The Curse of Macbeth Essay

     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.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is based upon witchcraft and evil. "Double, double, toil and trouble;/Fire burn and cauldron bubble." (Act 4 scene 1 line 10-11), "How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!" (Act 4 scene 1 line 48), Lady Macbeth "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; make thick my blood,/Stop up the access and passage to remorse,/That no compunctious visitings of nature/Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between/ Th’ effect!" (Act 1 scene 5 line 39-46), or Macbeth "Let not light see my black and deep desires;/The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be/Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see." (Act 1 scene 4 line 51-53). Shakespeare makes it clear that certain circumstances such as Duncan’s horses eating each other "Tis said they ate each other." (Act 2 scene 4 line 19) and the owl killing the falcon "A falcon,...Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at and kill’d" (Act 2 scene 4 line 13-14).

A murder of a King who highly praised him and rewarded Macbeth for his loyalty? It seems very unlikely bordering on fiction. Macbeth is a man of great character. Described by the King himself as noble. Also called ‘O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman’, King Duncan did not just speak these words for the sake of it but to show how he honoured him.

Superstition in William Shakespeare's Macbeth Throughout Elizabethan times, Witches and witchcraft were considered to be in existence. Seeing a large proportion of the female community being condemned to death, which involved either drowning, hanging or being burnt at the stake was quite plausible at this time. Such savage practices were urged on by macabre and fevered fantasy of the supernatural. In my essay I intend examining how Shakespeare deployed this obsession of superstition in Macbeth and how it is a crucial element of the play. To begin with, the tone of the paranormal theme is set right from the beginning when

"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.

At about 4 a.m. this morning, King Duncan was found dead in the home of Macbeth, the newly named thane of Cawdor. He was found lying in a bed full of blood by his nobleman Macduff; his death was confirmed by his other nobleman Lennox and Macbeth. The police were called immediately. After brief investigation, the king’s death has been ruled a homicide.

Now the fact that Macbeth killed the previous king was not a big deal. Of the eight Scottish kings who ruled during this time, seven had died unnatural deaths, including several who burned to death until suspicious circumstances. It was highly unusual for a Scottish

   Although Shakespeare had a great flare for plot material, he often had trouble with loose ends. Many times, seemingly important people will disappear from the script; they are never seen again. And other times, characters will suddenly appear out of nowhere. One such inconsistency is the identity of the third murderer in Macbeth.

Duncan, the King of Scotland, is dead! While staying at the castle of Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor, the King was stabbed to death in his bed. The body was discovered by Lord Macduff, who had visited his bedside

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

Macbeth is a tragedy play written between 1599 and 1606 by William Shakespeare. Macbeth is considered one of Shakespeare's darkest and most powerful works. It follows A Scottish general (Macbeth) who receives a prophecy from three witches that one day he will become King of Scotland (G. Marotous, 2011) Consumed by ambition Macbeth does whatever it takes to become king and protect himself. The tragedy play can be conceived differently by each individual who has witnessed Macbeth, due to different perspectives. This essay will explore the diversity of human belief: superstition, science, religion, and culture.

Julio Villarreal English 4-W Professor Zirulnik January 18, 2015 The Tragedy of Macbeth Macbeth and his wife invite thanes of Scotland to a banquet with means of proving themselves throne-worthy. Much like the ethereal dagger that leads to Duncan's room, the ghost of Banquo appears at the banquet constantly, pushing Macbeth into random fits of rage and despair. Macbeth’s first order of events as a king is this exquisite banquet, a supposed representation of great discipline and benevolence, which becomes a wicked mockery of itself. Instead of Macbeth gathering with his subjects as he would wish, he is thrown off by the bloody apparition of his former ally. Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel tackles Macbeth in a true-to-the-origin fashion in

    The story of Macbeth is full of lots of assassinations and action. Each and every character plays a crucial role in the play, but we have some characters that we can refer to

My reaction to this article is very simple, spooked. Super natural stories have horrified me ever since I was a child. I find it very fascinating that every time Macbeth was preformed, something bad would happen. This article really got me thinking because Macbeth has some spooky elements such as death and the three witches. Could these elements be a reason for all the failed Macbeth plays? During the 1672 performance in Amsterdam, one actor accidentally stabbed another. This unfortunate act reminded me of Macbeth's killings. The Macbeth curse wasn't over, for another 135 the play would continue to arose chaos. This is no coincidence, I am very superstitious and believe that Macbeth is cursed. The article states that many theatre people agree,

‘Macbeth’ is a play by William Shakespeare that shows a protagonist going from bad to worse throughout the play. Shakespeare wrote this play, taking in mind current affairs at the time of 1603-1606. This is the time when a Scottish king, James I was given the English crown. This king was obsessed with witches, so Shakespeare brought this theme strongly into the play. It also brings the theme of treachery towards the King. This pleased King James and also pleased him about showing the line of Stuart Kings, James descendants, in Act 4, Scene 1.