William Shakespeare's eponymously titled play Macbeth is one of the most celebrated writings in history and is still being performed and studied today. The play reflects the established socio-cultural beliefs of power and the effects of an illegitimate rule during the Jacobean period. Written in the seventeenth century when belief in a divine-ordained hierarchy prevailed, it was thought that if monarchical power was accessed via illegitimate means, destruction of the mind and state would result. Through the character of Macbeth, Shakespeare positions his readers to believe that power can attract even the most noble of men. In the opening of the play, a loyal Macbeth is approached by three witches who entice him with their claim that “[he] shalt be king thereafter.” (1-3-50).
Creon shows hubris because he asks this to Teiresias because he is king and has excessive pride. He believes that because he is king and believes that he can’t be talked to a certain way. Creon is the tragic hero because he displays hubris in the play. Anagnorisis is when the tragic hero realizes his or her mistake. Capturing Antigone and not letting her burry Polynices was a mistake that Creon had made.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth showcases how one’s desires can change him, bring out the true primal instincts in a man; and as the play progresses, this change becomes quite evident. Shakespeare based the whole play around ambition, the dark descent into paranoia and greed to reflect the events within his nation at the time, and created a magnificent piece that displays true humanity and emotion. To start off, Macbeth has this wild imagination and fantasies that really fuel his ambitions, letting his id control him. “Macbeth's imagination is at once his
Hamlet makes his first move against King Claudius by telling the actors to play a tragic play by which he can see King Claudius’s reaction. “Oh, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven. It has the eldest primal curse on it—a brother’s murder.” (Act 3, Scene 3, Lines 36-38). Claudius says these lines in despite of the play he has seen and drives him crazy. This is when we know he actually killed Hamlet’s father.
The popularity of Shakespeare’s texts today is because of its universal themes. The universal themes create textual integrit, meaning that the play can be studied, taught and acted aa thousand years from now and outstand the same effects as it did years before. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a story of a young Danish Prince whose plot to revenge his father's murder results ultimately in tragedy. In this tragedy, the audience is reflected in the characters of the play as he explores themes of suicide, revenge, murder and appearance versus reality holding up a mirror to the audience of today. In the aftermath of his father’s murder, Hamlet is obsessed with the idea of death, and over the course of the play considers death from many perspectives: the spiritual aftermath of death, represented by the ghost, and the physical reminders of the dead, such as Yorick’s skull and the decaying corpses in the cemetery.
As a tragic hero, Brutus maintains noble intentions throughout the play. Grabbing at any opportune moment, Brutus desirably protects the Roman Republic from becoming corrupt and ruled by dictatorship. Cassius and other conspirators felt that Caesar’s ambition and tyrannical ruling reflects upon a dangerous outcome for future Rome. Persuaded by Cassius’s hatred of Caesar’s immediate gain in power and acknowledgement, Brutus constructs a plan for the assassination of Caesar. He greatly fears that “the people// [will] choose Caesar for their king” (I.ii.78-79).
The constant use of "I" puts us right in the narrator’s head and allows us to empathize with her. Ironic Indirection If we took the narrator’s words at face value, we would believe that her husband is kind and loving, that she really is physically ill, and that women really do get trapped in wallpaper. All of this is questionable at best and mostly dead wrong. This is part of the fun of first person narration – you’re never quite sure if the narrator’s perceptions actually reflect what’s going on. The narrator's tone also clues us into her character – her uncertainty and hesitation at the start of the story, and her determination towards the
/ Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.” (IV.iv.20-23). This proves the influence Lady Macbeth had on him, for him to be so altered and uncaring at the end of the play is merely the result of all the pressure and mental abuse she put on him while convincing him to become so destructive and
While Hamlet is self-conflicting with plans, Laertes is taking action immediately after he knows of his father’s murder. At the end of the play, the similarity between Hamlet and Laretes can be observed by the viewers as Hamlet says “I'll be your foil, Laertes: in mine ignorance your skill shall, like a star i' the darkest night, Stick fiery off indeed" (V.ii.5-7). Hamlet knows that they will be compared to one another in the future. Although Laertes is found to be greater for his courage to take action, Hamlet’s ability to make rational thoughts and planning has been highlighted from this
Banquo illustrated Macbeth’s subconscious belief that he was an undeserved kin, for he has played “foully.” Shakespeare uses Macbeth’s conscience to show how even the idea of power can be strongly manifested in someone’s mind and slowly corrupt any existence of principles and integrity, once again emphasizing the idea that “absolute power corrupts absolutely. “Another example of Shakespeare using Macbeth’s internal conflict to depict the theme, “absolute power corrupts absolutely” was after Duncan’s regicide. After hearing the witches’ prophecy, Macbeth contemplates on committing regicide on the King but once again his conscience constricts him from doing so. However, he is clearly vacillating with the thought of murder when he says, “if chance will have me king, why chance may crown me without stir. His inner conflict is shown explicitly in act 1, scene 7 when he weighs not only the detrimental political consequences of the murder but also the moral values involved.