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Examples Of Ethos In Macbeth

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During the last scene of Act 1 in Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth employs the three Aristotelian Appeals in order to inspire Macbeth to murder his cousin Duncan. Lady Macbeth utilizes logos, ethos, and pathos to evoke a convincing argument against Macbeth to initiate him to kill his cousin. As Macbeth decides to kill Duncan to obtain power, it proves how Lady Macbeth’s application of the three Aristotelian Appeals utterly convinces Macbeth to commit the inhumane act of murder. The first Aristotelian Appeal, logos, is defined as an argument based on logic or reason. When Macbeth withdraws his decision to kill his cousin, Lady Macbeth furiously asserts that Macbeth “[lives] a coward in thine own esteem/Letting ‘I dare not’ wait …show more content…

As Lady Macbeth continues to criticize Macbeth on why he will not kill Duncan, she acknowledges that Macbeth would “be more than what [he was], [Macbeth] would be so much more the man” (1.7.57-58). Lady Macbeth indicates that if Macbeth continues with his plan and kills Duncan, he will then develop into more of the man he previously was. As ethos is a form of creating reliability within an audience, Macbeth is seduced by Lady Macbeth into thinking that he will develop into a masculine figure if he kills Duncan. In addition, Lady Macbeth uses pathos as one of her main elements for convincing Macbeth to commit a ruthless murder against Duncan. After Macbeth withdraws from his plan to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth confidently avows that she would “have plucked [her] nipple from [the baby’s] boneless gums/And dashed the brains out, had [she] so sworn as [Macbeth] have done this” (1.7.65-67). Lady Macbeth utilizes the baby as it is commonly found as a weak spot for couples who have withdrawn children from their family. Lady Macbeth uses pathos-driven emotion to cause Macbeth to feel motivated to murder Duncan to attain power of the throne. Lady Macbeth contains the most convincing argument as she uses pathos, logos, and ethos to assert logical statements and emotional-driven responses which will ultimately overcome Macbeth’s

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