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The Credibility Of Macbeth In William Shakespeare's Play

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Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is a tragedy concerning Macbeth, a general in 11th century Scotland, and his ambition to become king which ultimately leads to his demise. Shakespeare denounces Macbeth as a character with numerous weaknesses throughout the tragedy, but Macbeth is also revealed as a character with distinct strengths in particular parts of the play. As Shakespeare exposes these strengths and weaknesses, the credibility of Macbeth’s actions is affected and Macbeth is seen as character incapable of overcoming difficult moral situations and as a character who is easily influenced by others. One way that Shakespeare causes Macbeth’s character to affect his credibility is through Macbeth’s numerous flaws. Throughout the tragedy, …show more content…

Macbeth did not think about the malevolent intentions of the witches, but rather thought about how he would fulfill the next part of the prophecy when he considered the “horrid image” of killing King Duncan. The witches were not culpable for this horrid act that Macbeth was contemplating. Rather, Macbeth himself was responsible. Shakespeare included this aside and foreshadowing so that the audience could see that Macbeth’s actions were not completely influenced by others but rather his actions were mostly influenced by himself though his gullibility. Furthermore, Shakespeare exploits Macbeth’s gullibility with the aid of Lady Macbeth who convinced Macbeth to execute the horrid deed, although she was not entirely the reason that Macbeth went through with the deed. It was Macbeth who made the choice to murder King Duncan, not Lady Macbeth. This reaffirms the idea that Macbeth’s actions were directly determined by him and not by others. Moreover, Shakespeare shows Macbeth’s gullibility after he becomes king when he goes to the witches for more predictions about his future. Macbeth readily accepts the witches’ prophecies and with great arrogance, uses personification to convey how he believes …show more content…

While Shakespeare described Macbeth as an overall weak character throughout the play, Macbeth had a few redeeming qualities at certain parts of the play. The audience originally sees Macbeth referred to as brave Macbeth, “[deserving] that name” because of what he did to save Scotland during the war with Norway. King Duncan described Macbeth as a “valiant cousin [and] worthy gentleman” and even the witches began their exchanges with Macbeth with the phrase “all hail Macbeth”. This flattery influenced Macbeth’s future actions as he saw how people thought highly of him and he likely thought of himself as capable of being king. Macbeth’s inflated ego led to his poor decision of killing King Duncan which ultimately led to his downfall. Furthermore, Shakespeare uses ambition to convey the reasoning behind Macbeth’s actions. The audience first sees Macbeth’s ambition when he learns about the witches’ prophecies and impulsively reflects on how he will fulfill it. Macbeth’s ambitious thoughts may have been aroused through the witches’ prophecies, but his ambitious actions were entirely a result of his free will. Most of Macbeth’s tyrannical actions throughout the play were a result of his ambition which he willingly allowed to influence him. Hence, Shakespeare uses Macbeth’s valiant character and his ambition to further increase

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