Macbeth and Othello 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.

The notorious Shakespearean play Macbeth illustrates a natural evil and greed for power present in the human race. Even in modern times, society relates to Macbeth as people are consistently striving for a higher rank and power. Sometimes, people are even prepared to get into difficult situations to achieve their goals, and this gives rise to conflicts. There are three main types of conflict present in the Macbeth play: man vs man, man vs nature, and man vs self.

"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.

     A Shakespearean tragic hero starts out as a noble person; a great exceptional being who stands out. A tragic hero has a tragic flaw of an exaggerated trait that leads to their downfall and eventually to death. William Shakespeare often made his main characters tragic heroes in his plays. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the role of the tragic hero is given to the main character: Macbeth. This is because he starts off as a loyal and well liked man in the beginning, but has a tragic flaw of ambition which ultimately leads to his downfall.

of King Duncan's army. His personal powers and strength as a general won him the

An important character in ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare was Macbeth. Macbeth is shown as the protagonist of the play and is the person who drives the plot of the drama. Macbeth changes dramatically throughout the play as in the start he is portrayed as the tragic hero who would do anything for his King and country. As the plays continue he becomes ambitious and, encouraged by a prophecy. After that, he ends up killing a lot of people/becoming a tyrant.

During act 4 the supernatural phenomenons play a very important role in the fate and character of Macbeth. In Act 4 Scene 1 Macbeth starts off by seeing four apparitions displayed by the witches. All of the apparitions represent something very important to Macbeth’s fate. The first apparition is a decapitated head with a helmet on. Macbeth seems to be grateful for this vision because it shows him that he should kill Macduff. Another thing that this apparition shows is that Macbeth is in fact scared of Macduff. The following two apparitions feeds Macbeth’s ego telling him that he can not be killed by anyone born by a woman and that he can't lose any battle. Macbeth isn’t satisfied so he asks the

Shakespeare’s Othello illustrates the tragic relationship of Desdemona, a tragedy brought on by her gender. Throughout the play, it is made clear that Desdemona’s own wants do not matter. As a woman, he opinion holds no weight. In this society, Desdemona is not more than a piece of property to be own by her father or her husband; males truly hold the power. Initially, the play begins as Desdemona’s father is alerted that she is not in her room. He is informed that she is away with her husband. Desdemona’s father, upon discovering she is truly absent, goes into a panic. He expressed his disappointment that his own daughter would betray him by getting married and leaving without his knowledge. Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, expresses his disdain in her choice of husband. He is

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.

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

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.

Martin Rosenberg’s article “Lady Macbeth’s Indispensable Child” makes a very intriguing argument on the significance of children in Shakespeare ’s play Macbeth. Rosenberg begins by exploring the idea that Lady Macbeth has prior experience bearing a child and then suggests that Macbeth commits murder and treachery to secure the throne for his own son. A central element of Macbeth is the power struggle that occurs between Macbeth and the contenders for the throne that Macbeth has usurped. Though Macbeth gains the throne as the witches prophesied he also knows that Fleance is prophesied to seat the throne after Macbeth dies.

“Maternal power in Macbeth,” Janet Adelman writes, “is not embodied in the figure of a particular mother (as it is in Coriolanus); it is instead diffused throughout the play” (Adelman 131). This “maternal malevolence”(131) is introduced with the witches, but quickly spreads to Lady Macbeth. After she learns of his encounter with the witches and his plot to usurp the

A Tragic Hero is a common figure in many of Shakespeare’s works. A Tragic Hero is usually a figure of royalty, fame or greatness. This person is predominately good, but falls from prominence due to personality flaws that eventually lead to self-destruction.

Brabantio encountered Othello for running away secretly with Desdemona without his approval, he accuses Othello of being a “foul their” as if Desdemona was his piece of property. Brabantio repeatedly insisted Othello had stolen his daughter as if she were a valuable object as he states “O, thou foul thief, where hast thou stowed my daughter?” (1.2.80-81). As Iago speaks to Brabantio and plants the idea of loss of power into Brabantio’s mind. Iago cautions him saying, “Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul” (1.1 88-90). This quote highlights the fact that in Elizabethan society, Brabantio, like other fathers, considered Desdemona’s body to be his possession. Brabantio attempts to separate the couple as he believes he has control over her whether he wants to give away his daughter or not. Desdemona even points out that her mother chose Brabantio over her father. Despite her ability to argue for her marriage, Desdemona is still seen as owing to either Brabantio or Othello. Both Brabantio and Othello were worried about the loss of control and authority over the female desires when both individuals want to keep the possession to themselves. Desdemona is treated more as if she was a piece of property that is being exchanged between two men.