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Macbeth And Grendel Research Paper

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While Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Beowulf’s Grendel differ in motivation, characteristics, and method, they both share a common theme of murder. Macbeth is started off being visited by two witches, who predict that Macbeth will eventually take over the Thane of Cawdor, and become King, as he is already known as the Thane of Glamis. The witches refer to Macbeth as these titles (1.3.47-50), and this only sparks Macbeth’s curiosity and wild journey, and thus, begins the process of becoming King. Macbeth feels a sense of pressure from his wife, Lady Macbeth, and he sees signs prophesying his eventual murder of the King and his potential new role. Macbeth is a powerful, Scottish general who happens to be easily tempted and lead. When Macbeth comes …show more content…

He questions the witches about their knowledge on why he would become the Thane of Cawdor, as he still believes the current Thane is alive, but the witches vanish into thin air (1.3.70-78). Macbeth is told by Ross that he will be the next Thane of Cawdor, and he then realizes that this was one of the witches’ predictions. Macbeth informs Lady Macbeth of the new title, and Lady Macbeth begins planning his route to take the crown. He is very reluctant to kill the king at first, but Lady Macbeth convinces him that they will succeed by getting the chamberlains to become drunk, and Macbeth will kill Duncan with their knives (1.7.64-76). Macbeth feels a pressure from his wife, and to the three witches who predicted his future reign. When Macbeth hears a bell ring, that is the sign from Lady Macbeth announcing that the guards are asleep (2.1.61). He tells his wife that the deed is done, with his blood covered hands, and that he has stabbed King Duncan. Macbeth shows his nervousness, and Lady Macbeth calms him down (2.2.15). According to Ross, the new king will be Macbeth and he will become sovereign (2.4.30).
Grendel, from Beowulf, had a bloody feud with the Danes that could not be settled with just any truce. He did not seek land or gold, or any settlement (89-93). Grendel contains a feeling of loneliness, and appears knowledgeable of what love and hate is. The

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Humans have the ability to be evil inside them ever since birth; and British Literature is a good analysis on how evil is presented in people’s lives and how people ‘become’ evil, such as how Grendel and Macbeth become evil in their respective stories. There are many theories on why people act evil, including theories from, Hannah Arendt, Elaine Pagal, and Thomas Hobbs. Most of the theories say generally the same thing. Evil is essentially a part of a human’s character and nature, and the evil inside of one can be triggered by a number of things, such as self interest and being influenced to do evil. All the British Literature that was read in this course has contained evil, as evil is an essential part to make a story.

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Once again, Macbeth is born into nobility just as Beowulf and Sir Gaiwan. The witches specifically state upon meeting Macbeth that, “All hail Macbeth, Thane of Glamis; All hail Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor; All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (347). Readers see that he is already of nobility, as he is the Thane of Glamis but are predisposed to the future of his rising status. Macbeth, although praised for his challenging tasks and accomplishments, falls to the wayside after learning of the witches prophecies. Macbeth at first believes that, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir(349) but in actuality by thinking this, it means that he has thought of murdering Duncan before hand to gain the crown.

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Macbeth is a dark play written by Shakespeare. It is about a kingdom in Scotland in which the people living there turn on each other and don't know who to trust. Macbeth changes from an innocent man to a murderous villain. In the end, his cockiness will get the best of him. Throughout the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses many literary devices to convey the theme, “guilt cannot be washed away.”

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Even though it is not clear how the thane betrayed Scotland, the king still finds out and plans to have him executed for his treason. Due to his betrayal, King Duncan decides to give the title of Thane of Cawdor to Macbeth for his heroic acts in the war. Macbeth will have the power to rule of all of Cawdor. Despite all the power that Macbeth just gained he becomes greedy for more. Macbeth

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Macbeth only becomes Thane of Cawdor, because of a traitor, but he himself later becomes a traitor. In the beginning it was easy for Macbeth to fight for his king and to honor the name of the man who ruled his land, but once he finds out his future, his entire mindset changes. Macbeth fights and wins a battle in favor for Scotland and king Duncan. A few hours after the battle, the Weird Sisters tell Macbeth what his future looks like. He becomes obsessed with the idea of becoming king and one can sense his thirst for power.

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In Macbeth, Shakespeare writes about a man named Macbeth, who has a very strong ambition to be the the king of Scotland. His credulousness led him into believing the prophecy from the three witches without thinking rigorously. Because of this prophecy, Macbeth is willing to do everything he can to gain the throne, even to the extreme of murdering someone. Shakespeare uses syntax, similes, and personification to convey the evolution of Macbeth’s insanity.

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Macbeth shows many betrayals happening towards one another, These betrayals will affect how the characters will react and what they will do. A civil war has broken out in Scotland, rebels against the royal army. The king has been betrayed by the rebel leader, this causes the rebel leader to die in the hands of Macbeth as for his consequence, but little does the king know, another man has betrayed him. The Thane of cawdor gives out the position of the royal army and Norway comes to try to take over Scotland. The king is furious of this betrayal and decides to do something about it, “no more that thane of cawdor shall deceive our interest.

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The fact that Macbeth believes the witches’ prophecies are not evil nor good foreshadows how he will go on to kill any other person standing in his way to more power. His ambition blinds his mind to make him even think about ruthlessly committing a murder. This forceful way of gaining power will only lead Macbeth to become a “tyrant” in Scotland and his “fantastical” desires of killing Duncan and receiving the crown will lead Scotland to failure. Under Macbeth’s rule, Scotland seems to be in a terrible condition. With distrust among the people, there is tension all within the country, as Macbeth’s totalitarian regime had rendered the prosperity of Scotland.

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Macbeth’s negative ambition to become king also caused him to kill others that tried to stop him or got in his way of being king. All of this madness caught up to him and started to make Macbeth act bizarre, “…sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep”-the innocent sleep” (II, I, 35). Macbeth’s unhealthy ambitions also caught up to him when he went to fight in the forest of Donaldbain and got killed, “Hail, king! For so thou art.

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The next scene starts with the appearance of Macbeth and Beowulf enjoy the glory: Beowulf receives rich gifts for saving the people, and Macbeth becomes the king of Scotland. The stories continue with the problems that showing the different solutions between the two heroes. While Beowulf enjoys the festival; his absence becomes the great chance for the extermination of Grendel’s mother. The journey keeps going with a search to the lair and the heroic battle of taking back the honors for the country and eliminate all the threats to maintain the peace of the people. He returns in victory with the head of Grendel the hilt of the sword that killed Grendel’s mother.

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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.

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Macbeth and Banquo then meet three witches who tell them that Macbeth is to be named Thane of Cawdor and eventually king of Scotland. As the story would have it, he is named Thane of Cawdor. Now here is where the evil comes into play. Macbeth invites King Duncan of Scotland to his castle to visit, and when he arrives, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth plot to kill the king while he is sleeping. Macbeth is hesitant about the whole scheme, but his wife pressures him and he caves in.

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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.

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Macbeth, Crime and Punishment Macbeth, a warrior, earns the title of Thane of Cawdor early in the play. His wife, Lady Macbeth, wants him to become king like the witches prophesied. They make a plan to kill Duncan while Macbeth starts to kill other people. All this murder begins to weigh heavily on the Macbeth’s and they start going crazy with guilt.

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