as a tyrant leader and is slowly turned against by Scotland's nation as well as England. Shakespeare's play Macbeth provides the reader with a clear understanding of ambition's corrupting power in Shakespeare's tragic character Macbeth, through his inner conflicts, struggle to maintain stable relationships with those surrounding him, and clash with society.
Lady Macbeth tries to encourage her husband to kill King Duncan by questioning his manhood. However, after committing the murder, Macbeth suffers from stress, worry and lack of sleep. He is stressed about the fact that his wife is going insane. He is worried at some point that someone might get suspicious about how Macbeth got to seize the throne.
When we, human beings, are about to commit wicked acts, we feel a variety of emotions. One of those emotions is guilt. You may also feel guilt due to moments you chose not to act. The presence of guilt is a driving factor that prevents us from acting irrationally. Citizens of the 16th century possessed these emotions as well, no matter their social standing. The citizens included Shakespeare as well, a poet and playwright of the 16th century, and writer of the play Macbeth. Shakespeare transfers the idea of negative emotions to Macbeth by using blood to symbolize guilt, among other emotions in the protagonists they do not show otherwise. In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses blood to show the inner-conflict of the
We see in the play Macbeth that when the motivation to succeed in life becomes overpowering, other people may easily influence one and elements and one may decide on wrongful actions to achieve a goal. Some of the influences on Macbeth include the witches and the apparitions, Lady Macbeth, and lastly Macbeth's own insecurities and misguided attempts to control his future.
Sixth, Psychological Lens deals with the most important question of why. It looks into the work of literature as a fictional expression of the personality, state of mind, feelings, and desires of the author or character. Many readers want to know why a certain character did the things they did or why would the author write this work and Psychological Lens helps to explain this. For instance, Macbeth kills to gain power and keep it. The drama states,” Macbeth: ‘I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?’” (Shakespeare 25). Macbeth wants to be king so bad that he convinces himself to kill Duncan in order to rise to power. His conscience does not see the wrong in it therefore he is able to carry out the deed. Additionally, Lady Macbeth