Macbeth's Choice

“Macbeth” and “Macbeth retold” by Mark Brozel, share many comparisons yet have many vital differences.

Yes he does, "Banquo's Ghost sits in "Macbeth's place" he responds "Thou canst not say I did it: never shake/Thy gory locks at me"(110)

Humans will go to great extents to achieve want we want especially power. We understand right and wrong but we choose wrong or cruelty if it helps us achieve our goals, but how do these choices affect the people around us and us? In the tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare develops the idea how the cruel choices taken by the characters came with consequences that could not be escaped, this was presented through the characters: Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and Macduff.

As a virgin to The Shakespeare Theatre, I was pleasantly surprised when my recent encounter with Macbeth was a stimulating and enjoyable excursion. The two and a half hours I had predicted to be less than enchanting were filled with symbolism, and an overall attitude towards the Shakespeare classic that I had never contemplated before.

They talk for a while and he is told that he will be king. Macbeth is currently awarded Thane of Cawdor because of his bravery, but that isn’t enough for him. He thinks more and more about being king, and is openly willing to do anything big or small to accomplish his mission. MACBETH’S CHARACTER CHANGES 5 Forces of change Macbeth thinks more and more about being king, and was willing to do anything to be in those shoes, so he was easily persuaded to agree to murder Duncan.

Human beings are unique in the world because humans have the power to tell between right and wrong. Some believe that this is simply a special instinct while others believe that it is divine creator that gave to man what is known as conscience. In the tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare develops the idea that when an individual makes a choice that is against his conscience, he and the larger community will suffer the consequences of his choice. Shakespeare uses three main characters: Lady Macbeth, Macduff and Macbeth to illustrate the importance of following the human conscience.

People have two paths to choose from in life: the right or the left. The decisions that lead up to and decide that path are what decides their fate. Each decision a person makes changes the course that is set for them. Whether it be substantial or subtle, one decision can alter fate. In Things Fall Apart, the tragic hero, Okonkwo, is constantly battling with the fear of being compared to his irresponsible father which drives Okonkwo to do inhumane things. While in the tragic drama, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth’s fate is revealed to him by three “Weird Sisters’ which drives him to do all in his capability to ensure his fate transpires. While Okonkwo and Macbeth make different decisions in power, their similar characteristics drive them to

When Macbeth kills Duncan, he kills him to be the heir of the throne but is full of remorse afterwards, which displays that he does not naturally have a murderous mindset like Lady Macbeth. Before he wants to kill Duncan he says to Banquo, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir” (1.3 157-159). Macbeth’s tone in this instance is hopeful, and shows that he will let chance crown him if it is meant to be. His first desire to become king is decided by fate, according to what he says to Banquo. His views change on fate when Malcolm is named as the next king. According to

In the eyes of the world, Lady Macbeth was the devil incarnate with a vicious heart. People think Macbeth killed all of those innocent people because Lady Macbeth compelled him to do that. However, I state that Macbeth made his own choices. Lady Macbeth just made it faster to happen. Lady Macbeth had power first, then Mcbeth took it. After that, they lost their power in the end of play. We can see that their struggle for power shifted throughout the play.

     Once Macbeth possessed the power of being Thane of Cawdor he began to exhibit more greed. He has just been given such a huge responsibility and once he was given new power, he craved more; especially when he stumbled upon the witches. He liked the power that he had and wanted to gain more, no matter what he has to do to get it. Macbeth had an encounter with the three witches and they had told him that he will become the next king. Although the witches did say this it did not mean that it was certain, it was just a possibility. But when Macbeth realized the opportunity for power he knew he wanted to become the king. This passage was in part of the letter that Macbeth wrote to Lady Macbeth: “Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it came missives from the King, who all-hailed me ‘Thane of Cawdor,’ by which title, before, these Weird Sisters saluted me and referred me to the coming on of time with ‘Hail, king that shalt be’” (1.5.6-10). . It seems as if the power and greed now had full control over him, he is doing things that he wouldn’t do when he did not have all this power. This is the first time that we see this side of Macbeth, the side of him that is greedy for power and is willing to kill the king to do so. In the beginning of the play the thought of being Thane of Cawdor never even crossed his mind, and by no means being

3. How do Malcolm's comments about Macbeth again bring to mind the “fair is foul” theme?

It was his duty to protect the King, not turn against him, and kill murderers, not change into one. After all Macbeth was named 'Thane of Cawdor ' by King Duncan. However this title is ironic as it once belonged to a disloyal traitor, which Macbeth later on becomes in the play. Yet Macbeth does dismiss and disregard the idea of murdering King Duncan, he can 't let himself believe he would contemplate such a thing. Once confiding his innermost desires to Lady Macbeth he cannot escape the idea, Lady Macbeth willingly takes charge of the situation which Macbeth accepts and begins to formulate a plot.

Macbeth's feels that his destiny is to become King and rule with all the power that goes with kingship. The three witches on his way back to the kingdom, prophesied that he would rise to kingship. They said "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis" (I, 3, 48), and then as the thane of Cawdor "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor" (I, 3, 49). At this point in the play Macbeth had just become thane of Glamis, and the thane of Cawdor is still alive. Then, the witches greeted Macbeth as the King of Scotland saying "All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be King hereafter" (I, 3, 50). This is the point in the tragedy where Macbeth starts to think as a villain. If the witches had never greeted him as King on Scotland, then he would probably never have contemplated killing Duncan in the first place. At first, he believes that he will need to kill King Duncan. Though at the end of Act 1, Scene 3, he thinks that perhaps he doesn't need to do anything to become the king saying "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir.", showing he is a man of honor and morals. Then, Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecy in his letters and decides immediately for him that King Duncan must die, showing Macbeth's doubt. An

The choices that Macbeth makes during his pursuit for power ultimately result in his descent into madness. This all begins when he meets the witches at the beginning of the play. “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.51-53). By choosing to believe what the witches preach, Macbeth takes destiny into his own hands. Every decision he makes from this point on is so that he can take over the kingship and retain this position. The witches drive Macbeth into creating his own destiny by planting the idea that he is going to be the king into his head. Once he gets it in his head that he is going to be the king, he will stop at nothing to make it happen. After Macbeth has killed King Duncan and become the king, he still has the threat of Banquo’s line of kings looming around him. Even though Banquo is one of Macbeth’s friends he decides Banquo needs to be killed. Macbeth is so controlling of his own destiny that he doesn’t want to leave anything up to chance. He won’t leave his fate in the hands of anyone else. He decides that he is going to kill people in order to solidify his kingship. “So is he mine (enemy), and in such bloody distance that every minute of his being thrusts against my near’st of life.” (3.1.132-234).

Before assigning the last assignment we read a Shakespeare play called Macbeth. The play wasn’t the most entertaining but, I was happy we were doing it with Mr. Toby. If we had done it with Mrs. Guenette she probably would have made us read it by ourselves and if we didn’t understand something she wouldn’t help us. With Mr. Toby we read it as a class and he