The play Macbeth is a dramatic tale that includes many different themes. The themes in this play include love, supernatural, and tragedy. The supernatural elements are in particular, a major aspect of this play. Three main elements of the supernatural in this play are witches, apparitions, and hallucinations. The projected outcomes given through visions in this play did not always match up with the actual events that occurred. Although the main characters use these visions to try and achieve their goals, it often did not occur the way that they wanted.
The witches’ prophecies provide the foundations for Macbeth’s actions. They first convince Macbeth they are indeed magical and their words hold meaning. During their first encounter, one of the witches greets Macbeth with the second prophecy of “All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor.” [Act 1 Scene 3 Line 51] The witches seemingly predict Macbeth’s advancement to thane of Cawdor before it happens, therefore he begins to believe the witches and fall under their temptation. The next witch introduces the idea of kingship to Macbeth. She says to Macbeth the third prophecy of, “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter. “ [Act 1 Scene 3 Line 52] This witch plants the original idea of potentially being king to Macbeth and provides to him a motive for all his future actions. At that point in time Macbeth had no intention of becoming King. The final which causes Macbeth to become wary of Banquo. She informs Banquo of the final prophecy, “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.” [Act 1 Scene 3 Line 69] Macbeth overhears and sends murderers to claim Banquo and his son’s lives, in order to protect his throne and remain king of Scotland. Without the witches, Macbeth would have no motive for eliminating Banquo and his son. It is evident that the witches’ influence runs throughout the play and is a crucial part to Macbeth’s deeds.
The witches in Macbeth play a huge role in the story but many people argue about what that role is. Some say that the witches planted the desire to be king into Macbeth's head, while others say that he already had the desire and the witches were just confirming what he already wanted to do. The witches may have set off the murderous desires in Macbeth or they may have just given him confirmation to set in motion an idea that he already had. Depending on how spiritual the reader is and if they believe in the supernatural they could say that the witches are just telling Macbeth what any man would want to hear, that he will be king, or they could be looking into his heart and seeing his desires and telling him what he wants to hear, or they could just purely be seeing the future and telling him what will be. But that is not the witches only role in the play, aside from telling Macbeth his future they also help him out later in the play by showing him apparitions and giving him more insight into his future and what to beware of.
Pursuing this further, late into the play, Macduff travels to England to consult with Malcolm, the rightful heir to the throne, about overthrowing Macbeth, the new tyrannous king of Scotland. Macduff had ...
Shakespeare’s famous play, Macbeth, is the story of a man named Macbeth who kills the present king of Scotland, Duncan, in order to become the king, and the aftermath of that event. Within Macbeth, very few female characters are introduced. The first female characters are the three witches, who prophecize the whole play, and then Lady Macbeth, the wife of Macbeth and the most prominent female character in the play. Both the witches and Lady Macbeth lead Macbeth to kill Duncan, but once he does, they find themselves unable to live with the consequences. Shakespeare purposefully wrote the main female characters in this derogatory way so as to assert the idea that women cause ambition, ambition is bad, and therefore, women are bad, but then shows that once the women cause bad things to happen, they can’t deal with them. In Macbeth, Shakespeare documents his belief that women are not only deceitful and cause deadly ambition, but cannot withstand the ramifications of that ambition once they come to pass.
Responsibility, Confidence, and Courage
In everyday society, there are movie stars, celebrities, athletes and powerful figureheads that are looked up to. In every generation people experience downfalls due to individual choices, personal conflict, and family problems, . These people develop a tragic flaw that usually leads to their ruin. In William Shakespeare's, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth, the main character develops a tragic flaw, and ends up experiencing a downfall.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a story of a great Scottish warrior hero who falls prey to the temptations of his own aspirations to be king. Macbeth hastily silences everyone who even has a chance of standing in the way of his power. Initially, he is able to overcome his scruples to obtain the position he desires, but soon the uneasiness catches up to he and his wife in shocking manners. The dagger scene, banquet scene, and sleepwalking scene are all related because they demonstrate the guilt that both the Macbeths experience after the murders of Duncan, Banquo, and the Macduffs and how their actions are driving them to their inevitable deaths.
Shakespeare wrote timeless literature pieces, set in the Elizabethan era. His stories relate to conventional views of Renaissance culture while maintaining a realistic, morphable view concerning issues, such as gender roles. By questioning and challenging Elizabethan hierarchy, stories such as Macbeth posed a threat to stereotypes and ideology while respecting values. Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, explores femininity, gender stereotypes, and allusions to Greek mythology to investigate relativity between cruel behavior and masculinity. (NEED ONE SENTENCE)
Macbeth, a masterpiece of William Shakespeare, depicts the tragedy of the titular hero, Macbeth. The relationship between him and his wife, Lady Macbeth changes drastically throughout the story and while doing this, helps to illuminate the key idea of Macbeth’s rise and fall as a king.
This essay earned a 89/100. it was a lot of work considering the lines from macbeth for textual support.