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Analysis of Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Macbeth - character analysis
Analysis of Macbeth by William Shakespeare
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Ladies and gentlemen of this court I thank you for letting me give my testimony today. I am Macduff, thane of Fife; I am 30 years old and have been well-respected in my role for 5 years. I am only interested in what is best for Scotland, and I speak to you today to give my testimony as to why I believe Macbeth is the reason for Scotland suffering as he was a bad king for the time of his reign. I pledge to tell the truth and only the truth as a witness today to prove the guilt of Macbeth, previous king of Scotland for his crimes of murder, treason and for his crimes against our beloved country. My evidence today will show the reasons why Macbeth is guilty and should not be considered a worthy king in the eyes of Scotland. His pride, his ability …show more content…
He had just been awarded Thane of Cawdor; King Duncan attended a feast at the Macbeth family home the night before his shocking murder. May he rest in peace. The king had called on me to wake him up the morning after the feast as he had a long journey back to the castle, I entered and Macbeth showed me the way to the kings chambers; upon arrival at the chambers I found it to be dead quite, I entered the room and found King Duncan with blood all over his body, I couldn’t look for too long, the site made me sick. When I yelled of the site I had found Macbeth ran to the room and looked at the body and also looked ill; though when exiting the room, Macbeth saw king Duncan’s guards by the door covered in blood and with daggers in their hands, he slaughtered them without thinking twice about it. The fact that he can do this without thinking about it proves that he has no proper training, because he slaughtered the guards we were unable to question them to ask why they killed the king and to even ask if they had killed him at all, even though there was sufficient evidence to prove that they had questioning them would still have been the way to come to a fair and just
Gather round my brothers, a call to arms. I am Malcolm, the son of King Duncan. Before we embark on bringing justice back into this kingdom, let me offer you some words of advocacy. We come here not as individuals, rather a single force for justice and truth. Macbeth is no match for this brave hearted army. Today this turmoil ends, today we fight!
After Macbeth kills Duncan, he is too scared to even carry the daggers back into the king’s chamber. When the king’s body is discovered, he kills the two guards that were in Duncan’s room, and places the blame for the murderous deed upon them. His fear forces him to act this way in order to make him seem innocent. Macbeth’s fear of being caught acts as an indicator of his guilt; however at first none of the other characters are able to realize this.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, we have heard the defence glorify Macbeth in an effort to cloud the horrible acts of murder that he committed. The question that we are here to answer today stands, ?is Macbeth guilty of the murder of our beloved king, Duncan?. Many questions cloud our judgement today. Did Macbeth have a motive to kill the king? Did Macbeth meticulously premeditate the murder of Duncan? Did Macbeth carryout, then cover up the murder of King Duncan? Ladies and gentlemen it will be difficult, nay impossible for you to deny any of these allegations of murder against Macbeth, because simply put, he did commit these vicious acts of murder.
In the play Macbeth, many different major choices are brought forth to a certain character and the decision that is chosen affects the entire play. The results of these actions or decisions can be a positive or negative outcome towards the character. Does justice always prevail in the play Macbeth? If a character decides to commit a crime, will he/she be punished? If a character does a noble deed, will he/she be rewarded? As is represented in the play Macbeth, justice always prevails due to the guilty character's developing sense of remorse and/or the character receiving fair punishment. For every action there is a reaction and whatever the result is, it is meant to happen and it is just.
Macbeth was a high-ranking thane of Glamis, who was greedy. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth only killed when he was in battle. For his bravery and loyalty, Macbeth than becomes the thane of Cawdor, because the original thane was, as it says in act 1, sc. 2 line 52 “ a most disloyal traitor.” Now those may argue Lady Macbeth is responsible for Macbeth’s downfall, but Macbeth could have told her that it was wrong to kill Duncan and if she wanted King Duncan dead, she would have to do it herself. Lady Macbeth says she would have killed King Duncan, except she could not because he resembled her father,"Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done't.” Macbeth’s conscience knows that murdering King Duncan is wrong, but he lets Lady Macbeth’s harmless persistence and greed destroy his judgement. Macbeth knew that his actions were wrong, yet he still murdered and also committed treason against his country, Scotland for social status, power, and riches. Macbeth not only murdered King Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s family and servants, he murdered the innocent guards. Macbeth speaks of how he could not refrain from murdering the guards in act 2, sc.3, lines 90-96, “Here lay Duncan, His silver skin laced with his golden blood… there, the murderers, Steep'd in the colours of their trade, their daggers Unmannerly breech'd with gore… Who could
King Duncan was a good King, but his greatest flaw was to always trust the wrong people, such as the one that used to be the Thane of Cawdor. “He was an absolute gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust. ”(1.4.13-14). Apparently the King didn’t learn his lesson and ended up causing his own death. He made the mistake of putting his trust in the hands of Macbeth, a great warrior who people greatly admired before he killed their king and committed other violent and serious crimes just to get what he wanted.
It was heard by the jury that, when MacBeth was returning from the battlefield to Duncan?s camp, he first encountered the mysterious and enigmatic three witches. It was here that the prophecy of MacBeth becoming king was announced by the witches. MacBeth testified upon hearing this, that he disbelieved the allegation. However witnesses put forward that when MacBeth arrived back at his castle, he was overheard conspiring with Lady MacBeth regarding Duncan?s murder. Further into the trial it was exposed that MacBeth could not become king, as the Scottish lineage to the throne moves from father to first-born son. However, members from within the same bloodline could lay claim to the throne if Duncan had no living sons. The prosecution then brought forth D.N.A evidence, which revealed that MacBeth was in fact Duncan?s cousin. Since Duncan had already named Malcolm the heir to the Scottish throne, Duncan had to be murdered. Information gathered from a nearby witness shows that at the hour of 12:45 am, Duncan the former king of Scotland lay peacefully in his humble chambers. The prosecution revealed that the servants guarding the kings? bedroom were drugged in order to gain a silent entry. MacBeth then quietly crept towards the king lying asleep. From the evidence revealed in the autopsy of Duncan, and the statement given to police by witnesses, it was discovered that he was stabbed a total of seven times in the chest area causing death to the victim. With murder weapon in hand, MacBeth then continued to murder the two drugged servants to ensure total silence on their part.
After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140). Macbeth has just gained more power, and his immediate thought is of how to gain an even higher status as king. He imagines how to kill Duncan, and then is troubled by his thoughts, telling himself it is wrong. This inner struggle between Macbeth’s ambition and his hesitation to kill Duncan is the first sure sign of his mental deterioration. Although Macbeth does kill Duncan, he questions whether or not he should to do so, which is far different from how Macbeth feels about murder later in the play. Macbeth becomes king, and this power leads
Speaking as Macbeth’s defense attorney, it is my pleasure to represent this very important case. As the defendant stands here falsely accused of murdering King Duncan and taking the throne. To begin, no great man like Macbeth would commit such crime. Therefore, we ask of a verdict of not guilty.
King Duncan trusts Macbeth too much. Macbeth appears as a superhero and faithful to King Duncan. He fights against the traitor Macdonwald, and he helps the king to solve a great problem that wins the war. Duncan trusts Macbeth very much because of Macbeth’s heroic efforts and he gives Macbeth the title “Thane of Cawdor”. In actuality, Macbeth is not as faithful to the king as he appears. He has the ambition to become king after hearing the prophecies from the three witches. After Macbeth returns to his castle, he makes plans with Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan when he comes to visit. As soon as Duncan arrives, he says something very important. Duncan says, “This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air/ Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself/ Unto our gentle senses” (I.vi.1-3). This quote shows that Duncan, like Macbeth, even feels that Macbeth’s place is comfortable for him. Duncan never suspects the trustworthiness of Macbeth and never does anything to guard himself. Macbeth kills Duncan easily. Therefore MacBeth’s appearance deceives Duncan.
That is why the witches told him that he is the thane of Glamis, which he already knew, Thane of Cawdor, and then tell him he will be king. The witches told him that he was the Thane of Glamis, because in his head that is where he is. They tell him that he is the Thane of Cawdor because he thinks that is what he deserves. They call him the King because even though he is the Thane of Glamis and the Thane of Cawdor, he does not believe that it is enough.Although Banquo hypocrisy makes him say that he sees the witches but, he doesn't. He simply acts like it because he is afraid of Macbeth and knows that Macbeth is a powerful man. Macbeth decides that he needs to kill King Duncan in order to become the king. Lady Macbeth goes along with it because she is power hungry. She acts like she believes everything that Macbeth says.Before Macbeth kills King Duncan, he sees daggers floating in the air, proof that he is simply losing his mind. The daggers are pointing at Duncan but Macbeth cannot grasp them. Macbeth says, “ Daggers of the mind, a false creation/ proceeding from the heat oppressed brain” (2.1.38). Macbeth then kills Duncan. After the deed is done, he hears a knocking, which is all apart of his paranoid imagination. Macbeth attempts to wash the blood of his hands but feels it is
High school students around the globe are still continuously studying one of Shakespeare’s most preeminent tragic and eventful plays, Macbeth. Macbeth is a well-known play,which incorporates several themes such as culpability, destructiveness, murderousness, ambition, and prepotency. In this play, we learned that Macbeth encounters three mystifying women who forespeak his future and those predictions turn out to be true. The prediction of him becoming a king engaged him on wanting to eradicate King Duncan. So do you think Macbeth will want to wait or want to make these predictions come to be true?
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the theme of guilt and conscience is one of many explored throughout the play. Macbeth, is a well respected Scottish noble who in the beginning of the play is a man everyone looks up to; however as the play progresses he makes a number of bad decisions. Eventually, as a result of his actions he suffers guilt and this plays heavily upon his character until his personality is completely destroyed. Shakespeare uses a range of techniques in order to develop this theme such as, characters, imagery.
Macbeth starts off as a man of greatness and dignity. He is well-respected from the bottom of the order of man – gentleman and knights, to the top – king and nobles. Through the Sergeant’s words it is evident that Macbeth is commended for killing the Thane of Cawdor and traitor, Macdonwald. The audience hears a lot about Macbeth’s greatness before he comes on to the stage. He is introduced by a Sergeant who has fought on his side in a battle against the Norwegians and Macdonwald. The Sergeant arrives at King of Scotland, Duncan’s, headquarters, and reports Macbeth’s triumph against the enemies,
He had provided great loyalty to Scotland and King Duncan, which was unlike the last Thane of Cawdor, who had played and broke his bond with Scotland. It can also beproven throughout the start play that Macbeth had carried a high set of morals. He had been a very self concious man who seemed to care very much for his friends as well as for himself. That all seemed to suddendly change when he had the conversation with the three witches. When Macbeth first meets up with the witches, they say some things that will begin Macbeth 's turn to evil. the first thing they said was "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cowdor!". (macbeth Act 1 Scene 3). The second thing they said to him was "All hail, Macbeth, that shall be King hereafter!" (act 1 scene 3 line 50). The things the witches predicted made Macbeth anxious to rise to power as quick as he could. Soon, Lady Macbeth hears about about the prophecies, and goes on to drive Macbeth 's ambition even to even worse levels. Before we know it, Lady Macbeth is trying to get Macbeth to kill King Duncan, because she wants Macbeth to be the come king as soon as possible. Macbeth was hesitant to kill the Duncan, because he still had his own sense of what was right and what was wrong. He knew in his heart that he shoudlnt do it because he has always been known as a loyal and trustworthy hero. Killing someone out of thirst for power