The Embodiment Of Death In Macbeth

Macbeth the Embodiment of Death Out of all the tragedies in play history, none is more tragic then Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Throughout the play, the leading character Macbeth could truly be viewed as the cloaked figure that is death. He causes everyone’s demise in the play, even his own. The embodiment of death is shown in this play by the deaths of King Duncan, Banquos, and eventually Macbeth. In the beginning, King Duncan makes Macbeth the thane of cawdor. Ecstatic as Macbeth was, deep down he wanted more than what the King gave him and he realized it would be possible when he met the three witches. They foretold Macbeth of his prophesy, which was that he was destined to become the king of Scotland. He then wrote a letter to his wife, Lady

This prophecy did not sit well with Macbeth. After a while, he became infuriated at the thought that his hard work and planning would be wasted on another. He then knew something had to be done to prevent the prophecy of Banquo from happening. Macbeth then called upon two murderers to persuade them to kill Banquo and his son on their ride before the king’s dinner. The murderers surprise Banquo and Fleance on their ride and then they slit Banquo’s throat but before they could kill Fleance, he fled. The feeling of mistrust Macbeth had for Banquo ended up causing Banquo his life. In the end, Macduff goes to visit Malcolm in England to try and convince him to come back to Scotland and take his rightful place as king. Malcolm agrees, so they gather an army and stormed Dunsinane castle to kill the power crazed Macbeth. Macbeth and Macduff meet in battle. Macbeth with confidence that the prophecy would protect him tells Macduff to go back to where he came from because he already had too much of his family’s blood on his hands. Macduff vengeful for his family decides to battle Macbeth, leading to Macbeth’s head being chopped off. Macbeth gone mad with power, ended up causing his own