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Reflections on Macbeth
discuss Macbeth written by Shakespeare
Reflections on Macbeth
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Response to Shakespeare's Macbeth
Look very carefully at Act 1, scene 3 (L.30 - 62) and comment on the
significance of the witches' predictions. How do the witches affect
what happens in the play, and how do you visualise them on stage?
Throughout Shakespeare's life, witches and witchcraft were the objects
of fevered fascination. Between 1560 and 1603 hundreds of people
(nearly all women) were convicted as witches and executed. Witches
were credited with diabolical powers. They could predict the future,
fly, sail in sieves, bring on night in daytime and kill animals. They
were thought to have cursed enemies with wasting diseases, induced
nightmares and sterility, and could take possession of any individual
they chose. This brings into the play the idea of fate and the role
with which it has in the play. One can wonder if Macbeth ever had a
chance of doing what was right after he met with the witches.
The three witches in "Macbeth" are introduced right at the beginning
of the play. The first line in the play introduces the witches and
sets the scene perfectly, " Thunder and lightning. Enter three
witches" Immediately the reader get the vision of a remote "desolate
place", as described in the book. In Act 1 Scene 3, the witches meet
Macbeth for the first and time they recount to Macbeth three
prophesies. That Macbeth is Thane of Glamis followed by Thane of
Cawdor and finally he will become King of Scotland. These prophecies
introduce Macbeth to ideas of greatness and contribute significantly
to the string of brutal murders that follow. He is spellbound by what
they tell him and he trusts their second sight completely. It is
howe...
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... happen in the play. I think that the
three sisters' predictions are significant to the play because they
spur Macbeth's "vaulting ambition". Some of their prophecies seem
self-fulfilling. For example, it is doubtful that Macbeth would have
murdered his king without the push given by the witches' predictions.
In other cases, though, their prophecies are just accurate readings of
the future-it is hard to see Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane as being
self-fulfilling. The play offers no easy answers. Instead, Shakespeare
keeps the witches well outside the limits of human reality. The
witches play the central part of the story. Also witchcraft and the
supernatural were considered to be potent, powerful forces at the time
in which the play is set. I think that the witches are an important
element in the tragedy that unfolds.
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir?” Macbeth ponders after three witches foresee that he will become king in the tragic play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare (349). Macbeth is wondering how he could become king of Scotland without him intervening as he is not in line for the throne. He believes that he will have to take action to gain this position. Macbeth was right to doubt fate, because his choices led to his ascension to the throne and, later in the play, to his downfall.
In “Macbeth” written by William Shakespeare the main character Macbeth is a general in the Scottish army. After Macbeth and Banquo another general return from battle they encounter three witches the witches give Macbeth and Banquo three Prophesies. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that Banquo will produce a line of Scottish kings although Banquo will never become king himself. King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has been named thane of Cawdor. The previous thane betrayed Scotland by fighting for the Norwegians and Duncan has condemned him to death. Macbeth’s wife Lady Macbeth hears about king Duncan coming to their castle and try’s to persuade Macbeth to murder king Duncan. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black out; the next morning they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless, as they will remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of supernatural visions, including a vision of a bloody dagger. Macbeth now becomes king and Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo on his way to a royal feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes but kills Banquo. Lady Macbeth later kills herself while sleepwalking and Macbeth becomes depressed. Later Macduff comes with his army and beheads Macbeth. And Malcolm becomes king.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays to ever have been written. Takes place back in the Elizabethan age back when kings and queens ruled certain countries and people did not have much freedom. The Tragedy of Macbeth has to do with a couple madly in love with one another. Where Macbeth would do anything for his wife lady Macbeth; in ACT I Macbeth and Banquo return from battle, he and Banquo meet three witches who predict that not only will Macbeth be rewarded by King Duncan but that he will become king himself. This is when Macbeth actually starts to consider the assassination of King Duncan. However for Banquo the witches greet him as a father of kings. When Lady Macbeth hears of the witch’s predictions she comes to the conclusion that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth will kill King Duncan. On the night Lady Macbeth tries to kill King Duncan she hesitates on completing the task and she urges her Husband Macbeth to do the killing instead. In Act II Lady Macbeth drugs Duncan’s guards to make Macbeths task; on killing King Duncan much easier. Macbeth kills the guard...
Macbeth: Shakespeare's Comparisons and Contrasts. Throughout Macbeth Shakespeare uses comparison and contrast to bring out characteristics of his main character, Macbeth. Shakespeare uses comparisons with Duncan, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo to bring out aspects of Macbeth's character. After hearing of Macbeth's courageousness on the battlefield, Duncan, a good and honest king, bestows the title of Cawdor on Macbeth.
Act 3 scene 1 is one of the most important parts in the play; there
Without Act 2 Scene 2 the whole play makes no sense. This is the scene
“Macbeth,” written by William Shakespeare initially described the main character, Macbeth, as an honorable, brave, loyal hero. He was a Scottish General and thane of Glamis. Macbeth fought for his country and supported the king. Macbeth was looked up to and admired for being so courageous and brave. He understood the difference between right and wrong. Macbeth was a man who seemed to have everything, including a loving wife! So what happened to this great man? How did he change from a hero to a villain in a very short time? Macbeth had a very bad character flaw. He was a powerful man, but he was not virtuous; thus, he allowed many outside influences to invade his thoughts and he acted on them! He was immoral.
Scene 2 act 2 is one of the most important scenes in the play. This is
Lady Macbeth, one of the main characters in the play Macbeth, is an example of a character that throughout the course of the play has had a change of heart of some sorts. Lady Macbeth's conscience, which seems to have never appeared or mattered to her before, suddenly becomes an uncontrollable part of her psychological state of being.
At the end of an awful, long day one might wonder what went wrong – was the universe against them? Was it a mistake on their part? What have they lost as a result? Such a scenario can be exemplified in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. First, outside forces influence Macbeth into making decisions he would not ordinarily make. Second, Macbeth’s transition from a revered leader to a detested king can be symbolized by the absence of nobility loyalty, and peace. Third, Macbeth’s overwhelming pride and thirst for power leads him to commit a series of crimes. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare highlights the role of a Tragic Hero signifying that not staying true to ones core values will ultimately lead to their downfall.
text of the play seems to imply that Macbeth is indeed responsible for his own
In Act 3 Scene 3 (the scene following on from the one in question) the
Interpretation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth If you were to ask any foreigner to name a Scots king, he would