Essay about The Tragedy of Macbeth

Macbeth is a heroic character at the beginning of this play "unseaming men from the nave to the chops." He has much potential as a warrior, and has great love and respect for his country. Coming back from battle one day, he is greeted by three witches, who are known to have great and terrible powers to foresee the future. They meet him with predictions when they greet him as

Lady Macbeth played a large role as Macbeth’s seductress and brainwasher. Lady Macbeth persuaded her husband to kill the King not so that he would himself be King but so that she could be Queen.Although because of her involvement in this web of lies she felt guilty and drove herself insane worrying about what had happened and what would happen to her and her husband for being so dishonest. She was not responsible for the tragedy, she was only a manipulative factor in the scheme of things. Even though it does take two to tango, Macbeth tangoed on his own.

The very beginning of the play indicates that dark supernatural forces will be involved. Three weird sisters are preparing a surprise for Macbeth, surprise that will eventually cost him life and the salvation of his soul. Witches' predictions play very important role in leading Macbeth to the evil deeds. Witches are the first to

The Witches go hand- in- hand as an important role in “Macbeth”. Judging from the prologue we can tell that they are up to no good. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair:" (Act 1 scene 1 line 11). You can not tell how evil the witches are until

At this point in the novel Macbeth is using the witches as a guideline to his life. The apparition that he cannot be harmed by anyone born of woman creates a false sense of security within himself. Even at this point, Macbeth still has a choice of whether or not to believe the witches. The weird sisters have not put any spell on him; they have just filled his greedy mind with a sense of security and power for kingship.

The three witches show that appearances can be deceiving by tricking Macbeth many times throughout the play. In the opening scene, the witches set the mood of the play by saying, “Fair is foul and foul is fair,” (1.1.12). This quote often applies to the witches themselves and their predictions. For example, the three prophecies told to Macbeth predict personal reward. Though Banquo questioned, “[W]hy do you start and seem to fear / Things that do sound so fair?”, Macbeth had good reason to fear the witches’ prophecies (1.3.49-50). Predictions originally thought to be good (ie. he would become king) eventually led to Macbeth’s downfall.

When Shakespeare wrote his play, Macbeth in 1606 a large majority of people were interested in witchcraft. This is why Shakespeare made the witches and the witches’ prophecies play a major part in the storyline of the play. In the time of Macbeth witches were not thought to be supernatural beings themselves, but supposedly gained their powers by selling their souls to Satan. There can be little doubt that most of Shakespeare’s audience would have believed in witches, and for the purpose of the play, at least, Shakespeare also accepted their reality.

"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.

     A Shakespearean tragic hero starts out as a noble person; a great exceptional being who stands out. A tragic hero has a tragic flaw of an exaggerated trait that leads to their downfall and eventually to death. William Shakespeare often made his main characters tragic heroes in his plays. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the role of the tragic hero is given to the main character: Macbeth. This is because he starts off as a loyal and well liked man in the beginning, but has a tragic flaw of ambition which ultimately leads to his downfall.

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play.

The three witches play a very important role in affecting the actions of Macbeth with their ability to steer him in the direction they desire. They not only use their supernatural powers but also prey on his greed and ambition.

A character’s tragic downfall is often influenced by other characters, but this is not the case in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. Macbeth conforms to the conditions of a tragic hero because in the beginning of the play, Macbeth is an honourable and trustworthy nobleman to King Duncan and all of Scotland. However, throughout the play, Macbeth commits evil deeds such betrayal, treason, and murder solely because of his ambitions to remain in power. Macbeth murders others upon hearing the witches’ prophecies and even proceeds to return to them to remain in power. Macbeth is influenced and manipulated by his wife Lady Macbeth and The Witches, but he is ultimately responsible for his own tragic downfall. Macbeth’s tragic downfall is caused by his ‘vaulting ambition’ to become king. Thus, Macbeth has no one but his ruthless, cruel, and greedy self to blame for his own tragic downfall.

     The Three Witches are the ones who introduce the paradox that runs throughout the play. The theme affects these characters because although they speak of the future, they do not seem to affect the course of it. They are the agents of fate because they only speak of the truth of what will happen. Macbeth refers to the Witches as the Weird Sisters. In fact the word "Weird" comes from an old English word

Today was the day I so patiently had been waiting for, coronation day! As a commoner it was almost unheard of to be able to visit the castle amongst the royals. I walked up to the tall door and entered the grand dining hall. The dining hall was dark and cold sending a shiver up my spine. The sound of laughter and conversation bounced off the walls overpowering the room. That was when I saw him, Macbeth, our future King, accompanied by his wife. Macbeth looked even taller and wiser in person, he was the type of man anyone would want as their king. At least that was what I had thought.

Purpose: This dramatic irony is to show Macbeth’s belief that the witches speak the truth and are responsible for his success. This belief can, and does, influence his future actions.