Murder, once committed causes countless detrimental effects to follow instantaneously affecting not just the victim but countless others, including the culprits themselves. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, both authors are able to build a major theme common to the works, that bloodshed can only lead to more bloodshed, through the character development of Macbeth and Ishmael Beah. Macbeth and Beah are forced into the vicious cycle of bloodshed, by a force greater than their own, through the act of a single murder. As these characters realize they no longer have the option of turning back, they begin to fear that they might lose what they value most through violence as they quickly see that they are engulfed …show more content…
Macbeth’s initial unjust murder was that of the loyal King of Scotland, which was followed by the subsequent murders of everyone close to him to protect his newfound position of King. Near the end of the novel, as Macbeth is feeling helpless and defeated, he states “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, / To the last syllable of recorded time; / And all our yesterdays have lighted fools” (5.5.18-21). Shakespeare conjures up the image of time in the reader's mind here through the use of connotative diction. Shakespeare uses the words “tomorrow”, “to day” and “yesterday” to show the entire complex of time, that it is not only the current moment or the past moment that Macbeth must suffer for his actions, but tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. The repetition of tomorrow also brings attention to the future and shows that Macbeth and his immortal soul will suffer the most, for all of eternity for what he has done. Although Macbeth was influenced by persuasive forces to commit murder it was no one’s hands but Macbeth’s own that were laced with the golden blood of his king. In the end it was Macbeth’s immoral decision that caused him to enter the spiral of bloodshed, and it is his soul that must suffer the consequences of his actions once the cycle is broken, with death, the ultimate punishment, soon to be brought upon this once brave and valiant
Lady Macbeth has just died and Macbeth himself is realizing a fair amount of truths. “She should have died hereafter; / There would have been a time for such a world. / Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day … Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury” (ln 17-27). Macbeth had mocked time and attempted to outrace it, which ends up slowing him down. He has become fully aware that his life is worthless, and now he has lost his wife. Macbeth also recognizes that it would have been better if Lady Macbeth had died at some other time because her death made everything worse. This time motif is the height of Macbeth’s realization of where his life has gone. Duncan, Banquo, and now his wife are dead. He believed that taking the throne was all he needed, but it left him with the opposite. This motif is effective because even though Macbeth is still living in some alternate reality of time, he is slowly coming out of that after the death of his wife. Macbeth is now numb and feels
This essay earned a 89/100. it was a lot of work considering the lines from macbeth for textual support.
A quote which really defines Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s ambition regarding power is “Power does not corrupt men; fools; however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power” George Bernard Shaw. Lady Macbeth is more ambitious in terms of gaining power then Macbeth is and that Lady Macbeth will do almost anything to gain power, even evil things that she normally wouldn’t do. This is shown when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth learn about the witches’ predictions, then roles in the plans to murder king Duncan in order to gain power and then finally after the murder, Macbeth doesn’t want to finish the plan making Lady Macbeth angry and causing a chance they might get caught and gain no power at all.
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.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare examines the significance of time in the form of one’s present and future through the unfortunate character of Macbeth. Macbeth is an ordinary soldier, loyal to the king as the Thane of Glamis, prior to his meeting with the three witches. The three witches reveal to Macbeth his future “All, hail Macbeth! Hail to three, Thane of Cawdor! All, hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3. 49-50). For the most part one does not know his or her own future. Our futures are uncertain and predictions like these do not always come true, yet Shakespeare has set Macbeth up in a way that he knows these predictions will come true. Not long after the witches state their claims
At the beginning of the play Macbeth has an optimistic view of time,“Come what come may, /:Time and the hour runs through the roughest day”(1.3.163-164). After hearing words that he will become king, he pushes the thoughts of killing Duncan to the back of his mind. After a period of self-doubt Macbeth decides to leave his fate to chance and that no matter what time will keep on going. However by the end of the play Macbeth realizes the inevitable passing of time in his famous soliloquy, saying, “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, /: Creeps in this petty pace from day to day” (5.5.22-3). The tone in his soliloquy is heavy and constant, emphasizing the burden of time. Macbeth says these words after hearing of Lady Macbeth’s suicide, so it makes sense that he is so distraught by time. This shows how Macbeth perceives time as cruel and
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.
Macbeth is swaying between the forces of good and evil. He wants to stop killing but he also wants to become king and in his mind the only way to do that is to kill whoever is in his path, saying “I am in blood/ Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,/ Returning were as tedious as go o'er.” (3.4.168-170). Macbeth is already deep into this situation and if he were to turn back now, it would cause him greater hardship than relief. Macbeth has been dealing with this inner conflict ever since he was told by the weird sisters that he is fated to become king. This conflict ties everything together, between fate versus free will and sane or insane. Macbeth started the play as being a glorified war hero, however as time moved on he transformed into a bloodthirsty tyrant. Macbeth has gone through so much that he has shifted into a guilty man haunted by nightmares and hallucinations but will not stop until he gets what he came for. Macbeth has gone so far into the void of guilt that his name has now fell into infamy, as shown by quote by Young Siward saying “The devil himself could not pronounce a title/ More hateful to mine ear.” (5.7.10-11). Macbeth had already grown a name for himself while he kept his innocence, however with all the killings macbeth has made, he has done nothing but shame his name. Macbeth name to others is more hateful and there is nothing that Siward would rather do than to end Macbeth’s life, thus ending all the guilt and evil inside
The play written by William Shakespeare called “Macbeth” covers various themes through out the play. One of the many themes from the play is guilt is a strong behaviour. The key topics from the play are moral behaviour, loyalty, social distinction, revenge, witches. These ideas are applicable in our today’s society. The way of these ideas may be used differently in today’s society but follows the idea. In today’s society people react in a different manner from the “Macbeth” play but has the same idea about reacting to others. Some of the key ideas that the play contains can be compared to our today’s society. The way of reacting to these key ideas will be compared from the “Macbeth”
In understanding the art form of expression in various ways like music and play writes, it brings together this sense of self identity that the artist wants to fulfill. Having this understanding about the life behind the scene, screen, and/or stage. My paper will present two art forms music by 50 cent “Many Men” and William Shakespeare play “Macbeth” in which I will describe similarities among the characters. My four categories for 50 cent and Macbeth are as follow Greed, Savage, Survivor and Success.
In trying to achieve everything possible, the Macbeths’ tragically lose everything instead. Shakespeare has effectively showed us the consequences of murder and power. The main symbolic signs of blood, murder and guilt throughout the play, gave the changes of the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth efficiently. What once started as a dominating relation and taking decisions together, turned into a relation in which neither Macbeth or Lady Macbeth cared for one another.
When anything in life first begins to grow, it begins as a seed. The seed of a plant, or of a thought, or of an idea. Once created, the seed can do one of two things. It can grow, or it can die. Shakespeare’s play Macbeth tells the story of an innocent man who is turned evil from the seeds planted by those around him, allowing readers to explore the repetition of growth and how it is implied through characters. Throughout the play, growth is used to display Macbeth and Banquo as foil characters, show Banquo’s “goodness” through positive imagery, and to show Macbeth’s “evilness” through negative growth imagery. By analyzing Shakespeare’s use of growth imagery, critical readers recognize that growth enforces the idea that growth triumphs evil, embodied in the actions and consequences of Macbeth and Banquo as they make one of two crucial choices? Good, or evil?
There was a common saying, “Behind every great man there's a great woman”. The men, Macbeth and Winston Smith in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and George Orwell’s 1984 may not be considered as the “great man” however, both Lady Macbeth and Julia are good examples that can be presented as the “great woman” behind the men. Both Lady Macbeth and Julia do an excellent job of pretending to be someone who they are not, they are not only affecting the men in their lives to rethink their previous position but also have a bad ending accompanied with physical and psychological issues.
Key elements in the play substantiate the fact that Macbeth is a serious story, the first elements of Aristotle’s definition. From the first lines of the play, the mood is set featuring witches whom speak of witchcraft, potions and apparitions. Not only do the three witches aid in making this a serious story but also, they appealed to Elizabethans whom at the time believed in such supernatural phenomena. War for centuries has represented killing and feuding, thus, the war taking place between Scotland and Norway provided a dark component. The Thane of Cawdor’s rapidly approaching execution due to his deceiving the king also plays a role in this grim work. Murder throughout all of Macbeth is an essential aspect when dealing with the seriousness of the play. From the beginning, Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to do anything to overthrow King Duncan, whom is the king of Scotland, the role Macbeth desperately yearns for. During the excursion to become king, Macbeth successfully murders King Duncan, Macduff’s wife and children, and with the help of a group of murderers Banquo; a brave general who will inherit the Scottish throne. Through the whole play, while such dank occurrences are used to create deep mood, Shakespeare also uses strong language and words. Such as when Lady Macbeth calls upon the gods to make her man-like so she will have the fortitude to kill King Duncan herself in this quote, “Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here… Make my blood thick… Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunest smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark.” This type of language provokes thoughts of death, blood and darkness though the imagery such dank words create. The play also follows through with its theme of blood by in the end of the play, having both of its lead characters die. Lady Macbeth, distraught by guilt over the bloodshed, commits suicide while Macbeth is murdered and beheaded by Macduff, a Scottish noblemen.
Shakespeare was a very intelligent man and in the passage tomorrow he kind of sums up everything in the play. He also makes Macbeth realize every wrong he did and how he lost everything. Ambition was one of the reasons he couldn't really realize all the harm he was doing to himself and to the loved ones around him. This passage also reflects on other issues he went through in the beginning of the play. The tomorrow passage of Macbeth reflects on a lot of what some of us go through like the looking back on the mistakes we made, how much of time we waste and the final would have to be the whole concept of chasing your own shadow.