At the end of an awful, long day one might wonder what went wrong – was the universe against them? Was it a mistake on their part? What have they lost as a result? Such a scenario can be exemplified in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. First, outside forces influence Macbeth into making decisions he would not ordinarily make. Second, Macbeth’s transition from a revered leader to a detested king can be symbolized by the absence of nobility loyalty, and peace. Third, Macbeth’s overwhelming pride and thirst for power leads him to commit a series of crimes. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare highlights the role of a Tragic Hero signifying that not staying true to ones core values will ultimately lead to their downfall.
At the beginning of the play “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, Macbeth illuminates a heroic character. Conversely, when the reader is introduced to Lady Macbeth one learns Macbeth may not be the heroic person he may seem. The way Lady Macbeth describes Macbeth it appears as if he is a coward and not as heroic as previously learned in the house. As the play proceeds, Macbeth is no longer a heroic character and Lady Macbeth is not as ruthlessness as she was at the start of the play. In the play, “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” written by William Shakespeare two of the main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, experience a role reversal.
“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” Once said by Marc Twain, this is an excellent example of the human nature that is represented in the play: Macbeth. Shakespeare demonstrates that all humans have the ability to do good or evil. This is strongly affected by the choices that we make and by our actions. These decisions will have a huge impact on our lives and the lives of others. Throughout the play, Macbeth experienced a huge decent into evil and violent action that lead him to his death. With his thirst for power and constant paranoia, he killed his way to seize the crown. By killing Duncan at the beginning of the play, Macbeth soon realizes that nothing can be undone and his blood stained hands can never be cleaned. “A little water clears us of this deed” (2.3 70) said by Lady Macbeth after Duncan’s murder. But what they don’t know is that this is the start of the bloody massacre that will change who they are and how they think forever. Macbeth has multiple hallucinations and his paranoia leads him to hire murderers to kill Macduff’s family out of anger and spite. Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and gets to the point of madness when she kills herself at the end of the play. This demonstrates that our actions can be affected by human nature and our thoughts can be easily corrupted by temptation.
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, as one would expect, 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 multiple methods of characterization in order to highlight the protagonist’s transformation from hero to villain as a result of the influences of the people surrounding him, namely the Weïrd sisters, Lady Macbeth, and Macduff, including extensive foreshadowing, a general shift in tone corresponding with turning points in the plot, and the inclusion of long-winded soliloquies to mark a critical change in Macbeth’s character.
Unquestionably, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show how ambition mixed with greed and unchecked morales can ultimately lead to one’s downfall. Shakespeare excellently portrays this through the main characters in his play Macbeth. By using two protagonists, Shakespeare allows the reader to view two different ways the meaning of the play can have an effect on people. Undeniably, the Macbeth’s greed based off ambition is thoroughly shown throughout
Shakespeare draws an amazing psychological portrait of a man who became a villain by means of ambition, desire and an imbalance of good and evil. “Macbeth” is a play composed of the disintegration of a noble man’s world. The play begins by offering the audience Macbeth, a war hero, with a high regard from Duncan, the king of Scotland. By the end of the play Macbeth transforms into a universally despised man without a place in the social community. Shakespeare draws an amazing face of a man made to be a villain by ambition, desire and an imbalance of good and evil.
The story of Macbeth written by the infamous William Shakespeare is an excellent storyline known and taught as a great piece of literature. Even after the creation of this tale almost 400 years ago, this wonderful written work is still admired and known all over the world. It is an adventure of a noble and truthful hero who is overcome by the lust for power and by greed. His aroused hunger for authority and supremacy leads to him losing his path and turning to the way of malice. The play progresses, as this character plays deeper and deeper into Satan’s evil hand. Through the growth of this malevolent character, the story grows and develops as well. Each and every move this character makes affects someone directly or indirectly, making him the centrepiece of the play. Shakespeare uses many literary devices in the play including dramatic ones to contribute to the advancement of the story and its characters. One of the most used dramatic devices in this play is dramatic irony. This mechanism predicts the events that are to occur by giving the audience a foresight of something that has not yet taken place but will eventually be fulfilled. Through the audience’s knowledge of trials and tribulations for different characters, the story becomes even more mysterious and interesting. Dramatic irony is used so often in the play that almost every major event like war and death is foretold, the theme is further developed and the audience is kept in suspense and anxiety. Such events occurred when Macbeth was crowned Thane of Cawdor, when regicide was committed against King Duncan by Macbeth, when the porter of Macbeth’s home pretended to be the gatekeeper of hell and also when Macbeth ordered his servants to kill Macduff. These parts not only grow the characters’ roles but also make the story even more exciting and leave the audience hungry for more action. They also introduce us to the themes of the play such as the deadly strength of unbridled ambition and even differences between brutal tyranny and fair monarchy. Every one of these scenes is significant because they develop Macbeth’s character and expand the storyline and theme of the play.
Throughout the story of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth acts in a much despised manner: he becomes a murderer and later, when king of Scotland, a tyrant. Many who have read or seen the play are left wondering how a man’s whole approach to life can change; how Macbeth turned from the hero whom all adored, to the tyrant who was hated and ended up a lone man, fighting for his life.
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.
“When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man.” Through his archaic language, Shakespeare conveys the concepts of masculinity and guilty conscience as Macbeth conflicts with himself. These key ideas within Macbeth are both provocative and intriguing as the tragedy connects with the audience, making it even more captivating and engaging. Despite being composed in the 1600’s, Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, is still relevant today due to its durable and relatable themes as there is a peculiar intimacy between the play and its audience. As stated in the audio, the well-crafted piece connects to its readers as Shakespeare dramatizes Macbeths horror in prospect of killing Duncan.
Shakespeare carefully examines the principles of conventional morality through figures such as Banquo and Macbeth, drawing powerful parallels between Macbeths descent into madness and the distortion of his beliefs. More so than in any other Shakespearean tragedy, Macbeth acts as an analysis of the evolution of self. This can be seen in the lines “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on the' other.” In this soliloquy, Macbeth proves himself capable of both compassion and sensibility, freely admitting that it is ambition alone, that drives him to kill Duncan. This suggests that even at this early stage, Macbeths irrational thoughts and desires compromised his noble ideals.
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the author tries to show the true nature of man by using the play’s main character, Macbeth, as an example. He is overly ambitious, courageous, and self-doubting. Throughout the play, Shakespeare displays these characteristics to the audience through Macbeth to show the true nature of man. At the end of the play, these characteristics ultimately lead to Macbeth’s downfall.
In the Scottish tragedy Macbeth, Shakespeare explores the fluid nature of good and evil. Macbeth starts out as a heroic soldier, but ends as an evil murderer. When the weird sisters proclaim that one day Macbeth will become King, Macbeth’s ability to understand clearly, becomes completely clouded over. Macbeth’s blind ambition and his wife’s ruthlessness, effectively overtake Macbeth’s moral compass. His altered perception of reality leads not only to Macbeth’s self-destruction, but causes the destruction of Lady Macbeth, as well. Thus, the ambiguous nature of good and evil first conveyed by the witches, lays the groundwork for the future transformation of Macbeth.
Shakespeare introduces Macbeth as a brave, honorable, and loyal man, instead of portraying him as a character with inherent vices. He presents a descent of an honorable man to a ‘butcher’ to the audience, which pleads for great sympathy. Macbeth is hailed as ‘noble,’ ‘valiant’ and ‘brave’ for his display of valor in the war against Norway. Fearless Macbeth ‘unseam[s]’ the traitorous Macdonwald ‘from the nave to th' chops.’ This bloody visualization of Macbeth splitting Macdonwald from the belly to the jawbone reinforces his bravery and loyalty to the king and Scotland. Macbeth’s great military feat grants him honorable titles and displays him as a loyal subject. Thus, the initial impression of Macbeth is highly admirable to the audience. If Shakespeare had depicted Macbeth as a character with innate evil characteristics, the audience would feel no pity for him, through course of the play, as it would be expected for such man to commit such deeds. However, it is the transition of an honorable man to a wicked one that begs for sympathy.
Long regarded as a profound vision of evil, Macbeth differs from the other Shakespearean tragedies in that the evil is transferred from the villain to the hero; not that Shakespeare's tragic figures are ever conceived in the simplistic tones of black and white. Although the Elizabethans took liberties with Aristotle's dictum that tragedy does not deal with the overthrow of a bad character, it would be accepted by them that concentration on the evil deed itself does not constitute tragedy. The overtly political theme is clear, and the play has been called the greatest of the moralities. It is Shakespeare's ability to identify, or to portray with an understanding which engages our sympathy, a villainous hero who is not merely a villain which perhaps constitutes the major critical question. (132-33)