Macbeth Act 4 Essay

If you look at Macbeth as a spineless character, then you can feel sympathy for him. When he first encountered the witches he has never met them yet they knew who he was. The

While Macduff is in England, Macbeth learns of the abandonment of Macduff's family and resolves to have them murdered. When Macduff learns of the murder of his family, he is motivated by Malcolm to get revenge. It is this that pushes Macduff to the edge and forces him to go after Macbeth himself. The power of Malcolm's taunting that he must take it like a man and his own love for his family makes him hate Macbeth to the fullest extent, and eventually he succeeds in killing him.

     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.

Macduff’s burning desire for revenge towards Macbeth was encouraged by many forces. As it is known, Macbeth murders Duncan which causes Malcolm to flee to England because he fears for his life. Following Duncan’s death, Macduff was the first to discover Duncan dead, and it can be inferred that he was so angry and mortified that it sparks apprehensiveness towards Macbeth’s acquiring the throne. As he realizes that he does not agree with Macbeth’s reign, he decides to leave his family behind in Fife to go to England to find Malcolm, the true heir to the throne. His plan is to conspire with Malcolm to build an army against Macbeth. Macduff was so loyal to Scotland and the true ruler that he was willing to abandon his family in the process of freeing Scotland from tyranny. As he meets with Malcolm, Ross delivers the news that

Macduff's ambition in this play was to be loyal to his country by taking out Macbeth. Too much of his time is spent plotting against Macbeth, which throws off Macduff’s values. He abandons his family and left for England to find Malcolm so he could wage war against Macbeth. Later, Macbeth hears that the recent absence of Macduff at the banquet and at Duncan’s funeral was because he had fled to England, to find Malcolm. So Macbeth reacts to this by sending murderers to kill Macduff's family. Once Macduff finds out that his family is dead, he starts to exhibit some emotion. At this time he is about to wage war on Macbeth with Malcolm; Malcolm say's to Macduff "Dispute it like a man"(4.3.259). Macduff then replies,

The Tragedy of Macbeth details the downfall of the tragic hero, Macbeth, and is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous works of tragedy. Macbeth’s bloody murders and eventual descent into complete madness serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of uncontrolled ambitions in humanity. Macbeth may not be held responsible for the death of Duncan and Macduff’s family, but he should be for that of Banquo’s. It is definitely arguable that Macbeth is the cause behind the death of Duncan, Banquo and Macduff’s family; however, the influence of others and his mental instability greatly reshaped his persona, as such, Macbeth cannot always be held responsible for his actions.

Many people who have read William Shakespeare’s Macbeth know that Macbeth is the tragic hero in the play, but there another character stands out as a much greater protagonist. Macbeth is the type of character who turned from a loyal warrior to the king into a violent, tyrannical, and conflicted person as he progressively commits crimes inside the kingdom without anyone’s notice, except for one person, who is Macduff. Macduff doesn’t have any flaws and remains sinless and heroic throughout the play. As Macbeth progressively gains power and prestige in exchange for the lives of his king, his friends, and his countrymen, Macduff meanwhile goes through great personal loss in his attempts to stop Macbeth’s tyrannical ruling and to restore justice and freedom to Scotland. It is ironic how Macduff acts so much more nobly than his king. Throughout the tragic events that have occurred in the play, Macduff serves as a heroic figure through his demonstrations of intelligence, loyalty, and righteousness.

Macbeth is very faithful and honorable general in the beginning of the play. However, once he rebels to king due to three witches plot, his character and personality changes completely. He becomes an atrocious and tyrannical ruler. Furthermore, his understanding of kingly rule is exposed in his words in act 4 scene 1: “Time, thou anticipatest my dread exploits: / The flighty purpose never is o'ertook / Unless the deed go with it; from this moment / The very firstlings of my heart shall be / The firstlings of my hand.” (Shakespeare 4.1.162-166). His evil character, which changed after becoming a king, matches with his understanding of kingly rule – he believes that king can do anything even though it is a dread exploit.

"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.

As Macbeth rises in power, Macduff’s role in the play becomes more prominent. Macbeths first major villainous deed was killing Duncan. In the next scene after the murder, Macduff is introduced to the audience. In the following quote Macduff has a conversation with Macbeth and his only concern is going to see the king:

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

In the daily lives of people, individuals often attain factors that affect them in their routines. These factors may include family, work, education, and sometimes even religion, which ultimately forms a basic foundation of who they are based on the level on importance they place on each factor. To these factors, whatever they may be, people attach a certain level of importance in order to determine and distinguish which factors are top priorities in their lives. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the level of importance that Macbeth and Macduff place on factors that affect their lives greatly differentiates the role that they each take on in the play. These factors include their family, their country, and last but not least the

In William Shakespeare's "Macbeth", there are two brave heroes, Macbeth and Macduff, who are also noble leaders and husbands. Although both have two very different personalities, they are also somewhat alike. In this play, Macbeth plays the villain role and Macduff plays the heroic role. Macduff, the thane of Fife, was not only loyal to the king, but was also a very brave soldier. He was generally very happy with his life and cherished his child greatly.

If a play is to function as a tragedy, we, the audience, should feel a certain degree of sympathy for the protagonist through to the close of the play. In my opinion, however, Shakespeare fails to retain this in his timeless classic, “The Tragedy of Macbeth”. From the start of the play it is clear that Macbeth is a reckless warrior, almost barbaric in nature. He is a weak character, who is easily manipulated by his ruthless wife and the three malevolent witches. He ignores the advice of his shrewd, loyal friend and abandons his own moral instincts;

The characters obviously play the biggest role in the story, so lets meet them. Macbeth is the center of the play. He is a very ambitious man who strives to become the most powerful man in the country. He struggles with many different challenges on the journey to get there and crosses many moral lines. I like to consider Macbeth the puppet in this play. Lady Macbeth is the puppet master. Even though Macbeth might commit most of the killings in this play, Lady Macbeth is the influence. She is the one with the mortality issues and will get what she wants no matter what she has to do to get it. Macduff is the hero. He has the goal of restoring Scotland to its original form. You first learn that he is going to be the hero when he is first speaking with Malcolm. He was tested to see if he would be loyal to him. Macduff simply replies that he is loyal to Scotland and whoever has the bet interests for Scotland. Malcolm was the rightful heir to the crown when Macbeth murdered his father. He fled to Britain and began making an army who would