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Contradictions In Macbeth

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Two men search to find what they want, but end in failure. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth, an excellent general, earns many titles throughout the play such as the “Thane of Glamis”, the “Thane of Cawdor”, and eventually, the King of Scotland. Macbeth is a general under King Duncan when the play opens as Macbeth successfully completes a mission under the King, which, in turn, earns him the “Thane of Cawdor.” After celebration over this, three witches visit Macbeth. These superstitious beings hint to Macbeth that he is the true King of Scotland, and the throne is his. The witches use factual recollections and predictions to convince Macbeth. Over the course of the play, Macbeth becomes obsessive about how to gain the …show more content…

This results in a celebration, as the king applauds Macbeth. However, Macbeth and his fellow fighter and good friend, Banquo, find themselves caught in the path of the witches. At first, the duo lacks trust in the sorceresses, but they woo Macbeth with their clairvoyance in recognition of his titles. The witches acknowledge Macbeth’s accomplishments and proceed to inform him of a future kingship. Thoroughly intrigued, Macbeth asks the witches to “stay, tell me more” of his future kingship (Shakespeare The Tragedy of Macbeth 1.3.70). Macbeth’s eager questions towards the witches open the reader to the onset of Macbeth’s flaw. Not to mention, Macbeth first completely doubts the witches, their capabilities, and the supernatural presence they represent. Regardless, at the first mention of Macbeth in an additional position of power, he stops and asks the witches to stay and further their conversation. This immediately causes one to question the motives behind Macbeth’s mold of the loyal warrior. Similarly, Othello allows Iago to impact his choices and trusts him over all. Automatically, this compares Macbeth to Othello. Therefore, Macbeth’s lust for power causes him to trust the witches and allows them to influence his future decisions. Moreover, Macbeth decides to murder the king and aim for his position at the discretion and influence of both Lady Macbeth and the witches. Immediately after Macbeth kills Duncan, he reports to Lady Macbeth, “I have done the deed” (Mac. 2.2.14). The notion that Macbeth chooses to inform Lady Macbeth of his successful murder show his need for her approval. Because Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to become King, after the murder, he now turns to her in need of guidance. Macbeth relies on Lady Macbeth to push him to perform the actions that cross his mind, yet he never intends to exploit. She

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The generals want to hear more but the witches disappear. Macbeth is soon promoted to thane of cowdor Lady Macbeth hears about this and vows to assist Macbeth become king by any means necessary. Little does Macbeth know he will have to do things he is not willing to do in order to become king of scotland. He does this because he listens to other people and doesn’t take any time to think about what he is doing and how it might affect his opportunity to be king.

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When the story begins, Macbeth truly is a “peerless kinsman” to the king (1.4.66); however, as the story progresses others refer to him in this way only because they are oblivious to his true desire” (Balwan 3). As Balwan states, Macbeth has as significant change due to the so call “power” of being king. While Macbeth transitions to a new form of character, he isolates himself from Lady Macbeth. As the power increases, Macbeth is determined to kill.

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In fact, Macbeth becomes fascinated by them, "would they had stayed." Banquo serves as his conscience, perhaps representing the period audience who would have also thought the witches to be evil and unnatural, and warns him of the dangers of trusting such supernatural messengers; a warning that goes unheeded. After hearing the prophecy, Macbeth already thinks about, "murder," and becomes preoccupied with thoughts of becoming king showing the powerful hold they have over him with only one meeting, scaring the audience who would have believed in Witches. Macbeth believes the Witches as there first prophecy came true and ignores the fact that they’re evil beings whereas Banquo recognizes them for what they are. He even informs his most beloved, Lady Macbeth, who also shares his ambition.

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This points out that the Witches are adept at using indirectness and half-truths to deceive Macbeth. There prophecies, which can be open to interpretation, lead him into making fatal assumptions. Showing irony again, even Banqo acknowledges the Witches' use of honest trifles, and their ultimate goal of betraying and leading them to deal with the consequences. Thus, while Macbeth played a role in his own demise, the witches are accountable for the tragedies that took

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The fact that Macbeth believes the witches’ prophecies are not evil nor good foreshadows how he will go on to kill any other person standing in his way to more power. His ambition blinds his mind to make him even think about ruthlessly committing a murder. This forceful way of gaining power will only lead Macbeth to become a “tyrant” in Scotland and his “fantastical” desires of killing Duncan and receiving the crown will lead Scotland to failure. Under Macbeth’s rule, Scotland seems to be in a terrible condition. With distrust among the people, there is tension all within the country, as Macbeth’s totalitarian regime had rendered the prosperity of Scotland.

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In Act 1 Scene 3, Macbeth meets with Banquo and the Three Witches, who prophesize that Macbeth will become King, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of

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For example, when the witches notify Macbeth that he will gain a new title, they are simply telling him of the fact and are not prompting him to act upon it (Rahman and Tajuddin 138). In spite of that, he instantly conjures up an image in his head of himself killing King Duncan in order to get the position of the King, and subtly questions if his thoughts are against his own morals (Mac I.iii.130-137). This thought is not the witches’ fault, but if they never told Macbeth of his imminent future, he would not think this way. Macbeth’s murderous thought of Duncan lets readers see that Macbeth has a lust for power, which ultimately leads to the tragedy (Kesur 5561). In addition, the witches’ apparitions also play a slight part in Macbeth’s decision making.

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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.

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At the beginning of William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ the protagonist Macbeth is described as ‘brave’, ‘noble’ and ‘honourable’, however Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeths desire for power consumes them. Macbeth’s ambition overrides his conscience and transformed his greatest strength into his greatest weakness. Macbeth’s inability to resist temptations that led him to be greedy for power, Macbeth’s easily manipulative nature which allowed his mind to be swayed, Macbeth having no self control and his excessive pride was what allowed him to renew his previously honourable and celebrated title into one of an evil ‘tyrant’. Macbeth is led by the prophecies of the witches after they foretell he will become the Thane of Cawdor. Not only the witches, but also his wife easily manipulate Macbeth as she attacks his manhood in order to provoke him to act on his desires.

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His easily impressionable nature causes him to not form his own thoughts, but rather listen to the words of Lady Macbeth and the three witches. At the point of this play the audience can note the change in Macbeth's character. Macbeth's first murder was a trying experience for him, however after the first murder; killing seemed to be the only solution to maintain his reign of the people of Scotland. Through this ambition Macbeth is able to organize these murders without a drop of remorse. This lack of remorse is his shrill that pushes him to continue with his evil conspiracies.

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Lady Macbeth persuades and manipulates Macbeth by pointing out his insecurities successfully and pressuring him into murdering the king. Along with this, Lady Macbeth also questions Macbeth’s manhood and masculinity when he does not want to carry out the plan when she says “When you durst do it, then you were a man;//And to be more than what you were, you would//Be so much more the man” (Shakespeare 1.7.49-51). By saying these things, Lady Macbeth persuades her husband to believe that murdering the king will be his redemption from being a

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682 Words | 3 Pages

Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action. Ambition alone is displayed throughout the play to be the most significant cause for Macbeth’s downfall.

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The first thing the witches told Macbeth is that he will end up being king of Scotland. “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king

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Macbeth chose to listen and accept the prophecy as truth even though he had no proof. Although the witches influence Macbeth they did not suggest to Macbeth to kill the king, he got that idea from his selfish thoughts. After the witches visit Macbeth he goes to his wife about his thoughts of killing the king. Lady Macbeth encourages murder because that’s the only way she thinks Macbeth can become king.

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525 Words | 3 Pages

They told Macbeth that he was going to be king, and told Banquo that his children were going to be king. With the knowledge that there is a possibility to become king, along with the selfish human nature, noble Macbeth was easily swayed by this prophecy. At first, Macbeth’s conscience took care of his ambitions, he was afraid he would betray the king, because he knew that he was “his kinsman and his subject” (1.7.13). However as the three witches continue to encourage Macbeth with carefully chosen words, he eventually pushes his conscience away and committed crimes that were dishonourable. Macbeth, easily controlled by his ambitions, loses his noble and heroic title in fear of losing his power.

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