What Idea(s) Does Shakespeare Present Regarding the Pursuit of a Passion?
Immoral Pursuit
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 states. This is precisely what happens to Macbeth when he pursues his selfish desire for power and advancement, which resulted him in destroying everything in his path. Throughout the play Macbeth, Shakespeare utilizes Macbeth to portray the idea that pursuing a passion in itself isn’t negative, but that ambition must be accompanied by a sense of humanity and virtue to prevent becoming corrupt. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Pursuing passions without wisdom and a moral compass will lead a person to their ruin,
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Rather than stopping at the thoughts of impulsion and staying attuned to his moral beliefs, Macbeth, after persuasion from his wife, follows through with the plan to murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth knows her husband, and knows that he had the desire to pursue what he wanted, yet he didn’t have a heart cruel enough to do so. “That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false… And that which rather thou dost fear to do,” Act 1 Scene 5. She repeatedly calls him out, and she causes him to grow weak in his morals, demasculinizing him in order to manipulate him. Macbeth gives in; however, once he is done, Macbeth feels overwhelmed with guilt. He can’t bear to think of what he’s done. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?” Macbeth thought he could never wash off what he had done, and that he didn’t deserve to live. He obsessed over what he’d done, convinced he would never sleep again. This began his overwhelming sense of paranoia and guilt, which he expresses in the quote “Whence is that knocking?-- How is't with me, when every noise appals me? What hands are here? Ha! they pluck out mine eyes!” from Act 2. Lady Macbeth encourages him to get stop feeling guilty and insists “These deeds must not be thought/ After these ways ; so, it will make us mad”. (II ii pg 45-46)” Macbeth’s feelings of …show more content…
Macbeth was altogether stable in his morality as the play commenced; he led himself with a stable sense of humanity and a stable psyche. As he was wavered by the witches and his wife, his desire for power and advancement was uncovered. During this section of the play we witness Macbeth’s mental decline as his morality slips away. Macbeth’s lack of virtue and endless thirst for power ultimately lead him to psychosis, and his out of touch nature gave him feelings of invincibility which lead him to his death. Shakespeare makes the statement that, to prevent downfalling from our own desires we must cling onto our ambition with a sense of humanity and
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.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare explores the theme of moral decay produced by the temptation of power. When Macbeth hears the witches’ prophecy (1.3.45) he does not understand how he can become King of Scotland; the only way to attain the crown would be through committing the grave and unjustifiable sin of regicide. Despite this, Macbeth ignores his conscience (1.7.80) and when presented with the opportunity, aided by Lady Macbeth, he murders Duncan (2.1.62). Although he immediately regrets his actions and is filled with compunction (2.2.55, 2.2.63-65), Macbeth decides that there is no going back and “things bad begun make themselves strong by ill.” (3.2.55) Macbeth’s allows his inherent lust for power to completely outweigh his moral conscience.
Macbeth is confused as he is arguing with himself on what he should do. He states reasons not to kill Duncan, because Macbeth is his noble kinsmen and the act would bring dishonor. However, he also states reason why he should kill him, because Macbeth will then become king and fulfill the witches ' fortune. Lady Macbeth, who appears in the beginning as the driving force for the murder of King Duncan, also develops internal conflict. At first, Lady Macbeth seems to be a woman of extreme confidence and will. But, as situations become more and more unstable in the play, guilt develops inside her. For instance, she exclaims; "Wash your hands. Put on your nightgown. / Look not so pale. I tell you again, Banquo 's / Burried; he cannot come out on 's grave" (Shakespeare V, ii, 65-67). Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and frets about her evil wrongdoings because she is extremely guilty of her influence on Macbeth to commit the murder. Lady Macbeth reacts emotionally and dwells on her actions as guilt eats at her soul.
Have you ever thought of why criminals do the wrong thing?It is probably because they have bad intentions or motivations. Macbeth is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches that one day soon he will become the king of Scotland. With all the ambition inside of Macbeth and all of the pressure being received from Lady Macbeth, Macbeth kills King Duncan and becomes king himself. He then is filled with guilt and paranoia. Forced into committing more murders to protect himself from suspicion , Macbeth soon becomes an oppressor.
It is in human nature that the more power one desires the more corrupt actions one must do to attain it. In Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth, a Scottish noble's craving for power leads him to do terrible deeds that leads to his demise. Shakespeare shows that power corrupts by using Macbeth who corrupts under the thought of have power over others. Macbeth becomes corrupt under the thought of becoming king and gaining almost complete control over the people that he rules. Macbeth wants the power badly enough to do horrible deeds such as commit regicide. Lady Macbeth becomes very ambitious and allows herself to become seduced to the
With attention to the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth struggles with the morality of his actions. Before the murder takes place, Macbeth begins to believe that the murder will “be the be-all and the end-all” to his clear conscious and would risk him to eternal damnation (Act I, line 5). Yet, the murder would bring him power over Scotland and he “shalt be kind” as told by the Weird Sisters(Act 1, line 50). Macbeth goes off of his ambition to murder King Duncan. The internal struggle of choosing mortality over motives brought forth an intense shift of loyalty to betrayal. The murder caused for Macbeth to turn on Scotland and only care for his own selfish motives. The betrayal causes for the play to become horrific and have a double meaning. Macbeth must put on a face to hide his murder to become the king. The double meaning is how Macbeth looks like a hero to all of Scotland, but only the people on the inside know of his horrific actions. He had to murder to to get the position of King, but the
"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.
Initially, Macbeth’s ambition for power is subdued by his longing to hold onto his honor and dignity. Unfortunately, Macbeth lets go of his integrity and kills the unguarded Duncan and so in an attempt to keep the guilt of his deeds to himself, distances himself from not only his wife but also has one of his closest friends murdered. Finally, Macbeth’s thirst for power and greatness emptied him of everything he had; dignity, respect, and honor. Ultimately, motivation that is founded on selfish reasons leads one down a path that strippes one of everthing they have and so takes away any meaning to
An ambition for power can seem to be true perfection, but one should be careful what they wish for, because that power might be exactly what causes their downfall. In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare ambition plays a great role and is also a main theme. Ambition is often the motivating force in one's life. It is supposed to be the motivating factor that drives one towards success. The main character, Macbeth has ambition even though it leads him to his downfall. In contrast, Lady Macbeth pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the outcome of her actions. She becomes guilty which leads to her death since she becomes mentally ill and commits suicide, leaving Macbeth without any
The “Tragedy of Macbeth” by William Shakespeare tells a tale of deceit, murder, and ambition, beginning with a cutthroat rise to power, followed by calamitous downfall. At the start of the play, Macbeth is a brave and loyal captain in King Duncan’s army, but after three witches prophesize that he himself will become the king of Scotland, and that those born of a friend, Banquo, will be king after him, Macbeth is overtaken by ambition and gluttony. Instigated by his wife and his own lust for power, he murders Duncan, assumes the throne, and subsequently sends mercenaries to kill Banquo’s sons. While awaiting battle, Macbeth addresses the death of his wife in Act V, scene 5. Throughout the
According to the classical view, tragedy should arouse feelings of pity and fear in the audience. Does Macbeth do this?
Laurence Sterne once wrote, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” This passage embodies one of the over arching themes of Macbeth. The character Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, could easily identify with this passage due to the fact that he is pulled in opposite directions by both his desire to do what is right and his desire for power.
Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most powerful and emotionally intense plays. Macbeth, once known for his courage and bravery is transformed into a ruthless tyrant. His wife, Lady Macbeth, once known for her strength and great ambition is soon engulfed by guilt and sensitivity greatly weakens her. As the tragic hero Macbeth is overcome by tensions in his criminal act and the reactions by his conscience (Nix).
In the beginning of the play Macbeth and Macduff are very similar in many aspects including rank, leadership, belief, and loyalty. But as the play unfolds, Shakespeare reveals these two characters are as different as night from day. In this essay I will compare and contrast the characters of the murderous Macbeth, and the forthright Macduff. I will consider their status within the Scottish society and the depth of their intelligence. I will also evaluate their actions and their relationships with other characters, including their families and I will discuss their degrees of ambition.
After being given ambiguous predictions by the three witches, Macbeth has a certain confidence and believes he cannot be killed. Of course, a tragic hero must suffer, which again adds to the tragedy of his story and continues to show how human he is. “What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes!” (II.ii.59). Macbeth suffers psychological trauma after his first kill. He is overwhelmed with guilt, so much so that he does not even recognize himself.