Macbeth Although it may seem that Macbeth is emotionally stable throughout the beginning of the play, Shakespeare makes Macbeth go through situations that confuse him and make him angry. Being influenced by Lady Macbeth and the witches, as a result he viciously and cruelly murders Duncan, who was an innocent man. Following that, Macbeth orders murder’s to kill Banquo who was another innocent man. They both were loyal men, loyal to Scotland and loyal to Macbeth. But, because of that Macbeth faces confusion, regret, and never ending torment. By examining Shakespeare’s use of blood one can determine that blood shed from Duncan and Banquo’s murders cause Macbeth emotional damage because of the fact that they were innocently killed. Duncan was …show more content…
Even though Macbeth didn’t commit the murder himself, that’s what is the most significant about it. “So he is mine and in such bloody distance that every minute of his being thrusts against my nearest of life; though I could with barefaced power sweep him from sight” (Shakespeare, 73) Banquo’s descendants were prophesized by the witches that they would inherit Macbeth’s thrown. It’s to the point now that Macbeth is so emotionally messed up he’s killing everything and anything that just so happens to step in his path or even remotely threatens him. Macbeth doesn’t commit these murders all on his own. Lady Macbeth helped him with Duncan, even though Macbeth was the one who physically killed him Lady Macbeth played a big role in that. But, this time Macbeth hired secret murder’s to pursue the deed. Macbeth can’t emotionally handle the horror of looking into his face and murdering him, he can’t handle the blood, or the regret that follows another murder. But when the murder of Banquo has happened Macbeth begins hallucinating again, showing for the second time how these innocent murders make him emotionally unstable, “Blood hath been shed ere now, I’tholden time…ay, and since too, murders have been performed too terrible for the ear… and there an end but now rise again with twenty mortal murders on their crowns and push us from our stools this is more strange than the murder is” (Shakespeare, 85) Macbeth sees the
In the play Macbeth, Macbeth and Banquo are good friends, and even after hearing the prophecy told by the Three Witches, they only laugh and joke about their individual prophecies. It is only after Macbeth kills Duncan that the thought of having to kill Banquo in order to secure his place and his bloodline on the throne ever crosses his mind. After killing Duncan, Macbeth was initially struck by grief and remorse, but when it came to killing Banquo, Macbeth had shown no real signs of guilt for it (there is even speculation that the third, secret hitman was actually Macbeth himself!). After killing Banquo, Macbeth had visions of Banquo as a ghost, but no real signs of grief as he had with Duncan. He seems more troubled over the fact that the murderers he had hired hadn’t been able to kill Banquo’s son, Fleance.
“Was the hope [Macbeth’s ambition] drunk. . . And wakes it now, to look so green and pale . . . Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard/ To be the same in thine own act and valor/ As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that ” (1, 7, 35-41). Lady Macbeth would never be able to commit the crime herself because of the role she believes she has as a woman, but she knew her husband could. To make sure he follows through she makes fun of him and uses peer pressure by saying he is just afraid to actually kill Duncan. The blood that will be shed is a symbol of loyalty Macbeth to Lady Macbeth. Even when he killed Macdonwald, it was to prove his loyalty to king Duncan, but Lady Macbeth still does not trust her husband enough. Macbeth starts to act delusional when he sees the ghost of Banquo, but Lady Macbeth tries to reassure the guests to simply ignore him. “Sit worthy friends. My lord is often thus/ And hath been from his youth. Pray you, keep seat . . . If you much note him/ You shall offend him and extend his passion” (3, 4, 53- 57). Lady Macbeth feels more embarrassed by her husband instead of trying to be there for
After Macbeth committed a dreadful crime at the start of the play, he realizes that by killing even more people he can get what he wants whenever he wants. Macbeth reaches a point where he is too busy fulfilling his own ambitions that he was not fulfilling his obligations as king. “Those he command move only in command, / Nothing in love…” (5.2.22-23). His obsession with power caused him to murder his good friend Banquo, and Banquo’s son. Macbeth’s out of control ambition has caused him to lose his emotion. He progressively sta...
The play identifies how Macbeth faced guilt after he killed his King, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable.” Macbeth is hallucinating a dagger in which was caused by the guilt he feels after killing King Duncan. Macbeth also states, “I’ll go no more.I am afraid to think what I have done. Look on ’t again I dare not…..What hands are here? Ha, they pluck out mine eyes.Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine….” Macbeth’s emotions are everywhere. After he killed King Duncan he immediately regretted it as he explains that no water, not even Neptune’s ocean can wash the blood and guilt off his hands. Macbeth not only faced guilt but he also losses his sanity. Macbeth hallucinates Banquo’s ghost making him scared and on edge, “[to the Ghost]. What man dare, I dare. Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, The armed rhinoceros, or th’ Hyrcan tiger; Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble. Or be alive again And dare me to the desert with thy sword. If
God and the devil have a strong presence in “Macbeth”. The characters look to heaven and hell as places they have to try and strive towards or steer away from. God and the devil seem to be the driving and obvious force behind the happenings of the tragedy. They mold the characters into what they are. Even when things do not end up in their favor. The witches have an impact on the whole theme of the play. They are the ones who start to label Macbeth with titles, which he does not yet posses. The witches predict the future, which is to Macbeth’s liking. “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis. All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor. All hail Macbeth, that’s shalt be king hereafter!”(1.3.46-48). Macbeth at this time was only the Thane of Glamis and he knew he had aspirations of becoming king, but wanted to know how these witches would know to say such things. “…tell me more…But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives, a prosperous gentleman, and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief.” (1.3.68-73) The witches at this point fade out and leave Banquo and Macbeth to speculate. Ross and Angus enter and tell Macbeth that that the Thane of Cawdor is going to be executed and that Macbeth will take on the title. In Macbeth’s mind this means that he is going to be king. Since the witches were able to predict that he was going to be Thane of Cawdor then he believes he is definitely going to be king. “What can the devil speak true?”(1.3.107) This is Banquo’s reaction after Ross “hails” Macbeth with his new title, Thane of Cawdor. Banquo starts to wonder if what the witches proclaimed, would actually come true. If what they said did come true for him it would mean his children would be kings. This quote is sort of strange to me. I am taking it as he refers to the witches as the devil. I don’t know how he came to this conclusion; maybe it is just how he is trained to think towards anyone that can see the future. The witches planted this thought into Macbeth’s head about being king. Since the Cawdor topic came true with ease he believes that him becoming king will also be an easy transition.
Macbeth is captured by his wild ambition at the opening of the play when he and Banqou meet the three witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he is the Thane of Cawdor, and later will be king. They tell Banquo that his sons will be kings. Instantly Macbeth started to fantasize how he is going to be king. He understood that in order for him to become king he has to kill Duncan. “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”(Act 1 Sc. 3, p.23). He was pondering about the assassination until the moment that he could no longer control his emotions. “To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself and falls on the other-“(Act 1 Sc. 7, p.41). Because of his “vaulting ambition” he killed Duncan.
Shakespeare employs the powerful symbol of blood to augment the tragic nature of Macbeth, while dually adding dramatic effect to the play. Blood’s recurring symbolism throughout the play constantly reminds the audience of the Macbeth’s irreconcilable guilt. Blood’s symbolism in the murder of Duncan transforms an act of treachery into a ghastly betrayal. The symbolic appearance of blood throughout the intermediate parts of the play maintains the depth of the Macbeth’s unforgiveable guilt. The use of blood as a symbol in the conclusion of the play asserts the perpetuity of the Macbeth’s guilt. Shakespeare’s inclusion of blood as a major symbol in Macbeth creates a compelling tragedy in which the audience is able to comprehend the magnitude of the Macbeth’s irreconcilable guilt.
Macbeth’s provocative or violent actions on the challenges placed before him cause him to build an effect of downfall and dismay throughout the play. Originally, Macbeth handles his challenges in different ways and manners and is constantly changing his procedure. From handling situations carefully to not caring, Macbeth and his violence resulted in guilt and selfishness which he had to overcome. By the end of the play, Macbeth had become a selfish, greedy king and the challenges as well as experiences he encountered shaped him into who he is. He was shaped by the guilt of killing Banquo and Duncan, just to become powerful and a king. For example, in Act 3 Scene 4, Macbeth faces adversity when his mind creates a ghost of Banquo, who he just found out was killed. In Macbeth, the uprising of adversity was often handled in various manners. By dealing with his own challenges, Macbeth transforms his handling of adversity from being cautious to thoughtless, which reflected his character and the transformation he portrayed throughout the
To begin, we'll address Macbeth's subsequent murders, following Duncan's. For Macbeth, he's just killed the King of Scotland and blamed it on his son. It worked and he became King, however he remembered the witches' prophecies. They claimed that Macbeth would be King, but it would be Banquo's children that would follow after him. This made Macbeth very angry, he risked everything to become King and after him none of his family will follow.
William Shakespeare uses many techniques to liven the intensity, and the excitement in his plays. In the play of MacBeth, Shakespeare uses blood imagery to add a sense of fear, guilt, shame, insanity, and anger to the atmosphere. The use of blood imagery allows the audience to vision in their minds the crime scene where Duncan was murdered, as well as the scene where Lady MacBeth tries to cope with the consequences of her actions. The talk and sight of blood has a great impact on the strength and depth of the use of blood imagery.
But he wont, so she insults him more, and goes to do it herself. Lady Macbeth was the initial force to make this entire play roll along. Macbeth was comfortable where he was, he was curious about the fact the witches stated, but he didn't want to force it to work. After Lady Macbeth's help in the killing of Duncan, the only influence she has upon him is to keep everything to themselves. At the party after Banquo's murder, Lady Macbeth tries to calm Macbeth, and tell him that what he sees is only an illusion, and not to worry about Banquo, and to shut up because his fit may show everyone that they are the murders of Duncan and Banquo.
Firstly, the protagonist of the play is a monster due to the murders he committed. Throughout the play, we encounter that he has killed Duncan for power, Banquo and more. To prove this, Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth “That I may pour my spirits in thine ear,/ And chastise with the valour of my tongue/ All that impedes thee from the golden round” which indicates that his
Macbeth is a true Shakespearian tragedy, in which mast murders take place, in order for one man and women to take the throne and become king and queen. It starts with Duncan’s murder, which is done because Macbeth did not want to see Duncan’s son next in line for the throne and the only way to prevent that was by eliminating Duncan. The nest murder was that of Banquo. Banquo is a friend of Macbeth and his murder is un-predictable. Macbeth may have feared that if he did not kill Banquo, Banquo would kill him in order to gain a position power seeing that the witch’s just informed both Macbeth and Banquo that Macbeth will be the next King of Scotland and Banquo will never have the chance to hold the throne. Once Banquo is out of the way, Macbeth turns his attention to his real target, King MaCduff. Although at first hesitant about killing MaCduff, Macbeth chooses to murder MaCduff, a man who Macbeth himself said was a good man and a fine leader. The last murder is of MaCduff’s family. Macbeth can not take any chances and must kill any associated with the former king (King MaCduff). The murder of MaCduff’s wife and son is the most vicious crime of them all because for one we see the killing on stage and number two a child is murdered, the most vicious and horrific thing one can show. Macbeth murders for personal gain and has no regrets or else he would not have continued his mass slaughtering. Macbeth is responsible for these murders because he commits them himself, without any assistance, he kills everyone out of necessity, and because all these acts were done out of free will.
This is first shown in Act 2 where Macbeth begins his monologue, “I see thee still, And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, Which was not so before. There’s no such thing.” (II I 46-48) Before reuniting with Lady Macbeth, Macbeth sees a bloody dagger floating in the air. The dagger appears shortly before Macbeth proceeds to murder Duncan. The dagger in this instance is used to symbolize Macbeth’s hesitation as at this point in time, Macbeth could have chosen to turn back and abandon his pursuit to becoming king. Macbeth chose to persist however, and the blood covering the dagger was a prognostication of the crime he would soon commit. Shakespeare imparts here that emotions like hesitation are meant to be pondered over, not skimmed over. Macbeth took reckless actions, and his abysmal situation reflects that. Macbeth’s inner-conflict is further shown in Act 4 where he states, “For the blood-boltered Banquo smiles upon me And points at them for his.” (IV I 129-130) Macbeth is visibly shaken by the sudden appearance of a bloody Banquo. The appearance of Banquo is due to the three witches summoning him by ceremony, much to Macbeth’s dismay. Macbeth’s petrified reaction tells of how he is still constantly tormented by his murdering of Banquo. Macbeth begins to shout and command for Banquo to disappear. The summoning of Banquo continues to tell of Macbeth’s human nature
Macbeth did not have to kill all of the innocent people he had murdered. Instead, he could have turned himself in and said he killed the king. Like most people he didn’t want to die, so he decided to keep this as a secret and tried to live life as best as he could. In order for this to stay a secret he needed to murder a few people. He first had murderers go out and kill Banquo and Fleance. The murderers were able to kill Banquo, but Fleance escaped. Macbeth felt better that Banquo was dead since Banquo knew about the witches rules in order for Macbeth to become king. Therefore, Banquo would assume that Macbeth murdered the king. Now, there would be no assumption from Banquo that Macbeth killed Duncan. Macbeth wanted Fleance to be dead, since the witches said that Banquo’s sons will become the next kings after Macbeth, but Macbeth wanted his family to be the royal family forever. The next person that gets murdered by Macbeth is: Macduff’s family. Macbeth had people hired to kill Macduff’s family. This led Macduff and ten thousand soldiers from England to defeat Macbeth and ultimately kill the villain. All of the murders and the stress that people had to go through because of Macbeth made him a