Two characters that have flaws that are the causes of their downfall is Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Lady Macbeth's flaw is that she makes her husband kill king Duncan; she feels guilty after she does this, so she commits sucide. Macbeth's flaw is what leads him to kill; his ambtion and selfishness leads to his death.
Lady Macbeth's flaw is that she convinces Macbeth that he isn't a man unless he goes through with the murder of Duncan. She threatens his manhood by saying "when you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more that what you were, you would be so much more the man" (act 1, scene VII, l 49-51). After Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan, she feels guilty and says "here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand" (act 5, scene 1, l 35-36). Lady Macbeth becomes mentally ill; she kills herself because she feels so guilt.
Macbeth's flaw is that he feels the need to prove his manhood, which eventually leads to his downfall. Macbeth was not secure in his manhood. So he feels the need to prove hinself to Lady Macbeth. After he proves he is a man by killing Duncan, he thinks he has alot of power to do whatever he wants. After Macbeth commits the crime, he feels that his soul can never be cleansed, no matter what he does. He said "They pluck out mine own eyes, will all great neptunes ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red" (act II, scene III, l 58-62). This shows that he really doesn't want to kill Duncan, but he does it in order to prove himself to Lady Macbeth, and to become the king. By the end he has ne fear, and has not only killed Duncan but also many other people such as Siward, Banquo and Macduff's family. Macbeth proves that he can be a man by killing, but in the end he can not believe that he went through with all that. All that he did eventually leads to the death of his love, Lady Macbeth, which is the original reason he feels the need to prove himself.
Although many have argued that Macbeth's flaw was "over-ambition", this author would have to disagree. Macbeth's pride ultimately was what killed him. His pride was what brought him to power as the witches prophesied. It fed his determination, and finally, in Act V, Macbeth's final lines show this pride in full-blook at its ugliest:
The play Othello was written in 1604 during the Elizabethan era. Othello, the moor, enjoyed success in combat, which gained him a reputation as one of Venice’s most prominent Generals. He married the lovely Desdemona, the daughter of Brabantio, a Venetian Senator. Othello, despite his blackness, is a noble leader and Cassio his Lieutenant. Iago, serves as Othello’s ensign- an officer of low rank. Iago thinks he is worthy of a better title and resents both Othello and Cassio for their position. Iago was intrigued by Othello’s decision to appoint Cassio since he believed he had the qualities and experiences needed for the position despite having the “three great ones of the city” advocate in his favor. (1.1.9). Iago is threatened by both Othello
Implicitly targeting Othello’s doubts about marrying Desdemona and insecurities about her actions with infidelity, Iago eventually impacts Othello enough that the General himself confides in Iago about his own wife. Earlier in the play, ‘honest Iago’ needs to first gain Othello’s confidence and he does so by expressing his loyalty to Cassio, “I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth/ Than it should do offence to Michael Cassio”, while Othello is present in a conflict (2.3. 203-204). Then, later in the play Iago baits Othello by suggesting that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. Immediately, Othello wants more information; however, Iago nervously responds with, “…vicious in my guess-/ As I confess…” and tries to calm Othello by saying, “My noble lord-” (3.3 46-47, 93). When voicing his devotion to Cassio, Iago immediately begins to play on his false reputation as ‘honest Iago’. He enables Othello, and his fellow characters, to think highly of him and to respect that even when his partner, Cassio, has not been following orders, Iago would even endure physical pain and have his “tongue cut from [his] mouth” and proves his locality (2.3. 203). This leads to when Iago responds to Othello’s queries, about
Macbeth If it hadn’t been for the three witches, Macbeth would never have killed Duncan nor Banquo. Macbeth, also would not have been killed my Macduff. The three witches are the reason that everything happened the way the they did. In the beginning of the play, the three witches prophecized that Macbeth would become Thane of Cawdor adn the King of Scotland.
William Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragedy about revenge through jealousy and deception. Throughout the play, Iago is constantly pitting characters against each other in order to satiate his anger from being denied the promotion to lieutenant that Cassio was granted. As a catalyst for all the conflicts that arise during the play, Iago merely uncovers the underlying insecurities characters such as Othello, a notable war general in Venice, are struggling with. Animal imagery as well as the use of light and dark to differentiate between race is very prominent and is used to drive a wedge between the newlyweds, Othello and Desdemona. Although Othello is a highly accomplished and well respected war hero, the notion that Venetians, including Desdemona, are a superior race, prevents him from ever feeling truly secure in his marriage, ultimately leading to the demise of several people close to him, and finally himself.
The passing of decade’s, centuries and a millennium, man in some aspects, has not changed. With this passing of time, man remains gullible and optimistic. These two characteristics are essential in the development in the play Macbeth. This is evident in that Macbeth’s fate is influenced, by the witches’ predictions.
A classic megalomaniac, Iago suffers from a massive ego, and therefore feels intensely jealous when talent other than his own is recognized. The play opens to Iago announcing that he hates Othello,”Despise me If I do not. Three great ones of the city, In personal suit to make me his lieutenant, Off-capped to him; and by the faith of man, I know my price, I am worth no worse a place” (1,1,8-12). It is Othello’s pride and partiality towards his friends, Iago claims, that caused him to choose Cassio as lieutenant in lieu of his “Ancient”. While Iago is understandably slighted that a man, whose knowledge of war came from a book rather than the field, has been appointed to a position over him, saying that it was Othello’s pride that produced Cassio’s promotion suggests that Iago t...
After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140). Macbeth has just gained more power, and his immediate thought is of how to gain an even higher status as king. He imagines how to kill Duncan, and then is troubled by his thoughts, telling himself it is wrong. This inner struggle between Macbeth’s ambition and his hesitation to kill Duncan is the first sure sign of his mental deterioration. Although Macbeth does kill Duncan, he questions whether or not he should to do so, which is far different from how Macbeth feels about murder later in the play. Macbeth becomes king, and this power leads
Macbeth, the main character in William Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth was not secure in his manhood. This insecurity led to the downfall of Macbeth because he felt the need to prove himself to Lady Macbeth. After he proved himself by killing Duncan, Macbeth became desensitized to killing.
The most apparent flaws, and perhaps the most tragic in Macbeth's character, is his lack of patience and temperance. These shortcomings haunted Macbeth, causing him to let his "overvaulting ambition" rush fate, and hasten his doom. Macbeth could not wait for an appointment to a position of more power. Instead, he murdered the king to take his place.
......Venice, where the story starts, is a place of order, rich and wonderful. Likewise, Othello’s relationship with Iago is shown by the third scene of Act One to be, on the surface, based on honesty, respect, and admiration. He says, as he prepares to lead the ships to war: “honest Iago, my Desdemona must I leave to thee.” (1.3.336) While it may seem naïve for Othello to do such a thing when trouble is obviously brewing and the sense of foreshadowing is nearly tangible, the reader must keep in mind that Venice is an orderly, respected city and the General’s relationship with Iago can be summed up neatly in one sentence spoken by Brabantio:
Iago is a very strategic and clever person, and he despises Othello because Othello appointed Cassio as a lieutenant over Iago. He plans to ruin Othello’s life by ruining his relationship with Desdemona. He starts off by telling Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, of Othello and Desdemona’s secret marriage. Iago goes to
Iago describes Cassio as a “knave is handsome, young, and hath all those requisites in him that folly and green minds look after” (1.2. 267-269). Cassio is shown as a great appointment because as he waited in Sicily and he prayed for the Moor to be safe” (2.136). This shows that Cassio is true and loyal to his general. Iago’s resentment of Cassio’s privileges is seen early on in the play. Iago was certain that Othello would give him the title since he was an experienced soldier. However, when it is awarded to Cassio, he is engraved with rave. In Iago’s Art of War: The "Machiavellian Moment" in Othello by Ken Jacobsen, he examines how Iago viewed Cassio as a “mere “counter-caster” or accountant, an armchair general whose military knowledge comes exclusively from texts, not experience” (498). Iago says this because Cassio was a great “Arithmetician” and was someone that had not been involved in any action on the battlefield. (1.1.20). Iago sees himself inferior in both qualifications and experience. Being promoted to a Lieutenant was viewed in society as admirable and honorable. If Iago would have been awarded the position it would have “verified his estimates of his own abilities and assured him of Othello’s love and admiration” (Parris 70). It would also display his masculinity and he craved