Essay #1 Kelly Ho October 23, 2011 IB English Pd. 5 Macbeth Motif Essay; Blood Throughout the play, “Macbeth”, Shakespeare evokes blood and bloody images in order to express the idea that blood can give Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth power but also ruin them as well. Later on, blood begins to symbolize the emotional guilt that they face from their actions aside from the power they obtain. Macbeth is confronted with blood several times from the beginning to the end of the play to show the rise and fall of his power. Shakespeare depicts Macbeth as a heroic figure, proudly serving his country through his courageous actions.
Macbeth’s decadence then led to his marriage to slowly fall apart. At first, him and Lady Macbeth really do love each other, and show affection for one another. Though, Lady Macbeth becomes less important to her husband, Macbeth, after the murder of Duncan and he allows the witches to take her place. The witches pretty much have him brain-washed toward the end of the play by making him believe that no man could ever bring harm to him. With him believing such nonsense, he just becomes his monster who is completely
Conclusion Shakespeare always used the same elements of tragedy when he wrote his tragedies. These tragedies can be compared easily, especially Macbeth and Hamlet. Shakespearean tragedies use supernatural incidents to intrigue the reader's interest, and they consist of a hero that has a tragic flaw (sometimes the desire for the supernatural) which causes him to make a fatal mistake. Shakespeare followed this pattern in all of his tragedies; therefore the similarities between Macbeth and Hamlet can easily be defined and discussed. Shakespeare immediately started Macbeth with a supernatural scene.
“By Sinel’s death I know I am Thane of Glamis./ But how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives” (Shakespeare 19). Through this quote near the beginning of the play, Shakespeare reveals the slight interest Macbeth has for the unexpected title that the witches called him. He goes on to say a short time later,”This is supernatural soliciting/ Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill/ Why hath it given me earnest of success/ Commencing in a truth?
Rashmitha Rapuri Mr. Morano ENG 2DB-03 June 5th, 2015 Macbeth Act 2 Modernization Rationale The Shakespearean play Macbeth, explores many genres and themes to many audience’s interests. It carries a sense of comedy, tragedy and supernaturalism. Macbeth is a play of contradiction and the power of being a king which the protagonist, Macbeth, is striving for. In the beginning of the play, Shakespeare highlights Macbeth’s gracious qualities such as bravery, modesty and loyalty. However, these qualities turn into greed, apathy and self-indulgence soon after Macbeth takes fate into his own hands, guided by his wife and the three weird sisters.
The Tragedy of Macbeth (commonly called Macbeth) is a play by William Shakespeare about a murder and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. Over the centuries, the play has attracted some of the greatest actors in the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It has been adapted to film, television, opera, novels, comic books, and other media. In the backstage world of theatre, some believe that the play is cursed, and people do not mention its title aloud, referring to it instead by such names as "the Scottish play’’.
Web. 5 Dec. 2014. In the article of criticism “Macbeth,” Mary Ives Thompson and Francesco Aristide Ancona analyze how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth change dramatically from the beginning of the play to the end. Both the critics believe that such change happens due to the fact that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have motive to break out of their strict roles given to them by society. They write that Macbeth emerges as a man who is “completely confident in his grab for power.” Lady Macbeth, the one who told Macbeth to simply wash the blood off of his hands, ends up roaming around in her sleep through “the castle corridors at night bemoaning her unclean hands following the murder of Duncan and his guards.” At first, Macbeth was a kind man, but he became “completely remorseless in his bid for the crown.” And Lady Macbeth was fixed upon power and prayed that spirits would help her by getting rid of her feminine aspects.
When this is juxtaposed with Ophelia’s legitimate insanity, it becomes clear that Hamlet is still performing. Ophelia speaks cryptically in Act 4, using metaphors and imagery of nature. Her use of rhyme and poetry also adds to the audiences understanding of true madness. Hamlet’s performance turns to reality directly after he murders Polonius in cold-blood. If Hamlet were sane he would have shown an emotional reaction.
As I have stated one of the fundamental elements dictating whether we should look at Macbeth as a tyrant or tragic hero is based around the role played by the witches. Although their actual time in the play is short their impact on the plot, characterization and themes of Shakespeare’s tragedy are enormous. When
In fact, he desires that “...his soul may be damned and black as hell”(III.iii.97). As a result, Shakespeare illustrates that Hamlet’s acts of procrastination are the main factors for Hamlet’s death. Hamlet displays intelligence throughout many instances in the play. Unquestionably, Hamlet apprehends that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been directed to observe him: “I know the good King and Queen have sent for