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Introduction to Macbeth
Relevance of Macbeth
School assignment about macbeth
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Introduction to Macbeth
Relevance of Macbeth
School assignment about macbeth
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
There are many ideas explored in Shakespeare’s Macbeth that often include allusions to how corrupted and violent tyranny could be in the 1600s. Leaders would use acts of violence to emphasize on their power over others and to maintain their kingdomship. Throughout the play, characters use violence to achieve their goals, but this often foreshadowed to a continuance of bloodshed and death. Macbeth himself was especially effected by this, as throughout the play he will continue to be the main violent force, and his violence will carry a strong effect on the other characters, as well as himself.
Throughout time there has been plenty of famous “rip-offs”, however, I feel Shakespeare does it best with his blatant stealing from Greek mythology and tragedies. Throughout Macbeth, there are plenty of references to Greek mythology from the tragic hero narrative to the outright mention of Hecate. The Witches in Macbeth are no exception. They are displayed as all-knowing characters who work for Hecate herself and bear a strong resemblance to the three Fates or Moirai in Greek mythology. This essay will take a deeper look into the question: Are the Witches and the Moirai one and the same?
Molding Macbeth Macbeth goes through serious changes in many versions of his story. Although different variations are produced, most of them stick to the original story line from the Macbeth play book written by Shakespeare. In this story, Macbeth was pointed towards many challenges; such as murder, mental health, narcissism, and madness. Macbeth is molded into this new character throughout the story line, becoming different with every scene.
In the play, Macbeth, I believe that one of the witches was the third murderer. In the play, Macbeth hires two murderers to carry out several brutal acts for him. When the murderers go to kill Banquo and his son, there are three murderers. The witches love to use people and watch them suffers. To do this to Macbeth, they need to gain his trust.
In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare crafts the witches to be evil and deceiving with a manipulative trait from the start. To the audience this emphasises the idea that they are powerful for the wrong reasons. At the beginning of play the witches enter through the stage direction “thunder and lightning” this symbolises that the witches characters are seen to be evil as the weather precedes them. This phrase creates a bitter tone that reflects onto the witches. This shows the audience that they can be despicable characters.
Macbeth calls her his “dearest partner of greatness”, which indicates they have a close relationship, and he considers her equal to him. “Lady Macbeth must act and think "like a man" because good women are by definition subservient, and can exert no recognizable authority.” When there is the idea of murdering King Duncan, she takes control of the situation. She calls on the evil sprits saying, “unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full, of direst cruelty.” She needed to be male in order to kill Duncan because it was believed only men could commit murder, since women were too dainty to do
William Shakespeare portrayed the character Lady Macbeth to be extremely ruthless, malicious and manipulative. Thus, being the reason she could easily convince Macbeth to do her will, yet still put on such a convincing performance in front of those who knew nothing of her and her husband’s actions. Lady Macbeth shows her complexity constantly throughout the story when she shares her view-point on masculinity by demasculinizing her own husband, when she strategically plans the murder of the King Duncan, and finally when she finally goes crazy because of the guilt she possesses for not only her own actions but also turning her own husband into a
No boasting like a fool; This deed I’ll do before this purpose cool, (iv, ii, 149-153) This shows macbeth's ambition because he is willing to kill kids and a whole family just so he can stay king. Macbeth is a tragic hero because he meet that first requirement which is Hamartia This shows the that Macbeth is very desperate to stay king. By now, Macbeth has changed a lot.
He does not want to be a loyal servant to the king, but rather be the king with loyal servants to serve him. And because of these ambitious thoughts lurking in his mind, he must ask the “Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4.52-53). So that no one can see through his wall of false appearance and discern his true deepest desires. Hence, Macbeth appeared to be an honorable and exemplary candidate for the role that king Duncan bestows upon him, but in reality he is only dishonorable for he has notion of regicide to become king himself and must appears to be loyal to a king “whose murder yet is but fantastical” (1.3.139). Also, Lady Macbeth hides herself behind the wall of her false appearance which makes her seem as if she is the greatest of hostess, but in reality she too has “black and deep desires” (1.4.52-53), to kill king
Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action. Ambition alone is displayed throughout the play to be the most significant cause for Macbeth’s downfall.
After the three witches inform Macbeth that he will be king, Lady Macbeth finds out and wants Macbeth to kill King Duncan. “Shall sun that morrow see! Your face,my thane, is as a book where men may read strange matters. (1.5.60-63). At first, Macbeth does not want to do it, but Lady Macbeth persuades him to do it by telling him that he isn’t a man if does not do as she says.
Lady Macbeth in the beginning of the play is manipulative, most of the times she manipulates her husband into doing either what she wants or what she thinks he should do. For example, when Macbeth does not want to kill Duncan anymore, Lady Macbeth convinces him by saying “from this time such I account thy love. Art thou afeared to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou art in desire? (I.vii line 38-41). Besides, the audience see Lady Macbeths is influencing her husband’s feelings by she is using her love as a weapon because she is saying do it
Lady Macbeth plans to invite king Duncan over for dinner, but really she is convincing Macbeth to murder him. She influences him to kill Duncan because he is the only one standing in the way of Macbeth becoming king. Lady Macbeth plans the killing but convinces Macbeth to do the dirty deed. Lastly, Lady Macbeth is one of the causes of Macbeth’s failure because she repeatedly questions Macbeth’s manhood until she persuades him to make a bad choice. “When you durst do it then you were a man” (1.7.53-58).
Her ambition is not only for herself but also for Macbeth. Nevertheless, with all her fervor, she wants him to be as strong as her. “Make thick my blood./Stop up the access and passage to remorse,/That no compunctious visitings of nature/ Shake my fell purpose/Come to my woman’s breasts,/And take my milk for gall” (1.5.44-49). Lady Macbeth never wavers in her goal.
Macbeth started off as a valiant and courageous soldier, who would do anything for the king. By the end of the play, Macbeth was a tyrant and a horrible leader who killed those who trusted him to maintain the throne. It takes many factors to take a strong man and transform him into an evil monster. Macbeth’s downfall was caused by the deception and temptation of the witches and their prophecies, Lady Macbeth’s greed and aspirations for her husband to be king, and Macbeth’s own greed, jealousy and ambition.