Essay On Beowulf And Macbeth

     In Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of Macbeth the main character Macbeth is driven from his status as a well respected warrior and lord of not one, but two Scottish regions to a dishonest, unloyal murderer. Macbeth gets caught in a web of lies and vile acts of murder in which he brings about his own demise. His criminal actions lead up to his tragic ending of life. ‘ They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But bearlike I must fight the course.’ His great ambition and gullibility of the witches predictions are two of the biggest factors of his downfall;however, Lady Macbeth was probably the biggest influence in the whole tragedy.

up being driven mad by the guilt and she ends up taking her own life

Macbeth murders many to gain power. He causes the suffering of families and murders former friends. The violence starts with the murder of the king, Duncan, who’d trusted and honored Macbeth; Macbeth kills him to gain the position of king. Duncan’s death is the catalyst; Macbeth subsequently begins to use violence as a regular way to attain power. He murders his former friend, Banquo, refusing to accept that Banquo’s sons will be kings as prophesized by the witches. He says in regard to the prophecy, “Rather than so, come fate into the list, / And champion me to th' utterance.” Instead of accepting fate, he challenges the prophecy and orders Banquo’s death. His final homicide is the massacre of Lord Macduff’s family. When Macduff hears of the brutal slaughter, he cries, “That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on, / And would not take their

Near the end of the play Macbeth surpasses Lady Macbeth in ambition, strength, and insanity. He hires people to kill his best friend, Banquo and his son Fleance, because he doesn't want the rest of the prophecy to come true. However, Fleance escapes meaning the rest of the prophecy can come true. After hiring hit men to kill Banquo he hallucinates again and sees Banquo's ghost at the dinner table. He then proceeds to have Macduff's family killed by murderers just to get back at Macduff for fleeing the country. Macbeth's peak ambition and strength comes at the end of

"Macbeth" is a tragic play that was written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600’s. It revolved around the character Macbeth and his urge to become king of Scotland. Macbeth had to do anything possible to become the king including murder, lying, and deception. However, Macbeth committed these evil deeds due to some influential people in his life. Between Macbeth’s wife persuading him to do anything to become king and the witches prophesying over him causes Macbeth to try and bury the past and control the future.

     Macbeth’s downfall begins when his ambition takes over his conscience and leads him to kill King Duncan. He gets tangled up in a web of death and lies. Once Duncan is murdered, it only leads to more ruthless crimes committed by Macbeth against his loved ones. He feels the need to kill off Banquo and his son because they know too much and are a possible threat to his regime.

Macbeth falls from a hero for his country and king to someone who is a dark and evil person. Macbeth is a very ambitious person even from the start when he meets the three witches. Macbeth and Banquo meet the three witches in a cave and the witches speak about the good news in the future in a sort of

Many readers of the poem Beowulf may find it difficult to distinguish the 'good' kings from the rest – indeed, almost every man who holds a throne in the epic is named at one point or another to be 'good'. By examining the ideals of the time period as identified by the 'heroic code', it becomes clearer that a truly 'good' king is one who generously distributes treasure and weaponry to deserving retainers to honour courage and strength displayed in battle and to encourage the defense of the kingdom (Intro). When Beowulf ascends the throne of the Geats, the heroic traits of courage and strength for which he was so highly praised as a warrior do not serve well in making him a good king. Indeed, by exhibiting the traits of a thane, that is, by

Adversity is defined as difficulties or challenges presented to us. This can be anything that troubles someone or gives them a hard time in life. Yes we are all faced with adversity but what is different is how it is overcome. Everyone has their own way by either reacting or responding. Accepting the adversity and trying to change it into something better. Some people just crack under calamity.

Coincidentally, Duncan, honoring the hero, decides to stay at Macbeth’s castle overnight. Lady Macbeth believes that this is a perfect opportunity given by fate to kill Duncan and usurp his power. Exhibiting extreme ambition and masculinity, Lady Macbeth orchestrates the entire scheme and persuades her husband into committing evil deeds, chiding him for behaving like a feminine and coward. Macbeth eventually yields to his wife’s pressure and manipulation. After the murder is discovered, Malcolm and Donalbain, Duncan’s sons, flee to England and Ireland, respectively, while Macbeth assumes a dictatorial sovereignty of Scotland. Macbeth, however, becomes insecure about his power, for the witches have prophesied that Banquo’s descendants will be kings and Macduff, another Scottish nobleman in England, may threaten him. Hence, the vicious tyrant assassinates Banquo and Macduff’s family. As a result, Macduff, with aids from Malcolm and England, vows to retaliate against Macbeth. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth is greatly agonized by guilt, sleepwalking, rubbing her hands as if trying to wash away the bloodstains, and finally committing suicide. The downfall of Macbeth immediately succeeds when the English army invades his castle and is marked by Macduff outplaying Macbeth in a fierce

Without realizing it in classical literature, many of the epics and stories are the same story even though they talk about completely different topics. A reader can be reading Beowulf and the monsters in it while tying it back to the tragedy of Macbeth. They are very contrasting stories, but they have countless similarities between them. This goes for all classical literature because the stories all reflect and tie back to the idea of what classical literature is. Once you read a few stories from classical literature, the more connections you ill surprisingly find between them all. There are many cultures to look at in classical literature, which also affect how the story goes on, but everything attached to each other once a reader analyze

      Fate plays a significant role in the Old English epic poem Beowulf and William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.. The major events of the poem, such as the three killings by Beowulf and his own death, are said to have been predestined. In Macbeth, fate is so significant that it is personified by the Weird Sisters, who drive the action of the play. But if predestination exists, then there must be an agent that determines destiny. In Beowulf, God plays this role, and fate is generally accepted as God's will. In John Gardner's Grendel, a novel which serves as a commentary on the poem, fate is totally predetermined, and is the will of no being. By contrast, Macbeth's agents of fate are the Witches,

From the distant past to present day, literature plays a crucial role in the society, serving as the sources of morality, history, knowledge, and connection to humanity. Whenever readers discuss the topic of English literature, both Macbeth and Beowulf are recognized as some of the most iconic pieces of art depicting the tragic hero and the epic hero styles. They are not only the common heroic stories, but are also the reflection of European culture at the time. Though the stories are written in two different periods, 8th and 10th centuries, their similarities and differences are still evident. Macbeth and Beowulf are the protagonists of their stories, with each receiving bearing the background of honor as heroes of their countriesy, but in

After killing King Duncan , Macbeth is starting to realize what it is that he has done, and becomes suspicious and paranoid of everyone around him by puting spy's in every castle and killing those who are any treat to him what so ever. Banquo is the only other person who knows of the meeting with the witches and he would assume that it was Macbeth who killed the King. The witches also said that Banquo would beget kings but he himself would never be king after Macbeth, and so Macbeth decides that Banquo is a threat to him. To get rid of the treat with banquo he decides to kill him and his son Fleance.

Today was the day I so patiently had been waiting for, coronation day! As a commoner it was almost unheard of to be able to visit the castle amongst the royals. I walked up to the tall door and entered the grand dining hall. The dining hall was dark and cold sending a shiver up my spine. The sound of laughter and conversation bounced off the walls overpowering the room. That was when I saw him, Macbeth, our future King, accompanied by his wife. Macbeth looked even taller and wiser in person, he was the type of man anyone would want as their king. At least that was what I had thought.