The Not So Great Macbeth In “Macbeth” written by William Shakespeare the main character Macbeth is a general in the Scottish army. After Macbeth and Banquo another general return from battle they encounter three witches the witches give Macbeth and Banquo three Prophesies. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that Banquo will produce a line of Scottish kings although Banquo will never become king himself. King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has been named thane of Cawdor. The previous thane betrayed Scotland by fighting for the Norwegians and Duncan has condemned him to death. Macbeth’s wife Lady Macbeth hears about king Duncan coming to their castle and try’s to persuade Macbeth to murder king Duncan. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black out; the next morning they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless, as they will remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of supernatural visions, including a vision of a bloody dagger. Macbeth now becomes king and Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo on his way to a royal feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes but kills Banquo. Lady Macbeth later kills herself while sleepwalking and Macbeth becomes depressed. Later Macduff comes with his army and beheads Macbeth. And Malcolm becomes king. In Shakespeare’s ... ... middle of paper ... ...control his fate is when he goes to the witches and they show him a line of kings who all resemble Banquo, suggesting that Banquo’s sons will indeed be kings. “ Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo. Down! Thy crown does sear mine eyeballs” (pg. 386) So Macbeths sends murders to go kill Bonquo and his son Fleance But they only kill Bonquo and his son Fleance escapes which means that he could still possibly become king and that angered Macbeth so that showed that Macbeth wouldnt let anything mess up his fate and that he is trying to control every aspect of it and that he would go to great lengths to control it. So all of those examples were of how Macbeth tried to seal his fate and just how far he would go to Control it but in the end like all things it came to an end and Macbeth really couldn’t do much at that point to control his fate and was beheaded by Macduff.
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 fears his rule will be taken away by someone outside his family. Macbeth states, “For Banquo’s issue, I have filed my mind; For them the gracious Duncan have I murder 'd, put rancors in the vessel of my peace only for them, and mine eternal jewel given to the common enemy of man. to make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings”(Shakspeare 3.1.64-69). Macbeth had committed murder, poisoned his own mind, and destroyed his soul only to end up benefiting Banquo’s heirs. Macbeth, being the paranoid character that he is, feels threatened by this and orders both Banquo and Fleance to be killed. In Act 3, Macbeth says that, “and mine eternal jewel, given to the common enemy of man, to make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!” (Shakspeare 3.1.67-9). Seeing this choice of act, leads Macbeth’s blind ambition doing all he can, in order to remain where he is, even if he is ‘blind’ to what it going on and fails to truly understand the concept of his choices in killing Banquo, which only further deteriorates his mind because of his thirst for power, causing
Macbeth had been encountered by three witches that told him and Banquo of their future, banquo's son is to be king someday, and macbeth was to become king and take Duncan's place only if he were to kill him. Initially macbeth wanted to let things play out on their own, but his wife Lady Macbeth was fixated on the crown and wanted end Duncan's life after he came to greet Macbeth at their home. He was to be a kind host but in the end take Duncan's crown by framing the drunken guards and playing
that he is compelled to commit so many acts of violence by his lust for power.
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.
During the Elizabethan Age, Shakespeare was the greatest author and drama writer. He wrote such masterpiece tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Othello. Perhaps the greatest of them all is the story of Macbeth. In the play, the first Thane of Cawdor, Duncan, Banquo, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth all are considered to have flaws which to a greater or lesser degree is the cause of their downfall.
Shakespeare uses many forms of imagery. The forms of imagery that are used in his play 'Macbeth’ include the forms of clothing, darkness, and blood. Each image is an important symbol in the play.Clothing, is a major and crucial part of ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare purposely used it to reveal Macbeth’s true character. It is also used to show how Macbeth is seeking to hide his “disgraceful self” from his eyes and from others. Clothes in the play aren’t really clothes; the clothes that are being talked about are statures. Throughout the play Macbeth is represented symbolically as a person that wears robes that are not belonging to him, a person with an undeserved dignity.
When looking back on the recent decades or even last week, it is not difficult to find a Macbeth-like figure in mainstream American culture. In this it is meant that these individuals experience a downfall in an attempt to gain power. One such figure was former President Richard Nixon.
Macbeth is easily blinded by his passions. Initially, Macbeth is seemed as a brave soldier and general who defeats the Viking intruders and the traitor Macdonwald. After the battle ends, Macbeth and Banquo meet three witches. When Macbeth was told by the three witches that he will gain power and ultimately become the king, he was shocked that his ambition to become the king is being exposed, as if the witches were able to read his mind. Immediately after the witches vanish, Macbeth is given the title “Thane of Cawdor” which proves the witches first prophecy. After the execution of Macdonwald, Duncan’s son Malcolm is given the title “Prince of Cumberland” which Malcolm will become the next king shall Duncan perishes. Macbeth becomes furious
“I understand why the Sofria refuse to have anything to do with the mad creatures,” Tizbeth declared. Tizbeth ambled around the space looking at the jars of slimy pieces of animal parts next to dried flowers. She picked up the remnants of the white and orange candle that Syd used in the transformation spell. Then Tizbeth added, as if she just thought of it, although the thought had been rattling around in her mind since she first mounted, “Donovan likes them.”
Macbeth learns that he will become the king. “All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis! /All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee thane of Cawdor! / All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” (Macbeth 1.3.7.48-50). Macbeth is driven into action by the temptation of becoming king. “Macbeth chooses to force the pace, to bend time to his will, by his decision, man of action ever, to take the life of the king” (Tonkin). He takes direct action and plots the murder of Duncan the king. He is able to follow through with his plans. “I have done the deed” (Macbeth 2.2.14). After this, he becomes power hungry and fears that the second part of the witches’ prophecy will come true. The witches address Banquo saying, “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none”. Naturally, Macbeth cannot let this happen, he has Banquo and most of his family successfully killed; there is only one survivor, Fleance. When this life altering prophecy is told to Macbeth, he is not indecisive when taking action; he is not afraid to get his hands
Macbeth’s ambition to obtain power convinces him that it is his destiny to become King of Scotland, and that he should do anything to fulfill that destiny, even if it involves him committing tremendously immoral acts such as murder. After Macbeth realizes that the witches may actually speak the truth due to the second prophecy (Thane of Cawdor) becoming true, he begins to have an eerie and frightening thought of him killing his king and friend, Duncan, in order to ac...
Seeking for greater power, Macbeth murders Duncan who is the king at that time, which caused a great pain for the kingdom. Duncan is a great king, but just not a so good human reader. He has never been aware of Macbeth. He never have a thought that Macbeth might be a danger, who is willing to kill him for the throne. On the other hand, Macbeth does not accept to be just a general for the rest of his life. He wants a greater power, higher position than he is having at the time. Because of the suggests from the trio witches: “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.2.49-50), Macbeth has the thinking about killing the king to take his throne. By calling Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor, they give Macbeth the thought that being a king is his fate. On the night Macbeth is planning to murder Duncan, the Old Man see many strange events: “And Duncan’s horses (a thing most strange and certain),/ Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, /Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out/ Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would/ Make war with mankind” (2.4.14-18). It creates a scary feeling in the kingdom, and means something bad will happen to the kingdom.
The William Shakespeare play ³Macbeth,² depicted Macbeth as a loyal subject of King Duncan and his homeland of Scotland. Duncan was so pleased with Macbeth¹s actions during the war that he was named the Thane of Cawdor, a title not far from king. Soon after, he wrote a letter to his wife that would make his future blood stained. Macbeth told her about the possibility of becoming king and in-turn hooked her on the idea. She then did everything in her power to give Macbeth the crown of Scotland.
As a virgin to The Shakespeare Theatre, I was pleasantly surprised when my recent encounter with Macbeth was a stimulating and enjoyable excursion. The two and a half hours I had predicted to be less than enchanting were filled with symbolism, and an overall attitude towards the Shakespeare classic that I had never contemplated before.
In the fatal end Macbeth was called upon to pay the price for all his wrong doings. Macbeth could have been a great man. Macbeth was Thane of Cawdor and Glamis and most importantly respected by the King. Macbeth had a loving wife and a dear friend in Banquo and all this he yearned for, when he realized little to late he had it already. Had it not been for his belief in his own charmed existence and his belief in supernatural prophecies, if he had listened to Banquo’s warning, he would have never risked everything he loved, everything he had, and his own life for that crown. If Macbeth did not have so much pride in his own ambition he would have been a happy and respected man.