Rhetorical Analysis On Macbeth

Macbeth Act 1.7 is a quintessential example of an author’s mastery of rhetoric. Shakespeare uses his skills to reveal the character’s emotional conflicts through the use of tropes and schemes. First, he highlights Macbeth’s inner battle with morality, and continues with an external power struggle between Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth. As the performer of the soliloquy, I had the challenge of portraying Macbeth as an expression of his own thoughts. For the performance of Act 1.7, my group and I analyzed the use of rhetorical strategies to craft an interpretation of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and their shared conflict of killing King Duncan.

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.

Shakespeare uses vivid and powerful forms of imagery to let the audience visualize the setting. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a strong woman who is attracted to power and would do anything to be in control; she is anything but an elegant and sensitive woman. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls an easy prey to insanity and guilt. Her soliloquy (5.1.24-30) shows her decline into madness when she says,“out damned spot...”

In this soliloquy, we learn how Banquo's ambition begins to collide with what's wrong and right. After Duncan's mysterious death,  Banquo is considering the possibilities of Macbeth's actions and expresses his emotions aloud to him. Banquo is the only character that is completely aware of the witches prophecies and Macbeth's involvement with them. In this excerpt he decides not to share his suspicions, revealing his loyalty for Macbeth. His words give more insight on how much faith he is beginning to have in the sisters after a state of doubt.

Ray Comfort, a New Zealand evangelist, once said: “Rhetoric, which is the use of language to inform or persuade, is very important in shaping public opinion. We are very easily fooled by language and how it is used by others.” Rhetoric can be used to inform, persuade, and inspire. Writers will use rhetoric to shape their characters feelings and attitudes. The writers want the characters to differ, so they can represent the different factions of the human persona. This personality is created by the character’s usage of rhetorical devices, such as diction, dialect, or tone. A character’s attitude towards other characters is shaped by their rhetoric as well. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, two fantastical

(Setting: mental hostipal; Macbeth- a patient that wants freedom and believes there is nothing wrong with him. Banquo- a normal person, Macbeth’s best friend who sent Macbeth to the mental ward and keeps thinking that is the best way to help him. Fleance- son of Banquo, has the same opinion with his father and thinks Macbeth is pitiful.

Based on their use of Aristotelian appeals, Macbeth has a more convincing and universal argument than Lady Macbeth. Macbeth thinks ahead of the crime when he says, “If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well / It were done quickly” (1.7.1-2). Macbeth looks at the logical side of the matter. A king’s death would not go unnoticed, resulting in an investigation. There is a high chance that Macbeth would get caught. He strengthens his argument by using logic, clear thinking, and possible scenarios, which are often the recipe for a sound argument in any context. Macbeth remembers that “He hath honored me of late, and I have bought / Golden opinions from all sorts of people, / Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, / Not cast aside

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

The fourth act in the first act of William shakespeare’s “Macbeth” shows the beginning of Macbeth’s fall into his dark ambitions and desires. During their conversation, Duncan refers to Macbeth in an honorable way by saying “O worthiest cousin” (1.4.16). The quote makes Duncan out as someone who wants to be friendly to Macbeth and putting his guard down. This action allows Macbeth the ability to get close and assassinate the king. I incorporated a picture of barren wasteland to show how no one will be able to aid the king if he were attacked. The image epitomizes the vulnerability the king put himself in by becoming close to Macbeth, who begins to plot against him. Consequently, Macbeth becomes aware of his descent as he says to himself “Let

At the very beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is provoked by the letter she receives by Macbeth and starts plotting the murder of Duncan. She also wishes she were a man such that she could commit the murder all by herself saying so in Act 1 Scene 5, “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty” (Macbeth 1.5.36-52). She appeals to these spirits to remove all aspects of her femininity and seeks to gain power through the prophecy of the witches. Her fear about the ability of her husband to commit the murder is subdued in her designated gender. Lady Macbeth manages her feminine power through her sensuality and pretended weakness through her fainting streak at the notice of Duncan’s death. Manipulation, usually through sexuality is often depicted as the source of women’s power still Lady Macbeth uses this power of hers to commit murder, a masculine demonstration of power. Lady Macbeth in her soliloquy about the planning of Duncan’s death refers to her husband as an individual who plays honestly and does not engage in wrongdoing.

As Macbeth is getting ready for the deed to be performed, we read: “Is this a dagger which I see before me,/ the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee” (Macbeth. 2.1. 40-41). When reading this, we realize that Macbeth has a vision of a dagger floating in the air before him, its handle pointing toward his hand and its tip aiming him toward king Duncan indicating that he will go through the killing of Duncan. With all of this happening, the plot begins to advance.

In the beginning of the play Macbeth and Macduff are very similar in many aspects including rank, leadership, belief, and loyalty. But as the play unfolds, Shakespeare reveals these two characters are as different as night from day. In this essay I will compare and contrast the characters of the murderous Macbeth, and the forthright Macduff. I will consider their status within the Scottish society and the depth of their intelligence. I will also evaluate their actions and their relationships with other characters, including their families and I will discuss their degrees of ambition.

After finding out his wife has died, Macbeth gives an infamous soliloquy which shows his views of life at this point in the play. Macbeth has experienced a lot, mentally and physically, up to this point in the play, and this soliloquy shows that he is just about ready to die. The “Tomorrow and tomorrow” speech in Macbeth shows us Macbeth at the lowest point in his life, as he feels that life is pointless and meaningless. This speech marks the beginning of the end for Macbeth, as all his guilt has come crashing down on him all at

The play of Macbeth is written between 1599 and 1606 by William Shakespeare, who is a playwright, actor, English poet and greatest English literature. The full title of Macbeth is The Tragedy of Macbeth, which it considered one of his darkest and most powerful works. The play, set in Scotland. In this play, William Shakespeare uses various themes that represent to the social and political life. This story is about the Scotland king, Duncan, who is a kind and fearful man. The king has two children Malcolm and Donalbain. King Duncan was murdered by Macbeth, also the murderers killed Banquo, Macduff’s family, so he can be a king. However, Banquo’s son,

The theme of tragedy appears in various amounts of movies, literature, and plays which provided entertainment for people throughout the years. Movies and plays such as “The Titanic” and “Romeo Juliet” gave audiences a pang of sadness and amusement as the story line unraveled. Notably, the prevalence of the theme occurs in Shakespearean plays such as the tale of Macbeth which displays Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. The play Macbeth lives up to Aristotle’s definition of tragedy as demonstrated in the representation of the six principles through the characters and plot of the story.