Macbeth and Othello are both stories of desire. Macbeth is the story of a man who desires to be king and Othello is the story of one who desires to seek revenge on a man whom he suspects to have slept with his wife. In both plays the desire of a single character leads to death and destruction, which are two common themes often associated with tragedies. Two emotions that cause damage are desire and, in the case of Othello, lust. These emotions lead to irrational and selfish power, which in turn causes Macbeth and Iago to make unjustified and irrational actions. While being similar in respect to their ability to perform evil through their means of influence and power, Macbeth’s unjustified actions actually cause more damage than Iago’s. Macbeth …show more content…
Both Iago and Macbeth do what they do because of certain emotions. Iago feels anger against Othello for giving Cassio a position that Iago wanted and he feels jealousy towards Cassio for having that position and he is also jealous of Othello for having supposedly slept with his wife. Macbeth is pushed by greed and desire for kingship. Although Macbeth’s main emotions are less elaborate than Iago’s, they still push him to make illogical decision. Because both Iago and Macbeth were fueled by emotions rather than reason, they both are equally irresponsible and irrational. The main difference in this respect between Iago and Macbeth is that Macbeth, unlike Iago, does not push himself to do what he does. It is actually Lady Macbeth who makes him murder King Duncan. Macbeth knows more than anyone else why he should not murder Duncan, yet he does it anyway because Lady Macbeth feels that he is “too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness” (I.5.17) she has to man up and make Macbeth do what is necessary. It is for this reason that Macbeth is less justified in his actions than Iago. While Iago does what Iago wants, Macbeth performs selfishly at the bidding of his wife rather than at his own
When I think about the question which epic character do you think you relate most to, Macbeth or Beowulf? The first thing that goes through my head is whether I am a person who likes to bring people down in order to climb the ladder to my success, or if I will work on getting there by bettering myself and not having to bring people down with me. Macbeth and Beowulf may be similar, they had goals and ambitions. They wanted to reach their goals so desperately, but what separated these gentlemen was the way they would reach their success. Like Beowulf, I had monsters to fight as well; we both used our ambition and bravery to fight these monsters all on our own. We did not need to bring people down to fight these monsters or to prove anything, we fought these monsters to prove a point to only one person, and that was ourselves. Many people did not believe in us but we still fought anyway.
This essay earned a 89/100. it was a lot of work considering the lines from macbeth for textual support.
A quote which really defines Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s ambition regarding power is “Power does not corrupt men; fools; however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power” George Bernard Shaw. Lady Macbeth is more ambitious in terms of gaining power then Macbeth is and that Lady Macbeth will do almost anything to gain power, even evil things that she normally wouldn’t do. This is shown when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth learn about the witches’ predictions, then roles in the plans to murder king Duncan in order to gain power and then finally after the murder, Macbeth doesn’t want to finish the plan making Lady Macbeth angry and causing a chance they might get caught and gain no power at all.
Although most of Shakespeare's play " Mac Beth " is not historically accurate, MacBeth's life is the subject of the tragedy. There are characters and events that are based on true events and real persons but, Shakespeare's "MacBeth " differs significantly from history's MacBeth. The first example of a difference between the Shakespeare "MacBeth" and historical Mac Beth is the death of Duncan I. In Shakespeare's " Mac Beth ", Duncan I was murdered by MacBeth.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare examines the significance of time in the form of one’s present and future through the unfortunate character of Macbeth. Macbeth is an ordinary soldier, loyal to the king as the Thane of Glamis, prior to his meeting with the three witches. The three witches reveal to Macbeth his future “All, hail Macbeth! Hail to three, Thane of Cawdor! All, hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3. 49-50). For the most part one does not know his or her own future. Our futures are uncertain and predictions like these do not always come true, yet Shakespeare has set Macbeth up in a way that he knows these predictions will come true. Not long after the witches state their claims
Macbeth struggles with a guilty conscience and a fear of Banquo's retribution. After contrasting Macbeth with these three characters, it is easy to see how Shakespeare created within his hero a growing fear of both the physical and moral consequences of murder.
Among the greatest gifts that the renaissance produced was the eloquent and incredible Shakespearean plays. Written mostly in the 1590s these plays have been performed and admired countless times; entertaining mass audiences by providing interesting tales that explore the depth of human insights and the different universal themes. Among the many Shakespearean plays Macbeth, written in 1606, stands out with its short composition but multiple themes. This tragedy narrates the tale of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s quest to grasp ultimate power by ignoring their morals and succumbing to their dark desires, which ultimately leads to their downfall. This tragic play portrays the desires, needs, and temptations that accompany ambition in men and women. However the ambition in Macbeth is blind, it does not abide to the morals, but it allows space for dark actions as means necessary for accomplishment. Blind ambition serves as the main driving force that drives Macbeth to subdue to his dark desires, defy his noble behavior, and ultimately his downfall.
When anything in life first begins to grow, it begins as a seed. The seed of a plant, or of a thought, or of an idea. Once created, the seed can do one of two things. It can grow, or it can die. Shakespeare’s play Macbeth tells the story of an innocent man who is turned evil from the seeds planted by those around him, allowing readers to explore the repetition of growth and how it is implied through characters. Throughout the play, growth is used to display Macbeth and Banquo as foil characters, show Banquo’s “goodness” through positive imagery, and to show Macbeth’s “evilness” through negative growth imagery. By analyzing Shakespeare’s use of growth imagery, critical readers recognize that growth enforces the idea that growth triumphs evil, embodied in the actions and consequences of Macbeth and Banquo as they make one of two crucial choices? Good, or evil?
They both shared many qualities when it came to ambition taking over them. They both manipulated there way into power, and they also believed they were invincible. Hitler killed millions of innocent people and Macbeth killed the people that loved him. In Macbeth, Shakespeare shows us the side effects of ambition. It’s like a drug that makes you believe you are indestructible and makes you act irrational. For example it says, "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o 'erleaps itself, and falls on th 'other" (Macbeth). The quote illustrate Macbeth desire for more power, his ambition drives his reasoning for killing the king. This is how he justifies it to himself. He 's saying he as nothing against the king its just part of the prophecy and his desire to gain more power. Lady Macbeth is also to blame when it comes to the death of King Duncan, she was the one that questioned Macbeths manhood and pressured him into murdering Duncan. It says, “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o ' th ' milk of human kindness. To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without. The illness should attend it” (Macbeth). As you can see Macbeth has the ambition to get more power its just he is questioned if he would really have the nerve to kill
away if she isnt grateful for the food that she has recieved. Katharine eventually thanks her husband, but still does not get enough food to satisfy her hunger. Katharine is then told by his “loving” husband to get ready in her best outfit to meet his dad at his house. The tailor then enters the scene, and Petruchio sends the man to get a bigger cap than he initially brought for his wife. Katharine told Petruchio that she is able to talk for herself, and shows more of a dominant role in the relationship that was not initially expressed before. Then, although Katherine thinks highly of the dress, Petruchio fires the tailor after complaining about the dress that he made. Petruchio decides that it is what’s on the inside that counts, and announces
In the two plays both Macbeth and Othello have weaknesses that bring them astray this deteriorates their personality. Macbeth’s weakness is portrayed through his ambition, whereas Othello’s weakness is portrayed through his jealousy.
Who would have thought that being a king would be so difficult? Oedipus and Macbeth are both kings that seem to have a lot of trouble staying king. The similarities do not stop there. Macbeth and Oedipus are similar in a variety of ways. The interesting thing is that they are also very different but still suffer the same fate. These similarities and differences teach us a valuable lesson about power.
There was a common saying, “Behind every great man there's a great woman”. The men, Macbeth and Winston Smith in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and George Orwell’s 1984 may not be considered as the “great man” however, both Lady Macbeth and Julia are good examples that can be presented as the “great woman” behind the men. Both Lady Macbeth and Julia do an excellent job of pretending to be someone who they are not, they are not only affecting the men in their lives to rethink their previous position but also have a bad ending accompanied with physical and psychological issues.
In the play Othello and the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the main characters in both plays as warriors. Both characters in each of their plays, had constant outside voices seeping into their minds which ultimately contributed to the fate of both Othello and Macbeth. The witches in the play Macbeth had more of an effect of Macbeth’s actions then Iago had on Othello’s actions in the play Othello. Each character had a lot of pressure on them throughout the play however the witches influence on Macbeth resulted in more destruction than Iago’s influence on Othello.
Both Hamlet and Macbeth fight for what they want and are eventually killed in the end. Something they have in common is that their journeys both start with something evil and spiritual. For example, Hamlet sees the ghost of his father in the beginning and Macbeth runs into the witches and their prophecies. These apparitions lead both of them to their horrible fates. They each have a relationship with supernatural occurrences. Macbeth acts upon the prophecies the witches give him and make him greedy for power. Hamlet feels obligated to follow the instructions of his father’s ghost. Hamlet and Macbeth both make choices that cause them to do evil and horrible things. They each end up killing a king. Macbeth seems to lose his morals because of the supernatural apparitions. Furthermore, both of their consciousness makes them second guess themselves and crazy. Their decisions make them and everyone around them mad. Lady Macbeth, for example, becomes mad because of her conscience and the evil deeds of her husband.