How Does Shakespeare Gain Audience Sympathy for Macbeth

Fate and prediction have played a big part of Macbeth and has persuaded him to become evil and the “Brave” Macbeth had died out as soon as he meets the witches’ and they tell him that his fate is to become the thane of Cawdor and soon become king; “All hail, Macbeth hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!” “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”. Macbeth does not know yet that the Thane of Cawdor had betrayed the king and went against him also he is being stripped of his Thaneship and is being executed, so he was surprised when the witches’ said that. Macbeth at first did not believe in his fate but when he gets the rob to be Thane of Cawdor he starts to believe his fate and then his mind skips to becoming king and killing Duncan this shows

The witches have a strong effect on Macbeth's character; they highly influence him in his accomplishments and awake his ambitions. They give Macbeth a

Automatically the audience views Macbeth’s association with the witches to be an association with the devil. During the time of when this play was written witches were viewed in a totally different light than they are today. Back then witches were viewed as the devils spawn, or a piece of hell on earth. These characters interested the audience in a certain way that they had an evil effect on the play. The people were intrigued by the supernatural beings, they were curious to comprehend these characters. By including witches into the play it could have

In the opening scene, the three witches appear on a heath amidst thunder and lightning, establishing the mood and emotion for the duration of the play. The witch’s use prophesies to awaken Macbeth’s ambition, a force in which presents him with unescapable circumstances. They also reveal crucial information about Macbeth’s future; however, his inner security causes him to neglect such knowledge. As a result, his actions promote his unstable state of mind which slowly deteriorates to his fate. Furthermore, the witches ultimately challenge Macbeth and the control over his humanity. To listen to the witches, is like eating "the insane root, That takes the reason prisoner" (Act 1, Scene 3 Lines 84-5); for Macbeth, in the moment of temptation. If not for the witch’s manipulative knowledge, Macbeth would be left to make his own decisions and possibly the ability avoid his unchecked ambition. As a whole the

Macbeth's feels that his destiny is to become King and rule with all the power that goes with kingship. The three witches on his way back to the kingdom, prophesied that he would rise to kingship. They said "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis" (I, 3, 48), and then as the thane of Cawdor "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor" (I, 3, 49). At this point in the play Macbeth had just become thane of Glamis, and the thane of Cawdor is still alive. Then, the witches greeted Macbeth as the King of Scotland saying "All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be King hereafter" (I, 3, 50). This is the point in the tragedy where Macbeth starts to think as a villain. If the witches had never greeted him as King on Scotland, then he would probably never have contemplated killing Duncan in the first place. At first, he believes that he will need to kill King Duncan. Though at the end of Act 1, Scene 3, he thinks that perhaps he doesn't need to do anything to become the king saying "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir.", showing he is a man of honor and morals. Then, Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecy in his letters and decides immediately for him that King Duncan must die, showing Macbeth's doubt. An

When Shakespeare wrote his play, Macbeth in 1606 a large majority of people were interested in witchcraft. This is why Shakespeare made the witches and the witches’ prophecies play a major part in the storyline of the play. In the time of Macbeth witches were not thought to be supernatural beings themselves, but supposedly gained their powers by selling their souls to Satan. There can be little doubt that most of Shakespeare’s audience would have believed in witches, and for the purpose of the play, at least, Shakespeare also accepted their reality.

Lady Macbeth 's role of manipulating Macbeth and encouraging him to kill Duncan invites the audience to make an assessment on her character as to whether they should feel empathy or outcast her as a psychotic, control freak. Elizabethan people lacked understanding of the meaning of murder and couldn 't comprehend that those guilty were not always the one who committed the crime. An audience from today can generally accept that even though Macbeth killed Duncan and the guards, Lady Macbeth is guilty too because she was an accessory. Elizabethan audience would not be able to deduce this meaning their reaction wouldn 't be as extreme. However, many Elizabethan men responded slightly disgusted and shocked because of the way Lady Macbeth dominated her husband. The text would draw this type of a reaction because it was considered a part of culture, that women were considered a lesser

When the three witches delivered the prophecies in the first act they hailed Macbeth is “Thane of Cawdor”, “Thane of Glamis”, and also claimed that shall soon become king. While Macbeth is bewildered and

In Macbeth, the witches use foreshadowing, characterization, and the characters in Macbeth use allusions. The witches play a large part in the play. They lead Macbeth to kill the king, and they lead to his demise. They are the main factor that moves the play along as well as help Macbeth use his tragic flaw of overconfidence. Macbeth believes everything that the witches tell him and he does not think for one moment that the witches might be telling him something else that would be hidden in the predictions. They were the reason that Macbeth decided to kill the king, and the reason why he was so paranoid with everyone. He killed his best friend all because the witches told him that Banquo will be father to a line of kings. Macbeth went on and

It is human nature to be intrigued by all things mystical and dangerous. We fear the unknown but seek it nonetheless out of greed. Most of Shakespeare’s works hold an element of the supernatural and the play Macbeth is no exception. In this play we see a contemporary morality that warns of the dangers of trafficking with instruments of darkness; the witches in the play prophesize of Macbeths future as king, and Macbeth blinded by his hunger for power fails to recognize that the witches prophecies are luring him to evil . In act 1 scène 3 we see the effect that the excitement of the prophecies has had on his imagination as he begins to contemplate murdering the king. As Macbeth gets closer to

Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare I.III.52-53). The diction in the phrase “..hail Macbeth!..Thane of Cawdor...shalt be king hereafter” demonstrates to Macbeth and the audience that he will become king and the Thane of Cawdor, thus beginning the whirlwind of tragedy and murders. A little while later Ross (the king’s messenger) enters and brings the news to Macbeth that he has been given the title of the Thane of Cawdor. He is shocked to learn that the first part of his prophecy had already come true, which enabled him to believe that what the witches said may hold truth. Learning this instills a treacherous thought in his mind and he begins to imagine being king, which enables him a sense of what it would feel like to be in position of such grand power. Once he had his taste, Macbeth hungered for more, becoming addicted on the high of being powerful. He was driven by his lust for power and eventually acceded to murdering his cousin, the King only so he could depose Duncan then he and his wife, Lady Macbeth,

Before any of the murderous activity occurs, Macbeth does not experience small, ambiguous premonitions, he is directly told by mysterious, dark figures things that are "ordained" to happen. Although these mysterious prophecies seem doubtful at first,

‘Macbeth’ is a play by William Shakespeare that shows a protagonist going from bad to worse throughout the play. Shakespeare wrote this play, taking in mind current affairs at the time of 1603-1606. This is the time when a Scottish king, James I was given the English crown. This king was obsessed with witches, so Shakespeare brought this theme strongly into the play. It also brings the theme of treachery towards the King. This pleased King James and also pleased him about showing the line of Stuart Kings, James descendants, in Act 4, Scene 1.

comes to an agreement with himself that he will not go out of his way

will be not so happy because he will have an early death, but he will