Macbeth And Violence Quotes

At the beginning of the play Macbeth fights Macdonwald due to an act of violence. Macbeth states, “Till he unscam’d him from the nave to th’ chops, and fix’d his head upon our battles' (1.2.16). This quote is important because it is all motivated by his greed. It’s casting his winnings with violence and it’s decreasing his morality as an “epic hero.” Derek Cohen proclaims that “Macbeth inhabits every moment of violence in the play; He is restless as well; a destructive spirit who fills the conscious world of the play. Macbeth is invoked, remembered, and feared.” At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is introduced as a warrior hero. The outcome of his great battles wins him great honor from the king. He is a fierce and noble soldier for King Duncan and the people of Scotland.

Macbeth doubts his plan to murder Duncan and is unable to motivate himself to take action. There is tension between Macbeth's unwillingness to move ahead with his plan and his acknowledgment that his ambition is leading him down a dangerous path. Macbeth notes, “I have no spur to prick the sides for the intent, but the only vaulting notes ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’ other” (1. 7. 25-29). Macbeth knows that he has lacked motivation and ambition, and he knows that it’s the only thing preempting disasters to come his way as he makes mistakes. Untae Langis points out that as the play opens, “Macbeth reveals himself caught between rational and appetitive will, virtue, and self-esteem… When Lady Macbeth chides him for having cold feet… Macbeth’s cowardice foretells the yielding of his desires for good to the desire for worldly power”. This desire for power is valued because Macbeth has innate nobility, and he has honorable character at the beginning of the play. One of his many tragic flaws includes ambition, which leads to his downfall at the end of the