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How macbeth turned from a tragic hero to a villain
Macbeth act 1 summary and analysis
Macbeth act 1 summary and analysis
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He acted because his first prophecy came true about being thane of cawdor. Macbeth is convinced after a talk with his wife he finally decided to kill Duncan. In this part it shows how greedy Macbeth and lady Macbeth are in the beginning. “Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill, why hath it given me earnest of success, commencing”. (Macbeth Act 1 scene 2 lines 139-40)
It was a dark and gloomy night when Macduff decided to take a visit to Macbeth’s castle. He had to travel through a dark and spooky forest in order to reach his destination. It was a chilly night which made his trek seem longer than usual. Upon arrival, Macduff finds out that his dear friend, King Duncan, has been murdered. Suddenly, Macduff felt a rush of anger and sadness hit him at once.
Macbeth's tragic downfall is caused by his gullibility with regards to the witches because he believes their prophecies and puts his faith in them. When Macbeth first hears the prophecies, he is doubtful but when the first part of the prophecy comes true, he trusts the witches. When this part-being named the Thane of Cawdor-occurs, Macbeth states,"Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor: The
In the play, Macbeth hungered for power. He was given the title ‘'Thane of Cawdor’ ’but felt it wasn't good enough. He wanted to be king and was willing to kill for it. His ambition clouded his judgment and that led him to kill King Duncan to get the throne. Macbeth could have been a good leader had he not let the power engulf him and his guilty conscious get to him.
A formidable physical appearance never equates to success. Without a solid personality, an individual is bound to fail. William Shakespeare's play Macbeth delves into the flaws of the protagonist. In 11th-century Scotland, Macbeth, a war hero, encounters three witches. They speak of a prophecy in which Macbeth is king.
Like all of Shakespeare’s other plays, “Macbeth’s” protagonist Macbeth is incredibly successful but suffers from one fatal flaw, his great ambition. His ambition will be the cause of his great success but ultimately also of his downfall. The man’s ambition drives him to seize every opportunity to promote his own agenda. His ambition hurts him the most when he decides to kill King Duncan and Macduff.
Macbeth shows that he is willing to kill King Duncan because he is interested in the witches prophecy, after they tell him that he will become ‘Thane of Cawdor’ and then the King.
Macbeth utters these words after he hears the news of Lady Macbeth’s suicide. It is a speech of despair given the great love between them. This is one of the most famous speeches of Shakespeare. Macbeth is broken after losing his wife and his power. He is saying here is no longer a purpose for life yet he does not give up.
For Macbeth, he is motive by the fulfill of the prophecies, which facilitate the growth of ambition. “He will be fooled into thinking he is greater than fate, he will mock death, and he will think he is above wisdom, grace, and fear.” (Crowther.3.5.2). As Hecate, the head of the witches suggests, the prophecies are made to fool Macbeth and lead him into the completely wicked way of killing people in order to satisfy his intrigued ambition and paranoid thoughts. In other words, the deterioration of Macbeth’s character and all the immoral practice done by Macbeth and her wife predominantly provoked by the prophecies, which in fact, only contains one piece of real information, possession of The Thane of Cawdor by Macbeth.
At the start of the play, Macbeth visits the witches with Banquo at the closing of the battle. The witches speak to Macbeth and Banquo and get the idea of a prophecy in Macbeth’s mind. “All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis./ All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor./ All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (1.3.46-48). When the witches get the prophecy in Macbeth’s mind, he believes it will come true and misunderstands the prophecy of the witches. Although the witches make Macbeth believe in the prophecy of becoming the King, Macbeth is responsible for his downfall because they do not recommend Macbeth to kill Duncan.
Macbeth is responsible for his destruction because in life we make our own decisions however he was heavily influenced by the three witches and Lady Macbeth. The witches foretell Macbeth becoming king and Lady Macbeth persuades him to kill the king, which backfires on her. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth can be compared to Ahab and Jezebel in the Bible in that they both got selfish and went after things that would catch up with them and cost them their lives. Macbeth is ultimately responsible for the decisions he made but he was first influenced by the three witches visiting him telling him he would be king.
Throughout the Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare evinces the notion that Macbeth’s incessant utilization of self-preservation caused him to victimize himself, subsequently leading him down a perpetual path of inner destruction. Furthermore, self-preservation contributed to the ruination of his well-being which is ironically what he sought. Adding coal to a fire to sustain its longevity to keep warm was the ultimate blunder of his life. If he had simply taken notice of the abundance of firewood next to the pile of coal, he would have reaped the fruits of the coveted title that is Thane of Cawdor.
Macbeth’s ambition is one of the most prominent things that drive Macbeth in the play and truly becomes evident when he hears of the Witches prophecies. When the witches stop talking, he demands to know more. “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (I, III, 73-74). This portrays his excessive curiosity on the subject as well as his craving for more desirable prophecies. This ambitious nature and craving for power is also demonstrated only moments after hearing the witches, when he starts formulating a plan to kill Duncan in order to make the third prophecy come true.
The witches played a colossal role in Macbeth’s downfall and ultimately, his death. Since the first part of the prophecy stated Macbeth as being the new Thane of Cawdor, he believed he could continue to become king as well. In knowing his prediction, Macbeth also realized that since the king was in good health, so he would have to kill the king himself. For the rest of his prophecy to come true he would have to kill the king for himself. “All hail, Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter!”
The witches influence Macbeth’s decisions, however he is still responsible for his actions. The witches meet up and deliver the news of Macbeth being represented as the future Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. Macbeth, doubting if it's true, believes in their prophecies after Banquo delivers the report that Macbeth has just been named the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth reacts, “Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor: If good, why do I yield to that suggestion.”
