Macbeth: A Weak Man Essay

     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.

Also, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both strong conveyors of deceit. From the onset on the play, Macbeth is characterized as strong and loyal to his king and country. However, once the witches’ prophecy is planted in his head, his thirst for King is so intense that it cannot be quenched and slowly his admirable traits are erased. When Macbeth is preparing for the King’s arrival at his house, he starts to question his murderous thoughts. He states that the King will be here in “double trust” , for Macbeth will be his hostess and will also be acting as a subject of the state. How can he possibly do such a grim task? The answer is Lady Macbeth. She lusts after becoming Queen and living a life of fantasy and does everything in her power to persuade her husband to kill the King. She questions his courage, she feeds his ego and she emasculates poor Macbeth all in an effort to get what she wants disguised as what is best for him. When he agrees, she tells him to “look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” in order to commit this regicide. Lady Macbeth, such a beautiful woman, is actually a cunning, strategic and determined lady – so determined that she’s willing to risk everything and make her husband lie to the king and betray him. It’s funny how things are not always what they appear to be.

Macbeth’s first attempt at manipulation was unsuccessful. “If you shall cleave to my consent, when ‘tis/ it shall make honor for you.” (II, i). Macbeth is trying to get Banquo to join him because he suspects Banquo may know about the murder of Duncan. Banquo is decent and doesn’t trust the witches’ prophecies so he chooses not to join Macbeth. Banquo shows his courage by standing up to Macbeth and doing what is right, not what is easy. Because Macbeth has failed to manipulate Banquo he decides to have him killed by two henchmen. In addition, he tells them to kill Banquo’s son,

Women in Shakespeare have not usually been depicted as strong. Juliet, for example, easily fell in love with Romeo and was so quickly swayed by his death to perform the ultimate sacrifice. Olivia from Twelfth Night married Sebastien based solely on the fact that he looked like Viola/Cesario. Lady Macbeth is no exception to this trend. While at a quick glance she may seem empowering and bold, at a closer look it is clear to see that is not as dignified as she seems. Ultimately, Lady Macbeth is a weak and cowardly character in Shakespeare’s Macbeth because she cannot follow through with what she says she will do and she fails to maintain her power in her relationship with her husband.

Assuming the role of stronger partner, she manipulates Macbeth with effectiveness by ignoring his objections about the murder. Refusing to understand his doubts and hesitations about the situation, she scorns his manhood by calling him a, “coward,” (1.7.43) and questions his virility, “What beast was’t, then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man,” (1.7.48-49) until Macbeth feels that he must commit the murder to prove himself.

"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.

The fact that the witches can affect Macbeth so easily shows what a weak character he has. The first predictions have such a strong influence on Macbeth that he sends his wife, Lady Macbeth, a letter asking her advice on how to respond to the witches' words, showing again the weakness of his character.

what is meant by this is that since Macduff has fled, leaving behind his family and servants, Macbeth is going to slaughter them like pigs. At least there was a motive for killing Banquo, butchering woman and children whose only crime is to have a blood relation to Macduff, does not. It is almost as

Manhood and its definition is a major theme in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. On first appearance, Macbeth is characterized as a loyal and valiant thane in defense of the honor of Scotland and King Duncan. The brutality that he shows as a warrior on the battlefield is an acceptable and lauded trait. These attributes come into question as the witches introduce the prophecies tempting Macbeth’s vaulting ambition. After the regicide, Macbeth is damned and is no longer concerned with being honorable. He covets immediate gratification at all costs and by all means. However, this gratification is temporary due to that Macbeth later on, experiences guilt and regret which directs him towards his morbid fate and ultimate demise.

In act 2 scene 2 Lady Macbeth called him weak which made Macbeth insecure. Macbeth don’t want to do any dishonorable thing but she hurts him and says “ My hands are as red as yours, but I would be ashamed if my heart were as pale and weak.” The quote from act 2 scene 2 shows how Lady Macbeth is disgracing her husband to secure her future. Lady Macbeth leaves no choice to humiliate her husband just to get the power. On the other hand Macbeth is insecure and she is taking advantage of

    Macbeth's internal combination of ambition and passivity create his susceptibility to the witch's prophecies and allow him to commit murderous deeds, but his unwillingness to take action-and to do evil-create his internal conflict that ultimately leads to his downfall. Although Lady Macbeth tries to goad Macbeth into action, it is Macbeth's character flaw that causes him to take action.  At first Macbeth is unwilling to murder Duncan, citing his loyalty to Duncan

In the book Macbeth, Lady Macbeth often talks about strength and how being strong means being able to kill without feeling bad, or have emotions like compassion, get in the way. She will often try to manipulate Macbeth into thinking this way too by calling him a women and weak whenever he feels guilty, even though it is seen in the end, she is not that cruel herself. The reason it could be believe that lady Macbeth is less cruel than macbeth is because, Even though she claims to be Ruthless and shames Macbeth for feeling Remorse, in the end the torment of her own guilt is what drives her mad. To make herself appear strong, Lady Macbeth will often talk about the barbarous acts she would do. She will also often do this to guilt macbeth for feeling weak, so before killing Duncan, when Macbeth starts to back out, Lady Macbeth talks about how strong she is to shame Macbeth back into it.

In life, there are two types of people: those who do the right thing and those who don’t. In the play Macbeth, by Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth is given a prophecy by three witches that says he will become king; however, there is no descending line of kings of his own blood. With the knowledge of the Witches’ prophecy, Macbeth’s ambition, and manipulation from his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is quickly dragged into a never-ending, bloody murder rampage to obtain the crown and get rid of those who stand in the way of obtaining it as well. Macbeth constantly battles with his moral dilemmas; however, he easily falls victim to influences that go against his morals. Influences on major characters emphasize how easily one’s decision making can be negatively affected, resulting in one going against his or her morals/integrity.

In this quote she is saying that she should give out her weak, does whatever man does and become evil. She thinks that she is manful and strong, but actually she is not, she become sleeplessness and nervous. Therefore Lady Macbeth tricks by the three witches and herself.

In this quote she is saying that she should give out her weak, does whatever man does and become evil. She thinks that she is manful and strong, but actually she is not, she become sleeplessness and nervous. Therefore Lady Macbeth tricks by the three witches and herself.