Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Describe Macbeth
Describe Macbeth
How does shakespeare present macbeth as an ambitious character
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Describe Macbeth
-Is or isn’t Macbeth the victim of his desires ?
Macbeth in “Macbeth” tragedy is one of the most complex characters of all the Shakespeare’s other characters. In the beginning this character is presented as a capable and brave warrior .Later on we see a Macbeth ambitious , with a weak character, a murder who thinks nothing but having power and not losing it . So in my opinion he really is a victim of his own desires .And that is for many reasons .
Firstly since the beginning, the appearance of the three witches, what they predicted to Macbeth and how they pushed him, make Macbeth believe it and desire that post . In Act 1, scene 3, the Three Witches tell to Macbeth : “-All hail .Macbeth ,that shalt be the king hereafter”. After learning this Macbeth wants to know more and more , his desire and his evil thoughts
…show more content…
Whose hand image doth unfix my hair and make me seated heart knocks at my ribs, against the use of nature ..”(Act 1, Scene 3), he thinks about becoming a king , about murdering King Dunkan , he is aware of his terrible thoughts , nevertheless he continues and translates them on action later on . His thoughts of power lead him to deception and disloyalty even before his wife meets him : - The eye wink at the hand/ let no light see my black and deep desires (Act 1, scene 4 ) . Even though at first he is undecided about commiting the murder we see that he chose the wrong path. He had the possibility to choose the good but he didn’t do so, he finishes punished for his actions
In Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act I, scene 7, Macbeth hesitates because of both pragmatic and moral causes; although, his moral scruples seem to overpower the pragmatic arguments. Macbeth is torn between these two issues, and his unique way of deciphering his problems is exhibited in this scene. Macbeth feels that if he were to assassinate the king, Duncan, that he better do it soon. The first line of Act I, scene 7 begins with, “If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well; It were done quickly.” So, basically, Macbeth feels that if the crime was committed when it needed to be, and if it were done quickly, then he would be safe. This argument is a moral concern toward Macbeth, this is the first thought that comes to his mind, because it is exhibited in the fist line of his soliloquy. Macbeth is hesitant to murder Duncan, because he feels that he would be eternally punished in hell for committing such a heinous crime.
Macbeth is put together with many character traits. He is a very complex character. In the beginning Macbeth was brave and loyal. He won the battle of Norway and became the Thane of Cawdor. For brave Macbeth disdainding fortune with his brandished steel which smoked with bloody execution( ACT1 SC2 LNS18-20). Macbeth is also a gullible man, when he runs into the witches he believes them when they say, all hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter(act1 sn2 line 50) . He is so gullible to what these witches said that he killed his best friend Banquo and nearly kills Banquo's son. Macbeth also was convinced by his wife to kill Duncan. Macbeth conscious becomes guilty after he kills Duncan when he said, will all great neptunes ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?(act2 sn2 lines 79-80). He is thinking that nothing can take back the murders he had committed.
Macbeth starts to desire the kingship of Scotland after the three witches tell him of the future. The witches tell Macbeth he will become the king of Scotland, but they do not tell him how he will become king. Macbeth starts to desire the kingship after:
Macbeth is a very power greedy person. It is not necessarily his own doing that he is such a ruthless person. It all started (Macbeth being power greedy) with the Three Witches predictions: "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!/ All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of/ Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth!
Macbeth, the main character in William Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth was not secure in his manhood. This insecurity led to the downfall of Macbeth because he felt the need to prove himself to Lady Macbeth. After he proved himself by killing Duncan, Macbeth became desensitized to killing.
Throughout the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth continuously makes bad choices and the consequences of these decisions catch up to Macbeth and result in his mental deterioration, however with Macbeth’s almost infant feel for ambition this makes him susceptible to manipulation, which then grows into an insatiable appetite for power. The acts of this, with the manipulation from outsiders, causes his blind ambition, his false sense of security and then finally his guilt, which all contribute to his derangement. Some will argue that all the choices made by Macbeth were continuously his own, that he had these opportunities as a man to put his foot down and say no, and be able to draw the line where things should come to an end, the fault of a mental deterioration was not there, that from the beginning Macbeth was an evil man who had a twisted way of achieving things. Macbeth’s ambition is to remain king for as long as possible, and he will kill anybody who stops this from happening. Macbeth feels as if he was given a childless rule, and that his legacy will not continue on in fear his rule will be taken away by someone outside his family.
Just before the soliloquy in act 2 scene 1, Macbeth has doubts about Duncan’s murder. He says to himself that if the deed is to be done then it will have to be done quickly. (“If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well it were done quickly”.) Lady Macbeth then enters the scene and insists that Macbeth continues with Duncan’s murder for if not he is a coward. Macbeth is aware that it is an evil sin as he states “I dare do all that become a man.” This statement shows that Macbeth believes killing Duncan will make him nothing more than a beast. Lady Macbeth then undermines Macbeth by saying to him “Screw your courage to the sticking place”, it simply means that Macbeth should be as courageous as he could possibly be. Nevertheless Macbeth makes up his mind to go through with the terrible deed of killing his King and loyal friend Duncan.
Where is there a page in William Shakespeare's tragic play Macbeth which does not present the selfish virtue of personal ambition. This paper addresses the problem of ambition in the drama.
Firstly, he defeats his enemies. Next he is praised by the other soldiers and King Duncan appoints him as the Thane. For example, if a person desires for a manager title, the person will work hard to earn it, and it is possible that other workers will see this and boost the chief individual’s desire. It is from here that the person might think they deserve the title and look for more power. Similarly, Macbeth must have thought somewhere in his mind to be king. In the book Witches’ Caldron: a study of motive in Shakespeare’s Macbeth Dr. K.C. Mathur says that although the witches did prophesy he would be king and even boosted his desire “They did not create the thought of murder of King Duncan. It was Macbeth’s own latent ambition embodying his power drive and seeking affirmation that invites the witches.” (Witches Caldron, 6) Dr. Mathur also says “Macbeth had acquired this status and it is not surprising that he thinks of achieving higher status by being aggressive and domineering. It is this psychological impulse that is projected in his ambition for the crown and not any criminal instinct or latent evil.” (6) There was a negative environment of witches and the association of Lady Macbeth around Macbeth which influenced him to murder. The environment creates a huge part in the play and if he had a good environment it is possible that he would have remained loyal to King
At the beginning Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a sort of hero. He is presented as a great warrior and loyal servant of the king, Duncan. However, as we progress through the play we see another side of Macbeth. This is the side of evil all powered by his unstoppable lust for power and greatness. We see this lust for power become stronger and stronger until he leaves the whole of Scotland in a terrible state.
him by pointing out how easy it would be " When Duncan is asleep-"5. Macbeth
Before being transformed into a murderous monster, Macbeth is a model Scottish noble. He shows great loyalty and devotion to both King Duncan and his country in his fight against the Scottish rebels. He also fights with great courage, which he draws from knowing that he serves a good and virtuous cause. He is modest when confronted with his achievements, in contrast to the arrogance that he displays after becoming king. He loves Lady Macbeth, an emotion he will eventually lose by the end of the play. Most of all, he fears what his greed and ambition can lead him to become, and he feels dubious about acting on them.
Macbeth has had a numerous amount of tragedies of throughout his life: killing duncan, realizing his family line will not continue, then killing banqou but not his son, the feeling that his life is meaningless, and eventually fighting with macduff to an inevitable death. It is left to our interperetation to decide whether Macbeth is the antagonist or protagonist. While he does make some morally questionable decisions throughout his life, Macbeth does these things because in his mind they are what is needed to be done. His wife definitely has a lot to do with his mentality. Lady Macbeth will manipulate anyone to get the power she thinks she deserves.
Macbeth can be considered a Shakespearean tragic hero because he possesses the tragic flaw of ambition. He is thought of to be a very ambitious man by himself and other characters, like his wife, Lady Macbeth. “Thou wouldst be great:/Art not without ambition, but/ Without ...
In Macbeth, Shakespeare confronts audiences with universal and powerful themes of ambition and evil along with its consequences. Shakespeare explores the powerful theme of the human mind’s decent into madness, audiences find this theme most confronting because of its universal relevance. His use of dramatic devices includes soliloquies, animal imagery, clear characterisation and dramatic language. Themes of ambition and mental instability are evident in Lady Macbeth’s reaction to Macbeth’s letter detailing the prophecies, Macbeth’s hallucinations of Banquo’s ghost and finally in the scene where Lady Macbeth is found sleep walking, tortured by her involvement.