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Preface to shakespeare analysis
The portrayal of women in literature
The portrayal of women in literature
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Individuals around the globe believe that a success of a man is in the hands of the woman related with his life mainly in the form of a wife. And there’s the saying “behind every successful man stands a woman”. In the play of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the protagonist Macbeth rose to power as King of Scotland and then derived on a disastrous collapse as an outcome of outside influence by other characters and forces. His wife Lady Macbeth is solely in charge for Macbeth’s determination, and rise to power, which circuitously led him to his own deadly behavior in his hard work to take and retain control of the throne in Scotland. Lady Macbeth is responsible in three ways; giving false hope to her husband to become king, hearing her husband is fortuned to be king, also indirectly led to Macbeth’s homicidal behavior established on her incapacity that she developed near the close of her life.
Besides Lady Macbeth having the ambition for the plot to take the throne, she also gave Macbeth false hope that their plan would be successful without fault if it was completed correctly. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth, basically forced Macbeth into direct involvement. After Lady Macbeth had effectively persuaded Macbeth by insulting his manhood, she continued to explain and gave him false hopefulness that they would succeed. More specifically, as stated: “We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we’ll not fail…what cannot you and I perform upon the unguarded Duncan?” (Shakespeare 1.7. 60-71). Therefore, Lady Macbeth successfully gave Macbeth false hope previous to their accomplishment of their plot that they would succeed without any problems. For instance, she actually said confidently that they will not fail, and explaining th...
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...e was going to be King, Lady Macbeth’s greed overcame her, like a strong wave from a tsunami. Moreover, in the first place, Macbeth did not want do anything and he was significantly lacking in the ambition, and therefore, it was her idea and execution that led to him actually murdering King Duncan in the first place. Once he had been suborned into killing Duncan, Macbeth was left to rule, and had to kill some others in order to attempt to maintain his place as a crown. Thus, when Lady Macbeth began to become ill, Macbeth was left to fend for himself. Thus, it was Lady Macbeth’s rise and fall from power over Macbeth that indirectly led to his rise and fall from power in Scotland. Thus, Macbeth never actually had any control over his own destiny.
Works Cited
http://joep123.edublogs.org/2013/02/08/lady-macbeth-the-direct-ad-indirect-cause-of-macbeths-downfall/
Throughout the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth continuously makes bad choices and the consequences of these decisions catch up to Macbeth and result in his mental deterioration, however with Macbeth’s almost infant feel for ambition this makes him susceptible to manipulation, which then grows into an insatiable appetite for power. The acts of this, with the manipulation from outsiders, causes his blind ambition, his false sense of security and then finally his guilt, which all contribute to his derangement. Some will argue that all the choices made by Macbeth were continuously his own, that he had these opportunities as a man to put his foot down and say no, and be able to draw the line where things should come to an end, the fault of a mental deterioration was not there, that from the beginning Macbeth was an evil man who had a twisted way of achieving things. Macbeth’s ambition is to remain king for as long as possible, and he will kill anybody who stops this from happening. Macbeth feels as if he was given a childless rule, and that his legacy will not continue on in fear his rule will be taken away by someone outside his family.
The underlying cause of Macbeth’s fate was his own actions and ambitions. He possesses his own free-will and kills King Duncan despite the deed being so cruel and nothing forcing his hand (Doc C). Lady Macbeth has no power over his actions. She may only influence thoughts and opinions. The Weïrd Sisters too, while highly convincing to him, have no physical power over Macbeth’s actions. After acquiring his title of Thane of Cawdor, he recognizes that if these predictions were absolute, then “chance may crown [him],/Without [his] stir.” (Doc A). If the predictions were truly ultimate, then action would not be required. However, because he still felt the need to ensure his position as king, he tempts fate and pays the price. There was no outer force controlling Macbeth’s actions and he is fully
Lady Macbeth shows more ambition then Macbeth does in terms of gaining power regarding kingship. When Macbeth finds out about the witches’ predictions and the first two coming true “Glamis, and thane of Cawdor: The greatest is behind” (1.3.124-125) meaning that he got a taste of power, making him thane of Glamis and thane of Cawdor making him more ambitious for the power to become king. Proving that he will do anything for power he decides that he is going to murder Duncan. When Lady Macbeth receives the letter from Macbeth learning about the witches’ predictions and that two of them came true already, she becomes very ambitious towards gaining power. She doesn’t believe that Macbeth will murder Duncan, so she makes a plan for the murder.
Lady Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female characters. As she is Macbeth’s wife, her role is significant in his rise and fall from royalty. She is Macbeth’s other half. During Shakespearean times, women were regarded as weak insignificant beings that were there to give birth and look beautiful. They were not thought to be as intelligent or equal to men. Though in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the highest influence in Macbeth’s life. Her role was so large; in fact, that she uses her position to gain power, stay strong enough to support her unstable Lord, and fails miserably while their relationship falls apart. Everything about Lady Macbeth is enough to create the perfect villain because of her ability to manipulate everyone around her. It appears that even she can’t resist the perfect crime.
Macbeth’s blind ambition leads him to surrender to his dark desires that taunt him throughout the play. Macbeth is frequently tempted to result to the wrongful methods that seem to roam inside of him. In the beginning however Macbeth tends to ignore these desires and depends on chance. He declares “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 3, 143-144). This declaration by Macbeth shows his initial stand, which is reliant on fate and sin free. Yet as Macbeth’s character develops throughout the play, he moves farther from his dependence on chance and closer to his darker desires. Eventually his blind ambition to become king overp...
Within the pages of the play Macbeth, one can find the five distinct literary devices of symbolism, allusion, alliteration, personification, and repetition used throughout. These three devices aid the story along and help develop the plot and characters each in a different way.
The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, explores the darkest corners of the human psyche. It artfully takes its audience to a place that allows one to examine what a human being is truly capable of once tempted by the allure of power. In the play, Scottish noble Macbeth and his wife inevitably fall prey to their own self corruption. Initiated by prophesies made by three mysterious witches, the Macbeths set their sights on the throne. When the curtains open on the plot to murder King Duncan, Lady Macbeth is the driving force. Her criminal mind and desire for ruthlessness have led many a critic to define her as evil. Closer examination, however, reveals that she is a multifaceted character; other sides to her persona include: genuine good will towards her husband, coy manipulation, and feminine tenderness.
...ophecies and the active role of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth cannot be considered solely responsible for his wrongdoing and ultimate tragic end. Although it was his tragic flaw that ultimately destroys him, Macbeth is deceived, tricked, and persuaded throughout the play into believing and doing a variety of things that would lead to this destruction. Because the witches spark Macbeth’s interest through the hopeful prophecies of his future, his natural reaction is to have more curiosity and to want to fulfill the prophecies by any means. Lady Macbeth’s blunt advice to just perform the action without thought is what numbs Macbeth to realizing how his ambition is affecting him. Finally, Macbeth does eventually face his death due to his tragic flaw, but his downfall involved many others who should also claim some responsibility regarding this downfall and Macbeth’s tragic end.
Shakespeare shows that when Macbeth is given opportunity to acquire more power, thane of Cawdor, then he becomes greedy, forcing him to make decision of killing king Duncan that he would not normally make. There was a big hand of her wife, Lady Macbeth, behind killing king Duncan. When Macbeth asks Lady Macbeth, “If we should fail-” (1.7.58). Then Lady
Macbeth was most certainly brought down by his own ambition, but it was also his ambition that was revealed and exploited by the Three Witches ("Luann W, 2008"). Macbeth was never even forced into even of these actions that occurred ("Luann W, 2008"). He always had the option of free will to choose his own actions. In the story the three witches basically gave him a desire that was already in him to start with ("Luann W, 2008"). In the First Act, Scene 3, when the witches delivered their prophecies towards Macbeth, Macbeth's response gave away that becoming the king was something he secretly had hoped for. When he said in his first aside, " The greatest is behind", he meant that the next step was to become king ("Luann W, 2008"). He also said that two truths were told which clearly showed that the thought of becoming king most definitely crossed his mind and even the thought of trying to murder King Duncan surfaced in his head ("Luann W, 2008"). All of this shows that he is acting off of ambition rather than fate itself ("Luann W, 2008"). The three witches power were completely limited, they do not have control of of a person's actions ("Luann W, 2008"). Macbeth soon realized he had a true weakness which was his vaulting ambition which he soon recognizes it ("Luann W, 2008"). But though Macbeth knew he had a flaw, instead of trying to control it he does not which shows it was his own ambition that causes the downfall ("Luann W,
The prophecy of the witches was that Macbeth would become king. Nowhere did the witches predict the following events in Macbeth's life before he reached the throne. The prophecy of Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor had already come true, enhancing Macbeth's aspirations of becoming king. The second prophecy would certainly come true for him, but he has to choose how to get there. Macbeth was destined for the throne, however obtaining that destiny was completely up to him. Killing Duncan seemed to be the only way for him, even though he knew it was wrong. Macbeth was well-aware his actions were immoral and unjust, and he continued with the murders anyway. He contemplates the reasons for why it would be wrong to kill Duncan, showing he could have ...
Once she had received news of the three Witches' prophecies, Lady Macbeth was intent that she would eventually become Queen of Scotland. Initially, Macbeth had decided not to murder Duncan, 'We will proceed no further in this business'; (Macbeth, Act I, scene vii). However, Lady Macbeth was determined to continue with her original plan. She repeatedly insulted Macbeth's manhood, provoking him to continue with the plans to murder Duncan, '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'; (Lady Macbeth, Act I, scene vii). She appealed to Macbeth's 'vaulting ambition'; so as to intensify the effect that the Witches' prophecies had on him, 'Great Glamis! Worthy Cawdor! Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter'; (Lady Macbeth, Act I, scene v). She convinced Macbeth that the rewards of the murder would far outweigh the drawbacks and clear their conscience, 'A little water clears us of this deed'; (Lady Macbeth, Act I, scene ii). Although Macbeth dearly loved his king, Lady Macbeth yielded such a persuasive power over him that he was convinced the Witches' prophecies of Duncan's murder and the resulting kingship were his rightful fate.
Shakespeare manipulates the audience’s opinions on whom was most responsible for the death of Duncan in many ways, I feel he does this to create question and surprise to the play. Shakespeare leads you along one path of thought, to then divert your thoughts onto another. Many people have different opinions and interpretations to this play; A.C Bradley once wrote “Lady Macbeth is the most commanding and perhaps the most awe-inspiring figure that Shakespeare drew. Sharing, as we have seen, certain traits with her husband she is at once clearly distinguished from him by an inflexibility of will, which appears to hold imagination, feeling, and conscience completely in check. To her the prophecy of things that will be becomes instantaneously the determination that they shall be:
Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is presented as an evil, cold-hearted person, but, when it comes to the actual act of committing the murder, Lady Macbeth does not commit murder. In the end, it is Macbeth who plunges the knife into Duncan’s heart. Lady Macbeth had planned the whole murder, brought the daggers, and even intoxicated the guards, but it is Macbeth who ultimately killed Duncan. After the crime is committed, it is Macbeth who collapses and Lady Macbeth who smears blood on the guards to complete their plan. From Lady Macbeth actions, it is readily apparent that she is physiologically and physical capable of committing murder, but why does she not? Lady Macbeth is unable to kill Duncan because of the 1600s notion of how a woman should be, Macbeth, being a man should, be the one to seek power, and Lady Macbeth’s feminine qualities forbid her to commit such a crime.