...not be king, his sons will be and that in turn poses a threat to Macbeth and soon, his kingship. Because the witches’ prophecy about Macbeth becoming king came true, he questions whether they were going to be right about Banquo and his legacy. Although, Macbeth in this scene is too worried, he does not realize that he was the one who fundamentally caused the series of events to occur after killing King Duncan. Banquo might decide to keep the information he learned from the witches to himself because if he spoke up people might think that he was a part of Kind Duncan’s murder, because they may believe that he did this just to become king. Also, he probably does not want to sabotage his chances of his sons becoming kings if someone else finds out. 2. Macbeth might be curious about where Banquo is going because he wants to keep an eye on Banquo for two reasons. One reason being that he wants to kill him so that his sons are not the reason that he loses his thrown. He uses this as a safety mechanism and later on in the act we find out that Macbeth hires three murders to kill Banquo in order to carry out his plan of staying king. He also wants to keep an eye on Banquo so that way he does not find out that he was the one who killed King Duncan for the thrown. Banquo may have already been suspicious of the murder because he was with Macbeth and heard the witches’ prophecies. 3. The “bloody cousins” as referred to Macbeth in line 29 are Duncan’s sons. They are the ones that the blame...
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...Key ideas in Macbeth Macbeth is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is mainly set in Scotland and the play dramatizes the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for their own sake. Macbeth explores many themes and ideas of the olden where people had many supernatural beliefs (e.g. withes) and other beliefs such as the kings’ power was believed to be directly given by god and therefore monarchs were answerable only to god. An important idea expressed in Macbeth is the guilt which is felt by few of the characters in the play, prominently being featured on Macbeth himself. Macbeth’s guilt is shown immediately after killing Duncan, in which Macbeth's senses are heightened and he is paranoid about being caught, which is why he jumps at every noise, 'How is't with me, when every noise appals me?'(Act 2, scene II), looking at his bloody hands, He wishes that he could take away his eyes that witnessed his crime. This quote and Duncan's blood is symbolic of Macbeth's guilt, in which Macbeth uses a metaphor, or indirect comparison, to compare his guilt for killing Duncan to blood on his hands. Another scene in the play where guilt is evident is when Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking and seems to be washing her hands, saying 'Out, damned spot! Out, I say!’(Act V scene I). These words by her clearly show her guilt coming to the surface as she sleeps and dreams. In this state, she attempts to clean...
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... Evolution of Evil in Macbeth In Macbeth, the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth undergo drastic changes as the play unfolds. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth regress from logical and human like people, into evil characters that would be found in a horror film. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seem like two usual human beings, but after hearing about possibly becoming king and queen these characters turn to the dark side and resort to murdering the current king to take the thrown. Once the characters resort to murder, regret and guilt begin to consume their lives, resulting in death for both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Throughout the play Macbeth, the elements...
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...Is Macbeth an evil villain or simply a tragic hero? What makes a character a true tragic hero? All tragic heroes have the same qualities; an honorable person who is doomed for a tragic downfall; the situation usually makes them suffer and feel guilty. Would Macbeth be considered an evil villain or noble man? Throughout the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, it is clear to see that Macbeth is a man who was influenced by the wrong people, and completely driven to have success. Could the drive to success make a person so morally wrong? How could the favorable Macbeth take such an awful turn for defeat? Macbeth is the perfect example of a true tragic hero; possessing great nobility that came crashing down at the hands of his peers, and the single tragic flaw of ambition. The first time the reader was introduced to the character Macbeth, it would be impossible to think he could turn out to be so morally imperfect. For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name—Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, Like valor’s minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave; Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, Till he unseamed him from the nave to th' chops, And fixed his head upon our battlement (Shakespeare 1.2.16-23). When the caption is talking about Macbeth, it was obvious to understand that Macbeth was a brave and a courageous fighter; he was explained to be a hero very quickly in the beginning. This...
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...in his play Macbeth to show the cycle of violence that repeats throughout the play. Shakespeare first introduces the character of Macbeth as a brave hero. In the first act messengers tell Duncan about Macbeth’s bravery in war. The bloody images used in this act show Macbeth as the hero of war who should be rewarded for his bravery. Thoughts of heroism and bravery fade quickly as plans to murder Duncan for Macbeth’s benefit and power gain arise. Blood quickly changes to a motif of guilt and fear because of the murder that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have committed. Surprisingly Macbeth keeps killing to calm his fear but sheds more blood in the process. The killings result in meeting the unnatural and bloody Macduff, who wants revenge and ends the cycle of violence....
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...Lady Macbeth found via Google - not my own work In typical Shakespearean tragedies, female main characters aren't always treated brilliantly. In Hamlet, Ophelia goes down the "I shall obey, my lord" route. In Othello, Desdemona goes down the "To you I am bound" route. Yet in Macbeth, this isn't quite the case. The most important female figure is Lady Macbeth, a cunning and manipulative woman who is associated with the supernatural. Instantly it can be argued that Lady Macbeth fits in with the later idea of certain Gothic women being 'sinister predators', or 'femme fatales'. | Dame Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth | Lady Macbeth has been the subject of much debate for hundreds of years. Her role in the play is incredibly important and she is the subject of various interpretations. Her first appearance in the play is in act one, scene five. She opens by reading Macbeth's letter; instantly this seems to present her as a typical Shakespearean woman (when I say typical, I mean typical in terms of main female characters in tragedies being passive), since her first words are that of her husband's, as though she is bound to him. Then she stops reading the letter, and we start to realise that she isn't at all typical. She instantly states that Macbeth will be "what thou art promised", which shows a determination and strength of will that we may not have been expecting. She goes on to criticise her husband's nature, since he is "too full o'th'milk of human kindness". A wife...
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...the way in which Malcolm describes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in the last speech of the play. The images portrayed by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth change impressively throughout the play. Therefore, I believe that this quote is not an accurate judgment of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as it was based on one mistake, though a considerable mistake. To start with, I should first give an explanation about the two important words in this quote: a butcher is a person who kills people unnecessarily and brutally, while a fiend is someone very cruel and spiteful who symbolizes the devil. In order to consolidate his power, Macbeth kills Duncan, Banquo, Macduff's wife and son and all the people in the Castle of Fife. At this point, he is a "butcher"; in the full sense of the word. Although there were elements of butchery in Macbeths’ behavior, he also had many capacities. “For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name), Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, Which smoked with bloody execution Like valor’s minion, carved out his passage” (I,ii,9), this quote portrays how Macbeth, at the beginning of the play, is seen as a loyal and courageous soldier who fights with all might to keep peace and stability in his country. “We will proceed no further in this business. He hath honored me of late…” (I,vii,41). Here, we realize that Macbeth is still hesitating to kill Duncan. He explains how Duncan was a good King and honored him. By this we observe that Macbeth is a worthy person who cannot betray...
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...people’s daily lives is inevitable, sleep is the one thing that one can be sure about. From starting a day off by rising from sleep to going back to sleep as night falls, this “constant” is true for all. Another person who Macbeth, a thane, who through his accomplishments on the battlefield was slowly inching up the social ladder. Then, when the greed for power begins to eat him and the bodies start piling up things beginbegan to change for the characters. When the delicate balance of sleep is disrupted, dire consequences come about as they do in Shakespeare's play Macbeth. Through the characters’ reactions to the severe deprivation of sleep,...
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...The story Macbeth is like no other in plot and poetry. It sets itself apart from the rest by having a protagonist becoming evil. What makes Macbeth such a complicated character is the way his outlook keeps on changing throughout the play. This essay will prove that Macbeth is an evil man and was not overpowered by ambition to get what he wanted. This essay will also determine that certain characters like the witches did not force him to do evil; they simply triggered it. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is shown as a hero in the Scottish army that is ironic because Macbeth has defeated a traitor and he will become one. We feel that a person of his loyalty could never commit evil unless he had a good reason or if he would be provoked. After Macbeth's first meeting with the witches, we learn from his aside that he has thought about killing Duncan " My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical" 1(Macbeth 1.3.152). Macbeth also says " If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir." 2(Macbeth 1.4.157-159) which means that maybe he does not have to murder the king to gain that title. Luck has been very generous to him and might continue and make him king. Macbeth's true evil thoughts about being king are first shown when he finds out that king Duncan has named his son Malcolm as Prince of Cumberland. He now shows his evil and his true feelings. " Stars, hide your fires; Let not night see my black and deep desires. The...
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...How Much Do Lady Macbeth and Ophelia Have in Common? Although obvious polar opposites, Lady Macbeth and Ophelia are connected, their descent into insanity and eventual demise are their one liking variable. Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most famously frightening and powerful female characters. At the start of the play, she is a loving wife to her husband but at the same time very ambitious, as shown by her immediate determination for Macbeth to be king. This outcome will benefit her and her husband equally. She immediately concludes that "the fastest way" for Macbeth to become king is by murdering King Duncan. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth knows her husband well. She thinks he may be too kind in order to murder King Duncan. At first Macbeth agrees but later wavers in his decision, but Lady Macbeth assures him that being king is what he really wants and that this is the best for both of them. So, in response to Macbeth's uncertainty, Lady Macbeth manipulates him by questioning his manhood and his love for her. She is successful because regardless of his own conscience, Macbeth carries out their plan of murder, by himself. The almost superhuman strength Lady Macbeth gains for the occasion and her cunning ability are shown through her meticulous attention to detail regarding the murder. However, though Lady Macbeth seems strong in her initial pursuits, she proves her weakness when she is unable to commit the act herself or deal with the consequences of her actions. Lady Macbeth's...
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...Sleep Walking Scene In the “sleep walking scene” (Act V, scene i) of Macbeth, Shakespeare presents on the stage the terrible theme of how the entire personality of a human being is eaten up by the sense of guilt arising out of the murder of a saint-like innocent king. In Lady Macbeth the sense is so strong and deeply rooted in the unconscious that it ultimately brings about psychological disorder in her personality. But this does not simply focus on the guilty conscience of one character, rather it lays bare the entire tragic process in its extremity: how evil repays. Modern readers find the scene interesting because of the dramatist’s psychological treatment of the consequence of guilt, but the for the contemporary audience the importance of the scene must have had something to do with the divine ‘vengeance’ for the violation of the divine order, in which the king on earth, as E. M. W. Tillyard says, represented the king in heaven. The murder of the king must have been shocking to the Elizabethan ethos. This is emphasized on the religious level of thought; for the couple not only violated one of God’s commandments, “Thou shall not kill”, but also the act of murder can be traced back to the first murder committed by Cain, therefore to evil. At the beginning of the drama Lady Macbeth had been the most determined, the most cruel and the most inhuman figure, but now in scene I, Act V, she emerges as the most suffering, most disintegrated and most human figure. The scene opens...
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...Being Macbeth ENG 125 Instructor: Sahag Gureghian 03/11/2014 Being MacBeth Talk about a difficult read! Macbeth is definitely a difficult read, but it is also a very good read. There is something about the way it is written that has you raising your eyebrow and widening your eyes, as well as, questioning what was just read. Shakespeare used many elements when writing Macbeth. He was able to express each and every idea vividly using the elements. The three elements that I chose to discuss in this essay are foreshadowing, symbolism, and language. The first element that I would like to discuss is foreshadowing. A lot of foreshadowing took place in Macbeth. Clugston defines foreshadowing as “a technique a writer uses to hint or suggest what the outcome of an important conflict or situation in a narrative will be” (2010). Sometimes when foreshadowing is used in Macbeth it is very unclear of what the outcome will be. When you read a certain part and think one thing, Shakespeare uses foreshadowing and the reader is left asking questions and wondering what will happen, and why. In Act 1 Scene 1, the three witches are talking about Macbeth. They are discussing Macbeth’s future during thunder and lightning. I believe that not only does the witches conversation lead the reader to believe that something will happen, but the thunder and lightning also play an important role in what is to come for Macbeth. In scene 3, the witches appear again. This time they are not alone....
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...Acton once said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Macbeth by William Shakespeare is the tragic story about the kind of destruction ambition and the struggle for power can cause. Even the noblest of people are corrupted by the idea of power and will do anything to achieve it. Symbolism, irony, foil, theme, and imagery are some of the literary elements and techniques Shakespeare uses to portray Macbeth, the protagonist, as a greedy tyrant willing to sacrifice all others to accomplish his goals. Shakespeare not only represents Macbeth as the protagonist, but also as an antagonist to himself and others in the play. The author characterizes Macbeth at first as an honorable man willing to fight for the freedom of his kingdom. Shakespeare foreshadows to the reader a developing change within Macbeth’s character after his encounter with the Weird Sisters. His convene with the witches arouses in Macbeth the idea of becoming king. The motivation for Macbeth to become king spurs from the prophecies told by the witches in the beginning acts of the play, which were evidently coming true as he gained the title “Thane of Cawdor” as the prophecy stated. Below the surface Macbeth is a melting pot of emotions, which engaged his character in the idea of becoming a supreme ruler undoubtedly causing him to commit shameless acts. The character of Macbeth is usually described as being flawed by ambition, but this interpretation is not...
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...For example, in Lord of the Flies Piggy's reaction to Simon's death demonstrated how lightly Piggy took responsibility for his action. As an evident, "It was an accident, said Piggy stubbornly, and that's that." (Golding 174) This shows that Piggy was denying the fact that they had killed Simon. Though, they were all responsible for their actions he kept insisting that it was just an accident. Moreover, Simon's reaction when he found out that Lord of the Flies was the beast within themselves was more important than what he had actually seen. When Lord of the Flies said "There isn't anyone to help you. Only Me. And I'm the Beast." (Golding 158) it showed how the author was trying to portray the ideas of mankind being the beast within themselves. Therefore, the beast represented the evil and darkness inside of them. The society's opinion was overpowered of what he was trying to say resulting in his death. Along with that, Ralph's reaction to Jack lighting the fire out is another factor that determined their responsibility towards their actions. When Ralph said "You didn't ought to have let that fire out. You said you'd keep the smoke going-" (Golding 75) it demonstrated that Ralph cared about living not surviving. On the other hand, Jack cared...
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...Macbeth: A Tragic Hero? William Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, attains a protagonist that evidently portrays himself as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character that is not completely good or evil and has a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall. Macbeth is the epitome of a tragic hero because he starts off as a noble man until his own actions, also influenced by others, bring him to his own death. The events that help take Macbeth to his end are the prophecies told to him by the three witches, Lady Macbeth's pressure that drives him into committing horrible actions, and his own ambition that takes over him and leaves him as nothing but a power and money hungry character. Macbeth starts off with Macbeth and Banquo being praised after battling bravely in a war against the Irish Invaders. “At the beginning of the play, he seems the epitome of a loyal subject, valiantly fighting the rebel forces to protect the king and preserve his power.” (Elaine Pilkington 1) King Duncan believed that Macbeth was tremendously heroic in the battle and decided to name him the new thane of Cawdor after executing the old one because of his betrayal. However, before hearing from the King, Macbeth and Banquo were on their way to the King's court when they were suddenly accompanied by three witches.The witches greet Macbeth as the thane of Glamis, which was his original and only title, and as the thane of Cawdor, which Macbeth was not yet informed of. The witches also tell Macbeth...
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