In every story there are always characters that as readers are drawn towards and grown fonder of them, no one likes a story that they can not relate to. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth tragedy, Macbeth is the character that most people feel for. Macbeth displays the general characteristics of a tragic hero throughout the play, catharsis, hubris and he is very easy to relate to.
Killing King Duncan leaves Macbeth with profound guilt. Ironically, this guilt is not everlasting as Macbeth plunges into a murdering spree. The shock of the murder leaves Macbeth in a state of moral quandary where he is not able to initially accept credit for committing regicide. At one point he even struggles to say the word “Amen” but has no problem saying “God bless us” (Shakespeare 2.2.31-32). Eventually, he embraces who he has become, and begins to exhibit growing paranoia and blood rage. Macbeth embarks on a killing spree that leaves many dead in his path to take the throne. After the death of King Duncan and his two guards, Macbeth proceeds to kill Banquo, Lady Macduff, Macduff’s children, and even attempts to kill Fleance. In contrast, as Macbeth becomes more rapacious, Lady Macbeth ironically evolves in the opposite direction. It seems as though Lady Macbeth is more affected by the murder of King Duncan than she initially
Shakespeare is perhaps most noted for his many tragic plays. One of his most acclaimed works Macbeth, is a great example of this. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare there are many incidents within the play that agree with the fact that Macbeth’s greatest tragedy is the deterioration of its main characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The most prominent reason for the fact that Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s character is decaying is noticed with the hallucinations that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth experience as a result of guilt. The decline of their character is manifested into the inability to remain true to ones character, delusional behavior, and a conscience that only works once the harm is committed. Guilt should be held accountable for the degradation of what would have been one of the most courageous and honorable characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays.
At the end of an awful, long day one might wonder what went wrong – was the universe against them? Was it a mistake on their part? What have they lost as a result? Such a scenario can be exemplified in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. First, outside forces influence Macbeth into making decisions he would not ordinarily make. Second, Macbeth’s transition from a revered leader to a detested king can be symbolized by the absence of nobility loyalty, and peace. Third, Macbeth’s overwhelming pride and thirst for power leads him to commit a series of crimes. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare highlights the role of a Tragic Hero signifying that not staying true to ones core values will ultimately lead to their downfall.
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth is guilty of committing treason against his king and country. He is purely and deliberately driven by dark desire, ambition, and murderous thoughts. As the play continues, it gets easier and easier for Macbeth to commit his heinous crimes. He not only kills the king, but continues to kill various people in order to secure his wrongfully obtained position. Macbeth also has many interactions with witches, who at the time are the definition of evil. One could say that Macbeth and depravity are two sides of the same coin. Macbeth is far more evil than any other character in the play, including Lady Macbeth.
It all began really in Act II, Scene II after the murder of Duncan, when Macbeth returns to his room to join his wife. As any person would be, Macbeth is very shaken by his wrong act. Killing a man, not to mention a beloved king is a sin and Macbeth knows it very well! He truly believes he has murdered all innocence, and only worse things will follow. Throughout the scene there are several quotes that show this; " Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more," and " Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red." This shows the amount of guilt he felt. He describes this by saying that if he tried to wash his hands in the river, it would turn into the colour of the blood itself. Lady Macbeth attempts to make him stronger, " A little water clears us of this deed: How easy it is then!" But the guilt he feels just does not go away…At least for the time being.
Macbeth feels a great deal of remorse after he has killed the king. He understands that he has committed a sin and will be punished. He is so terrified that he hears voices telling him:“ Macbeth does murder sleep, … , Macbeth shall sleep no more”(Act 2, Sc.2 p. 57). Macbeth is very upset with himself and wishes that he never killed Duncan. “To know my deed it were best not know myself.” When he hears strange knocking at the gate he wishes that it wakes up Duncan, “wake Duncan with thy knocking”, however it is too late (Act 2, Sc.3 p. 61).
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the theme of free will vs. fate is an essential argument and one that plays a huge part in the character of Macbeth. There are three areas that are focused on when seeing if Macbeth was in control of what he did or if fate controlled what happened. The first area talks about Macbeth’s behavioral patterns. The article relating to this topic reveals certain patterns in Macbeth’s behavior which include a structural pattern and a relational pattern. Macbeth’s structural is that he committed murder at three important parts of his life. There is no reason to think that fate controlled the structure of his murders. Also, the relational pattern reveals that he killed ones close to him, which also is a way to show that free will influenced it. The next area is that the fact that Macbeth was influenced by others and not fate. Lady Macbeth is probably the person who has the most influence on him, and also his mortal thoughts. Lastly, the final area that is focused on in this argument is that Macbeth dreads the idea that he has to commit murder. In the beginning, Macbeth fears murder so much that he leaves it to chance, which shows that he is exercising his free will. The argument talks about fate and says that he can’t control what happens. This argument is mostly summed up by saying the witches controlled him and that his death showed us that.
A man destined to be powerful kills his closest friend, why? Because he knows too much. The story of Macbeth starts with a prophecy pronouncing him as the future king. He will do whatever it takes to be just that, and with his wife and his title, he expects his life to be stupendous. In the Story of Macbeth-- written by Shakespeare—Macbeth and Lady Macbeth struggle for power, through twists and turns they soon realize what they’ve done, but they’re already too far in to back out now. Although Macbeth did awful things, readers can sympathize with Macbeth due to the pressure put upon him by Lady Macbeth, the weird sisters and his own guilt.
The novel Macbeth is usually described as tragedy written by William Shakespeare presents how a good hearted man can develop to a cold-blooded failure due to his egotistical mindset. The character Macbeth is a tragic hero in this novel. He had too much faith in the three witches who promised that Macbeth will presume to be king of Scotland. Although Macbeth carried uttermost ambition and this only resulted to deficient bearings. His inferior behaviorism can only predict how much of a downfall lies ahead of him.