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Kings in Macbeth comparison
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The reason why Macbeth killed Duncan was because the three witches foretold him that he was going to be king and was enhanced to a further situation
However, since Macbeth is king of all the land opposing him would be treason. Yet Malcolm continues with his plan and forms an army that goes to attack Macbeth. Macduff ends up killing Macbeth himself. Moreover, Malcolm takes the throne for himself. Power and authority shifts once again.
The Thane of King Duncan, Macbeth hears a prophecy that he himself will become king later on in the future after King Duncan. This then leads to Macbeth being overcome by greed. Since Macbeth greeds to be king so bad, he murders King Duncan and takes his place of the throne. Macbeth starts to live with so much guilt and fear that he commits even more murders to have his power safe. Macbeth is so confident in the prophecies that his life comes to a downfall and he gets killed by the people he did wrong.
‘Macbeth’s ambition is his only weakness’. Do you agree? Macbeth’s greatest weakness is his ambition, but it is also his greatest strength. Despite his ambition being one of his major weaknesses, it is not his sole weakness he exhibits that contributes to his inevitable death.
During this time he goes through an internal conflict with himself. He argues with himself over whether or not to trust the prophecy and three witches, “This supernatural soliciting/Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill,/Why hath it given me earnest of success” (1.3.243-245). Unfortunately for Macbeth the King’s son Malcolm is to named the predecessor of King Duncan. Macbeth recognizes that this means the prophecy cannot come true despite the Thane of Cawdor prediction becoming a reality. This displeases him greatly despite the fact that the king has bestowed upon him a great honor.
According to Aristotle, "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. An Aristotelian tragic hero must possess specific characteristics such as flaw or error of judgment (hamartia), a reversal of fortune brought about because of the hero's error in judgment, the discovery or recognition that the reversal was brought about by the hero's own actions, excessive pride (hubris) and the character's fate must be greater than deserved (The Poetics). In the end these factors lead to a fatal demise to which they are destined. Corresponding to Aristotle’s genre of tragedy Macbeth is in fact a tragic hero. Although his actions do not bestow nobleness, other characters imply that he is honorable for example when Duncan states “True, worthy Banquo.
Macbeth shows that he is willing to kill King Duncan because he is interested in the witches prophecy, after they tell him that he will become ‘Thane of Cawdor’ and then the King.
Consequently, a war breaks out and takes Macbeth and his wife. Macbeth is considered a tragic hero because of his excessive pride, reversal of fate when Fleance escapes, and his tragic flaw ambition. Macbeth is a tragic hero because of his excessive pride. This can be seen in Act III Scene IV when Macbeth says, “Ourself will mingle with society, And play the humble host.”
Often times, people go through rises and downfalls in their lives that they themselves are responsible for. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, both main characters, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, himself, are responsible for the downfall of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is responsible for the tragedy because she convinces and manipulates Macbeth into doing the deed. However, Shakespeare accomplishes in showing that Macbeth is more responsible for his own downfall than Lady Macbeth because he listens to the witches and follows his ambition rather than his conscience. To begin, Lady Macbeth is responsible for the tragedy because she convinces and manipulates Macbeth into doing the deed by insulting him when he changes his mind.
Macbeth was the Thane of Cawdor but he wanted to be king more than anything. The witches had told him that he would one day be king but he did not know how long that would take so when King Duncan had been invited to stay the night at his house he exclaimed that “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,/ shakes so my single state of man/ that function is smother 'd in surmise,/ and nothing is but what is not”(1.3.52-55). He felt that if he were to kill King Duncan that he would have a better chance of becoming king. Though the witches had never told him that someone would need to get murdered for him to become king, his ambition tempted him to quicken this process the only way he felt he could. This was the beginning of the murderer that the witches had created with the fortune telling.
In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, many of the main characters can be classified as tragic heroes. A tragic hero can be labeled as a character with a fatal flaw which eventually leads to their downfall. However, I believe that the main character, Macbeth, is overall the biggest tragic hero within the play. Macbeth's selfish ambition, low self-esteem, and general obsession with more power all contributed to his grand title of being a tragic hero.
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, there is plenty of debate on whether Macbeth is a true tragic hero or not. Although Macbeth closely follows the definition and has plenty of the characteristics of a tragic hero, he is not. Now Macbeth is of noble stature he earns Thane of Cawdor and inherits the title Thane of Glamis from his father. King Duncan gives the title Thane of Cawdor to Macbeth because he fought valiantly in battle and that the other Thane was a traitor and did not deserve the title.
They tell him that he will soon be named Thane of Cawdor, and will eventually become king. Macbeth does not believe this prophecy, until King Duncan names him the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth writes a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her about his encounter with the witches. It is in reading this letter that Lady Macbeth begin to think up a plan to murder the king. When Lady Macbeth presents her plan to Macbeth, he reacts reluctantly.
“There is none but he whose being I do fear: and, under him, my genius is rebuked; as, it is said, Mark Antony 's was by Caesar” (III.i.57-60). Macbeth is angry about being under any of Duncan 's sons when it comes to who becomes the next king. Macbeth is being selfish and greedy, which he proves when he kills Duncan to take his place as king. Macbeth thinks about his line of succession, and thinks to himself “ No son of mine succeeding,if’t
He let his ambitions take control of his actions. Macbeth is a tragic hero because he redeemed a small measure of his nobility. He redeemed himself by fighting until the end of his life. He understood his fate and still fought.
