In drama, curiosity is often a trait that is undesirable in heroes, as now we know that curiosity is what can often lead to a downwards-spiral of ignorance. In Shakespeare's Macbeth the Weird Sisters were responsible for Macbeth's downfall, as they were the ones who sparked the ambition to be king all by teasing Macbeth by predicting his future. On the contrary, Sophocles’ "Oedipus Rex," is much different, as Tiresias tells Oedipus his fate in order to protect him, sending Oedipus on a journey to his own doom lead by his own ignorance. Minor characters in drama obviously have a great impact on the advancement of the plot; as in the case of Oedipus and Macbeth, their downfall was caused because they teased their tragic flaws such as ambition …show more content…
At the beginning of the play, the Three Witches comment on current events that can already alert the reader of their malicious and cruel behavior. An example of the witches exhibiting cruel behavior is when the Second witch is questioned on her whereabouts, she replies with a simple “Killing swine” (Shakespeare 1.iii.1.) The Three Witches can be assumed to be cruel because it is unusual to be killing swine for fun, and it can be assumed that slaughtering harmless animals to be cruel. (Perhaps killing swine even correlates to torturing humans, but the play never specified.) Another trait that the Three Witches possesses that affects Macbeth negatively would be their general uncaring nature. A distinctive instance of the Witches not caring is when the Second Witch is asked when they will meet again, to which she responds with, “When the hurlyburly's done, When the battle's lost and won.” (Shakespeare I.i.3-4.) This is an exceptional depiction of the Witches uncaring nature, as the Second Witch shows how unimportant the winner of the war is, which captures the essence of the Witches and their uncaring and cruel personality. The Three Witches differ from other minor characters as they provoke the main character as opposed to assisting
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.
When Lady Macbeth is first planning a way to make Macbeth king, she knows that he is still too kind to act upon his ambitions, so she decides to take matters into her own hands. Lady Macbeth throws aside morals and kindness, instead becoming a cruel and cold-hearted person as a result of her thirst for power. When the time for Duncan’s murder to take place arrives and Macbeth does not follow the plan, Lady Macbeth smears the guards’ with blood herself. An act such as this she could carry out, but not the murder itself, which is explained in the quote, “Had he not resembled/ My father as he slept, I had done ‘t. (2.1.12-13)” In Act 1, Lady Macbeth had seemingly stripped herself of any remorse or doubt that may interfere with the murder, but
In Macbeth by William Shakespeare there were several varied reasons why Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were not successful in reaming in power. The biggest reason was because they were guilty of a murder that put them on the thrown. It was clear that Macbeth and his ambition to be king made him more culpable for their down fall.
To start, the three witches are figurative characters that unlock a deeper, darker conscience in both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in terms of their ambition for power. These three witches have given Macbeth the opportunity to look into the future through a prophecy. They represent corruption through power by their manipulation of Macbeth’s ambition. “All hail Macbeth, Thane of Glamis. All hail Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor. All
In William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, Macbeth is responsible for his own downfall and death regardless of the influence of the Three Witches and Lady Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a trustworthy and fearless fighter who is loyal to his king until he lets his ambition overrule him. He becomes selfish and desperately desires to be king. Acting on these desires, Macbeth ruthlessly kills King Duncan thus becoming king. Once king, Macbeth buries his darkness protecting his evilness from all.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth try to plot and kill the king, Macbeth doesn't want to at first but his ambitious wife thinks otherwise. At first they did not seem willing to kill him or try. Macbeth only started to listen to his wife because he wanted to be crowned and would never be if King Duncan wouldn't of died. Lady Macbeth is ruthless and doesn't care, she just wants King Duncan to be murdered and her husband to be ruled as king.
Macbeth was dependably a devoted man to his King, however when he knew he had the opportunity to get the kingdom he generally needed, he realized that he needed to do all that he could to get it. In this play, Macbeth indicates how he was feeble, and let individuals control his activities. His activities prompted his demise, which left the general population who transformed him eventually considered in charge of his passing.
Ambition is a strong desire to achieve great things. In Macbeth, three witches tell Macbeth his fate. In Act I, Scene 3 the witches say, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! / All hail, Macbeth!
In today’s society, a growing trend of the Me too movement has shared light on people of high influential power such as Harvey Weinstein. Individuals such as Weinstein are finally receiving consequences and ridicule for their actions. While successful because of their vision and passion, they unfortunately used their opportunities and accomplishments for dark unethical ambitions. The same fortune can be linked to William Shakespeare’s MacBeth; MacBeth’s ambition to become king, ultimately leads to his downfall. MacBeth built a lifetime of trust throughout the kingdom, through his passion to protect the crown; he was seen as noble and a thane, a close advisor to King Duncan.
Macbeth encounters many influences; Lady Macbeth is the main influence on Macbeth and the one to blame for his downfall. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Macbeth also brings himself down by his own ambitions. Lady Macbeth becomes more confident and supportive of the plan on killing Duncan than Macbeth. Duncan reminds Lady Macbeth of her father, making the killing of Duncan more significant to Lady Macbeth’s life. The preeminent reason for Macbeth’s downfall is the questioning of Macbeth's manhood. Lady Macbeth begins to realize that Macbeth is reappraising his thoughts of killing Duncan; therefore, giving Lady Macbeth the opportunity of questioning. Lady Macbeth does whatever she can to cover up any misconduct, for example, telling
It is easier to assuage your own guilt by blaming your downfalls on another individual, unlike Macbeth. Macbeth rarely ever placed the reason for his downfall on his wife, when it was her who was the main cause of his subsequent demise. Although Macbeth’s power-hungry and tenebrous nature becomes the key factor in his downfall, Lady Macbeth initiates these ambitions by causing him to act on his own reluctant, lurid thoughts, killing off every individual who tries to obstruct his pathway in gaining the thrown. This overbearing behavior was not present in the very beginning of the play though; Macbeth was a very chivalrous man with hero-like characteristics that were respected by all of his countrymen and other peers. Evil
Power, like a drug, feels wonderful and is enticing. It makes a person desire it; controlling their every move. In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, power overcomes Macbeth to the point where it becomes his one and only desire; letting it dictate his every decision. When the three witches told Macbeth his fate, it was his own decision to believe them. It was his own decision to act the way he did. By trying to master fate through his need for power, he brought himself to destruction. Macbeth’s lust for power leads him to attempt to control his own fate, which through his own free will and actions causes his downfall.
Most of the time, People don’t want to be the cause of evil. The reason why people blame others so they don’t get the backlash on the event. Though sometimes, People won’t always escape from their fears. In Macbeth, a play by William Shakespeare, many factors contributed the titular character’s downfall toward his demise. The factor that contributed most in Macbeth’s downfall was Macbeth himself due to him being too ambitious for his own good and His willingness to listen to the Witches’ prophecies.
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
The three witches advance the use of dramatic irony throughout the entire play. First, the witches reveal to Macbeth that he can achieve the role of being king. In Act One, the witches say, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!” (1.3.50). Macbeth gullibly believes the prophecy, and from here on, his motives and ambitions change. Though he does eventually take the role as king, it does not result in the life he wished to have. Shortly after Macbeth is enthroned; the witches reveal three apparitions about him that cause him to believe he will remain a powerful king. The first apparition is an armed head that symbolizes that Macbeth should only beware of Macduff. The second shows a bloody child that means nobody born of a woman can ever harm Macbeth. The third is a child holding a tree which depicts that, “Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him” (4.1.87-90). These three apparitions boost the confidence in the king, and he believes he has nothing to fear. The predictions end up being true, but not at all what is expected. A summary, written by David Schlachter, explains how the witches bring suspense into the play. Schlachter says, “This irony would make the audience mistrust the witches in the back of their minds, and therefore, also put a vague fear over the whole play because of the realization of the witches’ relentless sinister determination to disrupt peace and order in Scotland.” The ironic event that takes place through this is what happens towards the end of the play. At the end, Macduff reveals that he is not born of woman; therefore, he can kill