In William Shakespeare's play “Macbeth”, there are many characters that are depicted as egotistical due to their thirst for more and more power, however there are also others that do not share this trait and are genuine and selfless people. Two selfish and condescending characters in this play are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, who are both driven by their ambition for power and status. Once they got that first feeling of power, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were on a mission to get even more no matter the price. In contrast King Duncan is an example of the opposite. He is a giving and highly respected king who loves and supports his people as much as he can.
Lady Macbeth can be argued as one of the most selfish and demanding characters in the play.
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Macbeth wants to kill the king, Duncan, because he believes that it is the only way to fulfill the prophecy given to him by the three witches. After being given the position as the Thane of Cowder he is driven by his ambition to become king and his desire for power and authority. “Against the use of nature? Present fears/Are less than horrible imaginings./My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical.”(1.3.150-152). Right after receiving his prophecy Macbeth begins thinking about the murder of King Duncan. He voices his initial hesitation but still seriously considers the possibility of killing in order to get to his desired status. As he explains his thoughts to his wife she immediately supports his ideas of murder and convinces him to commit the treacherous act himself. "I go, and it is done. The bell invites me./Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell/That summons thee to heaven or to hell.”(2.1.75-77). Macbeth kills King Duncan as a result of his ambition and desire for more power after becoming the Thane of Cawdor. He believes that the only way to fulfill the prophecy given to him by the three witches is to become king himself. Though Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to take action, he is the one who actually commits the act of murder. He murders King Duncan while he is staying at the Macbeths' castle, taking advantage of the opportunity and the trust placed in him. This act sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Macbeth's eventual downfall and the tragic events of the play. Whilst there are many characters portrayed in a gluttonous nature in Shakespeare's play there are a selected few that are compassionate and good-hearted; one of them being King
Having a strong desire to rule, Macbeth is extremely ambitious. His ambition outweighs any other quality, making it undesirable. Nothing would stand in the way of Macbeth’s success once he set his mind towards something. Macbeth doesn’t have any reason why should kill King Duncan. As he is talking with himself trying to get one, the only reason to go through with the plan is because of his ambition getting in the way.
To continue his family’s name but also assuring he has a lot of power he had to kill King Duncan as shown in Act 2 Scene 1 lines 33-35 Macbeth says “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?” this was when he was on his way to murder Duncan. Macbeth also had to murder his companion Banquo and others to keep his ambition going.
Through the characters, Shakespeare communicates that all are at risk of succumbing to the powerful nature of greed and this ultimately will contribute to one’s downfall. Macbeth let his temptation and greed corrupt him when he decided to kill the king, Banquo, MacDuff’s family and the servants. In the beginning of the play, the knight pledged loyalty to the king, proof of his loyalty being killing his traitor, the Thane of Cawdor. Before being approached by the 3 witches Macbeth showed no interest in wanting to take the throne, yet he still gave in to greed and betrayed the one who trusted him most.
Macbeth, three witches tell Macbeth that he will be King of Scotland which prompts Macbeth to devise a plan to kill the reigning King Duncan and claim the throne for himself. In act 1 scene 7, Macbeth hesitates with continuing the planned murder of Duncan, but Lady Macbeth successfully persuades him to carry it out. Shakespeare argues that ambition causes people to become greedy which leads them to commit evil acts. Lady Macbeth's determination to continue with the murder of King Duncan
Macbeth killed the king because the three witches told Macbeth that he would become the Thane of Cawdor and then eventually the king. Macbeth is told by three witches; “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!” , “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!”
As a result, Macbeth, after being heavily influenced by his wife and his own greed, kills King Duncan. Once he finishes killing the king he feels a huge sense of regret and guilt after committing this murderous act. However, he still achieves his aspiration of becoming king in which he is very possessive of. While Macbeth is king, he reminisces about the original
Macbeth’s meekness allowed him to be disparaged by Lady Macbeth into giving in and killing the king for the throne. The amount of ambition Macbeth had was unrestrained and instead of doing it for the people he was just doing it for himself. The witches were unclear about Macbeth’s future, yet they never insinuated that he had to kill anybody in order to become king. Macbeth became Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and later, became king.
At the start of the play, Macbeth is well respected among King Duncan’s army. He encounters three witches who give him a prophecy that he will become king. At first, Macbeth believes that fate and the natural order will lead him to become king, and he doesn’t have to do anything. Macbeth’s wife convinces him to kill King Duncan, which he eventually proceeds to do. Macbeth continues to commit murders to maintain his power, and he thinks there is no going back.
Macbeth was the Thane of Cawdor but he wanted to be king more than anything. The witches had told him that he would one day be king but he did not know how long that would take so when King Duncan had been invited to stay the night at his house he exclaimed that “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,/ shakes so my single state of man/ that function is smother 'd in surmise,/ and nothing is but what is not”(1.3.52-55). He felt that if he were to kill King Duncan that he would have a better chance of becoming king. Though the witches had never told him that someone would need to get murdered for him to become king, his ambition tempted him to quicken this process the only way he felt he could. This was the beginning of the murderer that the witches had created with the fortune telling.
This play captures the rise and fall of King Macbeth. Shakespeare shows the reader that one persons greed can get him killed and other people around to turn on him, By showing the reader what decisions Macbeth made to elevate his status in power. The kind of people who changed around them and how they changed. Furthermore in Act 1, Macbeth is given a prophecy that he would become king by three witches. This leads to him into thinking greedy and commiting murder.
Greed and guilt are two characteristics that can wreak havoc on the human mind and soul, and give someone what they deserve over time. Therefore, nothing seems more satisfying than when the villain or protagonist gets what they deserve for their bad deeds. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare shows these traits, along with their affects, through the tragic hero of the play, Macbeth, and his wife, Lady Macbeth, also leaving the reader with the question: “Could this happen today?” After gaining the corrupt title Macbeth craves, being king is not as significant as he implies. Macbeth admits to his reign being spoiled saying, “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus”(Act III, Scene I, lines 50-51).
Macbeth shows that he is willing to kill King Duncan because he is interested in the witches prophecy, after they tell him that he will become ‘Thane of Cawdor’ and then the King.
He now perceives that in order to become king he has to step over some people, kill them. For all intents and purposes, how can he become king if Duncan is already running the position? Executing Duncan was the only option in order for him to become king, at least to his regards. Despite his bad ambition, Macbeth is not happy about committing murder, not to the slightest. It's like if he'd close his eyes and reopened them (hoping to see things differently)
Macbeth’s ambition is what is causing him to intervene with his prophecy and pursue his goal (rather than leave it to chance). In a way, it is Macbeth’s own “black and deep desires” that make him kill in the first place as the witches never tell him to do so. Furthermore, apart from ambition, it is Macbeth’s own weak will and moral system that causes him to do the actions that result in his downfall. Macbeth’s weak will is undeniable and is illustrated before killing Duncan. “I have of spur/To prick the sides of my intent, but only/Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself/And falls on the other” (I, VII, 25-28).
He chose to kill Duncan when speaking to his wife “I am settled, and bend up Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. Away, and mock the time with fairest show. False face must hide what the false heart doth know.” (1.7.79-82) He has decided not only to kill his king, but to pretend that he is innocent, and take his throne, It is his decision, not Lady Macbeth’s.