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Comparing Religion In Macbeth And Beowulf

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Religion in Macbeth and Beowulf Whether it be a play or a poem religion will influence how the author writes their story. Some writings might hold more religious standing than others, for example Macbeth and Beowulf. While both Macbeth and Beowulf express Christian views, Macbeth’s Christian standing is stronger because it doesn’t use paganistic views like Beowulf, and the characters express a more biblical background. Shakespeare 's biblical imagery in Macbeth is far greater than Beowulf’s biblical standing. Macbeth was written during a time where religion was an important aspect most people’s lives and it was meant to please King James who was on the throne at this point. The main religion during the time Macbeth was written was Christianity and you can see this through Shakespeare 's writing. They believed that if you had faith in God, and …show more content…

Even though they were portrayed as being evil, they were able to prophecies about the future just as God is able to see our future. For example the sisters told Banquo that his descendants will become great and will increase in number. You can also compare this with Noah in the bible when God told him that his descendants will amount to the number of stars in the sky. “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2. Another example would be when the three witches prophesied that Macbeth will become king just as it was prophesied in the bible that Jesus will become the true king (Wiliam). Even though the witches prophecies all came true, Macbeth still tried to prevent them from being fulfilled. This relates to how we are unable to change what God has in mind for us no matter what we do on earth. For example, in act 3 scene 1 Macbeth tries to stop Banquo from becoming the father of kings, but ultimately fails because in the end Banquo’s descendants still become

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498 Words | 2 Pages

This is best shown in Oedipus, whose actions were based on the circumstances surrounding him. Oedipus lived his entire life avoiding the prophecy foretold by Delphi. His parents abandoned him at birth because of it, he left his adoptive family because of it, and ultimately, he was blinded because of it. The prophecy itself did not cause these outcomes, but Oedipus’ actions were driven by it.

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888 Words | 4 Pages

The play ‘Macbeth’ was written in 1606 by William Shakespeare. The play was written for King James I in the Jacobean era. The supernatural theme is used in this play as a catalyst for action as well as an insight into the characters. The supernatural was a very real worry in the Jacobean era, and the majority of Shakespeare's contemporaries would have feared it. It was an especial worry for King James I as he was paranoid of supernatural powers trying to drown him at sea, as referenced in the play by a witch saying she would "drain him dry as hay" (referring to a sailor).

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870 Words | 4 Pages

Macbeth was written during a time where religion was an important aspect most people’s lives and it was meant to please King James who was on the throne at this point. The main religion during the time Macbeth was written was Christianity and you can see this through Shakespeare's writing. They believed that if you had faith in God, and you

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623 Words | 3 Pages

To start, throughout the play Macbeth is very ignorant to things that are going on around him. In act 4 scene 1, the Apparitions tell Macbeth about his future it states,”Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, beware Macduff; Beware the Thane of Fife. Dismiss me, enough” (4.1.78-89). This displays ignorance because he later dismissed this because the second apparition told him that no man born of woman can harm him. This makes him believe that he is safe because he assumes that he was worn by a woman.

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In the play you are able to see that Macbeth has low moral standards. He chooses power and fame over honesty. This portrays how he has allowed his ambition to control him while ignoring the quality of being virtuous and ignoring his immense guilt in committing a murder. He attempted to hide his darkness from the world so that other people would continue to see him as a man that is worthy of honour.

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602 Words | 3 Pages

Written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is one of the most renown tragedies, which depicts recurring themes of greed, paranoia, ambition and jealousy. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are impelled to become King and Queen of Scotland, placing all their faith in the prophecy of the three witches. The pair soon disturb their composition, social class and natural order by forcing their way through to achieving their ambition. Nearing the end of the play Lady Macbeth becomes guilt-ridden and Macbeth becomes ambitiously driven, juxtaposing and spookily contradicting their natural order. This symbolic portrait interprets the two different physiological, emotional and physical viewpoints of Lady Macbeth, consisting of her initial manners of inhumane desire

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Macbeth, in my opinion, is a play that has a plot line that resembles times in history. Examples such as Brutus and many other people betraying Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., as well as Hitler fooling the people of Germany into giving him supreme power in running Germany, and John Wilkes Booth peer pressured his assailants to help him in murdering the president, vice president, and secretary of the United States (even though some of the assailants bailed during the assassination attempt). With all of the bloodshed and violence in many of the Shakespeare plays, if one is smart enough to read deeper in these plays, one can see that all of these plays have words of advice in them. Macbeth is no different. Shakespeare uses Macbeth as a dummy almost to show why people shouldn’t do what Macbeth

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He feels that because the witches said it that it must be true no matter what the consequences in the future are. This is a leading factor that causes Macbeth to decide to murder King Duncan. Macbeth consciously makes the decision to commit treason and knows that it will have consequences. He even ponders the fact that although he will have a prosperous life on

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Macbeth is a play that is written by William Shakespeare in 1606 and the main goal is to make the audience members or readers think that excessive ambition will have horrible consequences in the end. Over the course of the book Macbeth receives prophecies from multiple people, his wife tries to make him something that he is not, by getting him to kill anyone that she wants him to. Throughout the book the main character Macbeth drastically changes from being brave to being cowardly. He also changes from being loving to being greedy, and last he changes from being very trustworthy to being very untrustworthy. As a thane of Scotland, Macbeth loves and serves King Duncan even if it means his own death.

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1661 Words | 7 Pages

Macbeth is one of the tragedy plays written by William Shakespeare. It is about the tragedy of greed, ambition, and wish of power. Macbeth is a complex play and filled with symbols that progress the plot and theme. Symbolical motifs play an important role in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth throughout the play. Shakespeare uses symbolisms so that the reader may gain a deeper understanding and aware of this tragedy.

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As proved by Macbeth’s success to become the Thane of Cawdor, the prophecies are Macbeth’s fate; they will be the outcomes of his life, but how they will come to be is dependent on Macbeth’s own choices. When Macbeth shares the prophesies with his wife, Lady Macbeth, she helps him murder King Duncan in order to gain the throne. The witches had predicted that Macbeth would be king but they hadn’t said when or how. It is Macbeth’s own choice to murder Duncan because of his deep desire to become king. Macbeth wants to protect his power and eliminate all enemies that may come in the way.

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1031 Words | 5 Pages

Shakespeare shows us that faith is complicated by our actions through Macbeth’s misunderstanding of the witches’ prophecy. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth proves himself to be stronger than the fate of a soldier. First, it started after the victory of Macdonwald. When Macbeth won the battle, everyone was surprised to see him coming back alive.

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Though they have great power, it is not unlimited because the witches cannot control freewill. In Act 1, Scene 3, the witches prophecy that Banquo will be “Lesser than Macbeth and greater. Not so happy yet much happier.” and also that “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none” (66-70). Though extremely vague, all of these prophecies came true.

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965 Words | 4 Pages

Macbeth is a play written during the 16th century by William Shakespeare. As similar to other plays written by Shakespeare, the play is not totally original. They came from facts and events that are happening during the time it was written (“Background to Macbeth”). Macbeth can be seen as a dark play as it portrays the idea of evilness through characterization and have events like murder happening throughout the story. Throughout the play, Shakespeare inserted various features to make his writing more powerful.

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525 Words | 3 Pages

Unlike Macbeth, Banquo, from the beginning of this encounter, continues to doubt the witches, “I’th’name of truth are ye fantastical, or that indeed which outwardly ye show?” (1.3.51-52) Banquo didn’t believe what the witches were saying, he questions their intentions and accuses them of raising Macbeth’s hope. Throughout this whole encounter, Banquo continues to protect Macbeth while staying loyal. He never once acted on his prophecies, he simply disregarded what the witches were saying and remained the noble man he is. Even to his death, Banquo has not once acted without honour and

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