Throughout reading the play, Macbeth changes a lot from being a man of loyalty and honesty, to a man of whom is power hungry and greedy. This shows how the more power you receive the more power you want; which in many cases, such as this one leads to destruction. Many of the choices that Macbeth made were influenced by the power that he had, and this power began to take over him. This then lead to greed and destruction of not only others, but himself as well. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is not in a position of authority yet still receives praise. Although Macbeth is not in a place of power, he is truly content with his life. Macbeth is looked up to and admired for begin so brave and courageous. In …show more content…
But little did the king know that this taste of power would bring out new dangerous qualities in Macbeth. 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
Macbeth killing his way to the throne blurred his view as a leader, leading his country unfairly. Power gets to the best of us in many situations blurring us from the right track we should follow. Readers should learn from Macbeth not to let power get in the way of doing the right thing in all situations.
"I'll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked." (Act 5, Scene 3). Phrases as forceful as Macbeth's quote are not common day language, in fact, it is used except in times of intense emotion. Although the diction of Macbeth's words are from the Elizabethan Age, it's message rings true and clear. Macbeth clearly will oppose anything standing in the way of his passion. Critics often debate over the what tragic flaw of Macbeth lead to his downfall. Was it ambition or Lady Macbeth's influence? Hardly so. It was an obsession of power that Macbeth desired so much that led to his compulsive fixation and preoccupation of obtaining his desire by any and all means necessary. Thus, he inevitably
How much power do we have over our lives? This question has been debated for centuries through stories, poems, and plays. While we may never know if there is such a thing as fate, we do know that there are many things that can influence the path we chose in our life. In the fictional play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses characterization to show that if the darkness of man is left untamed, it will destroy all that is pure.
In the play, The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, the main character, Macbeth, chases after power by going after the king position in Scotland. In the play, Macbeth changes from basically not worrying about whether or not he will be king, to going after the king so that Macbeth will rule the kingdom. At the very beginning, Macbeth encounters the evil witches and the witches greet Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King hereafter. The funny part about this is that Macbeth is the Thane of Glamis but, not the Thane of Cawdor because the current Thane of Cawdor is still living, and Macbeth certainly is not the king of Scotland because King Duncan is king. The things the witches say to Macbeth gets into his head and this is where the desire for power originates. Macbeth decides to kill the current King and Macbeth continues to murder people. Macbeth hires goons to kill Banquo and Banquo’s son, Fleance, because the evil witches hint that Banquo will not be king but, Banquo will heir kings. Macbeth is a character that struggles to free himself from chasing after power due to him wanting to rule the kingdom and Macbeth will do whatever possible to keep the throne. Macbeth performs multiple murders just to keep his throne from falling into somebody else’s hand.
Macbeth started off as a loyal, strategic brave knight. "What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won."(Macbeth 1:1: 67) He was knnown to do anything to protect his king and country in battle. As macbeth gained power his character began to change. Macbeth grew greedy and became power hungry. The only thing that could satisify his need for power was the crown causing him to put
Macbeth stated in his soliloquy, “Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature/Reigns that which would be feared” (3.1.53-55). Macbeth abused the power he had because of his paranoia that others were after his position of power. Macbeth showed that he was willing to do anything even killing Banquo, whose intentions were to have Macbeth’s best interest. Macbeth saw Banquo as a threat because of the prophecy that his son’s will become king. Macbeth acted on his feelings instantly about Banquo and didn’t think it through clearly. Macbeth let his paranoia of losing his powers to get the best of him because he killed someone who was close to him and wanted what was best for him.
Ambition pushed Macbeth to do anything necessary to become king. When witches told Macbeth he will be the Thane of Cawdor, and king of Scotland eventually, Macbeth did not take that as a joke, he kept asking witches, and wanted witch to explain to him precisely. When Ross brought the news that King Duncan gave the “Thane of Cawdor” title to Macbeth, Macbeth did not take that as a coincident, he immediately mailed a letter to his wife, lady Macbeth; at this point, ambition made him put his dream in action. When Duncan stayed at Macbeth’s castle, he did not take that as a simple visit, instead he saw that as a chance to achieve his dream. His loyalty made him afraid, his honesty kept disturbing him, he was about to pull back from his murder plan, however, ambition gave him the courage to kill his king no matter what.
Based on the story of Macbeth I noticed how one cannot handle too much authority. This type of dominance tends to create a sort of hunger for more control and lights a fire of ambition to gain more power which cannot be put out unless confronted by a strong opposing force. Power tends to corrupt the mind.
corrupted by power, which corrupts Macbeth, as is unavoidable, was fate for it to happen. Macbeth had his and many others lives destroyed after gaining more power, and it was mostly his fear of losing power that corrupted him. He ultimately could have changed the outcome of his story, but his demise was fate set in place by three witches.
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth the main character, Macbeth, follows a dreadful journey of murder and power hungriness. In this essay close attention will be paid to the given extract of the interaction between the infamous three witches and Macbeth. These characters along with Lady Macbeth and Macbeth himself, serve as the main influences that lead Macbeth to the end result of the play. Throughout this extract many things shift due to the words shared. Macbeth's attitude changes from fearful to fearless as he interprets what he is being told to his benefit.
Nearly all men can stand adversity but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power”(Abraham Lincoln). Power is the ultimate force in the universe. Power by definition is control, controlling everything would make everything go the way that person wants it to so power is sought. Power is desired by most normal people, people who aspire to be more than themselves, to rise above the common man and do as they please. Power appeals to human nature. There are many different types of power, but the main two are necessary and unnecessary power. Necessary power is that of a natural cause for example, the lion expresses his power over prey to eat; to survive he needs to use his power. Humans, on the other hand, do not need oil to survive
Macbeth demonstrates contrasting emotions with different types of people. While he is respectful to some, he is also suspicious of another. Thus, Macbeth’s varying relationships with others is based on how they will affect his rise to power.
Shakespeare explores the abuse of supernatural power through manipulation by witches on human nature. This considers how witches dominate through the complexity of control as an attempt to influence fate. In the Jacobean Era, King James was interested in the supernatural with the majority of people believing that witches held supernatural power and were evil representatives of the devil. Hecate informs the witches in relation to Macbeth that “he shall spurn fate, scorn death and bear his hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace and fear…security is mortal’s chiefest enemy”. Tragic foreshadowing emphasises “scorn death” presenting a dark upcoming event. This demonstrates how the witches manipulate Macbeth into thinking that he stands above wisdom, grace and fear, encouraging him to be overly confident. As a loyal friend, Banquo warns Macbeth “to win us to our harm the instruments of darkness tell us
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the focus that is placed on the character of Lady Macbeth helps to convey the play's theme of the strife created by the struggle for power and control that is present throughout the entire work. Shakespeare presents her character in great detail and shows her to be a dominating, authoritative woman who thrives on the power she holds over her husband. He then shows the principle character, Macbeth, rise up and join his wife in a struggle for power of his own. It is the actions that Macbeth takes in attempt to achieve ultimate authority that lead to his downfall, and it is Lady Macbeth's loss of control over her husband as he gains this independence which causes her own
Shakespeare’s characters are predisposed to problems within such as “so foul and fair a day I have not seen” Act 1, scene 3 line 38 this is showing the influence on Macbeth the witches make even before they meet him. “A sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion” this tells us that Macbeth is born to rule to be at the top of the hierarchy and that he won’t let anything stop him making the audience wonder if he would commit crimes to get what he feels is rightfully his.