Examples Of Violence In Macbeth

trouble of killing Duncan to become king, thinking it would be the best thing in the

Just like how there is violence is real life there is also violence in literature. There are two kinds of violence found in literature: the first kind is when a character causes the violence (to themselves or to other characters) through shootings, stabbings, drownings, poisonings, bombings, or anything else of this nature. The second kind of violence is the one that they’re not responsible for (the author is responsible for them), in other words, this is the kind that the author causes with death and suffering. Accidents are simply not just accidents,

"Disdaining fortune with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, till he unseamed him from nave to th' chops, and fixed his head upon our battlements" (act 1, scene 2) This suggests an underlying side to Macbeth which was present from the start of the tragedy. That was enough that when given a small taste of power by becoming Thane of Cawdor, could bring out the more brutal side of him.

In William Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth,' he shows us a world without compassion and mercy. Macbeth is a story about a Scottish army general who is visited by three witches after winning a paramount battle in a war against the Netherlands and England. The witches had given him , and a dear friend of his, Scottish general Banquo a prophecy stating Macbeth would become Thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland and the told Banquo his Son’s would become Kings but not him. This prophecy can be seen as a catalyst to the lack of compassion and mercy portrayed in the world of Macbeth. Examples of such instances and behaviors are throughout the book.

In Macbeth desire and violence are prevalent throughout the book. Desire blinds one’s ability to think clearly when making a decision. If violence is used due to one’s desire than violence becomes a never ending cycle until the outcome of the violence goes against the one whose desire led to violence. When making a decision, one should use reason, which is having a logical justification or motive. Violence is committed many times in the book but not all for the same motive. Macbeth commits several acts of violence in the book due to his desire for the kingship of Scotland.

The play was set in a time in which there was Kings that ruled certain areas and many people wanted to be kings. In some cases people wanted to be a king so much that they would eventually kill someone for that title. The play of Macbeth is an example of how someone wants something so bad that they will do anything to get the thing that they want. Some of the things that Macbeth does is not what people would do in today's world but actually happened in that time. In Macbeth there were many different acts of betrayal including the Thane of Cawdor of Scotland betrays Scotland and fights on Norway's side, Macbeth betraying the King, and also Macbeth betraying his friend Banquo.

In the play, Macbeth displays his brutality as a tenacious, barbaric warrior, fulfilling his duty of being a protector to King Duncan. Macbeth first demonstrates his cruelty at the execution of McDonwald when he slits the traitor’s body. Throughout the story, he had never once felt remorse for the opponents he had killed for it was his value of loyalty to King Duncan that motivated him. Brutality and loyalty were the foundations of earning the title “Thane of Cawdor,” thus making Macbeth already contented with this honor. Macbeth is certain that

Why? Why would you commit such a heinous act of cowardice, oh once noble Macbeth? What have I e’er done in my life to deserve such treachery? I hath placed my absolute faith in my subjects, kept them warm, well fed, and without the lack of a bed.

This provides a wide contrast as to his reaction to Duncan’s murder when Macbeth would not return to Duncan’s room because he was horrified by what he had done and feared being reminded of it. Macbeth shows no regret and only anger in the failed murder attempt of Banquo’s son. Afterward, Macbeth longs for even more blood to be shed to secure his ambitions. Macbeth continues in killing, saying, “It will have blood they say, blood will have blood” (3.4. 124), to justify his increasing number of murders, for he thinks his conscience cannot be relieved.With each murder, Macbeth becomes more brutal, eventually murdering even the innocent wife and children of Macduff. When a frightened servant comes to tell Macbeth of the approach of ten thousand English soldiers, Macbeth is enraged by the servant's face, which is pale with fear. He tells the servant, “Go prick thy face, and over-red thy fear, / Thou lily-liver'd boy" (5.3.14-15). Macbeth is mocking the servant; he means that the only way the boy can even look courageous is by pricking it to make it bleed. Afterwards, he becomes distracted, talking and giving orders to several people at once, making incoherent commands that show the worsening instability of his mind. As the critic Frank Kermode once stated “ Macbeth loses his distinctive humanity (Thrasher, 77)”. This leads Macbeth to the doom that awaits him for in the end when the only way to rid

With attention to the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth struggles with the morality of his actions. Before the murder takes place, Macbeth begins to believe that the murder will “be the be-all and the end-all” to his clear conscious and would risk him to eternal damnation (Act I, line 5). Yet, the murder would bring him power over Scotland and he “shalt be kind” as told by the Weird Sisters(Act 1, line 50). Macbeth goes off of his ambition to murder King Duncan. The internal struggle of choosing mortality over motives brought forth an intense shift of loyalty to betrayal. The murder caused for Macbeth to turn on Scotland and only care for his own selfish motives. The betrayal causes for the play to become horrific and have a double meaning. Macbeth must put on a face to hide his murder to become the king. The double meaning is how Macbeth looks like a hero to all of Scotland, but only the people on the inside know of his horrific actions. He had to murder to to get the position of King, but the

Throughout the ages, people feel oppressed by the ruling party. Some may see the need to take arms to force the change themselves. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, the audience is introduced to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, his wife, whose struggles are the prominent focus of the play. Lady Macbeth convinced Macbeth to retrieve the title of King, as the sisters foretold, but through venomous acts by assassinating the King. As the play continues, these characters are confronted by their guilt and paranoia for their crimes, ultimately destroying them in the process. Political Assassinations should never be accepted but may be necessary in some cases.

Violence has been a part of plays for centuries. It keeps the play interesting and intriguing, but however, most of the time there is a greater purpose of violence. When looking for it in plays one would automatically look for weapons or signs of physically harming someone like. However, verbiage can be an act of violence as well. The phrase, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me is false. Your tongue has no bones, but is strong enough to hurt another person. Like in the play The Stronger by August Strindberg where Miss Y is verbally insulted countless of times. Whereas in the play Variations on the Death of Trotsky by David Ives one can see the physical violence by the tragic murder that occurred. After distinguishing where the violence is coming from one can then analyze the true role of the violence and compare how the violence affect the dramas.

This conflict illuminates the point of the play as a whole. A major part of Macbeth is about how Macbeth is conflicted about doing the right thing and doing what will benefit him. In this conflict Macbeth exemplifies this because he doesn’t want to kill Duncan. Duncan is thought of as a great leader, so to kill him would be traitorous and detrimental to Scotland. Duncan is also very kind to Macbeth. But Macbeth still wants the crown, so he is not sure what to do until Lady Macbeth pushes him towards killing Duncan. Finally, Macbeth decides to do what benefits him rather than what is for the good of Scotland. Another major part of Macbeth is about how Macbeth deludes himself into thinking he has done no wrong. In this conflict,

Good vs. evil, light vs. dark, constructive vs. destructive. All of these are common themes in literature, where there is a struggle for power between two sides. An example of this is William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. Within the text, the power struggle between being a constructive leader and a destructive leader is illustrated in various ways, like diction and syntax. These are standard literary elements that help authors interpret their ideas. Authors are able to explain the power struggle between constructive and destructive powers by using different literary elements.

In the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare and Wuthering Heights written by Emily Bronte, one of the common themes is cruelty is shown in parts such as the murders and lack of guilt in the beginning of Macbeth. While in Wuthering Heights, the cruelty is mainly shown in Heathcliff and his actions in school and my community there is examples of curtly and discrimination too. Some I noticed around me are the race battles, verbal abuse in school and gang violence.