Aristotelian Analysis of Macbeth
1 Find at least three places of peripety, where the emotion of fear is replaced by the emotion of pity. There are several examples of peripety in Macbeth. Scotland goes from peaceful and quiet to divided and chaotic. Macbeth starts out as a righteous guy but ends up as a dishonest murderer. Lady Macbeth starts out unrepentant but later regrets her actions. I think the peripety is what makes the play so interesting and realistic because the characters change as the play goes on.
2 How is the plot arranged? Where is the complication, and where is the denouement? Suggest the place where you think the main climax of the tragedy comes. Explain why you think this is the place. The plot is intriguing because on
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I think he is also the antagonist though because he is also the one who created the problem and murdered. Lady Macbeth or the witches may be considered antagonists because they encourage him to do wrong but when it comes down to it it’s Macbeth’s fault.
4 Find examples of hubris, and describe the protagonist’s nemesis, or fatal flaw. Even though Macbeth is a brave war hero he is still afraid of his fate or the future. His fatal flaw is that he lets these feelings drive him to do evil and they take him too far. His nemesis is himself. Macbeth wasn't a bad person but he became one.
5 Talk about three major thoughts of the play. How does the reading of Macbeth encourage virtue in the audience member? I think some of the main thoughts are the danger of the want of power, the difference between the brave and the evil, and how one bad decision leads to another. All of Macbeth’s problems started with the witches prophecy and his desire to be king. Lady Macbeth makes him think he is being brave while he is really committing evil crimes. All of his bad decisions lead to more problems. One murder leads to another just to cover up the
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The first time I read Macbeth was in high school and our teacher had us watch the play as we followed along in the book. The music and acting definitely gave the text more feeling. The poetry and wording of the play was obviously written to be presented in that way and makes a larger impression.
8 Finally describe your emotional reaction to the play? If there were passages that particularly moved you, describe your feelings. To be honest I was not excited when I heard that I would be reading Macbeth again. Although I had already read it, this time I noticed more symbolism and it was a little more enjoyable because I already knew what was going on. Something that particularly moved me was the regret of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and how their attitude changes throughout the play. Even though I’ve never been tempted to kill anyone it is a reminder that we must not give into temptation and that we must remember the importances of living moral lives in our every
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.
Foremost, the reader response lens looks at the piece considering the reader’s own experiences and thoughts. Most importantly, I dislike the part of the play were Banquo dies, as he states, “O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! / [Exit Fleance.] / Thou mayst revenge. O slave! [Dies] (47)” This part reached out to me in a negative way because I felt a close connection with Banquo, especially since his character received some of my heart as I read his lines to the class. Moreover, I dislike that Macbeth betrayed the king, as the story shows, “King: ‘Give me your hand. / Conduct me to mine host: we love him highly, / and continue our graces toward him (19).’” I believe that trust should be more important to people, so the
“The Tragedy of Macbeth” goes into the darkest and deepest morals of any Shakespearean play. Each character in the play portrays a very important role and each character gives off their own form of sincerities towards the advancing plot. 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.
Unquestionably, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show how ambition mixed with greed and unchecked morales can ultimately lead to one’s downfall. Shakespeare excellently portrays this through the main characters in his play Macbeth. By using two protagonists, Shakespeare allows the reader to view two different ways the meaning of the play can have an effect on people. Undeniably, the Macbeth’s greed based off ambition is thoroughly shown throughout
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the author tries to show the true nature of man by using the play’s main character, Macbeth, as an example. He is overly ambitious, courageous, and self-doubting. Throughout the play, Shakespeare displays these characteristics to the audience through Macbeth to show the true nature of man. At the end of the play, these characteristics ultimately lead to Macbeth’s downfall.
The main theme of Macbeth-the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints-finds its most powerful expression in the play's two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts. One of Shakespeare's most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder's aftermath, but she is eventually driven to distraction by the effect of Macbeth's repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case, ambition helped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witches is what drives the couple to ever more terrible atrocities. The problem, the play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further one?s quest for power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to the throne?Banquo, Fleance, Macduff?and it is always tempting to use violent means to dispose of them.
Macbeth's downfall is himself, he becomes hubristical, thinking he can defy fate. He becomes brutal and but is tormented by his
In the play of “Macbeth”, Shakespeare gradually and effectively deepens our understanding of the themes and most importantly the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The main theme of Macbeth is ambition, and how it compels the main characters to pursue it. The antagonists of the play are the three witches, who symbolise the theme appearance and reality. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relation is an irony throughout the play, as most of their relation is based on greed and power. This is different from most of Shakespeare’s other plays, which are mostly based on romance and trust. There is also guilt that leads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to the final consequences of the play. As the progresses, the constant changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are exposed.
Macbeth a play written by William Shakespeare in the 17th century shows the unexpected happens when it is least expected. In the beginning of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is stronger and more ruthless then her husband Macbeth because her only interested in gaining power. She plans and executes a death with little remorse. Macbeth is soft, kind, loyal and initially has a conscience. Over time, Macbeth's character takes a turn for the worse. He goes from the scared man that he first was into an evil man. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth become the people that the reader least expects them to be. In the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth is much more ruthless but throughout the play this changes and Macbeth becomes even more ruthless then Lady Macbeth.
Initially, Macbeth is a confident man battle-hardened and fearless. He cuts an enemy “from naval to jaw” in battle and seeks to gain glory and power. The captain says, “fear brave Macbeth,” and well he deserved that name. Macbeth is a great warrior and never would consider a murderous act before Lady Macbeth’s interference. The witches’ prophesies do not seem feasible to him at first so he does not act upon them. Lady Macbeth is a wicked woman who does much to affect Macbeth’s overall character.
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” explores a fundamental struggle of the human conscience. The reader is transported into the journey of a man who recognizes and acknowledges evil but still succumbs to its destructive powers. The character of Macbeth is shrouded in ambiguity that scholars have claimed as both being a tyrant and tragic hero. Macbeth’s inner turmoil and anxieties that burden him throughout the entire play evoke sympathy and pity in the reader. Though he has the characteristics of an irredeemable tyrant, Macbeth realizes his mistakes and knows there is no redemption for his sins. And that is indeed tragic.
Ultimately, Macbeth is far more evil than any other character in the play, including Lady Macbeth. He becomes a man with no mercy or pity for anyone else. He is a man who lingers among witches. A man who sheds the blood of innocent people and feels no wrong in doing so. Macbeth who is diseased with ill ambition, wicked desire, and savage thoughts is the most prominent evil character in the play, whose evil is far superior to his wife’s.
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the focus that is placed on the character of Lady Macbeth helps to convey the play's theme of the strife created by the struggle for power and control that is present throughout the entire work. Shakespeare presents her character in great detail and shows her to be a dominating, authoritative woman who thrives on the power she holds over her husband. He then shows the principle character, Macbeth, rise up and join his wife in a struggle for power of his own. It is the actions that Macbeth takes in attempt to achieve ultimate authority that lead to his downfall, and it is Lady Macbeth's loss of control over her husband as he gains this independence which causes her own weakening and eventually leads to her demise as well.