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Macbeth's fate
Macbeth's fate
Literary devices in macbeth corruption
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The Tragedy of Macbeth In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare does an astounding job at developing the story plot in a fascinating manner. Throughout the play, it is easy to begin to noticing common trends in the behavior of Macbeth. His judgement quickly becomes impaired when King Duncan grants him a new title “Thane of Cawdor”. With this new power granted to him, overambitious Macbeth becomes murderous. In order to claim power he murders King Duncan, turning Scotland into a dangerous place. With the much loved king gone, the kingdom is left under merciless Macbeth’s control. Of course his horrible actions do not go without consequences and soon Macbeth pays for his actions both mentally and physically. Over the course of the play, Macbeth shows common characteristics of a Shakespearean. Leaving us with the question is Macbeth a tragic hero? …show more content…
He started out as someone reliable, kind, wise, and brave. He was a self-less man who made the wellbeing of his country Scotland a priority. In war, he fought gallantly for his king and proved himself as being someone worthy of trust. The king was so impressed with Macbeth’s bravery that he rewarded him with a title, “Thane of Cawdor”. With just the slightest taste of power granted to him, Macbeth turns from being a kind man to a blood thirsty murderer. His newly awarded title wouldn’t be enough for him. Macbeth had a strong desire to prove himself to his wife. In addition, she taunted him to kill King Duncan, a terrible deed. “That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man.” ( 1.7-48 ) Macbeths new courage pushed him to commit an unforgivable crime and molded him into being someone overly ambitious. Ambition used in a positive way can bring good to the world. Macbeth’s over ambition quickly lead to his down
Shakespeare created a character in Macbeth who is strongly influenced in his decision making throughout the drama of The Tragedy of Macbeth. This drama is a Tragedy, hence the title, and has a hero, in Macbeth, who has a downfall. Readers become aware of the aspects that lead up to this predicament. Macbeth’s downfall was contributed equally from Lady Macbeth, the three weird sisters, and Macbeth’s ambition.
Comparing Macbeth to a tragic hero would be like comparing Spiderman to Venom. Although Spiderman was the hero in the beginning, he had a bad side too. This is much like Macbeth in the beginning of the story. He went against his wife and did not want to kill until she finally got into his head and convinced him that it was the only way for him to receive the throne. Now, is Macbeth a tragic hero? No. Macbeth is not a tragic hero due to the fact that tragic heros always learn from their mistake and always undergo some sort of meaningful suffering; Macbeth did neither.
William Shakespeare draws Macbeth as an ambitious usurper who nevertheless has certain virtues: courage, righteousness, and a devoted love for his wife. In doing so, Shakespeare shows he understands the dual nature of human beings. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as a courageous and noble warrior, who valiantly fought for his King, until he finally meets the witches. “For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name”, (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 16). Dramatic irony is tied in as only the audience know that Macbeth will soon betray the king – displaying his duplicity. Macbeth is praised for his courage in battle by the Sergeant. “O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!” replies Duncan, and we, the audience see the esteem Macbeth is held in and the nobility he has shown as a loyal solider and kinsman. This leads to Macbeth being ennobled with the Thaneship of Cawdor which later engenders in him hope for inheriting the crown. Soon, Macbeth meets the witches and they prophesise that Macbeth will be crowned king of Scotland – unleashing his passion for ambition whi...
serious if his wife was not more anxious than he was. She, more than her
Macbeth exhibits most, if not all, of the classic traits of a Shakespearean tragic hero almost flawlessly. From his rise to greatness to his ultimate destruction and death, he is most certainly a tragic hero.
Throughout the tragedy, Macbeth is a quintessential example of a tragic hero. First and foremost, Macbeth exhibited noble birth when Duncan bestows him the new position as Thane of Cawdor. Duncan declares, “No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom interest. Go pronounce his present death and with his former title greet Macbeth” (I.ii.72-74). Macbeth's valiant war efforts lead him to victory over the Scottish army earning him the position of Thane of Cawdor. Therefore, as a powerful and influential leader in his society, Macbeth exemplifies his noble birth and status as an ideal tragic hero. Furthermore, in Wayne Booth’s article, Shakespeare's Tragic Villain, he describes Macbeth as a good man who committed an awful deed, supporting his persona as a mixed character. Macbeth, although knowing very well Duncan is dead by his own doing, wishes that the King could be woken up from his eternal slumber. These are the thoughts and feelings of a good man who committed a deed that would characterize him as evil (Booth). Macbeth’s ambition overpowers his conscious decision of right from wrong.
The Tragedy of Macbeth (1606) could be considered one of the most violent plays composed be renowned classical English author William Shakespeare. It is a tale of cunning, of deceit, of ambition, and greed of one Scottish general and his spouse who long for power in greatness. The play is driven by super natural beliefs and entities, opposing polities, but violence is the front running influence motivating the characters of the drama. While Macbeth was a brilliant leader and tactician, he was a foolish king because he used violence a means to take the throne and cover his mistakes by using brute force and underhanded methods.
Macbeth fits well into the mould of a Shakespearean tragic hero. He had many noble qualities as well as several tragic flaws. Macbeth is viewed as a hero because in the beginning of the play he is depicted as a courageous, brave and good nobleman, although he is eventually brought down by two main factors, which are his persistence on listening to what the witches told him, and his overwhelming ambition. Eventually and progressively through the play, his flaws start out weighing the good aspects of his personality until all that can be seen of Macbeth is his poor qualities.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a classic play about a man who was tricked about his destiny and was consumed by power. In the beginning, Macbeth was a nobleman of Duncan and the Thane of Glamis. He later transitioned to the Thane of Cawdor after beheading the traitorous Macdonwald. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Duncan even stated that “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won” (Act 1.3.78), verifying Macbeth’s nobleness. Another characteristic of Macbeth is he was morally weak.
Macbeth was considered a tragic hero because he fought honorably for Duncan to become king against the invading forces and his bravery on the battle which later become the Thane Cawdor, but one of his tragic flaws is that he lets his wife control his ambitious desires. As far as the play continued Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were good people with very poor judgment being described as “this dead butcher and his fiend like queen” there downfall was not caused due to evil but caused by their ambition against Macbeth, sparked by the witch’s prophecy. Macbeth was undeceiving whether or not to kill Duncan for him to become king, because of Macbeth’s wicked behavior it led him to become a murder.
Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s true masterpieces. Audiences witness a noble Scottish warrior fall to the ways of ambition, distrust, murder, deceit, and betrayal. Macbeth, the titular character, fits the archetype of tragic hero very efficiently. One is able to see and understand the ways that his various temptations bend and mold him into becoming a delusional tyrant. Despite this literary simplicity, some have claimed that Macbeth is not a tragic hero whatsoever.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s desire and ambition leads to her eventual downfall. When Lady Macbeth hears of Macbeth’s prophecy she dreams of the glory and high-standing that awaits being queen. She cannot withhold her ambitions and she is willing to manipulate fate to bring about Macbeth’s prophecy. She invokes evil spirits to be filled from head to toe with cruelty to do the evil actions necessary to make Macbeth king and to remove all remorse and pity for her action from her heart. She is initially able to be involved in the treacherous deeds that are needed to bring about the prophecy quickly, but as the play progresses the weight of the merciless deeds fill her with remorse. The remorse and pain she feels for her wicked ways cause Lady Macbeth to lose control of her life and wither away until the weight of her deeds causes her to die. Lady Macbeth’s wish is partially granted, her mind becomes evil and enables her to do horrific things, but her soul remains pure and unsure of her actions and her remorse for her wicked ways leads to her destruction.
MACBETH AS A TRAGIC HERO Tragic heroes are within everyone, but cannot be fully exposed or understood without the essential tragic qualities. One must be a potentially noble character who has heroic qualities and has respect and admiration from the society. Consequently, they are essentially great. Also within the character must be a flaw or weakness that leads to a fall. Lastly, one is required to possess an element of suffering and redemption.
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.
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.