Theme Of Desire In Macbeth

There are many different themes displayed in Shakespeare's famous play Macbeth. Many of these themes play with nature, the supernatural, and fate. From ghosts to horses eating each other the play uses symbolism, language, and characters to portray these themes. During the play the audience learns of several themes such as ambition, guilt, fate versus free will, nature versus the unnatural, and how things are not always as they seem.

Macbeth's feels that his destiny is to become King and rule with all the power that goes with kingship. The three witches on his way back to the kingdom, prophesied that he would rise to kingship. They said "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis" (I, 3, 48), and then as the thane of Cawdor "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor" (I, 3, 49). At this point in the play Macbeth had just become thane of Glamis, and the thane of Cawdor is still alive. Then, the witches greeted Macbeth as the King of Scotland saying "All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be King hereafter" (I, 3, 50). This is the point in the tragedy where Macbeth starts to think as a villain. If the witches had never greeted him as King on Scotland, then he would probably never have contemplated killing Duncan in the first place. At first, he believes that he will need to kill King Duncan. Though at the end of Act 1, Scene 3, he thinks that perhaps he doesn't need to do anything to become the king saying "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir.", showing he is a man of honor and morals. Then, Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecy in his letters and decides immediately for him that King Duncan must die, showing Macbeth's doubt. An

The eternal hunger for power has always been one of man’s most basic desires; often this lust leads people to make irrational decisions. There is no better literary example of the human fault than Macbeth. Much like any other person Macbeth’s ambitions take him down a dark path of confusion and violence. Macbeth's actions, aided by the Three Witches and Lady Macbeth, ultimately lead to destruction. Macbeth’s insatiable hunger for power is mostly caused by two major factors; being easily influenced by those around him, and the immense guilt of his actions.How can a paragon of virtue such as the shining hero Macbeth fall into something as evil as the murder of King Duncan? It boils down to the people around

Recall the story of Snow White. The girl took a bite out of an apple because it looked delectable. Little did she know that it would knock her out and put her into a deep sleep. Think about the tale of Aladdin. He found this magic lamp which was to bring him an immense fortune, but his greed got the best of him and it ended up consuming him in the end. The Lion King, a young cub was exiled after his father’s death, only to return years later and take back his rightful throne. In Hercules, an evil god was given a prophecy by three fates and forced them to come true which resulted in his own undoing. Macbeth shares a template with a plethora of tales and stories, many of which have gained popularity in the Walt Disney Franchise. Whilst these narratives and the play may have different overall storylines and characters, the vital themes and character framework remain very similar to the core ideas of the 16th-century play.

We have all made mistakes in our lives, things we cannot reverse. I personally have never made such a bad mistake its life-changing but we see this happen in MacBeth, a play written by William Shakespeare. It has many themes and insinuates several different messages.

Initially, Macbeth’s emotional and physical journey begins with the prophecy that the three witches had told Macbeth about. Once the witches tell Macbeth that he will become the future king, his ambition become prominent as it is shown in the same scene as the witches when Macbeth says “Why do I find myself thinking about murdering king Duncan?” (21). So, right after the witches tell Macbeth that he will become king he already has this ambitious feeling of needing that power and doing whatever it takes to get it. However, at this point in the book Macbeth still is fighting the urge of wanting that power. To continue, in the next scene Macbeth finds himself becoming more consumed by the thought of becoming king that while with

The choices that Macbeth makes during his pursuit for power ultimately result in his descent into madness. This all begins when he meets the witches at the beginning of the play. “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.51-53). By choosing to believe what the witches preach, Macbeth takes destiny into his own hands. Every decision he makes from this point on is so that he can take over the kingship and retain this position. The witches drive Macbeth into creating his own destiny by planting the idea that he is going to be the king into his head. Once he gets it in his head that he is going to be the king, he will stop at nothing to make it happen. After Macbeth has killed King Duncan and become the king, he still has the threat of Banquo’s line of kings looming around him. Even though Banquo is one of Macbeth’s friends he decides Banquo needs to be killed. Macbeth is so controlling of his own destiny that he doesn’t want to leave anything up to chance. He won’t leave his fate in the hands of anyone else. He decides that he is going to kill people in order to solidify his kingship. “So is he mine (enemy), and in such bloody distance that every minute of his being thrusts against my near’st of life.” (3.1.132-234).

He starts the play as a loyal gentleman until he meets the three witches where they foretell that Macbeth will be king (I.iii.48). The prophecy of the three witches kick-starts his impulse to attain that status, which connects to the imagery of witchcraft. However, the three witches are not responsible for Macbeth’s actions but simply Macbeth himself. The prediction drives him into a state of unchecked ambition, one of the biggest themes of the play. He would do anything to achieve kingship even if it involves killing others, which illustrates Macbeth’s greed (I.iii.138-141).

Firstly, Macbeth strives to remain king, and in order to do so, he creates a kind and jovial image for himself, to remain loved by those in the kingdom. Often times, Macbeth motivates himself in preparation to deceive those around him, creating an innocent atmosphere around himself. After discussing the plans to murder King Duncan with Lady Macbeth,

Macbeth had no prior plans to kill King Duncan let alone anybody in order to gain power, until seeing the three witches prophecies. One quote in particular that proves the three witches had to do with planting their prophecies in Macbeth's head is when the second witch said, “All Hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!” (Macbeth.1.3.49). When Macbeth heard this, he immediately began thinking about what his future has in store for him, when before, he was completely satisfied with his life. Also, the three witches knew that by telling Macbeth that he will be King of Cawdor would arise question in him since the current King of Cawdor was completely healthy and doing well. Just as suspected, Macbeth began to question what he could do in order to fulfill this prophecy, making him willing to do what he has to in order to become King. This all definitely proves that Macbeth’s thought process about becoming more powerful has certainly begun. An additional quote that the witches said to Macbeth that has to do with the events leading up to the murder of King Duncan is, “All Hail Macbeth! That shalt be King hereafter!” (Macbeth.1.3.50). It is evident that anyone hearing this type of information would unintentionally let it go straight to their heads and wonder what exactly they could do in order to make this prophecy come true. Obviously, this is exactly what Macbeth did. Comprehensively, one can

Macbeth’s ambitious ways takes over his whole inner self throughout his time of first wanting to be king. Macbeth was thought to be a great leader and war hero before he was king. Macbeth was hatched an idea by three suspicious witches in whom he had never come in contact with before. They told him that he would one day become King of Scotland. After the witches disappeared, he got to think a lot about what they told him and pondered the words they spoke. Macbeth sends a letter to his wife about his feelings of what he had heard. When Macbeth returned back to his castle his wife wanted to lead him down a dark path and feed his ambition. Macbeth decides he wants to go after the crown after consulting his wife. "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself, and falls on th'other...." (Act I, scene vii) This shows that Macbeth’s only reason to kill Duncan is for his ambition. Macbeth ends up killing Duncan. The way Macbeth killed Duncan made it a great crime scene. Macbeth still

The witches and their prophecies are the first major influence on Macbeth's actions. Macbeth seems happy and content with himself until the witches tell him he will be king. He begins immediately to consider murdering Duncan. "If good, why do I yield to that suggestion / Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, / Against

Ambition, a trait which underlines success, but while unchecked can lead to self or societal corruption. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, “Macbeth”, a brave general falls into tyranny and paranoia after he acts immorally upon the witches prophecies. Macbeth’s pursuit of long lasting power reveals the consequences of hubris and unchecked ambition, which ultimately leads to the the deterioration of his human nature and the corruption of the kingdom. Through the use of thematic motif, the theme of Macbeth’s unchecked ambition and hubris is examined through his struggle to alter and actuate fate, his haunting hallucinations, and the apparitions.

What is temptation? Temptation is the utmost desire for something at the cost of another thing. Usually wrong or unwise to be sucked into. How does this tie around Macbeth? In the classic play by William Shakespeare, the ambitious was tempted to kill the king because of the influences around him. A major influence for Macbeth were the three witches. Another influence is his own wife. Which pushed his crooked mind furthermore to go through with the plan he already had in mind along with the witches promises. With these influences on him he handled this temptation by killing the king himself as the two told him to do. After killing the king, Macbeth went through changes during the play. Macbeth had slowly turned from subjective to objective for his decisions seeing people just as mere objects in his way. Undoubtedly this makes

The highly-acclaimed playwright, William Shakespeare, is notorious for his frequent use of symbols and imagery in his works of literature. Shakespeare’s Macbeth poses as another one of his works of literature in which symbolism and imagery is prominent. In particular, act two, scene one, the scene in which Macbeth proceeds to murder King Duncan, includes the recurring symbols of the “Three Weird Sisters” and the floating dagger. Additionally, the use of imagery is prominent in Shakespeare’s ability to touch on images of darkness and blood. Taking a closer look at the character of Macbeth, it is evident that his actions are a result of his id, ego, and superego—an idea premised on the theory of psychoanalytic criticism. Through these perspectives, both the audience and readers alike develop a more educated understanding of Macbeth.