'Macbeth' is Shakespeare's shortest tragic play in which the main character, Macbeth, becomes the tragic hero. He begins as 'a noble lord' only to finish as 'Devilish Macbeth'. But who or what is responsible for the tragic downfall of Macbeth? I believe Macbeths is partly responsible for the tragic events that take place, including the murder of King Duncan, Banquo, Lady Macduff and her children. However, Macbeth was influenced by the supernatural witches and by the strict pressure of his wife, Lady Macbeth. The themes of Fate, Ambition, Greed and Manhood are expressed in Macbeth's action and his tragic downfall.
Firstly, Macbeth is partly responsible for the tragedy that befell him. He has always harboured the desire to be king, as seen in his soliloquy after the witches' prophecies, where he admits that his desires are not just "black" but "deep", and the play charts his course from worthy Thane to "dead butcher", fuelled by brutal ambition. The events of the play can be traced back to Macbeth himself as a character.
Macbeth is a good man who uses his best asses - his ambition - to excess, resulting in his fall. He's a classic tragic hero. Macbeth chose to listen to the witches and to his wife. His ambition drove him to fight bravely in the first battle and win the title of Thane of Cawdor. When he heard that he could be king, his ambition took over his mind and he will do anything - including killing the king he loves, under his own roof - to satisfy that ambition. As the play progressed, he became a cold and callous man. He lost his sanity and is driven by immoral thoughts that make him act as quickly as thinking. He let superstition, greed and evil take over his mind, which resulted in many deaths. He turned from being...
... middle of paper ...
...nd the role it has in the play. One can only wonder if Macbeth ever even had a chance of doing what was right, after he heard the witches' prophecies.
In conclusion, I believe the witches' supernatural prophecies, Lady Macbeth's strict pressure and Macbeth's own greedy ambition and betrayal add to the tragic events that take place in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'. 'Brave Macbeth' at the start of the play succumbs to pressure, expectations and greed to become 'Devilish Macbeth' at the closing lines to the play. Things couldn't have been worse for Macbeth. He had plenty of chances to avoid doom, but once he decided to kill Duncan, he lost control. The play is a "perfect storm" of choice and destiny. Shakespeare's play ends in tragedy, as most main characters end up murdered or they commit suicide; however Good wins over Evil and peace and justice is restored in Scotland.
Ambition is Macbeth’s primary flaw that causes the valiant soldier, who would die for the king, to murder his way to control the throne. Now, others could argue that the Witches are more responsible for Macbeth's downfall because they spoke prophetically to Macbeth and wanted to see the outcome of Macbeth’s endeavor to take the throne for their own amusement. The Witches did not commit the heinous crimes, Macbeth committed acts of treason and murder. The Witches did not tell Macbeth that he would need to murder King Duncan to become king, nor did they tell him to kill Banquo. Macbeth is the main character who is responsible for his downfall, because when Macbeth is first introduced in Act 1, he is a brave and honorable soldier, who is also the Thane of Glamis. He is labeled by King Duncan as “brave Macbeth,”: “For brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name…” Before Macbeth met the Witches, he served the king with complete devotion. After the meeting the Witches, he begins to contemplate becoming King of Scotland. However, his ambition is not satisfied, when he finds out that Malcolm, King Duncan’s son is heir to his throne. Macbeth speaks of his ambition in Act 1, sc.7 line 25, “Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’ other” (Shakespeare). Ambition leads him to murder King Duncan, start committing heinous crimes, and continue his path
...y decided by him. The Witches only prophesied and showed him apparitions; they did not force him to act on it. One can conclude that Shakespeare wanted the modern viewer to see how ambition and over-confidence can lead man to his downfall. By documenting the stages in Macbeth’s life before and after the murder, we see an initially great man who is killed because he was too involved in his world of ambitions. This play serves as a warning not to believe in everything that is said about the future, and to not be overcome by dark ambitions. Being aware of this, Macbeth is no longer only a play about a Scottish general whose actions drive him to his demise, but also a lesson to the viewers to not be overcome by their ambitions.
William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is about a struggle for power in Scotland. Macbeth, the main character, gets prophecies from three witches about his future accomplishments that will come to him. One of his prophecies is that Macbeth will become king, Macbeth hearing this he becomes ambitious and later kills the current King Duncan, making himself the new king. A tragic ending comes to Macbeth when the people leave him and his world collapses around him.
The protagonist in this play is Macbeth himself. Like many main characters he has a tragic flaw. In his case it is his thrilling ambition to do anything it takes to become king. The reason that he has the ambition to become king is because he wants to be known and respected. Also he wants to be wealthy and to be able to do anything he likes. An exemplar of how he is willing to do anything is when he set up King Duncan to be killed and states,"I go, and it is done; the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell. (Macbeth act 2 scene 1). Macbeth is also to blame for his downfall because he is a coward and takes all the advice his wife lady Macbeth and the witches gave him. This is evident when Lady Macbeth tells him that it is a good idea to kill King Duncan, also how the witches tell him that he is safe. But at the end of the day it came down to his decision. a sampling of why Macbeth is at fault is because he kills his best friend Banquo. He has three hit men do the dirty work for him while Banquo was on the way to Macbeth’s banquet
The one who is at fault in the play of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is not all who presume it is. Some say the blame is on the Witches, some say Lady Macbeth, but Macbeth is the real man at fault. He was at choice of his decisions, only slightly pressured by his wife, Lady Macbeth. Macbeth dug himself into a hole he was not able to climb out of. There was no return to the light side for him as he had no regrets, he was inhumane, and cold-blooded. There are many examples that show his inhumanity towards others throughout the play, one cold-blooded act to another with no turning back. It was a painful ending for Macbeth since no one showed sympathy for him as his head ended up on a sword. Macbeth is at fault for all the critical events within the play as he is the one that killed Banquo, King Duncan, and Macduff’s family.
A tragic hero is said to be doomed from his beginning. A victim of his own ambition and moral weakness, Macbeth decline from a kind, respectable warrior, to a murdering, lying, fiend. It is his obsessive and literal belief in the prophecies that impaired him. The tragedy of Macbeth is of the kind of man he could have been and almost was, but fell short because he overlooked the contradictions in his character and made the fatal mistake of giving in to his ambition.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a well-known play by William Shakespeare known for its violence. The story starts as one of a loyal and significant hero of Scotland. Yet, Macbeth's character changes continuously throughout the play. Influential desires for power made him settle on evil choices that made for him only cynicism, guilt, and fury. At the end of the play, he was no longer noteworthy and, instead, a tyrant at the cause of being overcome decisively during the course of the play.
The play Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare. This play tells of betrayal, temptations, ambitions, murder, treason and manipulation. The readers feels sympathetic for MacBeth, as he is stuck in the middle of a situation he can’t get out of. However, sympathy is lost when MacBeth commits evil deeds that he is only responsible for. Macbeth is only persuaded to commit treason, but due to his paranoia he kills many more people. The main focus is Macbeth, being the unfortunate victim, from the 3 evil witches to Lady Macbeth. His downfall is caused by other people around him.
There is an ambiguity in Macbeth - do the witches represent inevitable fate, and is there in this instance the triumph of the forces of darkness, or does Macbeth have free will? If the responsibility for his actions rests with him and him alone, it may be argued that it is his weakness and his ambition that matter. His weakness lies in allowing himself to be bullied and shamed by Lady Macbeth into the murder of his king and guest.
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.
Macbeth’s life is a tragic story about how he was deceived and molded into an evil man. His evil, sparked by lady Macbeth, began with the murder of king Duncan. Macbeth’s heart couldn’t handle the sin but Lady Macbeth forced him to change his mind. Macbeth’s evil was a result of his overconfidence, guilty conscience, and his human nature, all of which are traits that could be seen in any person in search of power.
Macbeth is a brave man who is not naturally inclined to perform evil deeds, yet he desperately wants and desires power and succession. At the end, he is not happy with what he has accomplished, "I am afraid to think what I have done; look on `t again I dare not" (Shakespeare Macbeth 2.2.51-52). He kills Duncan against his own logical judgement and later drowns in paranoia and guilt. Macbeth is led to wicked thoughts by the prophecies of the three witches, especially after the witches' prophecy that he will be made Thane of Cawdor comes true. Macbeth is a powerful man and...
MacBeth by William Shakespeare is a play which shows the uprise of MacBeth, the treachery and his eventual downfall. Witchcraft plays a major part in MacBeth's actions and his weak character is easily manipulated. Although being an honest and brave man earlier, his ambition clouds his judgement. His life is tragic and through some terrible deeds ends in catastrophe.
Macbeth's destiny and his lust for power, confirmed by the Three Witches and Lady Macbeth, leads to destruction. Every act that Macbeth commits effects the kingdom as a whole. Macbeth's indecisiveness and his understanding of success cause this destruction. This lust for power leads Macbeth, as it would all men, to an evil that exist in everyone. It is his destiny to fail.
Macbeth blind ambition makes it hard for others to follow and lead them. Being King of Scotland is his one goal he wants to accomplish, with Lady Macbeth's help on his side, they could rule Scotland. His subsequent destruction turns him into a threatening human-being and starts to lose his followers, making him a lone wolf in battle. His menacing actions he has done to the kingdom gets him killed by Macduff. All these tragedy elements make up the important key parts to the book