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How shakespeare presents ambition in the play as a whole
Macbeth as a typical Shakespeare tregedy
Macbeth and how is he portrayed
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Macbeth foresaw only gain for betraying his friends and king. However, the consequences betraying and murdering his friend banquo haunt him, “Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that which might appall the devil” (III.iv.71-72). Macbeth’s conscience haunts him for he knows murdering Banquo was wrong. To highlight the consequences of betrayal and greed Shakespeare haunts Macbeth with grotesque reminders of his crimes to tell the reader that one should not take actions one cannot live with.
With Macbeth being a general in the Scottish military, he had major influences on people and their daily lives. After the murder of King Duncan, Banquo’s suspicion of who committed the murders arose around a single suspect, Macbeth. Knowing that Banquo most likely knew the truth that Macbeth killed King Duncan, Macbeth went back to his evil ways with ease. Through his attendant, Macbeth summons three murderers. Shakespeare introduces the murders with stage direction “[Re-enter Attendant, with two Murderers]” (Shakespeare, 363), in which Macbeth he uses Banquo as bait in order to gain their graces and loyalty “That it was he in the times past which held you so under fortune, which you thought had been our innocent self: this I made good to you in our last conference, pass'd in probation with you, how you were borne in hand, how cross'd, the instruments, who wrought with them, and all things else that might, so half a soul and to a notion crazed, Say 'Thus did Banquo.'”
The play entitled Macbeth by William Shakespeare portrays Macbeth, a loyal and brave thane to the king. When a prophecy reveals he will become king, Macbeth is overcome with ambition and greed. Convinced of this prophecy and the encouragement from his wife, he is able to kill the king and take the throne. Although Macbeth was able to obtain the throne, he was was overwhelmed by power and guilt leading to internal conflict, which suggests that success is not desirable through cheating and corruption and ultimately cost more than its actually worth, Macbeth`s reckless pursuit of killing and becoming the king is representative of the power he has and what he is able to do with the power he's gained; therefore. His relentless ambition for king reveals the guilt behind power.
Macbeth... the valiant warrior who turned against himself due to an inner greediness for power. It all starts at the beginning when he gets “promoted” to Thane of Cawdor because of his excellent fighting skills and bravery in battle. Then if that’s not enough the three witches tell him he will be king. With the taste of power he has now gotten through his promotion, he can’t help but take what the witches say to heart. He wants more, he wants it faster: he continues to be impatient and eventually his “vaulting ambition o’erleaps itself and falls on thy other” (1.7.26-28).
Macbeth persuades three murderers to get revenge on Banquo, failing to tell them that it is his own impure intentions that desire Banquo’s blood to spill. This fraudulent behavior is a staple characteristic of a psychopath because “deceit and manipulation are central features of Antisocial Personality Disorder” (“Diagnostic and Statistical Manual”). A hysterical episode occurs after arranging the murder of Banquo, when Macbeth sees the bloody ghost of Banquo sitting in his own place at the table. Macbeth screams “Prithee, see there! Behold!
After the murder of Banquo, Macbeth confronts the murderer at the door and says, “there’s blood upon thy face” (3.4.12). The murder tells Macbeth that Banquo is dead. After Macbeth was haunted by Banquo’s ghost, Macbeth says, “blood will have blood” (3.4.122). Macbeth believes he will be caught for his murder of Banquo. When Lennox discovers that Macbeth is abusing his power as king, Lennox meets with a Scottish Lord that wants to kill Macbeth.
Yet there was still hope that Macbeth would learn to turn back from these ways, as he had still felt guilt after Banquo’s murder, but he did not. He had only become worse as he became entirely corrupt. Spilling blood, and turning against those who had once praised him. It had gone to the point where his own army only followed him as it was their duty and not because they truly respected and honored
51-55) describing how Macbeth is in shock when he sees the ghost of Banquo in his very own chair, gazing upon him. Banquo’s appearance causes Macbeth to look like a madman because he is alarmed by the ghost coming back to haunt him because of the terrible deed he has done. This piece of evidence is an example of the beginning of Macbeth’s inner conflict. As the play comes to a close, possession within relationships is refined when Macbeth no longer needs the influence of others, he has become berserk in sticking to the commitment to do what he has to do in order to become a forceful king.
In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, Shakespeare uses symbolism as well as structure of speech to illustrate Macbeth’s spiral into madness. In this drama, the motif of blood becomes a symbol of Macbeth’s guilt and remorse over Duncan’s murder, which eventually causes him to become unhinged. Once Macbeth becomes King of Scotland, he realizes that each of the witches’ prophecies about him has come true, and he suddenly fears that the prophecy about Banquo being a father of kings will also come true, and that the Weïrd Sisters will have “put a barren scepter in [Macbeth’s] gripe” (III.i.66), for the title of King would be worthless if it given to Macbeth only to be taken away immediately. Therefore, Macbeth hires murderers to assassinate Banquo as well as Banquo’s son Fleance in order to ensure that his position as King of Scotland is secure.
(2.2.33-41). The motif of guilt is present because Macbeth is haunted by his murdering Duncan. He feels remorseful for committing such a crime and he tells himself that he will not be able to sleep anymore because of his guilt. This conveys the theme because with Macbeth not confessing to his crime, the guilt stays and leads to his downfall. When Macbeth hosts a dinner party at his castle, he sees Banquo’s ghost and he starts to talk to it.
This contrast immediately gives the reader an insight into the torment that guilt and regret can cause. There is a clear definition between Lady Macbeth before and after the murder of King Duncan. This character change emphasizes greatly the theme of the impacts upon a person due to the unnatural acts they have performed. In Lady Macbeth’s case the impact was guilt and regret both of which tormented her to point of serious mental illness, insomnia and ultimately a self induced demise. The author 's intention in bringing a once strong and evil character to the mercy of their own morality is to educate readers upon the impacts that guilt could have upon their own life if they were to perform the unnatural just as Lady Macbeth did.
The title character imagines the results of his brutal act against Duncan but kills him nonetheless. Afterward, he expresses fresh guilt by simultaneously divulging and withholding the open secret of his deed. After murdering Banquo, the feast honoring him demonstrates Macbeth’s further derangement, but his gradual insanity does not excuse the subsequent cold-blooded massacre of an entire family. Lady Macbeth tries to save herself by masking her husband’s instability, but ultimately, her sleepwalking spell places her own mental illness on display. This goes to show that it is not always easy for people in a position of power - or anyone, for that matter - to face their weaknesses head-on and admit that at some point in their lives, they need
This debate between the pity found in Macbeth’s mental state and the fear he evokes through his actions continues as Macbeth becomes a vicious tyrant. Not only does he kill off more of those around him, including the family of MacDuff, all for the sake of proving his power over those around him, but he rains famine and tragedy across the land. Macbeth’s inhumane actions easily draw fear from the audience as it expresses how uncontrollable and deranged, he has become; Macbeth is truly far from the hero first introduced. Extensively Macbeth begins to trust fewer and fewer individuals, he becomes more paranoid about the things going on around him. Specifically he can’t sleep and fears loosing his power.
Macbeth knew that Banquo’s children would eventually inherit his throne. Having to cope with these feelings pushes Macbeth to create harsh feelings toward Banquo. When King Macbeth faced the children of Banquo, it hurt him inside. This feeling of hurt and harshness within the king brought him to realize that he will be childlessness for the rest of his life with no hope of having his own children. Banquo’s presence in my eyes hurt the king, causing him to commit actions that he would previously not attempt.
Lady Macbeth influences Macbeth to kill Duncan, but he continues to have second thoughts about it (i.vii.31-34) and feels terribly guilty afterwards (II.ii.63-66). However, following the murder of Duncan, Macbeth loses any ethics he had left. Macbeth kills the servants, Banquo, and Macduff’s whole family in cold-blooded murder. On the other hand, when Banquo ponders the witches prophecy for him, he contemplates the thought of having to kill someone to get power, but he quickly shuts it down (III.i.9-11).
