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Macbeth is a dramatic play that displays a strong emphasis on the effects from personal desires and choices made by characters. The play does not solely focus on the judgement made by Macbeth, other characters within the play are also developed and exhibit new motives or personalities as a result of poor decision making. Ranging from the desire to murder a man or to follow witch’s prophecies in a quest for personal benefit, the characters will have to conform to the consequences of their decisions – William Shakespeare exemplary demonstrates the power of corruption in society. With that said, the characters in Macbeth did not thoroughly contemplate their actions, thus leading to their downfall. Whether characters had made harmful rulings due to their irrational thinking or because they were caught up in the moment – Shakespeare stresses the theme of conflict between pursuing a personal desire and choosing to conform vastly within the play.…
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Throughout history, many tragic heroic figures have encountered a downfall. Not because they are malevolent or villainous, but because of a character flaw. In William Shakespeare's’ tragedy, Macbeth the main character Macbeth embodies the tragic hero persona. Though he is believed to be of nobility, he is blinded by greed, ambition and power to a gruesome end by those very traits which bring him fortune. Macbeth’s tragedy of his heroism occurs through battling his self conscience, secondly by pride and ego, finally by fear to protect his ambition.…
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Renowned play, “Macbeth” written by William Shakespeare in 1606, is one of the most prestigious dramas to date. Valiant and truthful soldier, Macbeth experiences dire changes of evil, in order to gain his thriftless ambition for king. His immoral change might have been influenced by Lady Macbeth and the witches’ prophecies suggesting Macbeth is a tragic hero who had no intent of abhorrent deeds. Once honourable Macbeth pledges glory to his king and gained honour through valiant accomplishments. Fear strikes him as his mind starts to deteriorate into utter chaos by his treacherous actions. His self-conscious mind transforms him into a superstitious villain who suffers in despair as he implicates regret.…
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As the story opens Macbeth is seen to be a noble fellow of Scotland, but after meeting three witches his great image begins to fade. The witches are introduced in the story as Macbeth and his good friend Banquo are walking through the woods. While meeting these three witches he hears their prophecies; the most important one saying he will become King. The third witch says, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!” (Shakespeare 1.3.52). The glimpses of the future the witches have shown awaken many thoughts of greatness for Macbeth. To be a King is something any man would think twice about. After the second prophecy,” All hail Macbeth Thane of Cawdor!” comes true, Macbeth becomes fueled to make this prophecy about him becoming King come true (Shakespeare 1.3.50). One critic says “Macbeth is a victim of external circumstances; he falls into a trap set by the witches, who tempt him with prophecies that stimulate his excessive pride and ambition” (Shanley). This might be true but overall this tragedy is due to Macbeth and only Macbeth.…
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Macbeth’s faith in his fate is not misplaced, if for a moment he truly thought about the reasonable approach to his fated kingship, he maybe could have avoided a lot of blood. Not once in the first encounter with the witches did they ever say about Macbeth committing murder, and committing to murder. The third witch tells Macbeth “That shalt be king” (1.3 48) but none of the three witches said anything about killing. Although the three witches reveals to Macbeth of his future, the witches always speaks in duplicity “Fair is foul, and foul is fair ” (1.1. 12) therefore, their true intentions could be seen as ambiguous. Their duplicity in speech is a great way to characterises their double nature, as they on the exterior are seen as strange women who can foresee the future, but in truth they are tricksters. The witches are masters of feeding people of half truths in order to play with them. Hecate describes the witches as disobedient with words like, “Saucy and overbold” (3.5. 3). Hecate says the witches are disobedient because they did not tell her about their interactions with Macbeth and how they fed him “riddles and prophecies” (3.5. 4) further proving that the witches are tricking Macbeth onto a course of evil. Furthermore, Hecate uses the term “wayward son” (3.5. 11), a wayward is a person who is disobedient, or has turned away from the right action, suggesting that…
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One of Shakespeare’s most hailed plays, Macbeth, is a narrative that centers on a gentleman that goes by the name of Macbeth and his story of going from a normal man to King in only a short amount of time. He achieves this through sheer self-indulgence, as he could have remained a noble, but elected to destroy everyone in his path to becoming King. Macbeth loves becoming King, but is constantly craving more and more control, with the play eventually ending in his much-anticipated demise. However, what occurs with Macbeth in the way of his homicidal and immoral actions is not exclusively his liability, as the culpability is also Lady Macbeth’s as well.…
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Macbeth’s level of free will is questionable, for it seems that despite the triggers of his ferocious actions, he was an exceptionally hubris man. The witches can be depicted as advocators for fate, rather than fate itself and with the support of manipulation, they were able to convert Macbeth into an ignorant autocrat. “Fair is foul and foul is Fair.” Weird sister’s prophecies were not what they seemed. Although, Macbeth received various triggers that led to his destiny, it is likely that he would have received the same fate, had the witches not interfered. “I'll make assurance double sure,…
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Shakespeare’s masterpiece of a play, ‘Macbeth’, carefully depicts that Macbeth’s character was not ruined by fate but rather by damaging errors in his personality. Macbeth’s dangerous quality of ambition brings about his downfall as well as his treachery against his king, his tyranny and also his imaginativeness that eventually lures him into the murder. Although Shakespeare suggests that Macbeth’s decisions were greatly influenced by other characters in his text, it was Macbeth that ultimately decided to listen to these influences due to the many faults in his character.…
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Macbeth, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 17th century, expresses clearly the strong pull that desire for power can have over a man. Macbeth, the title character of the play, is often expressed as being the villain of the tragedy. However, through studying the play closely it is clear to see that, rather than being an innately evil character, Macbeth is in fact a tragic hero, doomed by fate from the start to descend into the madness which he did. Had it not been for his hamartia and his interaction with the witches and his wife then the play would have had a very different ending.…
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Macbeth is one of the greatest plays and most valuable lessons there is for the people who are overly ambitious. Macbeth’s downfall was all because of weakness, he didn’t believe in himself and he did not realize that he did not have to submit to his wife to be considered a man. Phony prophecies, overly ambitious wife, weak mind, insecurities and overall half of the ambition on his part was unwanted lead to all the atrocious acts done in the play. His wife was quite the manipulator and got him to do just about anything, many would say it is her fault for his downfall, although it may not be entirely her fault or the witches because somewhere deep inside of him he already had the burning sensation to be powerful, she played a big role in his…
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Lady Macbeth is a manipulative woman. She is a dark character and is ruthless and cunning. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is to blame for Macbeth’s downfall and insanity.…
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Many people believe that there is a terrible curse that has been put upon Shakespeare’s Macbeth. But the question is; are they right? We believe that it is all a matter of whether or not one is superstitious.…
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Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare’s witches, or the “three weird sisters” (1.3.32) serve several purposes. With their persuasive techniques and ability to either see or influence the future, their most important role seems to be their power to influence decision-making and cause the initial deterioration of Macbeth. By providing five prophecies, the witches “provide Macbeth’s ‘call to action’ and drive his thirst for power”, (Jamieson). However, by not telling Macbeth the full truth, they give him false hope, and expectations that ultimately lead to his demise. The witches influence him so greatly, that without their presence, it is possible that Macbeth would never have even committed the murder of King Duncan.…
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Macbeth, a famous play written by William Shakespeare, depicts the effects of ambition on a desiring King Macbeth. As Macbeth’s constant desire for power increases, his own tragic downfall is developing, whether this tragedy is depicted in losing his friends, loyal supporters, wife, or own life. Although Macbeth is downright evil, and a heartless murderer of many, by the end of this Shakespearean piece, Macbeth was not inherently a terrible being. Misleading but honest, the beginning of the play portrays Macbeth as respectful to others and respected by his peers, including the current King Duncan. However, Alexander Hamilton describes Macbeth’s downfall in a general statement, saying “The strongest passions, and most dangerous weaknesses of…
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In this essay i will explain and give examples of how Macbeth is corrupted by power and as he is incompetant to become king. I will describe how Macbeth is driven to his downfall and how his life falls apart piece by piece. In Macbeth Shakespeare pesents three evil witches who seduce Macbeth and have a huge impact on Macbeth's decisions which lead to his downfall. In Shakespeare's time withches were common and people were strongly aware of witchcraft. It is also is apparent that Shakespeare intended to write the play itself for the king James of Scootland as he had wrote Macbeth shortly after King Jame's succesion to the throne. Also audiences in Shakespeare's time who wathched Macbeth were not as customed…
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