William Shakespeare 's ' Macbeth '

The way that we distinguish things is usually based upon miscalculation that seem to mask the reality. The tragic story of Shakespeare’s Macbeth shows that the exterior appearance of anyone may be false. Macbeth is portrayed as an honest, loyal and a brave subject. The witches play the major part towards Macbeths downfall and Lady Macbeth plays the most part.

In Macbeth, Shakespeare explores the theme of moral decay produced by the temptation of power. When Macbeth hears the witches’ prophecy (1.3.45) he does not understand how he can become King of Scotland; the only way to attain the crown would be through committing the grave and unjustifiable sin of regicide. Despite this, Macbeth ignores his conscience (1.7.80) and when presented with the opportunity, aided by Lady Macbeth, he murders Duncan (2.1.62). Although he immediately regrets his actions and is filled with compunction (2.2.55, 2.2.63-65), Macbeth decides that there is no going back and “things bad begun make themselves strong by ill.” (3.2.55) Macbeth’s allows his inherent lust for power to completely outweigh his moral conscience.

Initially, Macbeth is viewed as a brave and loyal soldier, with Duncan praising him by expressing that “More is thy due than more than all can pay” (1.4.21). At this point, he has not been influenced by the three witches. Yet, by Duncan implying his importance, Macbeth gains a sense of self-worth and this arouses power within. His clear desire to be titled Thane of Cawdor while then having a growing temptation to commit regicide clearly demonstrate the early stages of his corruption and forms a basis for utilizing illegitimate power.

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.

After hearing the prophecy that he will become king, Macbeth resolves to leave his future up to fate proving his pride and prestige are very important to him. Once he is told of Malcolm being named successor to the throne, Macbeth decides that if he is going to reach his goal he cannot leave it up to luck. Again Macbeth’s resolve to murder Duncan wavers when he leaves the grand banquet to assess his situation and decide whether he wants to proceed. His arguments include wishing to keep his honor and not kill Duncan for Duncan is there ‘in double trust’. Thus, Macbeth is shown to be clinging to his honor. Finally, Macbeth must stand his ground one last time against his wife who uses tact to emasculate Macbeth. In his final attempt to stop the whole ordeal before it can start Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he does not want to ‘cast aside’ the honor he has just recently received. Unfortunately, Lady Macbeth will have none of what her husband is saying and so convinces Macbeth to follow through with his plan of murdering King Duncan. Hence, the audience is given the first example of how powerful selfish motives are and how quickly they can spread to others along with cause them to perform unthinkable

The bloody rise and tragic downfall of Macbeth’s power in medieval Scotland is the outcome of a prophecy told by three Witches who foretold Macbeth’s rise to power. Throughout the play, Shakespeare suggests that immoral actions come from the loss of moral boundaries and outside influences. He also illustrates that corrupt actions come from greed and can stain one’s conscience with guilt.

Shakespeare’s plays all contain themes that are still relevant to our lives today. Macbeth is no exception. Here Shakespeare utilizes an extensive variety of themes throughout the context of the play and how the characters exploit their actions towards each other. The main theme of “the Corrupting Power of Unchecked Ambition” is dealing with a blind lust for power capable of anything while the parallel theme of “Guilt and Remorse” deals with the effects of bad deeds on the deepest innards of human nature. Both can be found widely amongst the current generation and therefore are still

The determination to achieve and ambition are keys to a successful life. However, one of Shakespeare’s major themes in his play Macbeth is too much ambition ultimately brings ruin. When ambition goes unchecked, there is corruption of natural order. This theme of ambition can best be explained by analyzing the motives of Lady Macbeth, the witches, as well as Macbeth.

In the Elizabethan Era, society was highly suspicious of the power of supernatural forces and it was commonly accepted that one’s life was governed by fate and was predetermined. Shakespeare’s Macbeth challenges the Elizabethan ideology of fate by privileging that although Macbeth was a victim of his “vaulting ambition” (1:VII 27), he was ultimately responsible for his villainous actions. Shakespeare has foregounded certain events to privilege that a person has free will and a concience and the cosequences of going against one's conscience, thus challenging the assumption of the Elizabethan Era. The audience is invited to sympathise with the protagonist, Macbeth, and see him as a tragic hero. Before his descent into evil, Macbeth

Only men by strong, courageous, and powerful, agree? Well, in Macbeth manhood is concurrent with power, physical strength, courage, and force of will. Rarely though, is it bound to the ideals of moral fortitude or mentality. The motif of gender recurs many times in Shakespeare’s work. Being a “man” in Macbeth means that you must be physically capable, cruel, and do what ever it takes to accomplish one’s goals. Women were supposed to obey their husbands and be good. Evil from a woman was absolutely not permitted.

On a dark rainy night, Macduff sits in the room of his home unable to fall asleep. His mind is filled with troubling thoughts; after Banqou told him the prediction Macbeth received, he has the feeling that King Duncan 's death was not an accident.

The catalyst that initiated World War 1 is the murdering of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinad in June 28, 1914. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the witches are the main catalyst to all of Macbeth’s crimes.

Macbeth is without a doubt one of the most captivating plays, in my opinion written by William Shakespeare. Throughout this play there is definitely a numerous amount of things that can catch your attention, whether it is a trio of witches appearing, committing murder, or keeping secrets. However, what really catches my attention is the way Shakespeare uses language and unique style to create a distinct mood, and reveal characters’ inner thoughts. In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth had came back from battle where he is named a hero, and moments later he receives a prophecy by three witches who approach him and say that he will be the king, the thane of Cawdor, and the thane of Glamis. Shakespeare uses a style and specific diction using very poetic words to create a distinct mood, and he uses figurative language combined with drama to create suspense throughout the play. Thus, revealing the character 's inner thoughts.

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.

Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare 's most famous tragedies, it is believed to have been written and first performed in 1606. Sources indicate that the play was written to appease King James I, who had ascended to the throne after Queen Elizabeth I. The play tells a tale of a brave Scottish Thane named Macbeth, whose thirst for power brought him to murder Duncan, the King of Scotland, only to become a tyrant, and have his actions lead to his eventual demise as the tragic hero. Throughout the play it is evident that audiences could potentially have many understandings of the themes present, and these understandings are met with the use of soliloquies. Soliloquies ‘reveal the mindset and motivations of the central character’ (O’Connor.E, 2012), a soliloquy is ‘when a character speaks their deepest thoughts aloud to themselves when alone’ (Shakespeare 's Life, Class Notes). Soliloquies are an important feature of any play, as they allow the audience to not only view the development of the play, but the inner workings of characters. This essay will discuss the soliloquy “If it were done when ’tis done” in Act 1 Scene 7 and how it is crucial in shaping our understanding of the theme of ambition, the soliloquy performed by Lady Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 5, and how it is vital in our comprehension of the theme of the reversal of values.