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Rise and fall of macbeth - overview of the drama
Character analysis macbeth
Rise and fall of macbeth - overview of the drama
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The Secret Diary of Lady Macbeth
After receiving a letter from Macbeth
Earlier today, I received a most urgent letter from Macbeth. He told me that he was accosted by three witches on the night of the battle between Scotland and Norway. They greeted him "All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!" Macbeth was "rapt" with what the witches had said and tried to question them further but they vanished into a haze of fog. I could see his enthusiasm from his vocabulary and could tell that he believed the witches, even though they are feared and many hundreds have been burned. He said he "burned in desire" to question them further, indicating that he was almost on fire with this knowledge that came from the "perfect'st report". Witches have metaphysical powers and "more in them than mortal knowledge".
Later that day Macbeth received a message from the King saying he was to become Thane of Cawdor. He called me his "dearest partner of greatness" and plans to share the glory of the golden round with me. He sent the letter by messenger despite the danger of the contents being read by others, when it could have waited until he arrived here.
Having seen Macbeth's enthusiasm, I will take my cue from him. His letters have "transported me beyond this ignorant present". I nearly told a messenger who brought news of the King coming to stay, of my thoughts and for one moment, I reacted as though Macbeth were already King, and I Queen, I must be more careful in the future.
I have made the decision that Macbeth will be King, the only problem being that he is "too full of the milk of human kindness" and does not have it in him to do the unthinkable deed, at heart Macbeth is a giver and not a destroyer.
I see my role as Macbeth's strengthener. I wish that I could persuade him to "catch the nearest way". To this end, I asked the evil spirits to take my womanly qualities away. I asked them to take my milk and replace it with gall. I am asking to become a poisoner instead of a nourisher. I asked for unnatural darkness so that heaven will not see and cry: "Hold, hold!" No one must see the murder, as killing the King is an unthinkable act; it is just like killing God.
In the third soliloquy Macbeth is still contemplating how he obtains the throne, but now he knows that murder is the only way, yet he fears ‘judgement’ and damnation. We see here that Macbeth has a conscience, and his mind cannot take the simple fact. He begins bringing up lots of excuses as to why he should not do it, but inevitably his ambition gets the better of him.
Power: The possession of control or command over others. Witchcraft: magical influence. Combine the two, and a dangerous concoction will arise. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the downfall of a valiant man is portrayed as supernatural forces implant the idea of power into his mind. Macbeth takes place in the 15th century, a time when witchcraft was at an all-time high. In the 1400s and leading up to the early 1600s when Shakespeare wrote this play, witches were seen as subjects of Satan who were sent to carry out his tasks. King James I (1566-1625) feared witches so much that he wrote a book called Demonology, expressing his hatred and fear of witches. People suspected of committing witchcraft were burned at the stake, drowned, or hanged. In Medieval Europe there was a general mistrust of witches. The treatment of witches at this time explains why Banquo tells Macbeth not to believe in their prophecies at the beginning of the play. The supernatural plays a huge role in Macbeth, motivating Macbeth to commit evil actions and to have too much faith in his own mortality.
As people live their lives, they will be met with various partial truths and misleading pieces of evidence, but Shakespeare reminds us in Macbeth that people should be cautious of the words they believe. They should judge the speaker’s character before they accept anything spoken by them even if there is partial truth in the words being spoken. Set in eleventh century Great Britain, Macbeth begins with the titular character, Macbeth, killing the armies of the Irish and Norwegians for his king, Duncan. He then receives a prophecy from three witches that he will be the future king of Scotland, which leads him down a dark and bloodied road. Deception is a key theme of this book for it is how the protagonist, Macbeth, is lead astray from loyalty to his king.
Macbeth: "If Chance would have me king, why, Chance may crown me without my stir."
Next lady Macbeth had a flight of ideas. Macbeth had sent her a letter telling her he should be king. “Out of the damned spot! I say!”
prospect of you being king was so great that I lost touch with reason. When the
instill in him the need to be King. Still, desire is not enough for Macbeth and he is thus driven "to seek certainty as his one objective. He wants certainty from the witches . . . at whatever cost" (Campbell 228). Macbeth, however, is not completely lost yet; honour and justice remain in him, and although it takes him some time to fully consider the consequences of the witches' words on him, he rejects his horrible thoughts of murder and postpones all action: "If chance will have me king, why,chance may crown me, / Without my stir" (I. iii.143-144). For the time being, Macbeth's true essence is in control, that of loyalty and honour.
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as a courageous and well-respected soldier who is loyal to his King and country. He is described by one of King Duncan's men as “brave Macbeth.” As a result of his bravery on the battlefield, Duncan decides to reward Macbeth with a new title – the Thane of Cawdor – as the last Thane was proven to be disloyal; however, Macbeth is unaware of this, and this creates tension in the audience. The opening scenes show that Macbeth is a powerful and courageous man who is not naturally inclined to do wrong, but is capable of being brutal when he needs to be. The meeting with the witches also reveal that Macbeth is a very ambitious man who craves an even greater power. There is contrast between Macbeth’s and Banquo’s attitudes towards the witches’ prophecies. Whilst Banquo dismissed the witches’ prophecies, Macbeth was “rapt withal.” This shows that Macbeth has thought about being “king hereafter.” Macbeth's first soliloquy reveals his deep desire to be king. His soliloquy also reveals that he would do anything to achieve it.
Once Macbeth is told his prophecy of being king by the witches, he soon writes a letter to his wife explaining his newly found future, hoping to find some advice in return. Instead, Lady Macbeth quickly begins to think how life could be greater if he were king now. She then persuades Macbeth into killing King Duncan. "And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man." says Lady Macbeth, trying to change her husbands mind. She shows Macbeth that if they follow her plan exactly and show remorse for the kings' death. They would not fail, "Who dares receive it other, As we shall make our greifs and clamor roar upon his death?"
Lady Macbeth invokes evil spirits asking them to grant her extreme cruelty and to feel no remorse or pity for her victims. She asks the evil spirits to grant her these ills so she can take over Macbeth’s prophecy to prevent him from backing out, “Yet do I fear thy nature;/ It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way.” (1.5 16-18). Lady Macbeth uses the word milk to personify Macbeth’s weak nurturing nature. She believes that Macbeth is full of ambition and desire, but she also believes he is too reserved to attack when given a golden opportunity. She does not want to wait and let the prophecy unfold rather she wants to take control of it. Whe...
Macbeth shifts from being loyal and courageous to a murderer executing a treacherous plan to kill the current king due to supernatural suggestions that he would be king himself. Macbeth is discussed as a man worthy of recognition by other characters in act one scene two. In this scene, the Captain states: “For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)” (1. 2. 18). Macbeth is being praised for his courage and loyalty to Scotland and the king. This first impression is hastily contrasted after hearing the prophecy of the witches stating he will be “king hereafter” (1. 3. 53). Immediately after hearing this, Macbet...
“You’re Thane of Cawdor!” shouted Lady Macbeth, my wife. The messenger had delivered the delightful message that I was now Thane of Cawdor and Glamis. A happy buzz filled the air, but I knew my lady had something up her sleeve, thane was not good enough for her.
In addition, when Macbeth first meets the witches, he does not believe the prophecies given to him by the witches. This is best said as, “and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor”. This exemplifies Macbeth’s disbelief in the prophecies that he is to become the Thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland. In the second meeting, however, Macbeth devoutly believes in the predictions of the witches, as the first set has come true. This is evident as Macbeth seeks the witches’ prophecies and also says, “I conjure you, by that which you profess, howe’er you come to know it, answer me…”, showing that he believes the witches regardless of how they know the future.
The witches influence Macbeth in his achievements and awake his ambitions. They give him a wrong sense of security with their apportions of truths. The witches are the ones who made the idea of killing Duncan into Macbeth’s mind. They also told him that he would become thane of Cawdor and later would become king of Scotland and Macbeth wants to know more. “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more. By Sinel’s death I know I am the thane of Glamis; but how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives, a prosperous gentleman; and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor” (Shakespeare 312). Banquo is known as the real victim of the witches. After Banquo hears the prophecy of the witches that his sons will become kings he still does not believe them. He believes that he has eaten a root that is making him hallucinate and does not believe anything they tell him. (Shakespeare 313) Banquo says, “Are you sure we are talking about what we have seen here? Or have we eaten some plant root that makes us hallucinate.” Banquo also says to Macbeth: “but ‘tis strange; and oftentimes of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles. To betrays in deepest consequence” (Shakespeare 314). Shortly after they meet with the three witches they meet a messenger who tells Macbeth he is the Thane of Cawdor. When Banquo hears this he realizes the witches are right and
“All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Glamis. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Cawdor. All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.3.51-53) and also goes on to tell Banquo that his descendents will be kings even though he won’t become one. At first Macbeth dismisses these claims, and Banquo suggest that they were just hallucinating, but the idea of becoming Thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland has been implanted in Macbeths head. Coincidentally just before Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches Duncan announces to Ross that Macbeth will be the new thane of Cawdor “No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death, and with his former title greet Macbeth.”(1.3.76-76) When Macbeth finds out that he will become thane of Cawdor from Ross and Angus he starts to truly believe that he can and will become the new king. The witches use this previously announced fact “Hail to you, thane of Cawdor” as a catalyst, to trick him into believing that he will become king which makes him take action towards the prophecy, but which was really his free will maki...