Respect and Sympathy in Macbeth's Soliloquies Essay

As one of Shakespeare's most famous works, Macbeth tells the story of a young Scottish general’s rise to power spurred by the actions of his wife. When Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches stating that he will eventually become the King of Scotland, Macbeth, with the help of his wife, murders King Duncan of Scotland and gets what he wants. However, as the play proceeds, Shakespeare makes it evident to the reader that Macbeth was happier as a person prior to this incident. There are many lines in the play where Shakespeare uses fantastic language and tone to emphasis Macbeth’s predicament when contemplating if he should kill the King; however, there is one soliloquy performed by Macbeth and one soliloquy performed by Lady Macbeth that

However, as the play progresses, Macbeth’s character changes drastically, for the noble and admirable Scottish general becomes a representation of pure evil. A sergeant reporting to the king tells of the battle and describes Macbeth’s conduct, “Brave Macbeth, well he deserves that name” (Act. Sc.2 Line 16), establishing the character of Macbeth as a man who is respected and trusted by the people of Scotland. Through the pressures placed upon him and his character, as well as the thought of his desires forcing him into a conflicted state when King Duncan was in his own home, “To our own lips. He's here in double trust; first, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself.” (Act. 1 Sc. 7 Line 12-16 ) in this soliloquy, Shakespeare shows the doubt in Macbeth’s mind about committing the murder, though also explores his lust for power. (not sure how else to say dontknow what to do about the

Firstly, Macbeth begins the play demonstrating his noble character, his goodness, and the fact that he is well loved. At the start of the play Macbeth is established as a hero to king Duncan. The Captain described him as a brave and a strong fighter in battle. Macbeth is also described as valour’s minion which is to be heroic so King Duncan states: “No more than Thane of Cawdor shall deceive/Our bosom interest: go, pronounce his present death, And with his former title greet Macbeth” (Mac.1.2.73-75). In this statement, Duncan has pronounced Macbeth with the Thane of Cawdor, which shows that he is a noble person. Macbeth is a valiant warrior and he is turning to temptation, but he knows his limits and retains his noble characteristics. As Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s letter, she knows that he is not strong enough and he is too kind to kill the king. When Macbeth makes a soliloquy in Scene 7, he hesitates to kill Duncan because it would upset everyone since he is a good king. Macbeth says: “He’s here in double trust: First, I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed” (1.7.12-14). Macbeth shows here that he is the one who is supposed to protect Duncan, not try and kill him. Macbeth believes in karma in the lines ‘Bloody instructions, which being taught return/To plague the inventor’ which shows that Macbeth knows if he kills Duncan, soon somebody will kill him. At the end of his soliloquy, Macbeth decides it would be the wrong thing to kill the king because his deep desires do not justify enough and he does not want to undergo the consequences.

Lady Macbeth gives Macbeth the first push to kill Duncan, and she wants to be ruthless, feel no remorse so that she and her husband will successfully kill Duncan. She desires to “stop up th’ access and passage to remorse” (Shakespeare 1.5.51) so that she will not feel bad about the murder. She persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan, but he struggles afterward when he does not follow the plan and forgets to put back the daggers he cannot face the evil act he has committed. Lady Macbeth is satisfied after Macbeth is king, but that is not enough for him any longer. Eventually the killings take a toll on Macbeth’s mental state, and the guilt he begins to feel is unbearable. Macbeth kills Duncan and then says “this is a sorry sight”

Shakespeare characterizes the main character Macbeth as the tragic hero. Witches come to Macbeth and Banquo and chant “All Hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter”. Macbeth is not king but the thane of Cawdor, respected by King Duncan. Duncan treats both Macbeth and lady Macbeth well out of pure kindness of his heart. Even though Duncan was a great host to lady Macbeth, the power of greed overcomes them and they still insist to kill Duncan to obtain the crown. When Macbeth prepares himself to kill Duncan he whispers “Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell “. Macbeths hesitation makes it seem that there is still some human response in him, but overall, he accepts what he must do to get what he desires. For the sake of owning this amount of power Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s Macbeth features a man’s desire for power, and the acts that he commits in order to gain it. Nevertheless, it also focuses on his power-crazed wife and her ambition for control. In this play, Shakespeare creates an interesting relationship that traces the downfall of not a single person, but of two people. There are many but there are many similarities and differences in their relationship, and as the play progresses their accord changes greatly as a result of how each of them handles their emotions following the murder of Banquo.

Macbeth is not an obscure play. The course of the action, unlike that of Hamlet, can easily be summarized. Most readers and audiences can come to some general agreement on what the play is about, provided that they can offer answers to the two major questions of understanding that the play poses. These answers, it need hardly be said, cannot be precise and absolute, since Shakespeare 's plays, like life, never allow us the delusion of perfect understanding. Nevertheless, we do need to decide what we are invited to think and feel about Macbeth and what he does. In particular, we have to consider why he acts as he does; why, in the first place, he kills Duncan, and then why, acting

In other words, Duncan is Macbeth’s king and his guest, therefore Macbeth should be preventing murderers from reaching Duncan instead of murdering Duncan himself. At this point in the play Macbeth’s state of mind is confused, his hunger for power wants him to murder Duncan but his conscious goes against it. The fact that his couscous still goes against murder means the degeneration of his character has not begun, yet in the rising action this loyalty disappears. With Duncan on his way to Inverness Macbeth’s wife persuades Macbeth to follow through with the murder so that he can be King and live a wonderful life. It is at this point in the story that Macbeth under goes his start into his character degeneration. In a second soliloquy, after Macbeth has just been convinced by his wife to follow through with the murder, he see an imaginary dagger covered with blood. He feels that this is a sign that he should go through with the murdering of Duncan. His thirst for power then drives him to pull out his own dagger; “I see thee yet, in form as palpable As this which now I draw. Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going,  And such an instrument I was to use”(II, I, 40-43). Macbeth’ state of mind in this soliloquy has changed from the last soliloquy a great deal, reflecting his start into degeneration. Macbeth has gone from confused and indecisive to crazed and power hungry. After committing the murder of Duncan Macbeth is

Scene VII of act I of macbeth begins with Macbeth speaking a soliloquy that shows his own opinion of becoming king by killing Duncan. Throughout the rest of the act, his resolve shifts as a result of his wife’s persuasion. He starts his soliloquy by wishing that killing King Duncan were the only step in becoming king. If there were no further consequence resulting from Duncan’s death, then the murder would “be the be-all and the end-all here” and he would do it. But that is not the case. There are consequences to such heinous actions. Macbeth has a strong sense of what is going to happen if he and his wife follow through with killing King Duncan. He and his wife would be setting an example for others, giving them “bloody instructions” that would later come back to haunt them. Macbeth believes that is how justice works, that their own “poison’d chalice” would be delivered to their “own lips”. Following his speculation on “justice”, Macbeth states how the king “double trust[s]” him. That elevated trust makes the “even-handed justice” well deserved if Macbeth does murder Duncan. Having swore his loyalty to the king as “his kinsmen and his subject”, Macbeth has the role of protecting the Duncan. In addition, Macbeth is Duncan’s host, so he should “shut the door” against Duncan’s murderer. It is especially wrong for a host to “bear the knife [them]self”. Trying hard to convince himself that killing Duncan is a terrible idea, Macbeth jumps to another reason. Macbeth tells of

In 1602 Shakespeare created a couple of characters that brought a whole new level of mayhem to the stage. Macbeth is one of the greatest tragic characters ever to take the stage. Macbeths wrong doings and courageous acts makes the story exciting. Macbeth is an ambitious character who murders and betrays people for power and what he wants. With all of Macbeths courageous acts and greed it brought an abundance of tragedy and death throughout the story.

The play traces Macbeth's moral decline, a decline that, initially at least, Macbeth resists. He contemplates the possibility of murder early on, but is terribly shaken by the thought. In one of his early soliloquies he decides that, even if he were to ignore the eternal consequences of killing, he would have to deal with the earthly consequences. He concludes by deciding against murder and then tells his wife, "We will proceed no further in this business" (1.7.31). But soon she persuades him, partly by questioning his manhood, to help her carry out the murder. Still, he hesitates -- the scene in which he thinks he sees a dagger in the air is filled with anxiety -- and then when he kills King Duncan he is horrified at what he has done. What makes this gradual yielding to evil so chilling is that we see it happen from the inside. We know Macbeth; we are privy to his thoughts and feelings. We see him change from a basically decent person to one who cannot bear to think about what he has done and who he has become.

Lady Macbeth’s actions lead Macbeth to his destruction by lowering his self confidence with harsh criticism, causing his unhealthy thirst for success and fear of failure. The night that Duncan visits their home, Lady Macbeth schemes the murder plan. They act as kind hosts, and as the night continues, Macbeth learns Duncan is a good, genuine man. He begins to question his morals, saying, “he’s here in double trust: / First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, / Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,” (I. vii. 12-14). While he yearns for the kingsmanship, the idea of murdering a good man makes him feel sinful and scared for the consequences that would come with it. Lady Macbeth starts by questioning the former war hero’s ambition, something he prides himself on: “Was the hope drunk / Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since? / And wakes it now to look so green and pale” (I. vii. 36-38).

A defining moment for Macbeth is when he hesitates to act on immoral deeds. After hearing the witches’ prophecy that declares “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”, Macbeth initially does not intend to murder Duncan (1.3.50). He does wonder what the equivocal prophecy means, and Banquo warns him that they could be purposefully misleading him to his own demise, but other than writing a letter to his wife, Macbeth moves on from it as he figures the throne will fall to him as naturally as the title Thane of Cawdor did “without [his] stir” (1.3.144). Macbeth’s hesitation suggests multiple things about the character. For one, it shows he bares loyalty as a thane to his king as he was the one that bestowed the title upon him. This clearly indicates that Duncan holds Macbeth in high regard as he bestows both a new title and praise upon Macbeth. Likewise, Macbeth originally views Duncan fondly, as he does not want to betray a king that "Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been/So clear in his great office, that his virtues/Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against" (1.7.17-19). Macbeth sees that Duncan has been a good king, undeserving of assassination, and so he formerly refrains from murdering him. Moreover, his reluctance to murder the king is also linked to how Macbeth and Duncan are relatives, cousins to be exact, as Duncan expresses his glee with Macbeth in Act I with

By doing so, it creates an extremely dramatic effect when the readers or the audience view as Macbeth changes over time. This scene especially shows how Macbeth’s conscience fights itself. When the scene first begins, Macbeth starts off with an internal monologue, deciding whether or not he will kill King Duncan. He states, “/First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,/ Strong both against the deed: then, as his host,/Who should against his murderer shut the door, /Not bear the knife myself.” (I, vii, 13-16). These lines that Shakespeare wrote describes how Macbeth still has some good in him for the time being. Macbeth’s character is shown to be loyal to the King and should protect him from the murderer. However, manipulation gets the best of him when Lady Macbeth enters the scene. Shakespeare includes Lady Macbeth in this play because she is the person who initially drives Macbeth

William Shakespeare creates a character unlike many others seen in literature. Rather than making a character with a single intent or ‘mood’ through the play, he overcomes tropes of “villain” and “hero” by making his main character one that is between those tropes. Shakespeare shapes his main character, Macbeth, as a character that is not a completely loathsome nor heroic character. He gives Macbeth human strengths and weaknesses to make him realistic and understandable to the reader.