Examples Of Violence In Macbeth

Violence in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

“Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops,/And fixed his head upon our battlements” (1.2.16-23). This is our first introduction to the title character Macbeth, hearing about how brave and noble he is in battle, and a description of a man being sliced from his stomach up to his jaw, only to be beheaded and put up for display by Macbeth. It is very fitting to be introduced to Macbeth this way, hearing about his violent acts, as he continues this trend throughout the entirety of the play. In this paper I am going to give many examples of how the theme of violence being used to get what someone wants run rampant throughout, and why Macbeth is universally associated with violence.

The first act of violence I want to look at is the scene where king Duncan orders, “No more that Thane of Cawdor shall

The First Witch describes how she will violently commit her revenge on a woman’s husband by cursing him and not allow him to rest or sleep so she can watch him waste away in agony. This is an example of violence is being used to acquire/achieve revenge in the play.

The third and final example is the scene in which Lady Macbeth states, “Art thou afeard/To be the same in thine own act and valor/As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that/Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life,/And live a coward in thine own esteem,/Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would, ”/Like the poor cat i' th' adage?” (1.7 40-46). This is an example of psychological violence/abuse being used to convince someone into doing something they might not be sure they want to do. Lady Macbeth is using violence in a different form to achieve her goal of making sure her husband kills