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An analysis of characters in Macbeth
An analysis of characters in Macbeth
An analysis of characters in Macbeth
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At this point in the play, Macbeth has decided to kill the king of Scotland. In Act 2 Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, he utilizes pathos and dark, liquid imagery to create a mood in the reader similar to that of Macbeth’s emotions. As stated earlier, Macbeth is prepared to kill his king--an act he originally didn’t want to commit. Since his meeting with the Witches, Lady Macbeth has worked her way into Macbeth’s mind. She has now completely convinced him that he wants to be king, this is an example of the reliance on someone else’s thoughts.
In Scene 7 Act 1 of Macbeth, Integrity of each character were displayed throughout. Macbeth had possessed a high integrity to his master at first but it was quickly changed to low integrity due to the motivation of his wife. Shakespeare used diction in the text to display integrity of Macbeth throughout this scene. Throughout, Macbeth displayed a Low Integrity, Macbeth couldn’t resist the idea of killing the king and Which is why he felled into his wife’s corrupted plans.
During the the Middle Ages and Renaissance loyalty played a huge role in everyday life. Men were expected to show loyalty to their king, their fellow soldiers, and to their country. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, loyalty plays an important role. Macbeth,Malcolm, and Macduff are all examples of loyalty in Macbeth.
In the play Macbeth, Macbeth is faced with the decision to kill King Duncan to become king or not. He first is told by the witches that it is his destiny that he will become king, but he brushes it off as nothing. This vision of him as king becomes brighter when his wife says that he should kill the king. Macbeth has many internal struggles over what he should do. Should he be morally sound and not kill the King or take the chance and do it.
Macbeth was just trying to be a good partner and person, but that wasn’t enough for Lady Macbeth. Perhaps, Macbeth held onto his pride because he felt like that was the only thing working well for him. Lady Macbeth talked down, and manipulated with her words. She knew that Macbeth was to weak to run because he had nothing else. In any story line, the hero has to sacrifice things in order to save everything.
Selfishness plays a vital role in the downfall of characters in literature. In William Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, selfishness roots itself within the structure of the play and onto Macbeth. Macbeth is a Scottish general and after he had won a victorious battle, he receives a prophecy from three witches whom stated that Macbeth will become the King of Scotland. Macbeth becomes consumed with selfish ambition, and he immediately plots to murder King Duncan while he spent a night at Macbeth's manor. The morning after, Macbeth takes the throne for himself.
The Self Persecution of Macbeths Mind In The Tragedy of Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, the main character of the play, Macbeth, slowly starts going insane after the witches decide to toy with him by prophesying his future and telling him that he will be king. In order to be king, Macbeth starts going on a rampage of killing the people who get in the way of him being king. Macbeth started this rampage along his wife Lady Macbeth, who also further pushes him to murder people to get what she wants and to maintain their power. As time goes on, Macbeth's guilt and regret from his wrong doings starts to dig deeper into his mind causing him to see hallucinations.
Everyone has experienced some form of guilt and shame in their life. Webster’s dictionary defines guilt as “the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously” and shame as “a painful emotion caused by the consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety.” Whether it be something small such as lying to an authority figure to horrific acts of murder, people feel guilty for the bad actions they’ve done. Depending on the person, this guilt can display in different ways: self-harm, suicidal thoughts or actions, depression, paranoia, and occasionally, hallucinations. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, guilt and shame influence the actions and behavior of Macbeth by manifesting into hallucinations, often resulting in doubts about his morality.
Following, Macbeth has too much ambition when he kills Duncan, which causes him to betray his moral conscience. Macbeth states, “I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only/ Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself/ And falls on th’ other-”(1.7.25-28). This is important because
To fight for an individual’s country was a noble deed. However, in Macbeth’s case, it becomes a symbol of guilt and discomfort. In the beginning, Macbeth is a revered soldier and a confident nobleman but after murdering Duncan, he experiences a change in character, becoming uncomfortable and paranoid for committing such a horrible crime.
While both the main antagonist and protagonist of the play conveys courage, there are two minor characters who act courageously for the sake of their own motives. To begin with, Lady Macbeth is one of the most ruthless and ambitious characters in the play, being introduced as cold-hearted and cruel. She constantly reprimands Macbeth for being too remorseful or “cowardly”. Her desire to be queen is strong, which is why she asks the spirits to, “...unsex [her] here And fill [her], from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty” (Shakespeare 1.5.44-46). Due to this quote, the readers are able to infer that she has to rely on the spirits or alcohol to prevent her compassionate side from overcoming her instincts.
The road to a fatal outcome can be observed through many different qualities but excessive ambition is one of the main downfalls for most of us in society. Evil motivation due to uncontrollable and unnecessarily high ambition produces difficult obstacles in our lives. We could also become blind to making the right and moral decisions when our ambition is unrestrained. Additionally, all of the paths and routes for immoderate ambition leads to destruction and disorder. Another important note to keep in mind is that chaos and complications will be rooted from not only extravagant ambition but also poor decision making.
An internal struggle is a “psychological struggle within the mind of a literary or dramatic character, the resolution of which creates the plot 's suspense” (dictionary.refrence.com). In the drama Macbeth by William Shakespeare one could go as far as saying that the internal struggle of the main character is the base of the plot itself. The entire drama revolves around the facets of Macbeth’s internal struggle and the actions which he takes as a result of this. Catalysed by low self esteem a struggle begins in which Macbeth seeks to be admired by attempting to take power in ways which conflict with conscience. This struggle is manifold and complex but for the purpose of analysis can be divided into three governing factors.
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
In his greed, or desire to fulfill the prophecy, Macbeth murders several people, including King Duncan and Macbeth’s own friend Banquo. As he is trying to talk himself out of murder, he says, “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’er leaps itself and falls on the other” ,(Act 1 Scene 7 Shakespeare 62). Then Macbeth realizes that greed is his only motivator, yet he continues to pursue the thrown. The theme ambition plays a big role in Macbeth testing Macbeth disloyalty. Macbeth said to himself, “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires”, (Act 1 Scene 4 Shakespeare 48) “Stars, hide your fires” is personification.
