Morality In Macbeth Essay

Macbeth killed the King and waited for nature to take its course. Once when everybody realized that King Duncan was dead, Macbeth was named King shortly after. Being King and having all of the power over Scotland was great for Macbeth, but the guilt also was getting heavier and heavier on his shoulders. He began to realize that would he had done was a major mistake and he shouldn’t of listened to his wife. When he questioned if he would fail his attempt to kill the king he should have backed down but Lady Macbeth said some convincing words, “We fail?

After Macbeth learns that he will become king once Duncan passes, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Lady Macbeth encourages him to murder Duncan. Macbeth goes forward with the plan, but deals with the guilt afterwards. This leaves him feeling insecure about his position as king, and he hires murderers to kill his old friend Duncan. Overtaken by his own greed and ambition, he murders Macduff’s family.

In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare, Macbeth turns his back on his morals as his desire for power and his fatal flaw of ambition leads to his tragic downfall. His self-destructiveness, rooted in his ambition, is very apparent especially when considering his series of bad decision-making leading to a spree of murders. Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth to kill King Duncan so that he could take the throne. This fateful decision quickly leads to his demise, as his guilt is overtaken by his obsession with power. Soon after, Macbeth’s guilt is replaced with evil, as he continues to try to cover his tracks by then killing the King’s guards, followed by killing Banquo, because he felt that he was suspicious of him, and he might find out what Macbeth did.

Macbeth’s view of Macduff is clearly stated as follows, “...His wife. his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line.” (Act IV, Scene II, 56) Macbeth indicates that he will do anything to secure the throne including killing Macduff and his family. Macbeth states, “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player...signifying nothing.” (Act V, Scene V, 77) Macbeth concludes that life is worth nothing in the end, and he has nothing to lose. The suicide of Lady Macbeth kills his desire to live making him a hard and intensive person with no emotion. When Macduff and Macbeth meet each other for the final scene, Macduff reveals, “... tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripp’d.” (Act V, Scene VIII, 80) Macduff’s birth was actually a cesarean section, an option which Macbeth does not consider when he hears the witches’ prophecy, “...the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (Act IV, Scene I, 54) Due to this misinterpretation, Macbeth would rest in peace

Macbeth learns of the prophecy to become king, before Lady Macbeth, and is excited to become king, but is worried that his king would need to die for this prophecy to come true. He confides in Lady Macbeth who immediately encourages him to murder King Duncan. Macbeth is at first apprehensive and indecisive because he wishes to become king, but is concerned about the murder especially the murder of a king he likes. Lady Macbeth is instant and continues to encourage his ambition. They are both in agreement with the murder and the murder goes mostly according to plan but Macbeth’s mental state is in a pitiful condition just after the murder. Macbeth goes into a state of shock and sorrow; he deals with the guilt and grief by lamenting the murder

The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (Shakespeare 77) “… Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.” (Shakespeare 78). These mean that Macbeth should be cautions when dealing with Macduff, no one born of a woman could kill him and until Great Birnam Wood walks towards him shall he ever be defeated. This Filled Macbeth with arrogance and would eventually cause his downfall. When the murdered kings son Malcolm came with an army from England Macbeth though he was invincible until the undermined all of his prophecies that kept him safe.

“ (Act V scene viii) – telling Macduff he waswasting his time and that he should fight someone who could actually be harmed; his life could not be ended by anyone born of a woman. Unfortunately for Macbeth, Macduff reveals that he was “from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped.” (Act V scene viii). Macbeth’s carelessness and arrogance in the fight is essentially what gave Macduff the opportunity to strike the fatal blow and put an end to Macbeth’s reign of terror once and for

In Macbeth, the drive for power results in the loss of morals for many characters in the story. Power can either be destroyed or destroy the person who craves it. Macbeth’s want for power leads him to do many things that most people would consider immoral. His actions show

The principles of one individual is different from moral code of someone else. Moral psychology plays a role because the reality in life is that there are norms, especially societal norms, showing different perceptions of what is “good” and what is “evil” (Taylor 1). For instance, bad influences can alter the ego of a well-rounded human being. As a result, his or her standpoints can change the way he or she thinks.

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the character Macbeth is torn between his moral duty to protect king Duncan and his own ambition to become the king. His passion burns with the fuel laid through his wife's demasculinizing words as well as the belief that was set ablaze in him by his promise of invincibility. The first ordeal in which Macbeth fails to honor his moral duty of protecting the king is through the assassination of the king by his own hand. A thane is one who was praised by a king and had a responsibility to fight for the king.

Ultimately she takes her own life because her haste lead her to plot murder and to guilt that plagues her dreams. After Macbeth seizes the throne he seeks another premonition from the witches. The witches claim only a man not born of a woman can kill him. The prophecy leads MacBeth to believe that his life will stay intact in a battle with anyone until slighted Macduff reveals that, “Tell thee Macduff was from his mother / untimely ripped” (5.8.29-30). Since Mcduff was born in from a C-section, technically he was not born off a woman. Mcduff kills MacBeth to rid Scotland of both a tyrant and a murder responsible for the death of his family. Macbeth's false sense of security and his conceit lead to his final downfall. Arrogance and impatience cause humans to commit actions that distort their moral

With this news, Macbeth is fully invested in the prophecy. He believes that ascending to the crown is his destiny. However, Macbeth isn’t willing to murder the king as he thinks that the prophecy will work itself out, given that he became Thane of Cawdor without having to do anything. Reflecting this attitude, Macbeth says, “If chance will have me king, why, chance will crown me without my stir” (1.4, 157-9). Macbeth doesn’t want to murder Duncan both because he believes that the prophecy will fulfill itself and because he is afraid and uneager to kill the king.

Morality and politics of Shakespeare in 1987 by Elisabeth Lickindrof portrays Macbeth as a man filled with vaulting ambition and for the fulfilling of his aim he deliberately ignore s moral principles.

In the beginning of the play, Macbeth was known by his fellow comrades to be a brave, powerful, and ambitious man. Often regarded as “brave Macbeth, -well he deserved that name” (Act 1: Sc 2). Like any other hero, Macbeth was well-known and praised for heroic deeds. Although he was highly spoken of, he like many tragic heroes had a flaw. Macbeth was not virtuous. Although at first he was highly regarded and fulfilled his duties as general for the “[safety] toward [Duncan’s] love and honor”(Act 1: Sc 2), after the encounter with the witches, was conflicted with sinful thoughts that had never occurred before. Similar to the

“When facing a dilemma, choose the more morally demanding alternative” (Harold S. Kushner). In Macbeth, he did not have a high standard of morality, instead he chose the path of anger, greed, and ruthlessness. At first he was reluctant, but once he started there was no stopping him, as he was longing the throne of King Duncan. His killings become easier and easier as he no longer feels the remorse and becomes a cold hearted individual who exhibits iniquity. His ambition only takes him to a much darker place where he struggles with himself and his wicked thoughts. Macbeth faces many predicaments within himself, and the outside world caused by the need for his prosperity.