In the late 16th century and early 17th century, no playwright was better known
than William Shakespeare. He was especially known for many famous tragedies. When
Shakespeare wrote these plays he took many key aspects into account to create as much
of an impact as possible on the reader or the audience. Macbeth, for example, is about
one man, Macbeth who does what he thinks is necessary to become king but dies
tragically due to his judgement. In this play, Shakespeare communicates how Macbeth's
destiny can be changed depending on how he deals with his predicted future, in other
words, his fate versus his free will. Macbeth makes many foolish decisions throughout
his life like believing evil and supernatural powers will help him, allowing the endless
verbal assault by Lady Macbeth to control him, and allowing his own ignorance in his
decisions to overtake him. These are the main contributing factors that lead to his
eventual breakdown and death.
There are several instances in the story which suggest that the Weird Sisters are to
blame for Macbeth?s downfall. At the very beginning of the book, the witches meet
Macbeth and right away fill his mind with desire for the throne by telling him he will be
king. The witches state ?All hail Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter!? (1.3.53). Since the
witches are telling this to Macbeth, they are giving him a false sense of security by
predicting what the future holds for him. After Macbeth converses with the witches,
Banquo gets the feeling that the witches are bad news. ?The instruments of darkness tell
us truths / Win us with honest trifles to betray?s/In deepest consequence? (1.3.136-138).
This means that the ...
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...and supernatural powers to control him, allowing his own
ignorance in his decisions to overtake him and allowing the endless verbal assault by
Lady Macbeth to control him, Macbeth is indeed a tragic hero. He has a fatal flaw that
combined with fate, brings on a tragedy of all sorts. The Weird Sisters, Lady Macbeth
and Macbeth himself play key roles in the downfall of Macbeth and each of them is to
blame for the deaths of many people in the play. Shakespeare therefore allows them to set
other people up for their crimes, especially Macbeth who gives a sense of vulnerability to
many obvious culprits to the crime, making the play more enjoyable to watch and listen
to. Along these lines, Shakespeare?s plays and books are the guidelines to many other
tragic plays and books recorded through centuries and centuries of great literature.
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth is a classic example of a tragic hero who is constantly struggling with his fate. In the opening scene of the play Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches. They proclaim that he will be the thane of Cawdor. He responds by saying, “By Sinel’s death I know that I am thane of Glamis/ but how of Cawdor”(I, iii, 70-73)? At first, he does not realize to earn this title what he must do, but when he realizes he is taken aback. His bewilderment prefigures his perpetual struggle with his fate. Macbeth also is excessively ambitious which constantly affects him throughout the play. He is too determined to become king and will kill anyone to ensure that this will transpire. Macbeth’s struggle and ambition make him the quintessence of tragic hero.
Unquestionably, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show how ambition mixed with greed and unchecked morales can ultimately lead to one’s downfall. Shakespeare excellently portrays this through the main characters in his play Macbeth. By using two protagonists, Shakespeare allows the reader to view two different ways the meaning of the play can have an effect on people. Undeniably, the Macbeth’s greed based off ambition is thoroughly shown throughout
Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches. Yes, it is the first scene from William Shakespeare's Macbeth, a tragic tale of one man's quest for power and his ultimate defeat. The story revolves around our tragic hero, Macbeth, and how an admirable and noble man, so established in society, can fall so greatly. The character of Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. There are various factors that contributed to the downfall of Macbeth of which three stand out most. These three points that lead to Macbeth's degeneration include: the prophecies told to him by the witches, Lady Macbeth's influence and manipulation of Macbeth's judgment, and finally Macbeth's long time ambition which drove his desire to be king. Macbeth's growing character degenerates from a noble man to a violent individual.
Macbeth’s heroic deeds at the beginning of the play soon seem insignificant next to the primary event in the Act: the revelation of the witches’ prophecy. Their insightful proclamation that he will be king someday is both shocking and pleasing to Macbeth. Without this occurrence, this play might not have traveled a road of ambition and death, but instead one of calm acceptance and enjoyment of an already-elegant lifestyle. The seeds of desire were here planted, however, eliciting what became a bloody ordeal. The spark ignited, and a plan began to take shape.
In the play of “Macbeth”, Shakespeare gradually and effectively deepens our understanding of the themes and most importantly the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The main theme of Macbeth is ambition, and how it compels the main characters to pursue it. The antagonists of the play are the three witches, who symbolise the theme appearance and reality. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relation is an irony throughout the play, as most of their relation is based on greed and power. This is different from most of Shakespeare’s other plays, which are mostly based on romance and trust. There is also guilt that leads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to the final consequences of the play. As the progresses, the constant changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are exposed.
instill in him the need to be King. Still, desire is not enough for Macbeth and he is thus driven "to seek certainty as his one objective. He wants certainty from the witches . . . at whatever cost" (Campbell 228). Macbeth, however, is not completely lost yet; honour and justice remain in him, and although it takes him some time to fully consider the consequences of the witches' words on him, he rejects his horrible thoughts of murder and postpones all action: "If chance will have me king, why,chance may crown me, / Without my stir" (I. iii.143-144). For the time being, Macbeth's true essence is in control, that of loyalty and honour.
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...
Macbeth is a very gothic, persistent tale of a great general in the Scottish army who causes his own downfall by listening to the dark prophecies of the three witches and his wife, Lady Macbeth. Macbeth’s self-consciousness fails to play an important part in the murder of multiple kinsmen causing the death of his wife and his mental health. Macbeth is not necessarily a horrible leader; the problem with him is that his ambitions exceed his expectancies. Macbeth’s character has constantly evolved from the point he was introduced into the play. Initially he seems as an extremely humble person, but as he learns more about the prophecies, his hindsight fails to overlook the complications of his ambitions. Macbeth’s faith in the apparitions and the witches ultimately cause Macbeth’s downfall and the unnecessary death of his beloved kinsmen such as King Duncan and Banquo.
For a moment Macbeth’s ambition takes over, when the thought of killing Duncan comes across his mind, however morality takes over. “Why do I yield to such suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair... If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” In spite of this, Macbeth’s moral decision is clouded by his ambition once again when he hears of Malcolm’s succession to the throne.
hears the news of his family, he is determined to bring down the tyrant, Macbeth.
A tragic hero is someone born into a noble lifestyle, destined for greatness, but is tested by fate through great destruction and suffering. In the book Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, this concept is well demonstrated in the main characters uprising. When Macbeth chooses the wrong path, he is led by his ambition to his destruction. The presence of an active flaw, the struggle to eliminate it when too late and the path to demise it created are all reasons Macbeth’s story is tragic. As a result, Macbeth’s tragic flaw of ambition led him to become a tragic hero.
Macbeth is not a tragic hero because a man is responsible for his own actions and this is the case with Macbeth. By deceiving and murdering his friends, he proves he is not a hero. He lets himself be corrupted by the prophecies of the witches. This weakness demonstrates that he lacks the qualities to be a hero (Johnson 1).
Tragic heroes, who destined for a serious downfall, are the protagonist of a dramatic tragedy. A tragic hero is usually a great hero, who gets the most respect from other people; on the other hand, a tragic hero can also lose everything he gained because of his mistakes. His downfall is the result of a wrong judgment, a flaw which might combined with fated and external forces. The downfall can cause the tragic hero to suffer for the rest of his life. In many literary works, the downfall of the tragic heroes usually happen in their highest point. In the same way, Macbeth is a tragic hero in the play called “The Tragedy of Macbeth” which is written by a legendary writer, William Shakespeares. Macbeth is a great general who gained many respect from the people and even the king. In the highest point of his life, because of seeking for greater power, it created Macbeth’s downfall. Macbeth, a tragic hero, causes suffering for himself and others by committing murders and creating distress, which are the negative effects of seeking for a greater power.