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The development of Macbeth's character
Character and their relationship in Macbeth
The development of Macbeth's character
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Throughout his play, Shakespeare uses a wide variety of themes in order to convey the sense of evil. These themes are omnipresent, and well implemented into the text, as they allow the reader to visually imagine the different occurrences, and how they might lead to a sense of evil throughout. The themes included consist of appearance and reality, guilt, ambition, violence and tyranny and order and disorder. Several quotes are weaved into the text in order to express more clearly the theme Shakespeare is attempting to convey. The themes all come together to enhance the dark symbolism of evil, and how it is actually conveyed.
The most prominent theme throughout Macbeth is ambition. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth risk their innocence and will in order to pursue the throne. Lady Macbeth sees her husband as a coward, and therefore this relates to the theme of Violence and tyranny, as she is ruthless in getting what she desires. Lady Macbeth speaks about Macbeth’s ambition: “Though wouldst be great Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it:” This important quote enables us to understand Macbeth’s nature, which is “too full of the milk of human kindness”. Lady Macbeth’s provocation enlivens the evil residing in Macbeth and his ambition receives a new dimension: “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself and falls on the other.” Throughout the play, Macbeth’s rising sense of ambition and realization, leads to him enhancing the themes of guilt and violence, as ambition acts as ‘the four legs’ that hold the two upright.
“Your hand, your tongue, look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't". Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that she is trying to s...
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...onstantly repeats the procedure of washing her hands, as she believes that water would simply ‘wash away’ her dirty deed.
“Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” expresses Macbeth’s extreme quilt, and the fact that he believed that if he were to wash his hand in the ocean, it would all turn completely-blood red, due to the severity of the deed committed. It is a hyperbole.
Guilt seems to play a motivating role when Macbeth says, "Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill" Macbeth tries to explain that if a dangerous deed was continually done, its pain would eventually go away. He also explains that his morals were poisoned and were used to motivate him to commit more murderous crimes. " If’t be so, for Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; for them the gracious Duncan have I murdered; Put rancors in the vessel of my peace".
Brozel’s adaption of Macbeth was very successful in keeping the core components of the play’s themes intact. One of the most important themes that is present throughout the entire of the Macbeth play is ambition. This theme is demonstrated best through the two main characters; Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth is a courageous general who was naturally wanting to commit evil deeds, however he deeply wants power. Macbeth murders Duncan, which goes against his initial thoughts. After this he spirals into guilt and anxiety, “How is't with me, when every noise appals me?”. Towards the end of the play he further becomes engulfed with boastful madness. However, Lady Macbeth has her own ambition and pursues her own goals with complete determination;
Guilt plays a strong role in motivating Macbeth, and causes Lady Macbeth to be driven over the edge of sanity - to her death. Throughout the story, there are many different types of guilty feelings that play a role in Macbeth’s fatal decisions and bring Lady Macbeth to commit suicide. Although there are many instances that show the power guilt has played on the main characters, there are three examples that show this the best. One is, just after the murder of the great King, Duncan. Guilt overcomes Macbeth where he can no longer think straight. A second example is soon after that, where all the guilt Macbeth feels at first, changes into hate after he decides that Banquo must be killed as well. The last example is just about at the end of the play, when we see Lady Macbeth sleepwalking, and then later committing suicide; this all because of the burden of her guilt. All of these examples build the proof that in this play, guilt plays a very large role in the characters’ lives.
In the play of “Macbeth”, Shakespeare gradually and effectively deepens our understanding of the themes and most importantly the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The main theme of Macbeth is ambition, and how it compels the main characters to pursue it. The antagonists of the play are the three witches, who symbolise the theme appearance and reality. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relation is an irony throughout the play, as most of their relation is based on greed and power. This is different from most of Shakespeare’s other plays, which are mostly based on romance and trust. There is also guilt that leads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to the final consequences of the play. As the progresses, the constant changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are exposed.
Evil. It is a word that has been used for hundreds of years, yet the
to the earthly at the base of the chain; everyone had a place, and a
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, struggles to maintain stable relationships with those surrounding him, and clashes with society. To begin, Macbeth experiences an internal downfall due to his ambition, where he battles 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. [.]
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is a five-act drama that shows a clear example of how pride, greed, and power can alter a man's actions and personality. The taste of power blinds the story's main character, Macbeth. Sparked by Lady Macbeth, he becomes heartless and cruel as he kills anyone who is a threat to his power due to his paranoia of losing the throne. This fear ironically leads to his downfall and loss of the throne. The theme of the story is deceit and evil and how they affect a man's decisions.
Perhaps the most fundamental theme of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the inherent corruptibility of even a seemingly good man when ambition turns to greed, and Macbeth himself exemplifies this concept throughout the play. While at the outset he is seen to be loyal to his king, generally considered trustworthy, and displaying numerous other laudable qualities, Macbeth ultimately succumbs to the influence of those around him and becomes unequivocally evil, setting aside all his previously held morals and coming to be driven only by his lust for power. This transition is brought about by a wide variety of factors and plays an integral role in the development of the plot. In his tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare employs
Lady Macbeth and the witches have both planted the seed of ambition inside of Macbeth Because of Lady Macbeth’s wicked behavior, which resulted in Macbeth’s evil transition; he was led to become a murderer. Macbeth should not be held accountable for his actions completely since she is the one who lead him towards committing both crimes. The major theme ambition and greed for power have played a key part in Macbeth’s fall from a great Scottish general to a murderer. People should be content on what they have and not strive for things which destroy a person even if we are influenced. In this case Shakespeare’s thought proving play of Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth is the first to strategize a way to kill Duncan. As a character foil to Macbeth she juxtaposes their possession of guilt and ruthlessness, which creates irony and excitement to the play. Originally, she is very power hungry and wants to utilize her husband’s position in status to become queen. Macbeth objects to the plan to kill Duncan because he believes Duncan is Macbeth’s kinsman, host, and an overall virtuous ruler (Act. 1 Scene. 7) and thus feels very guilty for taking advantage of Duncan’s trusting quality towards the Macbeth family. She refers to Macbeth as weak and rebukes his manhood (Act 1. Scene 7.) . As the play progresses, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have a character role reversal of their possession of guilt and ruthlessness. The character foil is extant, however Macbeth’s ruthlessness overcomes his guilt, and Lady Macbeth’s guilt vanquishes her drive for power. In addition to an alteration in character foils, Shakespeare introduces situational irony because now Lady Macbeth succumbs to the weakness Macbeth once possessed and Macbeth is the one who is formidable and ambitious. Macbeth’s ability to transcend his guilt exemplifies his struggle for power and reinforces the theme of evil ambition because Macbeth is able to secure the throne and power only by mass
Will all great Neptune?s ocean wash this blood/clean from my hand? Macbeth cries after he has killed Duncan, even as his wife scolds him and says that a little water will do the job (II.ii.58?59). Later, though, she comes to share his horrified sense of being stained:?Out, damned spot, out, I say. . . who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? she asks as she wanders through the halls of their castle near the close of the play (V.i.30?34).
By embracing evil, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have committed unnatural actions that disturb them. Their guilt does not leave them in peace, and slowly degrades their health. Macbeth's guilt causes him to act strangely in front of his guests, and it disturbs him deeply. Macbeth's guilt is deeply mutilated, and it only affects him when he hallucinates "Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves / Shall never tremble" (III.iv.124-125), and as soon as his visions disappear he feels better "Why so, being gone, / I am a man again.- Pray you sit still" (iii.iV.130-131), not something normal considering the actions he has committed. His guilt paralyzes him when he does feel it, but most of the time he is guiltless, and that encourages him to commit more murder. Although his guilt does not ultimately destroy him, it is a factor that brings his own men against him, since through his guilt he reveals the actions he has committed.
Macbeth, who at the beginning of his play’s plot is in a position of some honor and power, obtains position as king of Scotland through secretive foul play, spurred on by some external manipulation as well as personal ambition. “Macbeth’s ambition is unchecked by both moral and legal considerations-he will stop at nothing to get what he desires… Macbeth’s unbridled ambition is the root of the play’s evil because he is willing to throw the world into chaos in order to satisfy his personal desires.” (Thrasher, 92). His rebellion is heinous, but so long undiscovered. His ambition, though present in some degree from the beginning, metastasizes within him through the play as more obstacles to his retention of royal status crop up. “He begins well…but this...
him from a hero to the traitor he is at the end of the play. They
In conclusion, Macbeth directly focuses on the universal and powerful themes of ambition and insanity. These themes are considered most confronting for audiences due to their unanimous relevance. Throughout the play audiences are encouraged to see that ambition should only be achieved through ability or good fortune, otherwise it will be the cause of disaster; in this case the cost of ambition was life.