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Topic: Macbeth’s coronation dinner and his reaction to seeing Banquo’s ghost. The weird sisters appear and speak to Macduff after King Duncan is killed. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth prepare for Banquo’s funeral and tell the story of their interaction.…
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In the witches scene Shakespeare introduces the theme of nothing is as it seems. He uses antithesis in the witch's line, such as 'When the battle's lost and won', 'lost' and 'won' have conflicting meanings the same as 'lesser' and 'greater' in the line 'lesser than Macbeth but greater'. The most famous contradicting line the witches speak is 'Fair is foul and foul is fair'. The antithesis shows how everything…
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In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare I found at the beginning the character Macbeth was a portrayed as a noble, honest and brave man. As said by the captain in the second scene, ‘For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that title’ (I.2.16). This gives the audience an indication that Macbeth was highly respected by the king’s men and the king himself. His desire for power grew throughout the play from when he had his first encounter with the witches.…
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After seeing a picture of a delicious McDonald’s Big Mac, he just could not contain that deep groan that originated from his stomach. He quickly grabs his keys and wallet, driving straight away to McDonalds, and ordered himself a delicious Big Mac. Once he received his paper bag, giving off a smothering smell, he hungrily grabbed his Big Mac, but as he opened the box he became depressed. Why? Because McDonalds had fooled him, that picture of their delicious Big Mac was not what sat in front of him. Instead, there sat a three pieces of bread, and what appeared to be two brownish, green beef patties in-between the bread. What this young man had to sadly go through was appearance vs. reality; while the picture of the Big Mac looked big and tasty, the actual Big Mac he got was disgusting. The theme,…
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Throughout the play Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have seen many changes within themselves. In the beginning, Macbeth was friends with Banquo. He stuck through what happened with the witches and throughout meeting the king but after that, he saw him as an enemy when Banquo did not do anything to provoke him. Macbeth turned into a sour, arrogant man with only the intentions of keeping himself and his title safe. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth was bitter about her gender and how everyone would look at her and immediately assume she was innocent and fragile. She wanted to be seen as an equal to the men. Throughout the Acts, however, she went from giving approval to, and even almost forcing, Macbeth to kill Duncan to not being satisfied with him wanting to kill Banquo. She thought that if he put what they did to Duncan in the back of his mind that all would be well.…
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Throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth change characters. This is evident through their speaking and their actions. Act One shows you the beginning of Lady Macbeth’s killing rage. For example, she says on page 284 in lines 18-29 that Macbeth has the title of Glamis and Cawdor and now the only things that are keeping him from the throne are King Duncan and his two sons, Malcolm and Donalbain. In that soliloquy, she is already thinking of plotting to kill Duncan. The next soliloquy that she gives on page 285 in lines 38-53, she is calling on the raven to bring deadly thoughts into her head to come up with a plan to kill Duncan. She asks the spirits to “unsex me [her], (P 285 L 41)” because killing is a man’s job. She also asks the “thick night” to come and enshroud “her keen knife [so that it does not] see not the wound it makes” meaning that it must be a dark night so that no one sees that King Duncan is being murdered. These examples show Lady Macbeth’s dominance for wanting to take a man’s role. She next persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan but he says that he will not do it. He ponders it for a while and thinks that he could risk on having eternal damnation, but he decides not to kill Duncan because Duncan is his kin and his actions will come to harm him. Lady Macbeth then takes Macbeth aside and tries to persuade him to kill Duncan by saying that he is “a coward (P 289 L 41)” and also questions his manhood. In lines 60-72, she unveils her plan for killing Duncan to Macbeth, which is to give the guards that watch Duncan wine so that Macbeth could slip into Duncan’s room, kill him, and smear blood on the drunken guards in order to place the blame of guilt on them. After this persuasion and yearning for the crown, Macbeth agrees to kill Duncan. This shows that Lady Macbeth is very domineering over her husband.…
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When Macbeth told his wife of the witches’ prophecy, Lady Macbeth wanted nothing else but to make it true. She asked the spirits to “Unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty!” (Act 1, Scene 5) She asks for the power to convince and control her husband’s mind with her ambition to become the queen. In this soliloquy, Lady Macbeth reveals to the audience her evil nature; however, this trait is hidden from the characters around her as the minute Macbeth enters and her soliloquy finishes, she softens into a loving wife, calling Macbeth “My dearest love,” and comforting him of Duncan’s visit. Right before the scene ends, she tells him that “To alter favor ever is to fear. Leave all the rest to me.” This should send Macbeth a signal of her blooming nature.…
- 499 Words
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Macbeth and Lady Macbeth see many changes in their personalities. Macbeth changes from an innocent thane and warrior to a ruthless and power hungry king. Lady Macbeth changes from a supporting and loving wife to a backstabbing and insane psychopath. Early on she proclaims, "Your face, my thane, is as a book where men / May read strange matters" (I,V.69-70). She shows great hospitality towards Macbeth and it is easy to tell Macbeth means everything to her and she does not seem to be the inevitable monster that she will become. She demonstrates her true self when she…
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As a result, her desire for power allows her to be stronger, more remorseless, and more driven than Macbeth. In fact, she is fully aware of this when she declares that Macbeth is "art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it.” This is why Lady Macbeth acts not only as Macbeth's confidant, but his also his controller. Consumed by her desire to become Queen, Lady Macbeth herself plots the murder of Duncan and when Macbeth questions the idea of regicide, she manipulates him with her powerful soliloquies. This is done by condemning her husband’s biggest insecurity; his manhood. She states that Macbeth would be “so much more the man” if he were to follow through with the plan. Lady Macbeth even points out that she herself would even kill her own baby as a means to reach her goals. This drives Macbeth to the point where he is “settled and bend-up” to prove himself. Her condescending inspiration is the first to trigger a change in his morals and attitude. However, as Macbeth’s own ambition starts to flourish and facilitate an obsessive and power hungry killing spree, Lady Macbeth’s character changes as well. She becomes helpless and is reduced to a weak figure that sleepwalks and is constantly trying to wash nonexistent blood from her hands. This is because she is so overwhelmed by the guilt of her treachery that a…
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In the play ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare there are many people that change throughout their lifetime. Lady Macbeth is one of those people that change.. She actually changes from being a tough woman and planning the death of King Duncan to feeling guilty and killing herself.…
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Not everyone and everything may appear the way it seems to be. Appearance versus reality is observed in everyday life, whether it be in relationships or in novels. It helps open one’s mind to further examine how one may view others because some people may appear trustworthy, but in reality, are not. Most people are quick to judge others, but there are many inner layers to people, and one must willingly be able to go beneath the surface to truly understand the reality of that person. In the Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the theme of appearance versus reality helps in developing major characters, showing how some characters, including King Duncan, are poor judges of character. This theme tends to come up throughout the play as seen…
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One of the main themes rampant in Macbeth is that of deception. There is a disconnect between appearance and reality. Hypocrisy is everywhere and what is good for one person may be bad for others in the play.…
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Plotting to murder Duncan in order to succeed the throne, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth switch traditional gender roles through their actions and speech. The switch in roles exemplifies inverted gender and social roles during their era. After Macbeth discovers the Witches’ prophecy, he tells his wife, Lady Macbeth about it. She reacts differently than one would expect a woman to act. She begins to mock Macbeth and ridicule his masculinity. By the conveyance of her speech, Lady Macbeth emphasizes that she is in charge and that Macbeth needs to follow her in order to achieve anything, as she states, “Yet do I fear thy nature;/ It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness/To catch nearest way” (1.5.16-18). Shakespeare employs the rhetorical device of a metaphor to describe Lady Macbeth’s view on Macbeth’s personality. Her comparison between him and the milk of human kindness infers…
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Dramatic irony is employed from the beginning of the play. The repetition of the paradox “fair is foul and foul is fair” (Act 1 Sc 1) by the Witches introduces the theme of the disruption of the natural order. Macbeth echoes similar words just before his first encounter with them, “so foul and fair a day I have not seen” (Act 1 Sc lll). This draws to the audience's attention the relationship that will form between Macbeth and the Weird Sisters. Dramatic irony is employed here, since Macbeth is unaware at this stage of the importance of his words. The audience though are able to see the connection, which creates dramatic suspense. His words highlight the contribution of the Witches to the events and outcomes of the play. Foreshadowing is one of the first dramatic techniques to be used in the play. In his meeting with the witches in Act 1 Sc lll, Macbeth learns of the prophecy. It plants the idea of treason in his mind. It is Macbeth's ambition that compels him to commit regicide. Without the deliverance of the prophecy by the Witches, Macbeth would not have considered becoming king. Macbeth at this stage of the action considers the witches insignificant, lowly and evil. He is initially fearful of them and approaches them with…
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In other words, Macbeth is shown as seeing vision and hearing voices which hail from the rich imagination which draws pictures out of his criminal deeds .The moral sense in him speaks through images and pictures vividly painted in front of his mind’s eye. These images would have been his moral guidance system if he would have chosen to follow it, but his tragedy is that he does not do so.…
- 530 Words
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