Macbeth Loss Of Innocence Analysis

The story of Macbeth begins when Macbeth becomes a great war hero by killing the enemy leader. He secures the victory for Scotland over Norway and earns the respect of his king, Duncan. Macbeth is named the Thane of Cawdor, taking the title from a traitor during the war. Macbeth was called “noble Macbeth” by King Duncan, showing the respect he had earned (I,ii,78). Later, honorable Macbeth is told a very implausible yet fruitful prophecy by three witches depicting him as the King of Scotland. This slowly turns Macbeth evil as can be seen through dreams and hallucinations. Dreams and hallucinations are a theme throughout Macbeth, and they show us how Macbeth is changing through more than dialogue alone.

Macbeth’s unrestrained ambition to gain power turned him into someone completely different from who he was originally. When the play begins and Macbeth is introduced, he is labeled as brave, honorable, moral, and kind. He is such a well-versed person that his wife fears his nature is too kind for the harsh world, speaking of him with words of, “Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness…” (1.5.16-17). He makes his first appearance to the audience just after arriving from battle, and his behavior on the field is described by, “For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name—…” (1.2.16). Macbeth is a man that many admire, even King Duncan himself, who shortly thereafter names Macbeth Thane of Cawdor. Following his new label, Macbeth, with the help of three witches’ prophesies suggesting he will become king, notices the power that comes with such a title. Kenneth Deighton describes Macbeth’s behavior with, “When he is informed that Duncan had made him Thane of Cawdor, he at once gives way to the temptation suggested by the words of the witches, and allows his ambitious thoughts to

Initially, Macbeth is viewed as a brave and loyal soldier, with Duncan praising him by expressing that “More is thy due than more than all can pay” (1.4.21). At this point, he has not been influenced by the three witches. Yet, by Duncan implying his importance, Macbeth gains a sense of self-worth and this arouses power within. His clear desire to be titled Thane of Cawdor while then having a growing temptation to commit regicide clearly demonstrate the early stages of his corruption and forms a basis for utilizing illegitimate power.

An example of this is when Lady Macbeth is convincing Macbeth to kill the king she says, “Your hand, your tongue. Look like th’ innocent flower,/But be the serpent under ‘t”(Shakespeare I. vi. 76-78). Lady Macbeth finds the letter that Macbeth wrote and is telling him the plan to kill the king. Even though Duncan has been betrayed before, he is about to be betrayed again, Macbeth had these thoughts put in his head by the witches but was hesitant on acting upon them. This was until Lady Macbeth forced him into her plan of becoming the most powerful people in Scotland. Lady Macbeth told him to be deceiving, and since he already had the trust of the king he just needed to commit the crime. The symbolism is talking about the deceiving nature that Macbeth needs to kill the king so that no one would suspect him. We can infer that he used this tactic to defer the claim that he was the killer of the king. Lady Macbeth is one of the main contributors to the loss of innocence in the play. She causes Macbeth to think about what the witches have said and pursue the temptation of the thirst for power. Another example of Lady Macbeth causing loss of innocence is when Macbeth is hallucinating about Banquo’s death and begins to see his ghost, Lady Macbeth covers for him saying, “I pray you, speak not. He grows worse and worse”(Shakespeare III. iv. 144).Lady Macbeth does not want the people to see her husband’s decline into insanity due to the guilt eating his innocence away. Lady Macbeth caused Macbeth to go on a killing spree and to fully believe everything that the witches said was true. Lady Macbeth is using this opportunity to take control of her husband's life once again, she uses this to protect her power and leadership over the kingdom. She does not want anyone to second guess

At the beginning of this play, Macbeth shows what it means to be a man through his actions of being a great soldier and by his determination for gaining more power anyway that he can. First, as the Thane of Cawdor is being stripped of his title the King tells Ross to “with his former title greet Macbeth.” (1.3.73-76). Since Macbeth was a great soldier the King decides to reward him with the new title of Thane of Cawdor. Then, Macbeth figures out that if the King were to be killed he would be for certain the next one, all he had to do was get rid of King Duncan and his sons.

Jack is an example of a loss of innocence because he goes from wanting rules to a level of complete savagery. Jack has the realization that killing leads to fear which brings power, so he must kill to reach the top. Once Jack paints his face and looks upon his reflection in a pool of water, he is changed, “He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling” (page 64). Jack’s excitement seems to be an indescribable possession. The intensity for the hunt represents how they are falling further. “Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife…Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands” (page 135). These children seem to represent that they have been brought up in innocent homes, so the killing and bloodlust is new for them. All of these specific events can show that Jack’s change in innocence

In the beginning of the play when Macbeth first finds out that he's been promoted to Thane of Cawdor. After Macbeth has been told his prophecy he returns to camp and is then greeted in the morning by news of him becoming the new Thane of Cawdor. “The Thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me in borrowed robes”(1,3,108-109) this depicts how at one point Macbeth was loyal to the king, Duncan, but once he was given the new title he became thoughtful of his new power and soon realizes that he wants more of it. Another interesting example of this is when duncan names his oldest son, Malcolm, the Prince of Cumberland which is the next in line to the throne. “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which i must fall down, or else o'erleap, for in my way it lies.”(1,5,48-50) This indicates that Macbeth has already came up with plans of becoming king and killing Duncan, the only thing in his way now is his son Malcolm. Now that Macbeth has a taste of more power he is fueled by greed and wants only one thing, to be king, he no longer has loyalty towards

Macbeth demonstrated his nobility and honor for the country of Scotland, through his loyalty to the king and his valiant fighting against enemies. Macbeth was a loyal friend to King Duncan. The King felt extremely highly of Macbeth and viewed him as one of his kinsmen. King Duncan placed trust and faith in Macbeth, and felt honored to have Macbeth fighting for him and his country. King Duncan announced, “No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death, and with his former title greet Macbeth” (1.2.63-66).

Lady Macbeth’s advertence to infanticide in Macbeth debris as one of the most ambiguous junctures created. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a very significant and indirect motif is used; babies and children. Babies are defined to show brightness, innocence, warmth and the start of something new. However, Macbeth shows a reversion of children. They are portrayed to bring out the darkness and malevolent features of Lady Macbeth.

The characterisation of Macbeth in the beginning of the play constructs him as as a meritorious and noble person, who returns from war as a hero, and has the title of Thane of Cawdor bestowed upon him. These traits are established as part of Macbeth’s character before his first appearance, positioning the audience to view him in a positive light, as the protagonist of the play. He is described by King Duncan as his “valiant cousin, worthy gentleman! (1:2:26)”. Macbeth is commended by many others, for he is “brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— (1:2:18)”. The build up of praise for Macbeth serves to provide a shock factor for the audience, leaving them

Innocence: the state, quality, or fact of being innocent of a crime or offence (Dictionary.com, 2015). Innocence is what Macbeth lacks and for what knowledge is present to display that I can be innocent of? I have the eyes of one who has witnessed the corpse of a king; I have the eyes of one who saw the body and the pool of blood that lay with it as well as the blood that forever stains my hands. Knowing that it was those eyes, my own eyes, that witnessed such a traitorous act come to pass makes me question myself. Was it really worth it? Am I truly happy now? How can these delicate small hands ever be unsoiled of guilt? I can still feel the warmth of the blood, upon the sleeping innocents. I held that bloody dagger that slashed an innocent life to shreds.

Macbeth has always been a very loyal knight to King Duncan. Macbeth has always been the one to protect the king from all enemies. King Duncan gives him trust to protect him against all enemies without knowing that Macbeth was the enemy within. One great reward for loyalty to Macbeth was when King Duncan named him the new Thane of Cawdor. “No more that Thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death And with his former title greet Macbeth.”

Having lost his innocence, Macbeth beings to fail in roles of purity. For he is bond to mortal and immortal laws as we are. Shakespeare doesn’t hide the fact that Macbeth has killed before, after all he did unseamed Macdonwald “from the nave to the chops and fixed his head upon” the battlements of 1.2. (1.2.24-5) But that incident was justifiable as it did take place during a battle.

His infidelity breaks the trust between him and Duncan because of his immense betrayal to not only the King, but to the country of Scotland. He quickly becomes a man whom Duncan could no longer rely upon, for this reason, Duncan awards the title to a noble and courageous soldier, Macbeth. Dramatic irony is presented in this line because as Duncan is addressing the unfaithfulness of the old thane, it is followed by the entry of Macbeth to the scene, a man who later misuses his power to betray the King. To Duncan, Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, is appeared to be virtuous and courageous because of his heroic performance in the battle for defeating the opponent, Macdonwald. The King demonstrates his satisfaction towards Macbeth through a conversation with Banquo. He describes Macbeth as “full so valiant, And in his commendations [King Duncan is] fed; It is a banquet to [him]… It is a peerless kinsman.” (1.4.56-60). In this speech, King Duncan truly admires Macbeth’s valiancy and describes him as a man without equal. He congratulates Macbeth for his courage on the battlefield and as followed by the witches’ prophecies of Macbeth, “...All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor…” (1.3.50), he replaces and becomes the new Thane of Cawdor. This speech reveals the gullible nature of Duncan who once trusted the old thane and anew, believes the new thane will be loyal to the country. By all means, Duncan is clueless of

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