Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare, a renowned English poet and playwright of the 16th century. Like most great works of literature, Macbeth contains a number of motifs, which are reoccurring themes or elements that can found in a story. Motifs are mainly used by the author to emphasize a certain idea or theme in the plot. According to the online article, The Role and Importance of Motifs in Macbeth by Tom Wiig, “Shakespeare employs the use of motifs to emphasize certain ideas as he aims to point out key elements for us, the audience, to decipher and explore.” Some of the motifs that appear in Macbeth is irony and paradox.
In order to understand why irony is a motif in Macbeth, it is important to know the meaning of irony. Irony is a figure of speech in which there is a contradiction between what is expected and what actually happens. Furthermore, Shakespeare intentionally used irony in Macbeth to create and maintain suspense, while
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The three witches prophesize that Macbeth is destined to become king. Although this prophecy is true, it is ironic because Macbeth’s idea of being king contradicts what really happens in the story. Macbeth most likely believed that once he kills Duncan that he would enjoy the wealth and power that comes with the throne. He believed that he would be happy. However, after he murders Duncan, Macbeth ultimately experiences the guilt of his actions. As the story progresses, Macbeth goes on this killing spree that includes the deaths of Banquo and Macduff’s family. These deaths were a result of Macbeth’s insecurities that he would lose his power. Macbeth’s actual reign as King of Scotland contradicts what he expected. Therefore, Macbeth’s belief that he would enjoy his time as King of Scotland is ironic because in actuality he was not happy as the