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Macbeth - character analysis
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Humans are constantly making decisions that could positively or negatively impact their lives. In Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, Macbeth is faced with a difficult decision and his wife heavily impacts the outcome. Macbeth kills the king and it negatively impacts his mental state causing him to continue to make unjustifiable decisions. Because Lady Macbeth influences many of Macbeth's decisions, she can be blamed for his mental deterioration throughout the play.
The play begins with the three witches giving an equivocation to Macbeth and Banquo. As the witches told Macbeth in the equivocation, he is crowned the Thane of Cawdor. After becoming the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth feels that the witches equivocations are powerful and usually come true, leading to thoughts of killing the king. Macbeth states that he thinks he could eventually become king just like the witches predict because they have already told him two other things that were true by saying "Two truths are told, as happy prolongs to the swelling act of the imperial theme." (I. III. Lines 130-132). Macbeth sends a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her about the equivocations and how he is the " future king".
Lady Macbeth is responsible for Macbeth's mental deterioration throughout the book because she is constantly questioning his manhood. After Lady Macbeth heard of the equivocations and Macbeth's potential to become king she immediately began planning how he would kill King Duncan. She calls to the spirits saying, " Come, you spirits that tend my moral thoughts, unsex me here!"(I. V. Lines 42-45). She knew that Macbeth was kind hearted and didn't think that he would find the courage to kill the king so called out to the spirits to ask them to make her more man...
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...ers influence decisions that people know are morally wrong can negatively impact their mental state. Thought this play Macbeth knew that committing the murder was wrong but after his wife consistently challenged his manhood he decided to kill Duncan. Letting Lady Macbeth influence his decision negatively impacted his mental state causing him to make unjustifiable choices.
Although Macbeth agreed to kill the king, he was initially against it. When Lady Macbeth began to insult his manhood he took it personally, and felt he needed to prove to her that he was a man. Having his manhood insulted drove him insane, and letting the thought of being invincible caused him to become mentally impaired. His mental state at the end of the book can be blamed on the negative influence that his wife had on him causing him to make the choices he did, which made drove him insane.
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.
In the beginning of the drama Lady Macbeth dramatically influenced Macbeth. Macbeth would always second guess his decisions. Macbeth seemed inclined to listen to his wife. Throughout the story, Lady Macbeth would find a way to twist Macbeth’s emotion. “When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you where, you would be so much more the man” (Shakespeare, Macbeth 1.7 49-51). In this quote Lady Macbeth was insulting Macbeth, she was telling her husband he wasn’t man enough to kill King Duncan. “I have given suck, and know how tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling…dashed its brains out, had I sworn as you have done to this” (Shakespeare, Macbeth 1.7 54-58). Lady Macbeth brings up the baby that they had together. The baby died long before she says this. She explains that she would “smash” its head for him. This became the turning point in Macbeth’s decision to kill Duncan. At first he was hesitant to kill him, but Lady Macbeth angered and then saddened Macbeth. She twisted his emotions and provided the motivation Macbeth needed to kill Duncan. This is the start to Macbeth reign as King.
Macbeth begins to defer from his original character when he learns of the witches’ prophecies, which leads him to believe he is fated to be king and to pursue that “destiny.” After the witches make the prophecies, he merely views the thought of himself becoming king as something that “Stands not within the prospect of belief” (I. iii. 77). Macbeth’s disbelief of their claim of him obtaining the crown reveals how Macbeth does not trust the witches’ words and has no true ambition to become king. However soon after Banquo’s and Macbeth’s encounter with the witches, a messenger of the King greets him with the title of Thane of Cawdor as well as the title of Thane of Glamis as the witches had also done. These two titles are seen from Macbeth as “Two truths [that] are told/ As happy prologues to the swelling act/ Of the imperial theme” (I. iii. 140-142). Having one of the two prophecies become reality validates the witches’ words and makes Macbeth take their words seriously to be the truth, sparking his desire for power to fulfill the last prophecy. He now believes that what the witches have made it his destiny to become king, and it is his duty to fulfill it. Through Duncan and Macbeth’s dialogue, Macbeth hears about Malcolm b...
Mental illness is a serious societal problem today, and has been for a long time. People who have a mental illness often end up hurting other people mentally and physically. When someone has a mental illness, they might also end up hurting themselves or cause suffering for themselves. Also, it is sometimes difficult for them to understand things clearly, and they might be unsure of things in their life. All of these problems are shown in a person who is mentally ill. Macbeth hears his prophecy from three witches which starts his mental illness, along with Lady Macbeth pressuring him to kill the king. After Macbeth kills the king, things start to get out of hand; Macbeth gets over ambitious and wants to kill more people, whatever it takes. Lady Macbeth asks for her womanhood to be taken so that she will not feel guilty, but ends up feeling more guilty than ever. Subsequently, she kills herself to escape the guilt, and causes her husband great pain. These tragic examples and many others show that mental illness is a societal issue, and it is shown throughout the story of Macbeth.
The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare illustrates two seemingly ordinary nobles whose lives intertwine in a whirlwind of power, corruption, and the supernatural resulting in their descents. They were both so wrapped up in this greedy world they failed to consider the consequences of their actions more realistically. Macbeth started to succumb to the belief that deeds "must be acted ere they be scann’d,"(III.IV.140). Lady Macbeth in particular loses sight of rationality from the play’s beginning to end. She feigns an image of ruthlessness and believes she can handle the intrusion of unearthly evil in her mind and soul. She presents a seemingly stable foundation of control in which she clutches with an iron fist.
Macbeth’s downfall was partially caused by Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth’s influences made Macbeth feel like less of a man. One part of the play shows Macbeth being denounced as by his wife as she essentially calls him a coward for not wanting to kill Duncan. She says, “Woulds’t thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’, like the poor cat i’the adage.” (Act 1, Scene 7, Line 40-45) ...
Everyone is influenced by other people, including leaders or authority, to make the wrong decisions at some point in their lives. In the play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is responsible for the evil doings of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is responsible for this by using his love for her to persuade him into killing King Duncan. Because Macbeth loved and trusted his wife, he was vulnerable to her opinions and suggestions. We also know that she is responsible for these heartless things because she has so much guilt that she commits suicide. Macbeth would never have done any of those horrible things if it were not for the murder of King Duncan, which was forced on by Lady Macbeth.
Shakespeare's Macbeth is a heroic tragedy that shows the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition for those who seek power for its own sake. These psychological effects can be seen in many characters, but are most clearly displayed in the main character Macbeth. Macbeth begins the play as a noble and stable character- a loyal husband, subject, and the Thane of Glamis. However, as Macbeth receives more power and becomes more ambitious, he loses his mental stability. Macbeth’s mind deteriorates from his strong ambition, his guilt of killing, and the paranoia that comes of power. You can also see Macbeth’s mind deteriorate by examining his visions, attitude toward fear and death, and how
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as a courageous and well-respected soldier who is loyal to his King and country. He is described by one of King Duncan's men as “brave Macbeth.” As a result of his bravery on the battlefield, Duncan decides to reward Macbeth with a new title – the Thane of Cawdor – as the last Thane was proven to be disloyal; however, Macbeth is unaware of this, and this creates tension in the audience. The opening scenes show that Macbeth is a powerful and courageous man who is not naturally inclined to do wrong, but is capable of being brutal when he needs to be. The meeting with the witches also reveal that Macbeth is a very ambitious man who craves an even greater power. There is contrast between Macbeth’s and Banquo’s attitudes towards the witches’ prophecies. Whilst Banquo dismissed the witches’ prophecies, Macbeth was “rapt withal.” This shows that Macbeth has thought about being “king hereafter.” Macbeth's first soliloquy reveals his deep desire to be king. His soliloquy also reveals that he would do anything to achieve it.
In the play “Macbeth” the most important character that had to do with Macbeth going completely insane was his wife Lady Macbeth. As said by Johnson in a character analysis of Lady Macbeth, “Lady Macbeth fulfills her role among the nobility and is well respected like Macbeth. King Duncan calls her "our honored hostess."” (Johnson) She is a very loving woman to her husband, and she is also very concerned with his success. Lady Macbeth was the first to suggest the idea to kill King Duncan so her husband has a better chance at being king without getting overthrown. Lady Macbeth is very manipulating in her words to get him to kill the king. “After this, it's really all over. Lady Macbeth wins. Macbeth asks what happens if they fail, and his wife pooh-poohs the very idea. She will get King Duncan's two attendants drunk, so they won't be able to protect him, and th...
No person can go through life without facing the consequences of their actions. In fact, it is generally believed that every action must have a reaction. This belief is exhibited in Shakespeare's Macbeth. In the play, Lady Macbeth was the push that led her husband, Macbeth, to kill their king. This murder causes a series of consequences for both characters, which ultimately lead to their downfall. These character’s actions led to negative repercussions, but the audience will have a hard time pitying them, as their tragedy appears to be self inflicted. This idea of a self wrought tragedy is apparent in Lady Macbeth, as she is initially seen as a brutal woman because she convinced Macbeth to kill king Duncan, and aided in the murder. However, her guilt eventually lead to her own demise.
We start to see Lady Macbeth’s actions have a huge impact on Macbeth’s character as he transforms from a decent being to an overly bitter creature. The cause of his alteration is due to the fact that Lady Macbeth is constantly excreting heartless information into his mind. "Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art in desire?" (I;vii;39-41) "And, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man." (I;vii;50-51) Lady Macbeth uses these quotes to push her husband beyond limits and is therefore responsible for his dramatic change in attitude. She is constantly feeding his thoughts with negative comments and later on Macbeth realizes that he has another side to him. As he moves along to discover the concealed side of him, Macbeth falls in love with himself and begins to be drawn towards his evil desires. Because Lady Macbeth was the main cause of his new hidden discovery, she is fully responsible for opening up the door and letting the darkness in. This results in Macbeth committing both murders.
Lady Macbeth negatively guides lots of Macbeth’s behaviour, for instance, when Macbeth hesitates to commit murder, she repeatedly questions his manhood until he feels that he has to do it to prove himself as the man that Lady Macbeth always mentioned; it is also one of the reasons that lead to Macbeth’s downfall, as well as the deaths of the other innocent characters in the text. “[Macbeth does] Like the poor cat i' th' adage? ”(1.7.46) says Lady Macbeth, when Macbeth is hesitating whether kill Duncan or not while he’s in Macbeth’s castle. Lady Macbeth describes Macbeth as a poor cat from old stories to satire Macbeth’s indecision. She degrades Macbeth’s manhood as he doesn’t have the dare to act the way he desires, to pursue the power and glory that he wants. Macbeth replies that he only dares to do what is proper for a man to do. However later in the text, Macbeth’s actions go crazy, he cares his family no more, as well as his friends and subordinates. Lady Macbeth seems to know that she needs to push Macbeth into committing murder, or Macbeth will just let nature take its course. At some points, she wishes that she was not a woman so that she could do the things that man could do by herself, such as the murder, so she won’t see Macbeth lacks in the power of decision and his overtaken by misgivings and fear. In addition, Julia encourages
“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” Once said by Marc Twain, this is an excellent example of the human nature that is represented in the play: Macbeth. Shakespeare demonstrates that all humans have the ability to do good or evil. This is strongly affected by the choices that we make and by our actions. These decisions will have a huge impact on our lives and the lives of others. Throughout the play, Macbeth experienced a huge decent into evil and violent action that lead him to his death. With his thirst for power and constant paranoia, he killed his way to seize the crown. By killing Duncan at the beginning of the play, Macbeth soon realizes that nothing can be undone and his blood stained hands can never be cleaned. “A little water clears us of this deed” (2.3 70) said by Lady Macbeth after Duncan’s murder. But what they don’t know is that this is the start of the bloody massacre that will change who they are and how they think forever. Macbeth has multiple hallucinations and his paranoia leads him to hire murderers to kill Macduff’s family out of anger and spite. Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and gets to the point of madness when she kills herself at the end of the play. This demonstrates that our actions can be affected by human nature and our thoughts can be easily corrupted by temptation.
As Banquo and Macbeth joke about the predictions, Duncan’s messengers interrupt them and tell Macbeth that he is now the Thane of Cawdor, he is no longer laughing about the witches and their predictions. Duncan also announces that his son, Malcolm, will inherit the throne, but his reaction was unexpected. At the same time, Lady Macbeth is at the castle reading a leader from her husband telling her about the witches, she’s willing to do anything to make Macbeth King.