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Character analysis macbeth
How does shakespeare present ambition in the play as a whole
Character analysis macbeth
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The Corrupting Power of Unchecked Ambition 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. The Relationship between Cruelty and Masculinity Characters in Macbeth frequently dwell on issues of gender. Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband by questioning his manhood, wishes that she herself could be ?unsexed,? and does not contradict Macbeth when he says that a woman like her should give birth only to boys. In the same manner that Lady Macbeth goads her husband on to murder, Mac... ... middle of paper ... ... him and says that a little water will do the job (II.ii.58?59). Later, though, she comes to share his horrified sense of being stained: ?Out, damned spot, out, I say . . . who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?? she asks as she wanders through the halls of their castle near the close of the play (V.i.30?34). Blood symbolizes the guilt that sits like a permanent stain on the consciences of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, one that hounds them to their graves. The Weather As in other Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth?s grotesque murder spree is accompanied by a number of unnatural occurrences in the natural realm. From the thunder and lightning that accompany the witches? appearances to the terrible storms that rage on the night of Duncan?s murder, these violations of the natural order reflect corruption in the moral and political orders.
Very few producers of art can actually let their works claim the appellation 'classic.' For to create a piece of work - literature, art, or poetry, that stands the test of time, that proves the author's premise relevant not just in the period when he created it, but also in the generations that follow, is not an easy task. The works of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) have, more than once, proved worthy of the title 'classic.' Not only does his work hold up, as he wished, a mirror to his own society, but manages to reflect what is going on much later, and indeed, may be relevant well into the next millennium, if civilization continues to peruse Shakespeare's writing. A study of the character of Macbeth, essentially reveals the parallels that Shakespeare draws with the human condition through the creation of Macbeth, and the consequences of unchecked ambition.
Three witches start the villainy in Macbeth’s heart by addressing him as “thane of Cawdor” and “king hereafter.” (Act I, Scene 3, 50-51) Those few words plant the seeds of debauchery that will take the lives of Duncan the King, Banquo his fellow warrior, and the ultimate demise of his wife Lady Macbeth. The peripety occurs with each of these malicious acts during this tragedy. Macbeth knew that Duncan was a good king and fought the urge to kill him, but surrendered to his wife’s verbal lashing and committed the crime. The killing of Banquo was easier to decide, but thoroughly directed his mind on the downward spiral to a collapse of all reason. His mind hit the floor of despair when his wife commits suicide.
In the play, she is portrayed as oddly masculine and abnormal and her intense desire to “unsex” herself does a decent job at revealing some of the problems with traditional female ideologies. Lady Macbeth’s remarks and acts are clear illustrations of her resentments with her alleged female limits. In act one, scene 5, lines 47-51 Lady Macbeth says, “Come, you spirits/ that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, /And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/ Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood; /Stop up the access and passage to remorse”, this passage is quite explicit as she demands the spirits to "unsex" her, by stripping her of everything that makes her a woman. Since she is so devoted to being hyper-masculine because of the strong and courageous characteristics men have, she desires no longer to be a woman due to their 'weak' and 'submissive' nature. In Lady Macbeth's mind, being a female interferes with her evil plans and hinders her abilities. Femininity means tenderness and humanity while masculinity is synonymous with strength and courage. In a very successful attempt at splitting from
Corruption in Macbeth Power has the ability to destroy one's nature, making one capable of doing many things he would not normally do unless power has been an influence. Once Macbeth realizes that he has power, he becomes a person of corruption. This power he attains allows him to commit many sins to become King of Scotland. In Macbeth, a play by William Shakespeare, Macbeth corrupts through power, guilt, and ambition. Macbeth desires to achieve a particular goal, to be the most powerful person in Scotland.
The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare illustrates how greed for power and wealth can result in the destruction of oneself as well as others. The play's central character, Macbeth is not happy as a high-ranking thane - leading him to assassinate Duncan to become King, while unknowingly dooming himself. Throughout the play many examples are evident of Macbeth's unquenchable thirst for power.
After struggling with the thought of killing Duncan, Macbeth is reprimanded by Lady Macbeth for his lack of courage. She informs him that killing the king will make him a man, insinuating that he isn’t a man if he doesn’t go through with the murder. This develops Lady Macbeth as a merciless, nasty, and selfish woman. She will say, or do anything to get what she desires, even if it means harming others. It is this selfishness that makes it hard for the reader to be empathetic towards her later in the play, as it is evident in this scene that her hardships were brought on by herself. If she hadn’t insisted on the murder, she would not be driven in...
Ambition is the force that drives us all to be better and work harder; however, if that ambition is used simply to better ourselves at the expense of others it can hurt all of those involved. In his play, Macbeth, Shakespeare shows how the overriding nature of ambition can hurt not only those oppressed by the leader but the leader themselves. Macbeth is a minor lord in Scotland. He is given a prophecy that one day he will be king, by a set of three witches. After learning this Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth set out to solidify their power by any means necessary. Even going so far as to murder the king and Macbeth’s best friend. However they end up riddled with the guilt of their crimes and Lady Macbeth takes her own life as Macbeth is killed on the battlefield. Shakespeare uses mirroring language to show that the detrimental effects of unchecked ambition once leaders have become intoxicated with it
Almost every person in the world can say that desires to posses certain things have driven them to take action, but at what point are people hindered by their inner moral compasses to suppress their ambitions for the best interest of society and themselves? William Shakespeare examines this question and the nature of ambition in his play Macbeth. In doing so, he suggests that acting upon unnatural ambitions and desires without morals and mindfulness leads to a manifestation of a deeply rooted evil that manipulates people’s characters and causes unforeseen results. In the play, Macbeth is told by witches that he will become Thane then King. After the first statement comes true, Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to kill King Duncan. He does so,
After the first murder scene, when Macbeth stabs King Duncan in his sleep, he encounters a great deal of guilt towards the murder. This is shown by a quote from Macbeth, "With all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas in carnadine, making the green one red", at this point in the play, blood is resembled mostly by guilt. What Macbeth is really saying is that not even the entire ocean could wash his hands clean of blood from this dirty deed he had committed. He feels that what he had done was so wrong and shameful there is not a way in the world to hide it, the ocean is an excellent way to portray this. After the discovery of Duncan’s murder in the third scene, Macbeth exaggerates the king’s wounds," His silver skin lac’d with his golden blood, and gash’d stabs look’d like a breach in nature..." Macbeth most likely said this to drive away any thought of him being the murderer. The word "golden" resembles the King’s blood, referring to his social status not only as a King, but as a well liked member of society. The word “blood,” produces a dreadful description of the king’s murder which aids the audience in picturing this horrific murder scene.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, examines the dominance of female figure and emotion which can lead to committing motives less than an honourable. The woman in the play leads Macbeth into committing all the immoral acts leading to many deaths. The witches plant the seed of deception and manipulate Macbeth undertaking all the malicious deeds. Macbeth ambition to become king is driven by Lady Macbeth who persuades him to murder King Duncan by attacking his manhood. His fear of losing his position as king, impulses him to destroy any obstacles in his way including his best friend.
The image of blood plays an important role throughout Macbeth. Blood represents the murders that Macbeth had committed, the guilt that went along with the murders and the pain that it brought on him during his downfall. The soldier describes the violence and bloodshed, in the war between Scotland and Norway, "Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds." (I. ii. 43) foreshadows the violent nature of the play filled with murder, guilt and pain. Blood in the murder of King Duncan also plays a major role because it represents Macbeth's guilt as well as his shame for slaying King Duncan. Macbeth observes his blood stained hands and remarks "As they had seen me with these hangman's hands." (II. ii. 28) This reveals his guilt and shame because he is comparing his hands to those of an executioner's. After the murder, Macbeth refuses to return back to the bed chamber of Kind Duncan to smear the blood on the sleeping guards, because he is afraid that the blood will incriminate him further. Lady Macbeth smearing the blood onto the guards represents them trying to rub their guilt off onto the guard. "I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal, for it must seem their guilt" (II. ii. 73) but this proves to be ineffective because Macbeth ends up murdering t...
In the play Lady Macbeth is shown as ruthless, indifferent and cold as she contradicts to the image frequently seen in the 11th century women. Frequently she is seen more “masculine” than her husband as she portrays the correct definition of manhood prominently defined by others. Not only does she provide the plan, she shows power, courage and maybe a little bit of violence. Lady Macbeth directly introduces and plans the murder of Duncan as well as persuades the cowardly Macbeth with her sweet words. Macbeth is mesmerized by the insatiable desires of Lady Macbeth as he is hallucinated that the murder of Duncan will portray “true manhood”. At the start of the novel, the audience is given the image that Macbeth is a loyal, brave soldier who serves only for the prosperity of Scotland and King Duncan. He is automatically announced Thane of Cawdor after his valiant fight with Norway and is exalted by ...
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, several evil deeds are committed out of sheer ambition. While the protagonist, Macbeth ultimately pays the price for these sinful acts, one can argue that Macbeth was manipulated into doing many, if not all, of the crimes. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth is easily influenced to commit all of the immoral acts in this play. At first Macbeth becomes influenced by the three witches and their leader Hecate due to his naive and trusting nature, Macbeth gets controlled by his cunning wife because of his fragile masculinity, and Macduff unintentionally leads him to crime by provoking him.
John F. Kennedy once referred to the obtaining of power through immoral behavior in his inaugural speech: "…In the past, those who have sought power by riding on the back of the tiger have ended up inside.” He did so to explore the idea of power and greed resulting in corruption. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare makes many references to such consequences in correlation with this form of corruption because these consequences affect the plot and major characters in the play. These consequences are displayed in a few ways: first, Macbeth becomes corrupt in his quest for power due to misguided decisions; secondly, Lady Macbeth displays corruption through her ambitious and unethical behavior; finally, Scotland suffers because of the corruption of citizens of the country. Everything leading to these consequences is made clear through the immoral acts committed by Macbeth and his wife which are provoked by their ambition and pursuit of power.
The overall theme of which should be noted in this play is; extreme power is devastating to those concerned. What is observed throughout the tragedy is that Macbeth faces an array of problems stemming from the gain of power getting to his head. Starting from the moment he encounters the three witches who give him and Banquo predictions of the future, it fuels the fire of ambition for power through violence. The thought of power provoked Macbeth to kill King Duncan, Banquo and Macduff’s family. This all consequently made himself and his wife go crazy.