Macbeth is a play about subterfuge and trickery. Macbeth, his wife, and the three Weird Sisters are linked in their mutual refusal to come out and say things directly. Instead, they rely on implications, riddles, and ambiguity to evade the truth. Macbeth’s ability to manipulate his language and his public image to hide his foul crimes makes him a very modern-seeming politician. As Bernard McElroy says in his literary criticism about Macbeth, “ When confronted with the possibility of committing a daring through criminal act, he willfully deceives himself for a short time and embraces an opposite view of the world...in the aftermath he’s committed to a world-view he does not believe.” Macbeth tricks himself into believing it is fine killing …show more content…
Lady Macbeth mimics this language when she directs her husband to look like an “innocent flower” in oder to hide the “serpent” that truly lurks in his heart(I.v.76-78). The Macbeths know how to use imagery and appearance to conceal the truth, and sometimes they even use those skills on themselves. Macbeth asks the stars, “Hide your fires/ Let not light see my black and deep desires/ The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be/ which the eye fears, when it is done, to see,” so that his eye cannot see what his hand does(I.iv.57-60). Similarly, Lady Macbeth asks the night, “Come, thick night/ And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell/ That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,” so that her knife cannot see itself slash its victim(I.v.57-59). The Macbeths know that their acts are wicked, so they try to hide the knowledge of their deeds from their own consciousness. Again Bernard McElroy states Macbeth’s crime, "Destroys his capacity to respect or even tolerate himself...his own hands are unrecognizable to him, savage, hangman 's hands that would pluck out his eyes. But, in fact, they do not obliterate his vision; he must continue staring at them," and in time he loses his mind from the guilt. Macbeth changes who he was, from the pressure his wife put on him and after the crime, not only does he feel guilt, but Lady Macbeth and they began distancing. In a sense, they wish to equivocate
Although William Shakespeare created the play, Macbeth, to be a tragedy, the tragic hero can hardly be considered to be one. For the entirety of one of Shakespeare’s most magnificent works, Macbeth is controlled and manipulated into committing atrocious acts that the witches and his wife desire. He is powerless to their tricks and through their sorcery/cunning words and his own morals (or lack thereof) “sustain[s] the central paradox–the heroic murderer” (Cusick). Despite the fact that he laments the loss of his king, Duncan, he still continues down his path of evil that only has one ending: his death. Although Macbeth gains a few insights on his inner self, his lack of ability to resist manipulation, willingness to kill, combined with his
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play.
"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.
Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’ is about the leading male protagonist succumbing to his ambition and need for power. Though Macbeth is liable for his own actions, he is not solely responsible for the events that eventually result in his downfall. Macbeth is corrupted by his wife, Lady Macbeth, as well as the three weird sisters. Macbeth’s contribution towards his downfall is his strong ambitious nature. Lady Macbeth is the person who induces Macbeth to assassinate King Duncan. The three weird sisters (witches) play with Macbeth’s ambitious nature and sense of security. Macbeth’s downfall is due to himself and two external factors.
The play was set in a time in which there was Kings that ruled certain areas and many people wanted to be kings. In some cases people wanted to be a king so much that they would eventually kill someone for that title. The play of Macbeth is an example of how someone wants something so bad that they will do anything to get the thing that they want. Some of the things that Macbeth does is not what people would do in today's world but actually happened in that time. In Macbeth there were many different acts of betrayal including the Thane of Cawdor of Scotland betrays Scotland and fights on Norway's side, Macbeth betraying the King, and also Macbeth betraying his friend Banquo.
Another example of Lady Macbeth using her appearance to deceive others is the way she deceives Macbeth into thinking that she is much crueler than she really is. After Duncan’s murder she says, “Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done’t.”, but after Macbeth appears she acts as though she would be ashamed if she felt guilty for murdering the king (2.3.12-13). When she is not in the presence of her husband, she confesses she would not have been able to murder Duncan herself and she is fearful of being caught, but when she is with Macbeth she has a cold demeanour and lacking in empathy. Lady Macbeth uses her appearance to con Duncan into believing that she is trustworthy and Macbeth into believing that she has no negative feelings regarding Duncan’s murder.
Power, admiration and wealth are all things that people yearn for. It’s human nature to prove one’s superiority over others around you. People in politics lie and deceive, making promises that they aren’t going to keep. They say what they believe others would like to hear in order to gain favor of the voters. Macbeth was written in Elizabethan England during the rule of King James. William Shakespeare's company was under the King James’ patronage, giving him the incentive to write something that would please the King. Several themes throughout Macbeth appeal to King James, such as the fact that betrayal of the King ends in misery. Macbeth was content with being a brave war hero, but then becomes motivated by the idea
Lady Macbeth- the malicious mastermind, and the second driving force behind the murders done by Macbeth, had believed that by portraying a man’s ways, she would attain power-for her and her husband, and gain whatever they needed without remorse or sorrow. Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to frame two guards by getting them intoxicated and even prepares the murder scene for Macbeth to take King Duncan's life. Macbeth even questions his loyalty and righteousness in this moment by saying, “But in these cases, we still have judgment here…bloody instructions…return to plague the inventor” and . . .” He is here in double trust; first as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then as his host” (I.VII.7-14). This just
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
Also, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both strong conveyors of deceit. From the onset on the play, Macbeth is characterized as strong and loyal to his king and country. However, once the witches’ prophecy is planted in his head, his thirst for King is so intense that it cannot be quenched and slowly his admirable traits are erased. When Macbeth is preparing for the King’s arrival at his house, he starts to question his murderous thoughts. He states that the King will be here in “double trust” , for Macbeth will be his hostess and will also be acting as a subject of the state. How can he possibly do such a grim task? The answer is Lady Macbeth. She lusts after becoming Queen and living a life of fantasy and does everything in her power to persuade her husband to kill the King. She questions his courage, she feeds his ego and she emasculates poor Macbeth all in an effort to get what she wants disguised as what is best for him. When he agrees, she tells him to “look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” in order to commit this regicide. Lady Macbeth, such a beautiful woman, is actually a cunning, strategic and determined lady – so determined that she’s willing to risk everything and make her husband lie to the king and betray him. It’s funny how things are not always what they appear to be.
In Macbeth the witches are the ones that fill Macbeth’s head with the information that he will be king of Scotland but it was Macbeth’s responsibility to decide what he should do with this information and to make the right choices. The witches should not be held responsible for his actions even though they did tempt him with the information but Macbeth was in no way, shape, or form forced by the witches to do anything. It was completely Macbeth’s fault for what happened to him in the end.
Throughout Macbeth things are not always as they seem. Deception is always present with Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the three witches.
It is easy to blame someone for what you do, but it is very hard to accept the consequences that this can unchained. Throughout human history, there has been a believe of a mythical force that some call god, others fate and others universal order. But all of the eras, humans have believed in a superior force; and they think that the reason they exist is to feel secure. Personally, I’m a catholic that believes in god, but I think god gave us humans the most precious gift, Decision. This Decision power making can be a humongous advantage or a problem depending of how you use it. The negative trait of a decision is the consequences you get for it. In Macbeth from Shakespeare, Macbeth is predicted by some witches that he will be king. Macbeth after
Lady Macbeth had a very powerful hold over Macbeth. Just by questioning his valor she could shift Macbeth’s whole thought process and second-guessing of the murder of Duncan (Booth, 24), and he allows it because he cannot bear to disappoint her. His love for her and need for her approval is what ultimately leads him to commit each and every one of his crimes. She is the center of his world and if she does not see a problem in the murders than why should he. This is naïve ignorance caused by a blindness that is induced by love, and that is both heart breaking and tragic.
In perhaps the most pivotal scene in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s motives are truly revealed in her manipulation of Macbeth to show how humans have a desire for power and once they get a taste of it, they will go through any lengths to have it, no matter the effect on others. Her lust for power is showcased through how she persuades Macbeth by insulting his masculinity and using emotive language to counter his logical reasoning. This section of the play illustrates the tipping point of each character’s morality with Macbeth having second thoughts about the planned murder and Lady Macbeth diving straight in.