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What events in macbeth relate to power and corruption
In William Shakespeare's tragedy “Macbeth” the motif of ambition and leadership is well known, and many times questioned throughout the play
Characters who are ambitious in macbeth
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Considered one of the darkest and most influential of the tragedies, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth tells of the effects one suffers due to war and the lust for power. Macbeth himself is led to believe that he deserving and destined to become the king of Scotland, and allows his thoughts and actions to become corrupted due to his ambition. While Macbeth loses himself in his conspiracies to murder his king and his friends, the character of Macduff shows true strength and honor throughout the play. Though both Macduff and Macbeth lose family, friends, and suffer from the state of war their country is in, Macduff rises above the selfishness that Macbeth gives in to, and ultimately is able to bring peace back to his country. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macduff shows how intentions truly define a person through his consistent demonstration of cleverness, valor, and faithfulness to his country.
The tragic events that occur in Macbeth begin with the murder of Scotland’s beloved king, Duncan. When Macduff discovers his king dead in his bed he expresses true grief and sorrow, appalled that anybody could have the heart to kill such an innocent man. When Macbeth, trying to avoid blame for the murder he committed, said that he murdered the King’s guards out of grief, Macduff was the only one of the noblemen to sense that Macbeth’s actions didn’t quite make sense and asks, “Wherefore did you so?” (2.3.109). Macduff initially seems to believe that the King’s own sons were responsible for this heinous act, but is hesitant to fully trust Macbeth. Instead of attending the royal feast to honor Macbeth as Scotland’s new king, he returns home to Fife where he can stay away from the place of his King’s death (2.4.36). Macduff’s absence also rem...
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...king, he is driven by nothing more than his own desire for the throne. Macduff, on the other hand, is pained to see his country suffer and knows that killing Macbeth, the unjust king, is the right thing to do. Macduff is consistently skeptical, clever, valiant, and loyal throughout the entire play, showing that staying true to oneself and doing things for the right reasons truly define who a person is.
Works Cited
Boyce, Charles. "Macduff, Thane of Fife." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 13 Dec. 2013 .
Sadowski, Piotr. "Macbeth." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 13 Dec. 2013 .
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Signet Classics, 1998. Print.
Even though others question Macduff’s responsibility for his family’s murder, "Why in that rawness left you wife and child”, he ultimately left them out of love for both family and country. Macduff’s persistent desire to defeat Macbeth determines his loyalty to country, rather than to the tyrant Macbeth. From the beginning, Macduff has valued country over leader, so when Duncan is murdered, and Macbeth will be coronated, “Will you go to scone/No, cousin, I’ll to Fife” (2.4.35-36). Macduff doesn’t attend the coronation because he is suspicious of Macbeth and his possible involvement in Duncan’s
The Essential Macduff in Macbeth & nbsp; Like in all (or most) Shakespeare plays, there is always a hero that overcomes evil supernatural forces. Macduff is an essential character in this play. His loyalty and patriotism to his dear country, Scotland, is more exceeding unlike the likes of the other Scottish nobles, Macduff was devastated by the murder of his dear king, and he also somewhat sacrifices his family for his country. These three transactions add up to one hell of an admirable hero. Conflict of forces is reflected in the character of Macduff.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play. Macbeth’s rise to the throne was brought about by the same external forces that ensure his downfall.
Thirdly, feelings of paranoia and guilt cause Macbeth characters to make damaging choices. When Macbeth asks the witches to reveal the truth of their prophecies to him, they summon horrible apparitions, each of which offers a prediction to allay Macbeth’s fears. First, a floating head warns him to beware Macduff. Macbeth says that he has already guessed as much. Later when Lennox enters and tells Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth in reply says, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; / Seize upon Fife; give to th'edge o'th'sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line.” (4.1.149-152). As Macbeth descends to madness he becomes obsessed with eliminating any threats to his power. Macbeth orders the murderers to kill Macduff's family and eliminate any threat to him. Ironically, this is the moment that Macbeth seals his own fate, by murdering Macduff's family he ensures Macduff's retaliation against him, which ultimately leads
At this point in the play, Macbeth is afraid of losing his crown that he is willing to do anything to save it. He lost his moral values and rational judgment. Every actions does indeed have consequences. Macduff learns the truth that Macbeth killed Duncan and when Macduff is often absent from Macbeth’s sight he grows suspicious. Macbeth has also been told by the witches during his second visit to beware of Macduff. Upon hearing this, he decided to send people to kill Macduff and his family. Macduff fled the castle first leaving his family behind. During the time Lady Macduff voice her fear: "He loves us not; / He wants the natural touch: for the poor wren, / The most diminutive of birds, will fight, / Her young ones in her nest, against the owl" (4.2.11).
With this new knowledge, Macduff knows that he must be the one to kill Macbeth and secure Malcolm’s right to the throne. Macduff does kill Macbeth, being the only one able to do so and secure peace and prosperity for Scotland.
Some people are just meant to be heroes. In this wonderful play by Shakespeare Macduff is a good choice and born to be a hero. Throughout Macbeth there are several examples of Macduffs heroism and bravery. Macduff is a loving, caring man of action, Thane of Fife and a Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth's kingship. When he leaves his loving family to flee to England to join Malcolm, Macbeth has Macduff's wife and children murdered. At the end of the play, Macduff (who was born through a caesarian section) kills Macbeth bringing prosperity back to Scotland, and proving the truth in the witches prophecy that "no man of woman born" can harm Macbeth and his true heroism.
no more. "Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time; for from
... Macduff, was able to figure out that Macbeth was behind the murders. He went to England to get help from King Edward to overthrow Macbeth. When he gets back to Scotland he confronts Macbeth and then kills him. The truth of his acts caught up with him and he got what he deserved. This play is a prime example of why people need to think about the reality of their actions and think about how it will affect them in the future.
The role of Macduff is an essential one in Macbeth. He acts as the brave antagonist and foil to Macbeth, while portraying a dynamic and round character in the play as well. Macduff’s values do not change throughout the play however, as acts progress, more is learned about his character and certain traits are accentuated. For example, Macduff is hostile against Macbeth from the beginning, immediately suspicious of his path to royalty, first seen when Macduff chooses to return to Fife instead of attend the new king’s coronation. As Macbeth is more overwhelmed with his power, and chaos ensues from his reign, Macduff’s suspicion and lack of acceptance in his kingship grows to fuel his rivalry against the once heroic Macbeth. Macduff is dynamic in his growth as a more involved character but also in his suspicion and hatred for the protagonist. In addition, Macduff is also considered a round character with many facets. In Act 4, Macduff is revealed as more than just a moral man and brave Thane, but also a sensitive family man with a wife and many children. His multi-facet life exposes the increasing differences in M...
Macduff was the first to openly defy Macbeth by his decision to go to his castle in Fife rather than Macbeth’s coronation in “Scone” (2.4). Macduff flees to England to rally support and revolt against Macbeth (4.3). Macduff acts on his free will, uninfluenced by the power of Macbeth nor others, and does what he believes to be the best for himself and everyone else. He retains his independent thoughts and his sense of masculinity despite the consequences he might suffer, standing his grounds with his beliefs and ideology of being a true patriot. Later on, upon hearing the news of his family’s murder, Macduff shows his sensitivity: “I shall [disput it like a man], but I must also feel it like a man” (4.3). He depicts the ability to have emotions and link it to his masculinity as a part of human traits, embracing his weaknesses and flaws and showing that he also acts as he believes he should act. The sharp contrast between Macbeth’s cowardly actions and Macduff’s strong will is shown at the final battle between the two; Macbeth refuses to fight with Macduff when Macbeth learns Macduff is that one person in the prophecy that would defeat Macbeth until Macduff threatens to capture him alive and humiliates him in front of the crowd (5.8).Once again, Macbeth masculinity is threatened, and he gives in to the threat rather than stand his ground, leading to his ultimate demise. Macduff’s
Furthermore, we also learn about Lady Macduff’s and her kids’ death. To prove this, Macbeth says in Act 4, scene 1 that he wants to kill Macduff and his family for joining Malcolm, the protagonist adds “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, / Seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword / His wife, babes, and all unfortunate swords / That trace him in his line.” Although many might argue that Macbeth was forced to kill Duncan, which caused him to kill everyone else, the protagonist could of have refused to follow his wife’s orders and refrain from the power he wants. From the quotations used, we can now tell that Macbeth is a monster due to the murders he
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.
“Showed like a rebel’s whore. But all’s to weak,/ For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name-/ Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,/ Which smoked with bloody execution,/[...]/ Till he faced the slave;/ Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,/Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops,/ And fixed his head upon our battlements.” (1.2.18-25). In this quotation it reveals that Macdonwald was a traitor and he was winning the battle until his luck ran out and Macbeth came and killed Macdonwald without him saying his last words, he was “smoked with a bloody execution”(1.2.20). A lot of blood was shed that day however Macbeth came out of that battle victorious because he killed the traitor. Another victory was in Act 5, scene 8 when Macduff killed Macbeth. Macduff with Macbeth’s blood on his hands was seen as a hero , for killing this mad man “...Behold where stands/ The usurpers cursed head”(5.9.25-26).Macbeth’s hopes of being victorious was diminished when he learned that Macduff wasn’t born of a woman.Macduff ended up being victorious.
Macbeth's destiny and his lust for power, confirmed by the Three Witches and Lady Macbeth, leads to destruction. Every act that Macbeth commits effects the kingdom as a whole. Macbeth's indecisiveness and his understanding of success cause this destruction. This lust for power leads Macbeth, as it would all men, to an evil that exist in everyone. It is his destiny to fail.