In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is a character who allows free will to control his actions throughout the play. Macbeth is the most corrupt character in the play as he kills several other people to further himself towards power. Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s wife, is the character who urges Macbeth to kill King Duncan, which begins his thirst to kill. The Three Witches are the characters who tell Macbeth what his destiny is through the use of apparitions; consequently, Macbeth determines his life based on these apparitions. Macbeth’s apparitions are that he should fear another character named Macduff, that no one born of a woman can harm him, and that he will not be defeated until the Great Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill. The reader …show more content…
Lady Macbeth influences Macbeth to kill King Duncan, and Macbeth responds to her: “Prithee, peace: / I dare do all that may become a man; / Who dares do more is none” (1.7.50-52). Macbeth has free choice to decide not to kill King Duncan, so he will not covet King Duncan anymore. He convinces himself that he is a proper man if he kills Duncan, so then he freely decides to kill Duncan. When Macbeth imagines a scene where he is with a dagger, he says: “Is this a dagger which I see before me, /The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. / I have thee not, and yet I see thee still” (2.1.44-45). Macbeth lets the power of the dagger persuade him to commit evil, such as murder, so he has an excuse for murder. The dagger is one of the objects that persuade Macbeth to commit the murder of King Duncan, so he can become king. Lady Macbeth talks to Macbeth about the murder of King Duncan: “This is the very painting of your fear. / This is the air-drawn dagger which you said / Led you to Duncan” (3.4.73-81). Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth into the murder of King Duncan because she talks to him about how the dagger came to him for a reason, but she tries to become powerful herself through her husband. Lady Macbeth claims that she keeps her promises to Macbeth, so she guilts him into the murder so that she can gain power as …show more content…
No one forces him to make any of the decisions that he does, but instead, they persuade him. Macbeth uses his free will to commit many evil actions, such as murder. Macbeth only wants the power of the king and eliminates any obstacles that interfere with his chance to receive the throne. Macbeth ultimately dies, and all of his actions lead him towards his death; therefore, his death is his own responsibility. One may learn through this play that if one takes his or her lives upon themselves then one can either change their fate from something simple or to something as extreme as
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.
You might question the credibility of the enigmatic apparitions within Macbeth's distinguished Act IV, Scene i. Shakespeare gains the audience's acceptance on the three mystically summoned apparitions through methodically foreshadowing a supernatural event is all about to occur. Each stance connected with Shakespeare's foreshadowing -- cauldron potions, Hecate, the second witch's awareness of MacBeth, and stage direction -- results in the believability of the apparitions' appearance within the play.
After being told that her husband could potentially be the next king, Lady Macbeth was quick to say that Macbeth should kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth was the one that came up with the whole plan to kill Duncan and intoxicate the guards, that way it will look like they were the ones who did it. Macbeth killed Duncan, but after doing so he is extremely troubled and stressed out. He comes walking out from the room with the daggers in his hands. Lady Macbeth orders him to go put the daggers back, to which Macbeth refuses. Lady Macbeth grabs the daggers from his hands and goes back to the king’s room to leave the daggers (Act II, scene II). She then proceeds to tell Macbeth to return to bed and if woken up, pretend like they have been sleeping this whole time. Lady Macbeth, even though she should not be in this time period, is the emotionally strong one in her relationship with Macbeth. She keeps her fasade up and we only see her actual feelings a couple times. Despite that, Lady Macbeth is a dynamic character and change quite drastically throughout the play. Lady Macbeth becomes less white-hearted. However, due to the guilt after the murder and the stress from constantly looking after her husband, Lady Macbeth takes her own life (Act V, scene
In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the character Macbeth acts on free will as opposed to fate. The definition of free will is having the ability to make a choice; including the possession of options, logical reasoning for choosing each option, as well as understanding the consequences of each decision. Macbeth obeys all the criteria, using “fate” as an excuse to act like a murder-crazy lunatic, ultimately resulting in his demise.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there are several references to supernatural activity. This supernatural activity is very crucial to the storyline. Supernatural defined by Webster relates to an existence beyond the visible observable universe. The Three Apparitions are spoken of in Act IV of the play, but the supernatural is first introduced by the three witches in Act I. The three witches who speak the apparitions are the opening characters in Macbeth. After reading the book, I fully understand Shakespeare reasoning for including them in the story. Each of the three apparitions depicts a clue of Macbeth’s future.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a trusted soldier, who is honest and noble. Unfortunately, he meets three witches who tell him three prophecies; that he will become thane of Cawdor, that he will become king and that Banquo’s sons will become kings. These three prophecies slowly change his opinions on life and turn him into a greedy, dishonest, tyrant, full of ambition. Lady Macbeth’s thoughts change as well when she is told about the three prophecies that were told to Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is ambitious, controlling and domineering. She is the one who encourages him to kill the king, she not only encourages him, she makes all the plans herself, which shows her determination and persistence."Yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th milk of human kindness. To catch the nearest way thou wouldst be great. Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it." (Act 1, scene 5). Lady Macbeth is the force behind Macbeth’s sudden ambition and she tries to manipulate him into feeling guilty and unmanly for not following through with the murder, by using her husbands emotions, she manages to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan.
The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, explores the darkest corners of the human psyche. It artfully takes its audience to a place that allows one to examine what a human being is truly capable of once tempted by the allure of power. In the play, Scottish noble Macbeth and his wife inevitably fall prey to their own self corruption. Initiated by prophesies made by three mysterious witches, the Macbeths set their sights on the throne. When the curtains open on the plot to murder King Duncan, Lady Macbeth is the driving force. Her criminal mind and desire for ruthlessness have led many a critic to define her as evil. Closer examination, however, reveals that she is a multifaceted character; other sides to her persona include: genuine good will towards her husband, coy manipulation, and feminine tenderness.
I would, while it was smiling in my face… And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you/ Have done to this.” And she then uses this in order to push him to act, that’s when he begins to seriously consider it. Moreover, the final action Lady Macbeth took which pushed Macbeth even more to commit the crime was using her femininity, as she tried to seductively convince him to. Consequently, Macbeth is completely swayed by all the evil ways of Lady Macbeth. Fortunately, Macbeth’s weak personality made him go crazy. His wife has turned him into a psychopath, by all the control and pressure she had put him into. He even admits to himself that he imagined that there was a floating dagger he even believes that it existed "Is this a dagger that I see before me, handle toward my hand . . .” says it all. It is clear and obvious that Macbeth was having a type of hallucination where he believes that the dagger really existed. This was all due to the creation of his mind, and imagination. She drove him to the point where he became obsessed with the idea that he has to kill Duncan, unconsciously he did. ; Poor Macbeth had nothing to do but listen to her insane mind, which made him commit such crime. Without Lady Macbeth's influence, do you think Macbeth would’ve committed that horrible crime? He would not have ever committed such crime if
As soon as Macbeth becomes aware of Macduff he plans to have Macduff’s entire family killed. The tragic play, then comes to an end as Macduff saves the day and annihilates Macbeth. The story of Macbeth demonstrates the dangers of unchecked ambition, as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both to blame for the outcome of these evil events. Shakespeare shows that ambition can get in the way of morals when Macbeth is convinced by Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan. His ambition causes him to continue killing more
Macbeth at first is a loyal and valiant servant to his king and country. Ambition is presented as a dangerous quality. It causes the downfall of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and triggers many of deaths in the play, by a number of factors including prophesy. The three witches. Three “black and midnight hags” who plot mischief against Macbeth using charms spells and prophecies. Their predictions prompt him to murder Duncan, to order the deaths of Banquo and his son, and to blindly believe in his own eternal life. Lady Macbeth, his wife is the driving force that encourages Macbeth to overcome his sense of guilt and take action of the prophesies. Then macbeth ambition soon spirals out of control and forces him to murder again and again to cover up his previous wrong doings. Ambition has many consequences in the play. Macbeth is slain as a tyrant. At the end of the play, Malcom is the victorious king and Macbeth’s burning ambition has been
Macbeth's own free will destroyed him. Before even taking such drastic measures to get what he wanted, Macbeth was considering things. The witches said he would be king, but he was unsure of how that would actually happen. He thought about killing Duncan to obtain the position, but the thought of killing him terrified him. He couldn’t even recognize himself after considering committing a deed as awful as murder.
Free will is defined as the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate. It is the ability to act at one’s own discretion. What this means is that there is no set destiny; only a person’s own decisions can impact the outcome of their life. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, free will plays a very substantial and powerful role. In 11th century Scotland, three witches give a prophecy to Macbeth, a general in King Duncan’s army, that he will one day become King himself. They also give a prophecy to Macbeth’s best friend, Banquo, telling him that his descendants will be Kings. Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, hatch a plan to commit regicide in order to speed up the process. After their father is found dead, the King’s sons flee to England and Ireland and unknowingly casting the blame upon them. Macbeth is crowned King, and the prophecy has been fulfilled. Macbeth’s reign as King is one of violence and destruction, and he is overcome with guilt. He kills a lord named Macduff’s family because he finds out he has gone to England to help one of the sons. Macduff comes back to Scotland and slays Macbeth, and King Duncan’s eldest son becomes King. Some might argue that Macbeth was a victim of fate and circumstance, but it was of his own free will that he decided to murder King Duncan, and go on a reign of terror as King. Shakespeare’s Macbeth establishes that one’s free will can impact their decision-making abilities, ambition and paranoia. Free will is a concept that not everyone accepts, but something that Macbeth takes head on.
The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is a tale of a man and his un-bridled ambition, set in ancient Scotland. Macbeth is a nobleman of the king of Scotland, Duncan, who is in mid-war with Norway. Macbeth and his fellow general Banquo encounter three witches. The witches tell the pair that Macbeth will be king, and Banquo’s children will also be kings. Any person in their right mind would question information given to them by strangers, let alone witches, but for some reason these statements intrigue Macbeth. They temp Macbeth to do evil things such as treason, and worse, to kill. Although un-bridled ambition is his main tragic flaw, there is one more that plays a big role in his decisions and the outcome of the story; Macbeth is far too impressionable.
At the beginning of the novel, Macbeth receives the news that if Duncan, the current king, passed away he would be the next one to the throne. So, Lady Macbeth induces Macbeth into killing Duncan by filling his mind with ambition and planting cruel seeds into his head. After accomplishing his deed of killing the king, he brings out the daggers that were used during the murder, and says, “I’ll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done; look, don’t again, I dare not.” This is his first crime and Macbeth is already filled with guilt and regret.
Although Lady Macbeth believes she has convinced Macbeth to kill Duncan, she resolves to carry out the deed herself. When Lady Macbeth arrives at the king’s chambers, she cannot execute the king. Lady Macbeth expressly rejects the masculine power that would allow her to wield a dagger. While she makes a case for killing Duncan, even declaring that "had he not resembled my father as he slept, I hadn't" (2.2.12-13). According to Chamberlain, “Lady Macbeth ultimately refuses to give masculine authority.