Before I start comparing my role model in history to a mass murderer who did not hesitate to kill his closest friends, I would like to explain why I am doing this. This essay is not something I wanted to take the easy way out on by selecting a 20th century dictator to compare Macbeth to - that is too easy. Instead I would like to challenge myself to write about a man I have deep respect for to a man who is loathed in English literature. This process may open my eyes to Alexander Hamilton’s true character traits and it may also open my eyes to why Macbeth was motivated to do such heinous acts.
Both Alexander Hamilton and Macbeth come from generally disturbing backgrounds. Hamilton has a considerably less than admirable one, but Macbeth had issues of his own. Hamilton was born in the Caribbean isles with a confusing lineage of who his true birth father was. As a bastard and someone who lost their mother at a very young age, it was up to Hamilton to make something positive out of his rough situation. As for Macbeth, the text from William Shakespeare’s script gives us very little to go off of as to where Macbeth came from or how he became the Thane of Glamis, however, the audience can infer that Macbeth suffers from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as he displays when envisioning certain ghosts. It is apparent that both of these men desire to be larger than themselves and make more of their circumstances. Hamilton remarks on this idea by saying “Men are rather
One thing is certain, and it is that Macbeth will never be forgotten by any assembled here or by the Scottish nation as a whole. His courageous deeds as a hero of the nation’s military shone with brilliance and glory, never to dull with the passage of time, and none could honestly say that his time as national monarch was a bland or typical reign. Although famed for his skills as both a warrior and a host, his personality ran much deeper; his deep thought and loyal devotion to his wife did not always result in prosperity or universal delight, but he nevertheless made much philosophical contemplation and was capable of recognising his own failings. God gave Scotland a king unlike any other, of a standard never to be seen again, and may he rest eternally in a peace he forsook in his earthly life. While we mourn Macbeth’s passing, we should take due time to consider his life and the actions and characteristics that typified it. Everyone, from fellow nobles to peasants eking a living from distant land, could surely learn valuable
The first impression of Macbeth portrays him as a war hero who, ironically, has a strong distaste in traitors and disloyalty in the dialogue spoken by Captain “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name – disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like a valour’s minion carved out his passage till he faced the slave, which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, till he unseamed him from the navel to th’chaps and fixed his head upon our battlements.” His violent and graphic actions which shows his allegiance to the king, ironically, also shows the readers that he is merciless and bloodthirsty when he is ambitious. This reveals a latent murderous aspect to his personality.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth was and remains a literary masterpiece that tells the story of corrupted power, the fall of a kingdom, and the destruction of countless innocent lives. This theme is not specific to Shakespeare’s play, however; it is perhaps one of the most common seen throughout the course of literary and real-life history. Two of the best examples of abused power are seen through Adolf Hitler and Macbeth - their rise to power, complete control of a country, and destructive rule mirror each other nearly exactly, and ruined the lives of countless families. Although one is fiction and the other real, both men left a horrendous legacy that will never be forgotten.
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.
As the play goes, Macbeth shows a character of free will. Although his destiny was pre-determined for him by the witches, he took action to believe and to make sure that his prophecies will come true. Macbeth is a strong character with many deep desires that include gaining power, and so throughout the play with the many crimes he had committed, there was no turning back for him. In all, his decisions help shape the future ahead of him.
‘Macbeth’ a Scottish play known as one of Shakespeare’s best plays was written in 1611 by William Shakespeare, during that time King James the 1st was the king of Scotland, the Jacobean times was a time where people had a fascination with witches and witchcraft, ‘Daemonolgie’ was a book written by King James the 1st himself, this was about ways to spot a witch, which intrigued people. Since ‘Macbeth’ has a Scottish theme Shakespeare may have written this play to please King James since there is references to Banquo which is a direct descendant of King James, also it is said that Banquo wasn’t a very nice man but Shakespeare presents him as very loyal and kind person
‘Macbeth’ is a critically acclaimed drama composed by the renowned playwright William Shakespeare. Introduced as a noble warrior, the eponymous Macbeth is confronted by three witches, who influence Macbeth into committing treason so as to expose his malevolent greed – compelling Macbeth to transform into a power hungry tyrant. In the play, there is moments that can be described as a key scene, which is what the catalyst was for Macbeth’s greed. The key scene in Macbeth is the moment where he decides to kill his own King Duncan, as after the witches explained to him that he could become King, Macbeth decides to take it into his own hands and murder Duncan himself. This in turn, results in Macbeth going on a murder spree which ultimately
William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth with the influence of Machiavellian principles in accordance with his characters. This statement can be supported by the characteristics he carefully coordinated within
The play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, presents many societal issues, such as the influence of superstition and the supernatural, as well as the continuous desire of the human race for progress and ambitious fulfilment. What a person chooses to do in order to fulfil those desires depends on the individuals themselves, and in the case of Macbeth, he turns to murder in order to advance his social and political standing. The audience’s perception of Macbeth changes throughout the play, beginning with feelings of admiration and approval of his deeds and character, and ending, with the play and as well as his life, as feelings of contempt and disgust at his treachery. This is achieved mainly through the progression of Macbeth’s character development, as well as through the dialogue of himself and other characters.
Unchecked power and dogged ambition can have dangerous consequences, as shown in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Macbeth’s two main characters best communicate the play’s central theme of self-destruction as a result of overwhelming desire. Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth desire political power, but have different methods of going about it. As the play progresses, both characters allow their desire for power to override morality and honor, and end up destroying their own lives, along with the lives of their countrymen.
Obsession with power makes him ruthless for he thinks only of his own welfare. No feelings of pity, hesitation or qualms of conscience are shown. Everything must now give way to his interests alone. Macbeth has travelled far from the man he was in Act I. Then, the mere thought of murder, made his heart knock against his ribs and his hair stand on end. He becomes a monstrous king causing his country to suffer ‘under the hand accursed’. Deceit, dishonour, hypocrisy, treachery and arrogant
Often people put their avaricious ambitions before their morals, which creates fear and leads to everlasting violence ultimately resulting in losing oneself to their own overwhelming madness. This is definitely the case of the character of Macbeth in William Shakespeare 's play Macbeth. Macbeth experiences the loss of morality after his unchecked ambition took over. Additionally, Macbeth 's fear of losing power initiated an endless amount of murder. Moreover, Macbeth 's cruel actions lead him to suffer in an overwhelming guilt as darkness and madness dominated his existence.
Cameron Movahhedian Mrs. Britton English 4/Period 2 20 March, 2015 Macbeth essay Not everything is as it appears. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the main protagonist, Macbeth, is viewed as a tyrannical and immoral individual, yet upon closer examination Shakespeare reveals Macbeth to be a much more complex and sympathetic character. Through Macbeth’s weaknesses, Lady Macbeth’s manipulative behavior, the witches use of supernatural powers, and Macbeth’s repetitive failures, Shakespeare utilizes Macbeth to illustrate the flaws of man in order to make us act more compassionately towards the character.
The tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare offers a harrowing and confronting glimpse into the devolution of its title character, Macbeth. As ambition and lust for power corrupts Macbeth’s very way of being the audience witnesses a once formidable and great warrior turn into a paranoid and murderous tyrant. Macbeth’s downfall illustrates the consequences of when ambition transforms into a disregard of an individual’s moral code but is it entirely Macbeth’s fault? An honourable and loyal solider who was willing to die for his king can’t simply turn into a traitor without some outside influences. Macbeth’s quick descent into madness highlights how greater forces force him to go against his moral judgement, specifically in the form of his dotting wife, Lady Macbeth, the three witches he encounters and Macbeth’s very nature.
Macbeth is a tragedy written in the 17th century that shows what the desire for power can do to a man. Macbeth is expressed as being the villain. But, Macbeth is in fact a tragic hero, doomed by fate from the beginning into the madness he put himself in. If it not been for meeting the witches and persuasion of his wife, the play would have had a very different ending.