An old man wakes up in the middle of the night to a searing pain in his chest. He opens his eyes to see a knife lodged in his heart, and the face of a man he had trusted wholeheartedly. Macbeth is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 16th century AD, though it takes place roughly 500 years earlier, and takes place in Scotland. The play is about a proud noble, Macbeth, whose royal ambitions bring about his ruin. This story is often looked at as a great man falling into evil, but the idea that Macbeth was a good man who fell from grace falls apart under closer inspection. He should instead be seen as a bad man whose true nature is revealed, as he almost immediately kills Duncan for his own gain, then Banquo out of fear, and finally …show more content…
In scene three of act one, Macbeth and Banquo meet the weird sisters, who give them prophecies. They tell Macbeth that he will be king of Scotland, and by the end of the act, he decides to murder Duncan, and he is more worried about “if [he and his wife] should fail” than the morality of the act (1.7.68). This is often seen as the moment when Macbeth becomes a bad person, but any person who puts up so little resistance to murder was never a great person. This, however, is not the only murder this so-called great man commits without a second …show more content…
After Macduff flees the country to meet up with Duncan's heir and plan an invasion of Scotland, Macbeth, almost instinctively, orders the murder of Macduff’s “wife, his babies, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in this line” (4.1.173-174). Both of the other murders were at least for understandable reasons, but this murder reveals how truly psychopathic Macbeth is, as the only reason for this murder is to get back at Macduff. This murder, finally, shows everybody in the British Isles Macbeth’s true
In Macbeth, Macbeth follows King Duncan’s murder and betrayal with multiple dishonorable behaviours leading to his tragic ending. To illustrate, Macbeth kills his close companion, Banquo, soon after deceiving the king: “My lord, [Banquo’s] throat is cut. That I did for him” (3.4.18). The single act of betrayal causes Macbeth to believe that he can and must commit more immoral conducts in order to succeed. Macbeth becomes certain that he will face no coincidence for his actions after getting away with betraying his king.
His lust for power drives him to murder Banquo and Fleance to ensure that they will not become kings, and so that his own sons will inherit the throne. Making rationalizations for the murders, he recalls the witches’ prophecy, by saying “They hailed him to a line of kings... No son of mine succeeding.” (3.1) Desiring to retain the power he occupies, Macbeth becomes increasingly willing to kill in order to preserve it. His mental state begins to deteriorate rapidly as he becomes increasingly more paranoid due to the lingering guilt of the crimes.
In act 4 scene 1 Macbeth orders for the murder of macduff's entire family. In act 4 scene 2 the murders take place, and in act 4 scene 3 macduff hears of his family's slaughter. It is then, when it dawns on the reader the true extent of Macbeth's cruelty. He thinks it fit to murder people who play no part in his war for power, simply because it will send a message to those who oppose him. His id allows him to commit such atrocities remorselessly because it has overpowered his ego and superego.
He knew that Banquo was the only thing blocking his triumph, so he came to the conclusion that murdering him would be crucial. This is the point during the play when Macbeth changed from his previous morals and became someone who would do anything for power and wealth, including murder and treason. He does not take into consideration his close relationship with Banquo, and is blinded by his thirst for supremacy. The murder of Banquo juxtaposes from the murder of Duncan. During the murder of Banquo, the power and wealth caught up to him and got into his
After all, Macbeth had hired assassins to kill the entirety of Macduff's family, the only people that he had only seemed to ever love. And Macduff was angry. As Macbeth paced the top of the building mumbling to himself, Macduff watched, waiting for the right moment to strike. When Macbeth was turned away, and not looking in his general direction, Macduff decided that it would be the perfect time to make an appearance.
Macbeth is a very interesting play written by William Shakespeare in the year 1606. Macbeth kills Duncan, Banquo and others to try to become king and stay king. He does this because of the witches prophecies which state that he would be king and what he should avoid. In the end the witches tricked him and end up wording the prophecy so that he thought he was invincible let his guard down and ended up getting killed by macduff. Through most of the play Macbeth bases his actions off of greed, guilt, and fear.
Macbeth is trying to work with Lady Macbeth and work through a plan to kill Duncan, Banquo, his son, and anyone else that stands in the way or the royalty in Scotland. In this scene Macbeth is treating Duncan unfair and not being a noble man to his king, Macduff is however a noble man who is abiding by the rules to serve the king of the country. Once Macduff hears about such nonsense, he tries to avenge Duncans murderer when he discovers that Macbeth is responsible for the regioide. After this scene both the Macbeths kill Duncan and are trying to claim the
His noble characteristics have been corrupted by his ambition and his fear of losing his newly acclaimed power makes it easier for him to take drastic measures; such as murder, to keep it. This can be seen when Macbeth is speaking to the hired murderers and says, “That every minute of his being thrusts/Against my near’st of life” (III.I.116-117). In these lines, he is referring to Banquo and how the mere existence of Banquo threatens Macbeth’s position. To Banquo from figuring out what he did to King Duncan, he has him killed (III.IV.16). Macbeth has no serious qualms about having Banquo killed and makes the order with surprising ease.
“The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword his wife his babes, and all the unfortunate souls” (4.1. 165-167). This shows Macbeth’s complete disregard for human life and his willingness to commit crimes to maintain his power. He sees Macduff as a significant threat and is willing to do whatever it takes to eliminate him, including murdering Macduff’s wife and children. His ambition has consumed him, and he has lost touch with morality or compassion.
His desire for the crown outweighed his conscience to do what was morally right. Now, void of morality, he kills the guards to cover up and divert any suspicion from himself. And, as his thrust for power grows, he kills his friend Banquo to eliminate all threats that would stand in his way. His tyranny did not stop there; not only was he a lying murderer, but he now personified evil as he set eye on “The castle of Macduff” by ordering the killing of everyone in the household (4.1.151). Macbeth reigned with fear, berating those around him or killing them to maintain control.
He reveals that he is not strong minded and is easily influenced by those around him. It is through Banquo that one can actually identify Macbeth with these traits. If it were not for Banquo’s calm and responsible reaction to the foretelling, it would be difficult to hold Macbeth on a basis on the appropriate way to respond to the situation. Banquo is not after sole success, and still considers himself successful even with his sons being heirs to the kingdom. With this genuine appreciation, we are able to view Macbeth as a greedy and irrational character.
The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is seen as one of Shakespeare 's greatest tragedies. It deals with a man named Macbeth, who is introduced as a brave, strong war hero. He has the respect of the king and his peers. The predictions of three witches that Macbeth will become king begin Macbeth 's descent into his own downfall. The play is set in Scotland, written for King James I.
With every death, Macbeth has become more and more ruthless, he hasn’t even let it set in that he just ordered the murder of another of his friends. After this, Macbeth goes to see the witches demanding information, where he decides to murder Macduff until learning that he has fled to England. The second apparition tells Macbeth that no one borne of a woman can harm him, and Macbeths courage is spiked again, before he decides to murder Macduff's entire family. This is where Macbeth is officially at his worst, killing Macduff's entire family just because he
The play Macbeth authored by William Shakespeare emphasizes a theme of guilt and regret in relation to unnatural acts, through the character change of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, their relationship and how it can cause emotional breakdown loss of personality and ultimately, loss of sanity. The play was written in the early the 1600s and is set in Scotland. It focuses around the life of Macbeth a Thane, and future king of Scotland, who seemingly does whatever it takes to achieve this prestigious role. In the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth is steely in her mannerisms and appears to be willing to do anything in order to achieve what she ultimately desires. However, in the final act of the play her steely and cruel nature breaks down due to the
Even though Macbeth felt guilty after killing Duncan, he continued his journey through the wrong path. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood.” Macbeth felt no guilt at all in killing his close friend, Banquo. He sends an army to kill Macduff and his family. Towards the end of the play, Macbeth became a person completely different.