Macbeth's Choice Essay

Human beings inherently have an innate desire to feel a sense of control within their lives through a position of power; however, this natural inclination impacts how they shape their actions when trying to exert their authority over others. Macbeth, a play written by William Shakespeare in 1606, was an attempt to appeal to King James. The play unfolds Macbeth’s story as he acquires the knowledge of his fate as king through the three witches’ prophecy. This pivotal awareness about his destiny influences all further actions Macbeth performs, beginning with the murder of King Duncan. Macbeth’s ambition to obtain power causes him to neglect his morals and choose a path of violence; this leads him to becoming overconfident when he allows the witches'

Shakespeare uses a hyperbole to emphasize how Macbeth is not physically wading through blood, instead he’s trapped inside the cycle of killing. He views it as easier to continue on the path of murder rather than go back to his previous morals of honesty and obedience. This choice highlights his active decision to restrain from going back to his old positive values in life, accentuating his change in beliefs which ultimately fuel his violent killings. Macbeth becomes so unreasonably caught up in the act of murdering that it makes him oblivious in seeing the true consequences of his actions: influencing his poor and aggressive choices. The witches’ prophecies give Macbeth a false sense of security, allowing for overconfidence to emerge, depriving him of the ability to sense the boundaries of dangerous decision making. When reports are announced to Macbeth that the Scottish and English forces are against him, he describes how he refuses to fear until “Birnam Wood removes to Dunsinane /[he] cannot taint with

By putting too much faith in the witches’ prophecy and taking it too literally, Macbeth convinces himself that he can no longer be defeated. This creates a sense of superiority and a careless outlook on life, leading to actions performed without judgment. Furthermore, after Macduff informs Macbeth that he is not a man born from a woman, Macbeth becomes afraid to fight. However, once Macduff threatens to capture him and display him for public viewing, he suddenly declares that he “will not yield.” Before [his] body /[he] throw[s] [his] warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff” (Shakespeare V.viii.2,37-38). Macbeth’s fearless tone in the phrases “I will not yield” and “lay on, Macduff,” reveals how submerged he is underneath such confidence that it causes him to become deprived of correct perception and reason. By overestimating his power and fate, it blinds him from the ability to sense the dangers and consequences of his reckless actions. This ultimately is what enacts his decision to fight Macduff, inevitably resulting in his bloodthirsty determination and eventually