Lindsey Aranda
English, period 2
Hamlett
June 6, 2011
Journal of Macbeth
Act 1 I was very confused at the beginning of the play. I thought it was weird with the witches, and I was still getting used to the old English language. I thought it started to get interesting when the witches had told Macbeth that he would become the Thane of Cawdor and then he actually did! I think this is what starts Macbeth’s ambition towards the series of events that will happen in the play. I think that the first three scenes in Act 1 set the dark mood for the entire play with the storm and witches ext. Once Lady Macbeth heard of what the witches had predicted I think was when Duncan’s life was officially over. Lady Macbeth kind of took over the
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Act 3
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Ever since the first confrontation with the witch, it caused him to kill Duncan. Now he believes in order for his destiny to come true he must kill Banquo and young Fleonce. I think that after killing Duncan he’s kind of going crazy. He talks to the murders like Lady Macbeth talked to him, questioning their manhood to make them mad and make them want to murder Fleonce and Banquo so they can prove their manhood. In the next scene it seems like Macbeth is repeating Lady Macbeth again! She said earlier “Look in the innocent flower, / but be the serpent under’t” (1:5) and now he is telling her to hide her worry and fear saying “make their faces visors to their hearts, / disguising what they are” (3:2) It’s amazing to me how he wants to be King so bad that he will do ANTHING! Sometimes people get way too caught up in something, and then will do anything to succeed which isn’t always a good thing. I think it’s so weird how the tables are completely turned now, with Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. It shows how much this journey to become King has changed Macbeth. Now Lady Macbeth is the one trying to talk Macbeth out of committing murders when originally she was the one trying to talk him into it! I think that Macbeth thinks the more murders he commits he believes the happier he will be cause he’s that much closer to being King. But in reality possessing the crown has just brought him and Lady Macbeth trouble and
It's clear that Macbeth sinks deep into darkness blinded by his wife's lust for power that eventually penetrates into him. Appearing that he only sinks deeper after the initially killing Banquo and his family. His transformation, as he reaches closer to his desire was a change that even his wife did not see happening. Even showing slight emotions of fear as she oversees what unfolds, especially when all the immoral acts taken place was of her wil. His sinister appearance was enough to make me cringe as I wonder if it was possible for a man like that to exist. The character development of Macbeth from how he was hesitant to commit such heinous crimes to becoming a ruthless tyrant is remarkable from the viewer's perspective of how he got to that point.
From the act I, the witches predict Macbeth prophecy about he will become a king. The prophecy have marked on Macbeth’s and Lady macbeth’s behavior, thought, and emotions. The prophecy leads both of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to idea of greatness and powerful. Lady Macbeth thought that if she became a queen, she would have gotten attention, power, respect, and love. She never realizes that killing Duncan would ruin her life. On the other hand, Macbeth still struggle against his ambition and he is more profound about the consequences than Lady Macbeth, from the example event that he thinks that Duncan is a good king and he doesn’t deserve being murdered. But he still gives in to his ambitions. Furthermore, the prophecy leads them
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth’s character starts off as a loyal and brave soldier, who is admired by many people. Throughout the play, however, it is evident that his character and the personality of his character change a lot. There are many aspects that changed his character. What the witches said to him I think changed him the most. Before the witches spoke to him, he didn’t think of what it would be like to be king, or any of the other things, but because the first prediction came true, it led him to believe all the others would as well. The witches are what started him off thinking of how powerful he could become. Obviously his wife talked him into it, but without what the
Lady Macbeth can be the blame for Macbeth trying to control the future and bury the past. She motivates Macbeth to make decisions based on what she wants from him, which most of the time are dangerous choices that could get Macbeth in serious trouble. If Macbeth does not go along with what she wants, she begins to question his manhood and is very rude to him. By doing this, Lady Macbeth gets Macbeth to fall into her trap because he does not want to seem soft. "When you durst do it, then you were a man: And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man."(Act I, Scene vii, Lines 50-53). She is telling him that if he kills King Duncan he will be much more a man. This is making Macbeth take a present fatalistic approach on time because he is unhappy with the present since Lady Macbeth is calling him a coward. This generally leads to risk taking and in this case it does because Macbeth goes on to kill King Duncan due to the persuasion from Lady Macbeth. This is perfect for Lady Macbeth because she now gets to have a royal status and cannot get in trouble because she did not kill the king. The killing of King Duncan led Macbeth to murder many more people that could possibly stop Macbeth from being king. Anyone who could have had any knowledge of Macbeth killing King Duncan or could have taken the throne from Macbeth was a threat, who needed to be murdered in his eyes. “Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared. 'Tis much he dares, and to that dauntless temper of his mind he hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor to act in safety.”(Act III, Scene i, Lines 51-57). This quote shows just how nervous Macbeth was with in
The dream of becoming king has ironically changed from a bright future to a tragic end due to some of the crucial decisions Macbeth has made during the course of his journey and a number of his actions will backfire on him. The first of his actions that backfired was when he murdered King Duncan which he regrets afterwards. Another action that backfired was the murder of the guards which could've drastically changed the outcome of this entire story since he could've gotten away with King Duncan's murder if he didn't commit it. The third action that backfired on Macbeth was when he ordered the murderers to murder Banquo and Fleance at which they failed to eliminate Fleance.
After Macbeth kills Duncan and becomes the king of Scotland, we see that he becomes out of control and starts to act like a tyrant. Macbeth begins to kill innocent people to hide his fear and become more of a man. He starts off by killing his best friend Banquo and attempts to kill his son Fleance. This is because he knows that Banquo suspects him of something. Macbeth is also mad that he has done all this work to become king and Banquo's Son will benefit from this and become King. After he kills Banquo, he says “For mine own good All causes shall give way. I am in blood Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er.” This quote shows that there is no going back now to stop killing for Macbeth. He is committed to killing and whatever terrible things he may yet have to do.
Throughout the play we see the character of Macbeth change, not only from the way he thinks and speaks, but from his actions as well. Killing Banquo and having Lady Macduff and her children murdered show the insecurity that is present in Macbeth’s character. After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth becomes paranoid. This paranoia leads to his killing the guards to help secure the place that he has found for himself. Macbeth is also very superstitious, which becomes evident when he allows the witches’ prophecy to convince him that Banquo’s offspring would become Kings.
Macbeth’s desire to become king and take the crown from King Duncan ends up hurting him more than helping him. Initially, Macbeth was against murdering King Duncan and didn't think he could do that to his very own king. Lady Macbeth believes that her husband will not go through with his plan however he does end up killing him. She states “Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full of of the milk of human kindness. As he kills the King he starts to see things like the floating dagger and that seems to make him extremely
Although Duncan is out of the way now, Macbeth finds out that Banquo’s sons are the next in line to become King. With this realization, he says, “To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!/Rather than so, come fate into the list,/And champion me to th' utterance.” (3.1.75-77). Now that Lady Macbeth has convinced Macbeth that he is destined to be King, his statement shows how he is going to do everything in his power to make it happen. He feels that he has to prove to himself and to others that he is not womanly, and is capable of performing ‘manly’ tasks. In order to prove this to himself, he says, “There’s comfort yet; they are assailable./Then be thou jocund.” (3.2.44-45). Here Macbeth is saying that he finds comfort in knowing that he can simply kill Banquo’s sons so he can become king. This further represents his transition to becoming in full control over the events that take place in the play. This is because he is planning to commit a tragedy, in this case, a murder, in order to fulfill his desires. Lady Macbeth persuaded him in the beginning, but now it is completely his own doing. By saying he feels comfortable with murder, which contradicts his belief from the beginning, it may be noticed how this is a clue that he will hold responsibility for more tragedies in the near
In Act 3 Scene 3, Macbeth fulfills the role of the stereotypical, superior husband, since he is the one who takes the initiative to plan Banquo’s and Fleance’s murder without hesitation to insure that there will be no threat to his power. In addition, Macbeth does not tell Lady Macbeth about his violent scheme, since he wants her to “be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,/ Till thou applaud the deed” (3.3.51-52). Also the theme of appearance versus reality appears when Lady Macbeth attempts to put on a facade to the dinner guests that Macbeth is having a “momentary” “fit;” even though, in reality he is facing the psychological consequences of his horrendous actions, which Macbeth did to attempt to satisfy his ambition and greed (3.4.66).
This angers Macbeth and enables him to follow Lady Macbeth's scheme to kill the King easier. Macbeth's first murder is definitely a trying experience for him. However, as the play progresses, killing seems easy and the only solution to maintain his reign of the people of Scotland. Macbeth becomes increasingly ambitious as the play goes on. The witches prophecies and Lady Macbeth's influence intensifies his ambition and drives Macbeth to obtain and maintain his title of Scotland by whatever means, even murdering his best friend, Banquo. "Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, ...no son of mine succeeding. If't be so, for Banquo's issue have I filed my mind; For them the gracious Duncan I have murder'd; ...To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings! (Act III. sc.I) At this point Macbeth's passion becomes more and more extreme to the point where no one stands in his way. His greed, violence, and hunger for power drastically declines his character. The witches prophecy, Lady Macbeth's influence, and Macbeth's own ambition all contribute greatly to his deterioration of character which results in his downfall, which was death. All the causes link to one another. If it wasn't for Macbeth's strong will and passion, Macbeth would still be his ordinary self. Because of this, Macbeth's curiosity of possibly becoming king was brought out which led to Lady Macbeth's controlling influence. Macbeth's ambition then builds and causes him to commit a
Soon after, Macbeth gave in to ambition and is also encouraged by a prophecy and Lady Macbeth, which he murders the King to take his throne. Macbeth’s betrayal throws himself into a bad state of being guilty and full of fear. Now that he is guilty and fearful, he murders again and again to satisfy his phobia. Macbeth has now became a very evil tyrant and will rightfully kill for his crimes over and over again. "For brave Macbeth well he deserves that name, Disdaining Fortune, with his brandish'd steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, Like valour's minion carved out his passage, Till he faced the slave." (1.2. 16-20).
Shakespeare’s characterization of Macbeth and his consequences reveals his warning about ambitions and its downfalls. Macbeth begins as a noble man who’s ambition ruins him and his true self, leading to his inevitable death. In Act I, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as an accomplished man whose lust for more is fueled by his wife’s ambitions. At this point in the play, Lady Macbeth commonly challenges his masculinity to drive his ambition to kill King Duncan and acclaim the throne of Scotland: “Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art desire?” (P. 29). Conversely, by Act III, Macbeth’s ambition is self-driven because of the prophecy making him loses his sense of morality, and become corrupt. One such action is the murder of Banquo, Macbeth’s “noble partner” (P. 17): “Who wear our health but sickly in his life, which his death were prefect” (P. 56). Banquo’s murder serves as the beginning of Macbeth’s crumbling edifice, as for each murder he commits, he falls deeper into the world of deception.
First of all, Lady Macbeth plays a significant role in Macbeth's rise and downfall as a king from being manipulative and conceiving. For exampl, "Look like th' innocent flower/but be the serpent under't" (1.6.76-77). This quote said by Lady Macbeth states that she wants Macbeth to act innocent and kind, but actually be cruel and cunning in order to become king. Lady Macbeth is willing to say anything to her husband because he needs a little convincing since he is too kind and fair. Macbeth is so hesitant and worried on being king that Lady Macbeth hollers, "When you durst do it, then you were a man/and to be more than what you were, you would/be so much more the man (1.7.56-57). This shows that Macbeth wasn't sure if he wanted to be king until
Macbeth develops into a pernicious king as the play advances, as he commits horrendous actions that result in his own wrecking. Nevertheless, he has differentiated himself during the battle against the treacherous Thane of Cawdor, and the King of Norway. He is the brave soldier who leads King 's Duncan force to victory through his strength and skill level. King Duncan addresses Macbeth as his "…valiant cousins (and) / (A) worthy gentleman" (I.ii.25). This shows, how the King recognizes Macbeth 's skill on the battlefield, and therefore rewards Macbeth with a higher title, the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth displays these characteristics once again in Act IV, as he ignores the witches ' prophecies, don 's his armour and fights against a heavily armed army, which is a greater size than his own Scottish infantry. This performance displays that Macbeth still holds the attributes of bravery as he did initially. For the first time, he makes a decision by setting aside the prophecies. In the play, the townsfolk see their malicious