On January 18th , 1001, Macbeth Findláech was born into the world. He hadn't always been deranged. Surprisingly, he came from a lower income class family. His cousin Duncan Macrinain came to be king by overthrowing King Malcolm II and building an army against him. Macbeth became apart of the royal family and earned his ranking in battle. When Macbeth killed Duncan in secret and was named king by default, he quickly felt overwhelmed by the money and power that came with the title since he had never been fortunate enough to experience such assets. King Macbeth was known to have irrational violence tendencies. Growing up, his mother Gruoch and his father Findláech physically and verbally abused him from early childhood to teenage years. They would tell him he was useless, that he was a burden to them and that nobody would ever love him whilst kicking, punching and slapping him. As a result of these horrific experiences, he developed permanent irritable and aggressive characteristics as well as a cold heart which made it difficult to open up to people. His father was murdered in 1015 but the suspect was never found. There was …show more content…
He became distant from Lady Macbeth by treating her with indifference, no longer seeking her company and lacking the desire to share ideas with her. The pair of them went through a mentally strenuous period after killing the king and he did not think to ask, nor care, how Lady Macbeth was coping with the guilt. Macbeth had already killed a few people in his past, but was very selfish by not realizing that this was all new to his wife. After Duncan's death, Banquo and Macduff's family were also killed by Macbeth. He was extremely self-centered and didn't stop to think for a second how badly his victims and their families would be affected by their deaths. Except for Macduff, Macbeth intentionally killed his family because of Macduff's lack of loyalty, thinking it would enrage
As a result of Malcolm and Donalbain's suspicions resulting in their departure to England and Ireland Macbeth became king: this was the ultimate power that he and Lady Macbeth had as their goal (well, actually it was more of Lady Macbeth's goal), and now he eventually had received it. Nothing was going to take away this ultimate power from Macbeth, and he would do anything to keep it. Macbeth's ruthlessness results in him ordering three murderers to murder his best friend, Banquo. The power of being king has taken over Macbeth's life, and he is a victim of his own greed for power. He is a tyrant. Not only does Macbeth murder Banquo (not directly, of course), he also murders (actually he has people murder) Macbuffs family.
In transition from act two to act three, you can clearly see this. Macbeth had contemplated killing Duncan thoroughly and with very combative internal arguments. However, when he begins to suspect Banquo to become his ruin, he does not hesitate to consider Banquo’s death; even more, Banquo’s son, Fleance. This is a very impulsive decision for Macbeth to make. He does not stop to consider the consequences, but instead immediately hires murderers to kill them both. Macbeth’s impulsiveness is yet another symptom of bipolar disorder. His impulsive decision provides Macbeth with yet another issue he must address, Macduff. Expectedly, his previous impulsive decision cascades into another. Macbeth thinks the only solution to Macduff is killing his entire castle, including Macduff’s family. However, this leads to all of England opposing Macbeth. Had Macbeth thought of the fallout, he could have potentially avoided conflict with England. Nonetheless, Macbeth is brought even closer to his demise through his
This is a change that shows his decisions’ motive being desire for power, not honor. The gruesome homicidal decision drives him to accept murder as a solution and pusts a hit out on two men, causing the death of Banquo and attempted murder of Fleance. These decisions even lead to his own death. Tied to the loss of his emotional well being, Macbeth also loses his sight on the life he used to have and the man he used to be. Not only do these action drive Macbeth to the ground, they greatly affect Lady Macbeth. After expressing her sorrow for the crimes, she commits suicide. Macbeth learns this and rambles of how there is no purpose in life. He
Before the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth was a brave, noble warrior. “For brave Macbeth well he deserves that name… Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chop and fixed his head upon our battlements” (Act I, Scene 2, lines 2). He was one of the last people anyone would expect to kill King Duncan. Shakespeare chooses a noble character such as Macbeth, to emphasize how greed and power can alter a person’s good morals. In Act one we start to see Macbeth’s desire for more power rise. “Stars, hide your fires; Let no light see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hond yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is done to see” (Act I, Scene 4, lines 52- 55). His desire for power is at war with his good morals. He wants to become king but does not want to kill Duncan.
Macbeth is captured by his wild ambition at the opening of the play when he and Banqou meet the three witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he is the Thane of Cawdor, and later will be king. They tell Banquo that his sons will be kings. Instantly Macbeth started to fantasize how he is going to be king. He understood that in order for him to become king he has to kill Duncan. “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”(Act 1 Sc. 3, p.23). He was pondering about the assassination until the moment that he could no longer control his emotions. “To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself and falls on the other-“(Act 1 Sc. 7, p.41). Because of his “vaulting ambition” he killed Duncan.
His complete disregard for anything or anyone that influenced his life in a negative manner, lead him to kill his own men and friends, as a result he spent more time covering his tracks than running a successful kingdom. ‘But Banquo’s is safe?’ ‘.with twenty trenched gashes on his head; The least a dead to nature.’ This quote supports the statement that Macbeth killed his friends, for his own benefits. Macbeth behaved like the king of a chessboard, everything around him was sacrificial as long as it was for the well being of the king....
To begin, we'll address Macbeth's subsequent murders, following Duncan's. For Macbeth, he's just killed the King of Scotland and blamed it on his son. It worked and he became King, however he remembered the witches' prophecies. They claimed that Macbeth would be King, but it would be Banquo's children that would follow after him. This made Macbeth very angry, he risked everything to become King and after him none of his family will follow.
Macbeth shows how greed and ambition can bring down a person as well as others and how the changes of power occur because of loyalty and betrayal. Macbeth is the play’s main unhappy character. The play tells of Macbeth's greedy thirst for power is a dangerous trait.
Furthermore, we also learn about Lady Macduff’s and her kids’ death. To prove this, Macbeth says in Act 4, scene 1 that he wants to kill Macduff and his family for joining Malcolm, the protagonist adds “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, / Seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword / His wife, babes, and all unfortunate swords / That trace him in his line.” Although many might argue that Macbeth was forced to kill Duncan, which caused him to kill everyone else, the protagonist could of have refused to follow his wife’s orders and refrain from the power he wants. From the quotations used, we can now tell that Macbeth is a monster due to the murders he
In the beginning, Macbeth was a General in the Scottish army who was loved by the people and was already a Thane. When he met the weird sisters they prophesied that he would be king one day. “All hail Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter.” Macbeth just wasn’t aware of the things he would have to do for that power. Macbeth’s wife was the first person to pressure him into killing to gain his power. He invited King Duncan to spend the night at his house and his wife devised a plan to kill him. In fact she even says of Duncan “O, never shall sun that morrow see!” She drugs the guards and takes their knives and makes Macbeth stab Duncan in his sleep. After this murder Macbeth begins to kill many others just to maintain the power that he unfairly earned. The weird sisters also tell Macbeth three things that must come true in order for him to die. In the end Macbeth suffered a gruesome death by having his head chopped off. All in all, Macbeth’s power didn’t last because you can’t change fate. In the end it all caught up with him.
Though tentative at first, it is clear the Macbeth desires to be king. As explained by Hunt, his current, newly appointed title is not enough for him as “ the augmentation of titles cannot appease the insatiability of desire, which never rests content with the new title but continues to feel the pain of existential hunger, of mortal incompleteness.” (hunt), leading him to desire for greater power. While the witches mention Macbeth’s possible rise to kingship through the death of Duncan, it is Macbeth who jumps to the possibility of the king’s murder saying, “If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings. (1.3.138-142).” There are many ways that the king could die, yet it is his desire for power leads him to pick the speediest path to the king’s end. Macbeth does in fact end up killing the king, as well as his best friend to protect his claim to power. From there he quickly becomes drunk with his rule and starts to terrorize the land, forgetting his morals and saying that he’ll just do whatever he feels when ever he feels like it. These actions lead to his death along with the many others who starve or bleed under his rule. Because of his desire for power, Macbeth causes the destruction of his soul, the end of his life
Macbeth did not have to kill all of the innocent people he had murdered. Instead, he could have turned himself in and said he killed the king. Like most people he didn’t want to die, so he decided to keep this as a secret and tried to live life as best as he could. In order for this to stay a secret he needed to murder a few people. He first had murderers go out and kill Banquo and Fleance. The murderers were able to kill Banquo, but Fleance escaped. Macbeth felt better that Banquo was dead since Banquo knew about the witches rules in order for Macbeth to become king. Therefore, Banquo would assume that Macbeth murdered the king. Now, there would be no assumption from Banquo that Macbeth killed Duncan. Macbeth wanted Fleance to be dead, since the witches said that Banquo’s sons will become the next kings after Macbeth, but Macbeth wanted his family to be the royal family forever. The next person that gets murdered by Macbeth is: Macduff’s family. Macbeth had people hired to kill Macduff’s family. This led Macduff and ten thousand soldiers from England to defeat Macbeth and ultimately kill the villain. All of the murders and the stress that people had to go through because of Macbeth made him a
The witches do not force him to kill Duncan, but they do plant the idea is his head. After murdering Duncan, Macbeth made the decision to murder the guards, making Macduff suspicious of him. He also chooses to kill Banquo, and Macduff’s family. His actions are the reason that his life ended in the way that it did. At the beginning of his moral conflict he says in an aside “If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me without my stir” (1. 3. 143-144). Macbeth is thinking to himself that if he is meant to be king by fate, he should just sit back and let it happen. He does not want to betray his king. After some careful thought, Macbeth chooses to take matters into his own hands by murdering the king. He was not influenced by the witches when he makes the decision to have Macduff’s family murdered. In an attempt to scare Macduff and show that he does not fear the Thane of Fife, Macbeth seals his own fate and ensures his death. Shortly after the death of his children and wife, Macduff returns to Scotland for revenge.
He then acts upon his greed and abandons his morals through the likes of Lady Macbeth. "I have no spur/To prick the sides of my intent, but only/Vaulting ambition, which overlaps itself/And falls on the' other." After the king's death, Macbeth expresses his hatred towards killing the king. During his rise to power, he was taking extra precautions to prevent anyone from taking his bloodline as king. He then becomes apprehensive of his throne, so he kills Banquo because of his prophecies about his descendants becoming kings. "Upon my head, they placed a fruitless crown/And put a barren sceptre in my grip,/Thence to be wrenched with an unlineal hand,/No son of mine succeeding." Committing the same mistakes over and over again to his fellow human beings he never felt any pain. Even when his wife committed suicide, there was no sight of Macbeth's
At the end of the play this character feels guilt for what she has done and has taken the personality, which was that of her husband in the beginning.At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth speaks and shows her shows how cruel and heartless she really is; "And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty". This shows she has no good in her, what so ever. Macbeth on the other hand, began as a good respectable character. When Lady Macbeth speaks of killing Duncan, he gives many reasons for reasons that he could not do so. Some of the reasons he gives in that speech are, that Duncan respects him, and trusts Macbeth. Duncan is also related to him by blood, and if he were to kill him he would never be able to rid himself of the guilt; wash the blood from his hands.At the climax of the play Macbeth makes plans to kill Banquo, with out Lady Macbeth, without anyone.