Tragic Elements Of Macbeth

Tragedy is defined as a cause of great suffering, destruction, and distress (Dictionary.com). Macbeth was a great follower to King Duncan. He changed instantly when he heard about the witches’ prophecy. Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s wife, helped him out through all his troubles he has planned. After the first killing, which was King Duncan, Lady Macbeth was not involved in other schemes Macbeth has been planning because of his change in mood. Three of Macbeth’s tragedy elements that impacted the story were his seize of power, subsequent destruction, and his blind ambition.

Macbeth rose to power by committing various crimes that caused trouble in the kingdom. “Macbeth and Banquo, who are generals serving King Duncan of Scotland, meet the Weird Sisters,

three witches who prophecy that Macbeth will become thane of Cawdor, then king, and that Banquo will beget kings. Soon thereafter Macbeth discovers that he is indeed been made thane of Cawdor, which leads him to believe the rest of the prophecy”. “When King Duncan chooses this moment to honor Macbeth by visiting his castle of Dunsinane at Inverness, both Macbeth and his ambitious wife realize that the moment has arrived for them to carry out a plan of regicide that they have long contemplated. Spurred by his wife, Macbeth kills Duncan, and the murder is discovered when Macduff, the thane of Fife, arrives to call on the king” ("Macbeth."). “That but this blow might be the be-all and the end-all here, but here, upon this bank and the shoal time, We’ld jump the life to come” (Macbeth Act 1, scene 1, 1-7).After

killing King Duncan, Macbeth becomes king of Scotland and Duncan’s sons flee the country causing suspicion towards their father’s death.

The subsequent destruction that Macbeth has done to accomplish his goal makes him a dangerous man towards his followers. He made matters worse when he took control of his own decisions, leaving out Lady Macbeth in the pitch black not knowing anything. Macbeth orders murderers to kill Banquo because he thinks he knows about the incident and he wants to get rid of him subsequently. “Your spirits shine through you. Within this hour at most I will advise you where to plant yourselves, Acquaint you with the perfect spy o' th' time, The moment on ’t; for ’t must be done tonight, And something from the palace; always thought That I require a clearness. And with him—to leave no rubs nor botches in the work—Fleance, his son, that keeps him company, Whose absence is no less material to me than is his father’s, must embrace the fate of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart. I’ll come to you anon” (Macbeth Act 3, scene1, 133-143). After that Macbeths starts paying more attention to Macduff because he hasn’t seen him in a long time. He soon finds out that he joins alliances with Malcolm, which makes him angry and sends murderers to kill his family and him but he was not there.

Macbeth’s blind ambition makes it hard for others to follow and lead him.

He gets caught up on people knowing what really happened in the situation and not thinking ahead as a king. “Macbeth has ignobly substituted honor for virtue, the necessary and sufficient element of the good life, when it should just augment virtue as an external good of social life” (LANGIS). Lady Macbeth helped Macbeth through all his troubles, if it wasn’t for her he wouldn’t be king of Scotland. She views Macbeth as a coward towards killing King Duncan. His blind ambition makes him in to a horrific tyrant that loses the support of his friends. His own ambition gets him killed in battle, with Lady Macbeth dead and his friends nowhere to be seen, he’s a lone

wolf

against Macduff who chops his head off.

“The witches predict that Macduff may harm Macbeth. The prediction becomes the catalyst again and makes Macbeth decide to murder Macduff’s family in order to make sure his own safety. Apparently he’s determination is continuously becoming stronger. He no longer struggles with moral justice and this is when Macbeth’s ambition reaches a climax” (Blind ambition kills).

Macbeth blind ambition makes it hard for others to follow and lead them. Being King of Scotland is his one goal he wants to accomplish, with Lady Macbeth's help on his side, they could rule Scotland. His subsequent destruction turns him into a threatening human-being and starts to lose his followers, making him a lone wolf in battle. His menacing actions he has done to the kingdom gets him killed by Macduff. All these tragedy elements make up the important key parts to the book

Macbeth