Theme Of Witchcraft In Macbeth

710 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Witches role in the downfall of Macbeth

Macbeth is a Shakespearean tragedy play that was set up in a socio political context when people greatly believed in witches and witch craft. In essence, the audience’s perception of witches’ nature was seen to manipulate and deceive. This essay will attempt to highlight on major themes that influenced Macbeth’s choices within the events of the play that lead him to his demise. The points that will be covered in this essay is firstly; Ambition vs Moral constraints. Secondly, the role of gender in society and how it is depicted in the play and thirdly, versions of reality.
William Shakespeare uses the super natural in his plays for it was a very popular belief within his socio-political time, (The Burning Times). “The practice of witchcraft was seen to subvert the established order of religion and society” (Direct Cinema, 1990), thus suggesting that the witches had total influence over Macbeth, however, before the prophecies were said, the witches start off by saying “Fair is foul and foul is fair”, meaning that what is good to the common man, is bad to the witches and what’s bad to the common man, is good to the witches. This theme reflects in the events in the play when Macbeth has to do immoral acts over and over to cover the previous one for his benefit to reach victory, when in actual fact the power hunger-driven immoral doings, catch up to him and eventually lead him to his demise; what seemed to be good to Macbeth (which was actually bad), would have been bad to the witches (which was actually good). This proves that the witches were actually telling the truth in their prophecy telling and instead, it was Macbeth who deceived himself into thinking otherwise of the prophecy (Not interpreted them as riddles) and allowed his tr...

... middle of paper ...

...ety by disregarding gender (wishing she could be “unsexed” and taking the role of a man) and wishing that her heart would be cruel and distasteful. She is fully aware of her power and influence over Macbeth and aggressively uses manipulation and deception to push him into doing an immoral act (such as the witches) to achieve her ambition. Her strategy and will-power indirectly goes in line with the witches. William Shakespeare intentionally made the female characters analogous to one another to foreground the issue that woman in the Elizabethan society can also be ambitious, cruel and maleficent just as men. It displays the act of woman having influential power over men, yet again, mankind is given the free will to choose how to deal with certain causes. The definition of masculinity in the play reflects on political order which then escalates to violence and chaos.

Show More
Related

  • Ambition in Macbeth

    1798 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth and the Jacobean Society

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lady Macbeth’s atypical and complex character directly challenged the archetypal principles and beliefs of the Jacobean era which as a result, drew major fascination through the ages. Lady Macbeth was Shakespeare’s device to not only stimulate audience’s emotions, but to also provide historical context and elicit dominant themes which reflected Jacobean society. Her ambiguous character and remarkable influences in the play raised a lot of controversy and fascination amongst both modern and Jacobean audiences. She can either be seen as linked to the witches in a feminist bid to overthrow the balance of power, or as a representation of the evil side of Macbeth. Nevertheless, it was her distinct characteristics and actions which ultimately catalysed the chain of conflicts of the play. Again, this reinforces her important role in the play.

    Read More

  • Challenged Gender Roles in Shakespeare´s Macbeth

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Elizabethan era was a time that had very strict expectations of what it means to be a man or a woman. However, these expectations are not followed by Macbeth. In Macbeth, Shakespeare investigates and challenges the common gender roles of the time. Through defying the natural gender roles, he shows how people can accomplish their goals. He challenges the stereotypical Elizabethan woman through Lady Macbeth and the Werd Sisters and he investigates how the stereotypes for men are used for manipulation.

    Read More

  • Gender In Macbeth Essay

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity suggests that there is a distinction between “sex, as a biological facticity, and gender, as the cultural interpretation or signification of that facticity” (Butler, 522). Performing certain actions that society associates with a specific gender marks you as that gender. In this way, gender is socially constructed. Alfar defines the societal expectation of women as the “constant and unquestioning feminine compliance with the desires of the masculine” (114). Considering Macbeth from a modern perspective and taking this distinction into account, it is necessary to determine if the play is concerned with sex or with gender. Before the action of the play even begins, the audience is warned that “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1.1.11). The first scene of the play casts the world of Macbeth as a land where everything is opposite or disordered. This line at the very start of the play cautions audiences to not take the play at face value because things are not always as they appear to be. Because of this, “all the binaries become complicated, divisions blurred. Thus the binary nature of gender identities, male/female, is eliminated” (Reaves 14). In the world of Macbeth, the typical gender constructions are manipulated and atypical. If the play does not deal with sex, the qualities of Lady Macbeth cannot be applied to all women but rather, representative of society’s construction of gender, “the patriarch, and the limited, restrictive roles of women” (Reaves 11). Within this reading of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s examination and questioning of gender construction allows modern day readers to recognize the enduring relevance of

    Read More

  • The Corruptive Force Of Ambition In Shakespeare's Macbeth

    1315 Words  | 3 Pages

    Macbeth written by Shakespeare, is a tragic and historical thriller play filled with action-packed murders and the fall of man. The characters are portrayed to have personal ambitions. Shakespeare displayed these ambitions to both be destructive and constructive. Which unchecked ambition has detrimental impacts as shown in the main characters and checked, cautious ambition can help influence and encourage others. Ambition is an overarching theme found common in the play and could also be shown for the sake of justice and a positive characteristic. These ambitions were either presented as fatal flaws shown

    Read More

  • Macbeth's Desire For Power

    1584 Words  | 4 Pages

    Macbeth is a brave general who fights for his country Scotland, defeating the King of Norway. He is loyal to his king Duncan, but Macbeth has ambition to take over the kingdom for himself. He has lots of doubts of if he is doing the right thing, but still murders Duncan and then Banquo who is another general who fought with Macbeth. These murders and guilt about his treason are leading Macbeth to become insane. This essay shows that although Macbeth’s strong desire for power is influenced by the three witches in the play and also the planning and ambition of his wife Lady Macbeth, in the end he is responsible for his self-destruction.

    Read More

  • Gender And Power In Macbeth Essay

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender is evidently out of its traditional order within the play, and thus the three chosen exemplar characters to showcase this are Lady Macbeth, the Witches, and Macbeth. In saying this, Lady Macbeth is a clear example of how the traditional characteristics of a woman are non-existent as they are taken over by masculinity and strength. The witches challenge their womanhood due to the power they hold and attributes they have, all while Macbeth challenges his gender as he shows femininity through weakness and fretfulness.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: Ambition, Fate, and Shakespeare's Artistry

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is one of the most influential dramas of the 16th century. Macbeth is about a Scottish guard, Macbeth, who rose to kingship after hearing a prophecy by three witches. Macbeth was centered on King Macbeth of Scotland (reigned 1040-1057), although King Macbeth was the structure of Shakespeare’s drama, Shakespeare wrote in his own situations to deepen the storyline and make a better plot. Overcome with ambition, Macbeth kills the king, Duncan, and his best friend, Banquo, and anyone else who threatens or stands in the way of him becoming king. Fate is another major theme in the drama, considering Macbeth is influenced to crave the king’s position, even more than he already did, by the Weird Sisters revealing

    Read More

  • Macbeth as a Woman Ahead of Her Time

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the Elizabethan era, a woman did not have any say in the relationship with her husband, but Shakespeare’s Macbeth changes this accepted theory. Lady Macbeth is a woman ahead of her time; she is caught between today’s ambitious, powerful woman and a fragile, powerless creature of the Elizabethan era. At the beginning of this tragedy, she is vicious, overly ambitious, without conscience, and willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. As Macbeth becomes less dependent on his wife, Lady Macbeth loses control of her husband, but mostly of herself. She is so wrapped up in the greedy world Shakespeare creates that she fails to consider the consequences of her actions more realistically. Lady Macbeth lives as if she is a woman ahead of her tiime, but she dies like she is from the “golden age of drama”.

    Read More

  • To what extent is Lady Macbeth responsible for the murder of King Duncan and the downfall of Macbeth?

    1315 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history women have fought for the same rights of men. In the time of William Shakespeare they were seen in society as weak and vulnerable. They were seen to be good, caring and not as powerful as men. Men were the superior and ruled the land. Shakespeare has taken the stereotypical image of the women of the time and turned it on its head in ‘Macbeth’. Lady Macbeth is shown as a very powerful, strong woman. She has an evil about her that Shakespeare has used to make ‘Macbeth’ a supernatural play. Women were seen to be good and not as powerful as men, in ‘Macbeth’ Lady Macbeth is the dominate character and commands and persuades Macbeth to commit the murders and crimes that he does.

    Read More

  • Blind Ambition in Macbeth

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    Among the greatest gifts that the renaissance produced was the eloquent and incredible Shakespearean plays. Written mostly in the 1590s these plays have been performed and admired countless times; entertaining mass audiences by providing interesting tales that explore the depth of human insights and the different universal themes. Among the many Shakespearean plays Macbeth, written in 1606, stands out with its short composition but multiple themes. This tragedy narrates the tale of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s quest to grasp ultimate power by ignoring their morals and succumbing to their dark desires, which ultimately leads to their downfall. This tragic play portrays the desires, needs, and temptations that accompany ambition in men and women. However the ambition in Macbeth is blind, it does not abide to the morals, but it allows space for dark actions as means necessary for accomplishment. Blind ambition serves as the main driving force that drives Macbeth to subdue to his dark desires, defy his noble behavior, and ultimately his downfall.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Literary Analysis

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story of Lady Macbeth throughout Macbeth is one unlike those of its time in its unusually forward-thinking portrayal of a woman with thoughts and actions which would have been considered indecent. This is seen through the representation of her relationship with Macbeth and how they interact. It is also illustrated through Lady Macbeth’s morals and their effect on how she acts and reacts in situations which would weigh heavily on most peoples’ conscious. Her power-hungry attitude is one often reserved for men, especially in this era of literature. All of these factors create a character in Lady Macbeth which is dissimilar to the classic portrayal of women in the seventeenth century.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Corruption In Macbeth

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    Macbeth is a play revolving around many key ideas observed in Shakespeare’s time with various messages communicated to the audience successfully, despite the lack of the cinematic effects present in today’s literature entertainment. The interweaved themes of immoral ambition and corruption are displayed throughout the text, unveiling the corruptive nature of one’s excessive greed for supremacy, affecting both themselves and others. This idea in Macbeth is successfully conveyed to the audience in Shakespeare’s time through the literary devices of characterisation, soliloquy and plot.

    Read More

  • Macbeth- The Decline Of Macbeth And His Wife

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon in 1564. One of the most influential writers of all time, still remembered today for his enigmatic plays. The zeitgeist of England in the 17th century did nothing but intensify his success. In an age of acute paranoia and a morbid fascination surrounding the supernatural, plays like ‘Macbeth' were the forbidden fruit craved for by the public of that era. Also as feminism was yet to be invented ‘Macbeth' was also controversial in relation to the character of Lady Macbeth, and her almost masculine temperament. In a time where men were the dominant gender, Lady M's domineering character was intriguing. Shakespeare's plays are grouped into three categories; histories, tragedies and comedies. Macbeth is ultimately a tragedy. He was thought to have written ‘The Scottish Play' for King James I, who had a personal interest in witchcraft and the supernatural. In this essay I intend to explore Macbeth and Lady Macbeths fall from grace and the deterioration of their relationship throughout the play.

    Read More

  • Essay On Human Nature In Macbeth

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the early 1600’s, William Shakespeare penned an Aristotelian tragedy ‘Macbeth’ which provides his audiences both then and now with many valuable insights and perceptions into human nature. Shakespeare achieves this by cleverly employing many dramatic devices and themes within the character of ‘Macbeth’. Macbeth is depicted as an anti-hero; a noble protagonist with a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. This tragic flaw of Macbeth’s, heavily laden with the themes of ‘fate or free will’, and ‘ambition’, is brought out by Shakespeare in his writing to present us with a character whose actions and final demise are, if not laudable, very recognisable as human failings.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Witchcraft In Macbeth

Open Document