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Macbeth Power Essay

2500 Words10 Pages

In one of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies, ‘Macbeth’, which was first staged in 1611, personal power is persistently emphasised and often prioritised more than authority. Initially, Macbeth, the protagonist, is shown to portray a captive attitude at the start of the play, despite having a high position of control in the army of King Duncan, until he experiences a downfall once the prophecy is revealed to him and decides to rush his way to destiny without waiting for it to happen. With his social power shown to increase every scene, his sanity and mental state deteriorate at an even faster pace, with him turning paranoid and seemingly lost at life towards the end of the play. His change in power is constantly altered throughout the performance; …show more content…

Another instance where violent imagery is applied is when the captain says "Till he unseamed him from the nave to th' chops, And fixed his head upon our battlements.” This shows the audience how violent Macbeth gets in combat; he had slashed the enemy from his stomach to his jaw, then placed his head on the castle …show more content…

Initially, they start out quiet and gradually get frantic and chaotic, echoing his deteriorating mental state. In 3.4.139-141, there is a use of metaphor to convey Macbeth's entrapment in a vicious cycle of violence “I am in blood, Stepped in so far that should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er.” The varying structure of the soliloquies depicts Macbeth’s descent into madness and his understanding that there is no going back, along with the agitated nature of his thoughts that mirrors his mental deterioration. Shakespeare’s use of visual imagery, symbolism of blood and the development of the soliloquies contribute to effectively portray Macbeth’s deteriorating mental state, his helplessness to escape the repercussions of his actions and his peripeteia after the regicide of King Duncan. A feeling of empathy is evoked into the audience, who is compelled to watch the tragic downfall of a once-heroic warrior into a soul enslaved by the grips of extreme ambition and consumed by the guilt and misery of his

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