Macbeth is constantly torn between doing what is morally right or doing the latter for his own selfish reasons. Moral conflict, or moral dilemma, is the idea that given two choices, no matter what is decided, the person “seems condemned to moral failure” (McConnell). This has a lot to do with Macbeth’s fatal flaw; he is very vulnerable and is easily manipulated into doing things. The power of words and his, so called, “destiny” seduce him into doing things he knows are morally wrong. William Shakespeare, the author of this play, was an English playwright and wrote several high-achieving works, including Macbeth. “Macbeth is less a virtuoso of villainy or an amoral nihilist than a man with a conscience who succumbs to evil and obliterates the …show more content…
He decides that Banquo knows too much and is close to discovering his secret. Now that he has what he wants, he wants to maintain it. At the same time, everyone has decided they’ve had enough of Macbeth and are going to retaliate. Macduff goes to England to find Malcolm, one of Duncan’s sons. Macbeth hears about this and becomes enraged and knows he’s up to something. Macduff’s wife and children are then murdered, as Macbeth has lost all sense of morals and rashly decides the fates of his subjects. “Either thou, Macbeth, Or else my sword, with an unbattered edge, I sheathe again undeeded. There thou shouldst be; By this great clatter, one of greatest note Seems bruited. Let me find him, Fortune, And more I beg not” (Act 5, Scene 6). All of Macbeth’s poor decisions led up to his end, like the domino effect. He was destroying Scotland, and his subjects couldn’t bare to see one more person perish because of him. Macduff decides he will kill Macbeth to avenge his family and the King. “Boundless intemperance In nature is a tyranny. It hath been The untimely emptying of the happy throne And fall of many kings” (Act 4, Scene 3). In the end, Macbeth made the wrong decision killing the King, and if he would have waited and not let his ambition and greed get in the way he probably would’ve became King. Macbeth got so swept up into making sure no one figured out what he really did, he didn’t realize that they had already figured it out and were …show more content…
“His weakness is compounded by the urging of the equally ambitious Lady Macbeth and the encouragement given him by the Witches, whose supernatural powers seem certain to help him though in fact they bring him to his doom” (Boyce). He is constantly battling himself and trying not to lose his mind, but ends up doing just that. Macbeth thinks being King is his destiny, but learns the hard way that it was not. “His story is one of a moral choice and the consequences of that choice...Macbeth has every opportunity to avoid his fate: he could have ignored Lady Macbeth, or followed the lead of Banquo. However, he made a different choice, for he is a driven, self-destructive man” (Boyce). He does not learn a lesson from his moral conflict, but pays the ultimate price for it instead. In the tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare examines the theme of moral conflict in order to demonstrate the main character’s lack of ethics and poor decisions that inevitably lead to his
The dream of becoming king has ironically changed from a bright future to a tragic end due to some of the crucial decisions Macbeth has made during the course of his journey, and a number of his actions will backfire on him. The first of his actions that backfired was when he murdered King Duncan, which he regrets afterwards. Another action that backfired was the murder of the guards, which could've drastically changed the outcome of this entire story since he could've gotten away with King Duncan's murder if he didn't commit it. The third action that backfired on Macbeth was when he ordered the murderers to murder Banquo and Fleance at which they failed to eliminate Fleance. The murder that he committed was a necessity for Macbeth in order to secure his spot as king.
Perhaps the most fundamental theme of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the inherent corruptibility of even a seemingly good man when ambition turns to greed, and Macbeth himself exemplifies this concept throughout the play. While at the outset he is seen to be loyal to his king, generally considered trustworthy, and displaying numerous other laudable qualities, Macbeth ultimately succumbs to the influence of those around him and becomes unequivocally evil, setting aside all his previously held morals and coming to be driven only by his lust for power. This transition is brought about by a wide variety of factors and plays an integral role in the development of the plot. In his tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare employs
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is a five-act drama that shows a clear example of how pride, greed, and power can alter a man's actions and personality. The taste of power blinds the story's main character, Macbeth. Sparked by Lady Macbeth, he becomes heartless and cruel as he kills anyone who is a threat to his power due to his paranoia of losing the throne. This fear ironically leads to his downfall and loss of the throne. The theme of the story is deceit and evil and how they affect a man's decisions.
Decisions determine the path of a man's life, The types of decisions ensure the destination and the emotions which follow. In the beginning Macbeth was a hero with lots of fame but he is filled with greed and wants to be king. There were key experiences that Macbeth endured, which show an internal conflict of Macbeth. William Shakespeare highlights the dishonest tasks as thrilling and rewarding until the guilt and stress set in. Showing that doing evil things may be thrilling at the time but sooner or later karma will set in.
“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
Shakespeare clearly explores the themes ‘Fate and Free Will’, and ‘Ambition’ within this tragedy. Shakespeare weaves these themes around the character of Macbeth, showing us the depth of his insight into human society. Macbeth fell victim to his interpretation of supernatural prophecies and the influence from his wife. His impatience for the throne led to his crimes, subsequent guilt and acknowledgement of his sins. Shakespeare presents Macbeth’s life to his audience as a moral tale, warning them how men should be careful how they regard the ideas of fortune and fate and how in the end, evil intents and actions bring with them their own punishment.
Macbeth’s blind ambition leads him to surrender to his dark desires that taunt him throughout the play. Macbeth is frequently tempted to result to the wrongful methods that seem to roam inside of him. In the beginning however Macbeth tends to ignore these desires and depends on chance. He declares “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 3, 143-144). This declaration by Macbeth shows his initial stand, which is reliant on fate and sin free. Yet as Macbeth’s character develops throughout the play, he moves farther from his dependence on chance and closer to his darker desires. Eventually his blind ambition to become king overp...
Typical of Shakespeare’s works, the play Macbeth has a protagonist who ultimately experiences a downfall that lead to his demise. The protagonist or tragic hero of this play is Macbeth, once brave and honorable, who eventually becomes tyrannical and feared by many due to what Abrams describes as his “hamartia” or “error of judgment or, as it is often…translated, his tragic flaw.” In this case, Macbeth’s tragic flaw proves to be ambition; however, he cannot be held solely responsible for his downfall. As a result of many outside influential factors, including the witches’ prophecies and a rather coaxing and persuasive wife, one should not hold Macbeth entirely culpable for his actions and tragic end.
Part of human nature is struggling to choose between two random forces. In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare describes how conflict within a person can drive someone mad until the end of their lives. For Macbeth, part of this struggle was keeping his sanity intact after all the bad deeds he had committed. Another part of his struggle was swaying between the forces of innocence and guilt. The final struggle Macbeth had within him was going up against fate and free will. Throughout the play, Shakespeare demonstrates the inner conflict within Macbeth, as he contends against the conflicts of fate and free will, sanity and insanity, and innocence and guilt.
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
The character Macbeth in the story of Shakespeare’s Macbeth faces decisions that affect his morals. He begins as an innocent soul, dedicated to serve his kingdom and its king, Duncan. As time passes and opportunities present themselves combined with the deception of the evil witches, Macbeth begins his descent into madness. Macbeth’s innocence and loyalty are completely corrupted due to his over confidence, guilty conscience, and the inevitability of human nature. Macbeth looses sight of what is morally right to do in life because his logical choices are changed by these factors.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, first published in 1606, is an endearing tale outlining the dangers of unchecked ambition and moral betrayal. In the subsequent centuries after first being performed, Macbeth's critics have been divided upon whether Macbeth himself was irrevocably evil, or if he was guided by the manipulation and actions of the women in the play to his ultimate demise. Although Lady Macbeth and the witches were influential with their provocations in the opening acts, it is ultimately Macbeth’s inherent immorality and his vaulting ambition, that resulted in the tragic downfall. It was Macbeth’s desire for power that abolished his loyalty and trustworthiness and led him down a path of murder. It is evident through his actions and words throughout the play as to how he led himself through a path of betrayal leading to his inescapable demise.
There are times in life where we choose between right or wrong. It can come into effect on how other people judge you based on their views of what's right or what's wrong. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare displayed a darker and a wrong side of humankind. Three main characters, in particular, showed similar traits of greediness. Banquo, who appears to be noble fails to resist his desires; Lady Macbeth overrules herself with greed to a fate of anguish. And finally, Macbeth becomes engulfed with greed that leads to horrible deeds. Shakespeare emphasizes that desire for power and wealth can overrule morality in human nature.
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.
This specific action consequently resulted in Macbeth’s level of morality to continually decline as he is acutely aware of his own tyranny. Therefore Macbeth attempts to forget the horrific deed he has committed and be the figure that orders and disorders. Our perception of Macbeth being a wise and loyal soldier is now eroded, as we start to view Macbeth constantly questioning his own actions, and is also impelled to perpetrate further atrocities with the intention of covering up his previous wrong-doings.