William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is a five-act drama that shows a clear example of how pride, greed, and power can alter a man's actions and personality. The taste of power blinds the story's main character, Macbeth. Sparked by Lady Macbeth, he becomes heartless and cruel as he kills anyone who is a threat to his power due to his paranoia of losing the throne. This fear ironically leads to his downfall and loss of the throne. The theme of the story is deceit and evil and how they affect a man's decisions. Critics pose interesting views concerning the identity and significance of the mysterious third murderer. Henry Irving provides an adamant argument as to how the Attendant could be the third murderer. Irving uses multiple cases in the This man's knowledge of and comfort with the structure and surroundings of the castle shows that he would be a valuable asset to the murderers. Henry Irving brings up many excellent points showing that it is very probable that the Attendant was the third murderer. Michael Saenger believes that like the play Doctor Faustus, the devil is involved with the story as the third murderer. Although this abstract perspective is harder to accept, Saenger provides a useful insight that could sway one's opinion on the subject. He points out that Shakespeare has many incorporations of the devil into the story, such as when he writes, "Macbeth is filled with references and intimations of Satan, hell, and damnation rather than the hell-mouth that appears in Faustus" (Saenger 134). With all these references to the devil, it would make sense that the devil-incarnate has an actual role in play. Saenger also shows why the devil could be the third murderer when he writes, "It is generally agreed that three murderers continue many other patterns of
On a tedious Thursday afternoon, the body of an extrusive racketeer named Fannin was found at Ernie’s Lunchroom by police officers. In testimony of the only witness, the proprietor and the only employee, Ernie has said “The murderer had leaned against the wall while firing at point-blank range”. There is also an imprint of the supposed homicidal murderer on one of the walls and the cash register has just been rung up at $8.75. The police believe that person C is the murderer from the hand position of the utensils/hand positions, the relation among persons B, D, and E, and the identification of the Y and X footprints. The victim of this heinous crime is also controversial and the media are portraying Fannin as a criminal due to his reputation of racketeering.
Perhaps the most fundamental theme of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the inherent corruptibility of even a seemingly good man when ambition turns to greed, and Macbeth himself exemplifies this concept throughout the play. While at the outset he is seen to be loyal to his king, generally considered trustworthy, and displaying numerous other laudable qualities, Macbeth ultimately succumbs to the influence of those around him and becomes unequivocally evil, setting aside all his previously held morals and coming to be driven only by his lust for power. This transition is brought about by a wide variety of factors and plays an integral role in the development of the plot. In his tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare employs
Macbeth, one of the darkest and most powerful plays written by Shakespeare, dramatizes the disastrous psychological effects that occur when evil is chosen to fulfill the ambition for power. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s character loses mental stability and becomes enthralled with the idea of being king. Empowered by the three witches, this situation consumes Macbeth’s consciousness until his mental state becomes deranged. This mental deterioration is evident in what he says and does as he evolves into a tyrannical ruler attempting to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. In an attempt to fulfill his ambition for power, Macbeth displays mental deterioration and becomes increasingly bloodthirsty.
As the three witnesses claim what happened, it proves that all evidence points to James King who is guilty of Alguinaldo Nesbit’s murder. The testimony of Bobo Evans shows how James King was the one that pulled the gun from Mr.Nesbit’s hands and pulled the trigger. Lorelle Henry’s testify shows that she was a witness of James arguing with him at the counter before the gun was pulled out. The testimony of Osvaldo Cruz proves that James had one of the men planning the whole robbery from the starts and every one who was a part of it knew that he was going to be there in the store. Evidence shows that James King did not try to hide the trail of known fact of him being there at the robbery because of the number of people that had known that he
Often times within a jury, participants may be tempted to reach a quick verdict in order to get over with it and go home. So, their conclusions are usually flawed, hasty generalizations with no proper judgement behind them. In the play, all the jurors, besides Juror #8, claimed that a “unique” knife was identified as a murder weapon and the boy, or supposed murderer, was seen with it although he had said he lost it. ...
These two jurors are almost the plain opposite of each other. Juror 3 appears to be a very intolerant man accustomed of forcing his wishes and views upon others. On the other hand, Juror 8 is an honest man who keeps an open mind for both evidence and reasonable doubt. Since these two people are indeed very different, they both have singular thoughts relating to the murder case. Juror 8 is a man who is loyal to justice. In the beginning of the play, he was the only one to vote ‘not guilty’ the first time the twelve men called a vote. Although his personality is reflected on being a quiet, thoughtful, gentle man, he is still a very persistent person who will fight for justice to be done. Juror 8 is a convincing man who presents his arguments well, but can also be seen as manipulative. An example would be when he kept provoking Juror 3 until he finally said “I’m going to kill you" to Juror 8. He did this because he wanted to prove that saying "I’ll kill you" doesn’t necessarily mean that Juror 3 was actually going to kill him. Juror 3 is a totally different character. He is a stubborn man who can be detected with a streak of sad...
Juror number eight is the main protagonist, he also a reserved with his thoughts, yet very strategic with them. He is the defender of the down trodden victim. He has a calm rational approach to everything and he reveals the gaps in the testimonies placed against the defendant. These examples would be; that the old man couldn’t have seen the boy run out of the house, as the old man had a limp and therefore could not make it to the door in time. The old lady across the road could have never saw the boy stab his father, due to she wasn’t wearing her glasses and it was pitch black. Number eight is a man that s...
Guilty or not guilty? This the key question during the murder trial of a young man accused of fatally stabbing his father. The play 12 Angry Men, by Reginald Rose, introduces to the audience twelve members of a jury made up of contrasting men from various backgrounds. One of the most critical elements of the play is how the personalities and experiences of these men influence their initial majority vote of guilty. Three of the most influential members include juror #3, juror #10, and juror #11. Their past experiences and personal bias determine their thoughts and opinions on the case. Therefore, how a person feels inside is reflected in his/her thoughts, opinions, and behavior.
Julian Symons suggests that the murder of the old man is motiveless, and unconnected with passion or profit (212). But in a deeper sense, the murder does have a purpose: to ensure that the narrator does not have to endure the haunting of the Evil Eye any longer. To a madman, this is as good of a reason as any; in the mind of a madman, reason does not always win out over emotion.
In the play, 12 Angry Men, a man’s life is put on the balance of being convicted for the murder of his father. The twelve jurors have heard and seen all the evidence presented to them in court for the past six day. Now, it is up to their decision. Juror eight was the only one out of the other jurors to not immediately conclude that the man is guilty. After a second deliberation between the jurors, excluding Juror eight, one of them joined with Juror eight. The question is who? Who reexamined the information given to him with the rebuttals from Eight. After going through the information given, Juror nine is a candidate for that position, but it is more possible that Juror five had a doubt. Juror five has a similar upbringing to the defendant.
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.
The question remains unsolved, and the play is open to the reader's interpretation, but the fact remains that the Third Murderer is a mysterious character who shows up for one scene and is gone. No other information is known other than sheer speculation. But the fact remains; Mystery and suspense along with the other three elements mentioned make up for a great play. Macbeth truly is a literary masterpiece.
Shakespeare is able to emphasize and enhance his meaning of work by alluding to the commonly known biblical and mythical figures such as Hecate, Beelzebub, Pontius Pilate and Neptune. Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft and wizardry. She is the “mistress of their [the witches] charms” (Act. 3 Scene. 5) and tells Macbeth his prophecy is to fear Macduff. Consequently, Macbeth orders his men to kill Macduff’s family, an additional example of Macbeth ruthlessly killing to further and augment his power. Hecate is the face of the witches and thus their leader in casting spells and controlling fate. When Macbeth tries to ruin the prophesies by trying to kill Banquo’s son, he is trying to overpower magic the witches posses in order to increase his power. Macbeth even returns to the witches a second time desperately seeking reassurance from the forces of evil that his fate is to remain king, but also displays a consciousness of guilt because he needs confirmation that what he has done is ordained thereby justifying his evil acts. Another allusion in Macbeth is Beelzebub, the chief of the devils. When the porter of Macbeth’s castle hears a knock at the door he yells, “Knock, knock, knock! Who’s there, i’ the name of Beelzebub” (Act. 2 Scene. 3). The allusion to the devil reveals that the porter is like a slave to a man who is
Macbeth, who at the beginning of his play’s plot is in a position of some honor and power, obtains position as king of Scotland through secretive foul play, spurred on by some external manipulation as well as personal ambition. “Macbeth’s ambition is unchecked by both moral and legal considerations-he will stop at nothing to get what he desires… Macbeth’s unbridled ambition is the root of the play’s evil because he is willing to throw the world into chaos in order to satisfy his personal desires.” (Thrasher, 92). His rebellion is heinous, but so long undiscovered. His ambition, though present in some degree from the beginning, metastasizes within him through the play as more obstacles to his retention of royal status crop up. “He begins well…but this...
Macbeth is a very complex character whom reflects man's thirst for power through the drastic changes of his personality; thus being one of the slightest reasons in which make this intriguing character, greatest of all Shakespearean’s well-known works.