Macbeth, By William Shakespeare

A true confirmation of a good king is order and peace in his kingdom. Whereas a leader who makes wrong decisions with the wrong intentions, creates complete chaos not only in the life of the leader but in the state that he is ruling. A king acting in passion instead of reasoning will not only bring him to his downfall but bring complete pandemonium in their kingdom. That is the major downfall of Macbeth. On the other hand, the rightful heirs are like bookends to the chaotic rule of Macbeth. Duncan and Malcolm, as any good leaders should, bring harmony among the mayhem. Shakespeare, in the tragic play Macbeth, identifies Macbeth as a hollow leader who brings chaos between two peaceful leaders.

The motivations of Duncan, Macbeth, and Malcolm are all different. Macbeth is motivated by greed, power, ambition, and his wife. Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s manhood and calls him a coward. In contrast, Malcolm and Duncan want what is right for the people and for Scotland. They want everything to be just and they are noble men. For example, “Macduff, this noble passion, / Child of integrity, hath from my soul / Wiped the black scruples, reconciled my thoughts / To thy good truth and honor” (Shakespeare IV.iii.116-119). This proves that Malcolm cares about loyalty among his people. Malcolm's motivations for Scotland are honorable. He wants to restore peace and trust in Scotland. Also, Malcolm wants to be a good leader and restore the heir to its rightful owner. This shows that Macbeth, Duncan, and Malcolm all have different motivations.

Everyone has a quality that they do not like about themselves. Some people struggle to be social, others may be too controlling of people. The list goes on and on, but the point is that everybody has a particular quality that they must learn to control or else that particular quality can get out of hand. Of course, one could write a list of characters that have major flaws. There is no better example than William Shakespeare’s character, Macbeth, in The Tragedy of Macbeth. Anyone who has ever read it, could easily identify the fatal flaw that the character Macbeth possesses which is greed. Even though many readers can all agree that greed is Macbeth’s fatal flaw, the argument as to whether or not

The play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, presents many societal issues, such as the influence of superstition and the supernatural, as well as the continuous desire of the human race for progress and ambitious fulfilment. What a person chooses to do in order to fulfil those desires depends on the individuals themselves, and in the case of Macbeth, he turns to murder in order to advance his social and political standing. The audience’s perception of Macbeth changes throughout the play, beginning with feelings of admiration and approval of his deeds and character, and ending, with the play and as well as his life, as feelings of contempt and disgust at his treachery. This is achieved mainly through the progression of Macbeth’s character development, as well as through the dialogue of himself and other characters.

After being rewarded for his heroic victories in battle, Macbeth tells King Duncan that his only duty is to serve and protect him. However, we know this to be untrue because in a previous scene, the witches’ predictions of Macbeth’s kingship immediately spur thoughts of murdering Duncan. He also contemplates the necessity of killing the king’s son, Malcolm, in order to achieve his goal. Macbeth’s thoughts reveal his is not the virtuous, honorable man Duncan and others believe him to be.

Throughout the story of Macbeth the main character, whom the story is named after, starts as a loyal and righteous soldier who quickly evolves into a power hungry, immoral murderer. In the beginning, three witches appear to Macbeth and Banquo promising the crown to Macbeth. The only problem with this prophecy is Macbeth does not just acquire the throne naturally he has people standing in his way that inhibit him from becoming King. At first, Macbeth is timid and moral while his wife tries to persuade him to kill for the crown, but as the story progresses he throws all of his previous ethics out the window and will do anything to become King. Although people do try and persuade Macbeth’s wretched decisions, he is ultimately in control

Macbeth suggests that once a man commits a murderous act for his own gain, something of which he has done, and continues to do, it is impossible for that person to stop, as turning back would make no sense, and be “tedious”. At this point, Macbeth is willing to do whatever it takes to keep himself at the highest position of power. Committing evil deeds has almost become second nature. According to Macbeth, looking out for his own best interest is his main focus. Macbeth’s ambition to preserve the title as King of Scotland has taken over any rational thoughts.

Macbeth who was known to be a great fighter, as the king of Scotland who was being brainwashed by the witches. He was first spotted out to be one of many people who was admired and did so many things that made people believe he was worth becoming a king. Macbeth started to resemble the second side of greediness for power from getting all the recognition and comments that he started to take it to precaution. The witches even acknowledge that he was getting a little to greedy for wanting power which easily let them brainwash him into wanting to go after power by any means necessary. Macbeth had a great close friend by the name of Duncan. Duncan who is the king has two sons Donalbain and Malcolm. Duncan had much

Although a great majority of the time, power corrupts decisions, it also can have a positive effect on choices. In the play Macbeth, one character who keeps in mind what is best for the people is Malcolm. As the son of King Duncan, Malcolm has virtuous morals and realizes that Macbeth is only in it for power instead of thinking of what is best for the people of Scotland. Malcolm makes a choice to fight back with the help of England. His choice to fight for power, although used violence against Macbeth, was a positive decision because he was thinking of the people and his father's legacy. His success is shown when he and Macduff defeat Macbeth and Malcolm is named the new king. He exclaims to his people, “[w]e shall not spend a large expense of time/ before we reckon with your several loves/ and make us even with you” (5.8.72-4). Only seconds after being named king, Malcolm is thinking of how he will reward his people. This proves

Blood appears in only two forms, but many times in Macbeth by William Shakespeare; between the war scene at the beginning of the play and the lifting of Macbeth’s severed being lifted by Macduff at the end. It can be said that Macbeth could have been written in blood that there is such a large amount. What is unique about blood in Macbeth is that the “imaginary blood” or the guilt that the murderer feels plays more of a role of understand and amplifying the theme of the play, that blood is guilt and self-corruption. That however doesn’t mean that the physical blood is any less important, it just is more outright in its presentation and meaning to the audience. There are multiple instances where guilt and blood go hand-in-hand to describe what is happening in the play. The exorbitant amount of blood in Macbeth reveals that blood is just as much a way to represent guilt as it is death, suggesting that blood shed can have be used as a means of describing what the murderer is feeling.

He was loyal to his king until three witches told him “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter.”1 page 32. When Macbeth hears that King Duncan has named his son Malcolm as Prince of Cumberland Macbeth gets worried because he thinks he has to kill the king. He tells his wife what he has heard and she goes on a rant telling him to, “...Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,.....”2

Upon hearing the prophecy that he is to become king, Macbeth develops an extreme lust for power that pushes him to commit violent acts. Macbeth started out as a humble soldier who was proud of the accolades that he had received. When Lady Macbeth is attempting to convince Macbeth that he should kill King Duncan and take the throne Macbeth tells her “We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honored me of late, and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon” (Shakespeare 20). Macbeth believes that the fame and power he has currently should be

Hubris is a Greek word that means overwhelming pride, as stated by the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Thus, a person that is hubristic is one that is arrogant and has lot of pride and self-confidence. Holy teachings from the Christian church condemn hubris and emphasize that hubristic behaviors lead to eminent and disastrous downfalls. Various examples of teachings of anti-hubristic behavior can be found on the bible such as “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34) and “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 16:5). Consequently, Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and Shakespeare’s Macbeth are two stories that clearly depict the hubristic behavior that is condemned by the Christian church since both focus on human pride and thirst for power. Macbeth portrays more hubristic behavior than Doctor Faustus, although Doctor Faustus initially seems to be more hubristic than Macbeth.

He moves troops and marches to the war against Macbeth and finally becomes a king. Like his father; Malcolm is known as a good king among his people. On other hand, Macbeth is the antagonist of the play. In the beginning he is perceived as a good soldier and a person that would do everything to serve and protect his king.

Secondly, Malcolm compared with the other kings of Macbeth is the perfect balance of character unlike Macbeth, Malcolm is able to control his ambition and not be coaxed into bad decisions, for example Malcolm says: “Modest wisdom plucks me from over-credulous haste.” Malcolm allows himself to think carefully before making decisions, which a king can’t go without doing. Furthermore Macbeth is crushed by his own thirst for power where as Malcolm slowly takes back the throne gaining trust and allies along the way instead of making enemies and killing the innocent because of fear. Also when comparing Malcolm with Edward the Confessor and his father Duncan it seems he is the golden mean. Where his father’s weakness is, Malcolm is strong, for example Malcolm is able to deceiver Macduff and others as good or bad people, Duncan could not read Macbeth personality,