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Jealousy And Guilt In Macbeth

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In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare many characters are driven by emotion but the main character Macbeth makes the biggest impact. At the beginning of the play, three witches tell Macbeth that he will be king. After hearing this Macbeth wanted to become powerful so he killed the king once he got to where he wanted to be everything went sideways and he became an evil ruler who enjoyed killing. Macbeth held a guilty conscience that prohibited him from making rational decisions like who he should trust. At the end of the play Macbeth’s mistakes catch up with him and he is beheaded in battle. It is shown throughout the play that Macbeth’s actions are heavily influenced by the emotions of greed, jealousy, and guilt.
Throughout the play, Macbeth shows …show more content…

First, Macbeth lets his jealousy turn into betrayal. During the play, Macbeth said, “The Prince of Cumberland — that is a step On which I must fall down, or else overleap, For in my way it lies.” (Shakespeare 1.4. 49-51). Duncan names Malcolm to be heir to the throne. Macbeth instantly becomes jealous after hearing this news. Macbeth knows that if he wants to become king then he has to get rid of Malcolm or Duncan. Macbeth chooses to betray Duncan and kill him. Malcolm becomes frightened that he will be next and he leaves town making Macbeth king. Finally, Macbeth committed evil crimes because he was jealous. For example, The Witches told Banquo that his children will become kings and Macbeth will have no descendants take the throne. Macbeth did not like hearing this and once he had a chance he had murderers kill Banquo and his son. Macbeth was very jealous and angry that Banquo would have children that would become king and he didn’t. Macbeth wanted the murderers to kill Banquo and his son but they only half succeeded because Banquo’s song escaped while Banquo was killed. In conclusion, Macbeth makes irreversible mistakes because he was jealous of other

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