The ideology of the “natural man” has been around for centuries, but what is a “natural man”? The Judeo-Christian bible teaches that the natural enemy is an enemy to God. Why is this? The natural man is all the things that we hate about the human species, but we can’t do anything about it; it’s our nature. Greed, deceit, lust, to name a few, is the characteristics of a natural man. Shakespeare created several of these type of characters in his life of writing. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and The Tempest, Macbeth and Antonio are similar in their intent, however different in how they decide to carry out their plans.
Shakespeare created these two characters with a very significant similarity between them; both Macbeth and Antonio have a hunger for power. In the beginning of the play Macbeth, Macbeth hears a prophecy made by the three weird witches, in which they addressed him by three names: the thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor, and finally the king of Scotland. “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Cawdor!
All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Macbeth Act One, Scene Three, Lines 49-51) This knowledge eventually drives Macbeth into a type of madness and all that matters to him is his hunger for more power. “At least since the days of Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson, analysis of the play has centered on the question of Macbeth's ambition, commonly seen as so dominant a trait that it defines the character. Johnson asserted that Macbeth, though esteemed for his military bravery, is wholly reviled. This opinion recurs in critical literature, and, according to Carolin...
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...like power, wealth, position, etc. These two men are fueled by greed and driven by the need to gain more to prove something; but this thing is not being proven to themselves, however, more to the people around them.
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Macbeth’s blind ambition leads him to surrender to his dark desires that taunt him throughout the play. Macbeth is frequently tempted to result to the wrongful methods that seem to roam inside of him. In the beginning however Macbeth tends to ignore these desires and depends on chance. He declares “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 3, 143-144). This declaration by Macbeth shows his initial stand, which is reliant on fate and sin free. Yet as Macbeth’s character develops throughout the play, he moves farther from his dependence on chance and closer to his darker desires. Eventually his blind ambition to become king overp...
Foakes, Francis. "A New Perspective of Macbeth." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 58-64.
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Macbeth shifts from being loyal and courageous to a murderer executing a treacherous plan to kill the current king due to supernatural suggestions that he would be king himself. Macbeth is discussed as a man worthy of recognition by other characters in act one scene two. In this scene, the Captain states: “For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)” (1. 2. 18). Macbeth is being praised for his courage and loyalty to Scotland and the king. This first impression is hastily contrasted after hearing the prophecy of the witches stating he will be “king hereafter” (1. 3. 53). Immediately after hearing this, Macbet...
Shakespeare, William, and John Crowther. No Fear Shakespeare: Macbeth. ed. New York: Spark Publishing, 2003. Print.
Macbeth, who at the beginning of his play’s plot is in a position of some honor and power, obtains position as king of Scotland through secretive foul play, spurred on by some external manipulation as well as personal ambition. “Macbeth’s ambition is unchecked by both moral and legal considerations-he will stop at nothing to get what he desires… Macbeth’s unbridled ambition is the root of the play’s evil because he is willing to throw the world into chaos in order to satisfy his personal desires.” (Thrasher, 92). His rebellion is heinous, but so long undiscovered. His ambition, though present in some degree from the beginning, metastasizes within him through the play as more obstacles to his retention of royal status crop up. “He begins well…but this...
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