Theme Of Manipulation In Macbeth

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In Shakespeare's Macbeth, manipulation and deception drive characters to go against moral beliefs to advance their aspirations of becoming their desired position of power. After Macbeth proves his strength in battle fighting for King Duncan, Duncan honors him with the title of Thane of Cawdor. Before Duncan’s honors reach Macbeth, Macbeth encounters three witches. Their prophecy for Macbeth is that he will become “Thane of Glamis”, “Thane of Cawdor” and then “King” (1.3. 52-56). Macbeth takes advantage of Duncan’s caring disposition towards him and Macbeth murders him under Lady Macbeth’s pressure. The manipulation Macbeth endures from the three witches and Lady Macbeth causes him to spiral down a murderous path consumed with betrayal to others …show more content…

It spiraled further out of control. After committing the horrendous crime of killing the King, Macbeth becomes King. Banquo is fully aware of the prophecy and knows since Macbeth is now king, his lineage is bound to be royalty. Macbeth is also aware of this. To prevent it from happening, Macbeth decides to have Banquo and his son murdered. The murders are partially successful and kill Banquo but his son, Fleance, escapes. Macbeth hosts a dinner the same night that the murders finished their duty and Banquo’s ghost appears, harassing him throughout the night. Lady Macbeth is horrified by his actions and is worried that he will reveal their scheme. To achieve getting Macbeth to settle, she resorts to manipulation again, plucking at his manliness, she asks Macbeth “are you a man?” (1.7.73). Macbeth immediately begins to defend himself claiming he is a man and a “bold one” that might “appal the devil” (1.7.74-75). As Macbeth crumbles in his own skin, Lady Macbeth tries to make sure none of the guests remember Macbeth’s self incrimination to the crimes he has committed. She blames his outburst of indecency on a childhood illness. “These flaws and starts” will “become a woman's story at a winter’s fire” and Macbeth’s action at this dinner portray “shame itself” (2.2.79-83). Belittling Macbeth was Lady Macbeth’s go to option to conceal their actions but by doing so, Lady Macbeth pushed Macbeth further down a deceptive …show more content…

At any point, Macbeth could have stopped his actions and not given into any of the chaos being pushed upon him. Instead he began to believe every lie and took it to an extent that he could not return from. Lady Macbeth repudiated the idea that she was responsible for her husband's actions and she internally caved, driving herself to insanity. Macbeth began to devise plans on his own to achieve his aspirations. Nobody had to push him into committing crimes, he solely acted on his own. His self deception lead him to murder an entire family simply because they were associated with a personal enemy. The manipulation Macbeth endured caused his mind to alter towards violence without a purpose. Macbeth’s passions no longer resided with purposeful action but shifted towards spontaneous sparks of violence on those around him. His intentions were no longer good. When Lady Macbeth passed away, Macbeth was incapable of mourning since he no longer had emotions that reflects normal human behavior. He acknowledges that life is “simply nothing” and pursues the war ahead (5.5.30). Macbeth removes his emotions to deal with the manipulation that he endured. Death was no longer a central fear of Macbeth but rather a goal that he

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