Duncan appraises Macbeth by holding Lady Macbeth by the hand and saying “We love him highly and shall continue our graces toward him” (I,iv,364, 29-30) believing that Macbeth is a loyal man that has such a great heart; considering that he risked his life to save Scotland: something that the Thane of Cawdor was supposed to do. Macbeth, a dark evil soul, uses the promotion and honor of Duncan as a stepping stone to begin his destroying of Scotland. Instead of being happy with the honor that king Duncan gave him the honor of Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth gets greedy and wants more than what is granted to him, “If chance will have
Hosu Yoon Period 2 – English Prompt 2 Only the most extreme situations can bring out the naked character of a person. In Shakespeare’s two tragedies Macbeth and Julius Caesar, the similarities and differences among Brutus and Macbeth show that there is more than one kind of murderer. With two clashing motives and mindsets, the tragic heroes act completely different in similar scenes. Brutus confidently killed Julius Caesar with the belief that it is for the good of all Rome, while Macbeth hesitatingly killed Duncan with the dream of becoming a king of his own. Brutus’s intentions were reasonable and straightforward while Macbeth committed the crime because of his ambitious and corrupt characteristics.
Dangers of Absolute Power According to Aristotle, a tragic hero should experience a rising action due to his exceptional characteristics; and suffer a falling action due to his fatal flaw, which eventually results in his death. However, he should still be able to gain sympathy and pity from the audience. The story of Macbeth truly represents elements of a tragic hero, a brave loyal knight whose fatal flaw is his ambition for power which leads him to betray his friends and king and finally killed by his other fatal flaw, overconfidence. In William Shakespeare, the play The Tragedy of Macbeth, the author uses Macbeth’s ambitious characteristic, evoking pity for Macbeth and finally the danger of absolute power to show Macbeth’s tragic story.
He made sure to put on a façade which would lead the King’s men to believe he was still a respectful and loyal man. He even went as far as killing another man to show his respect for the king and his (fake) anger about the king’s murder. Macbeth made quite a transition between the first two scenes of the play. Power was the catalyst for the change from a loyal to greedy man. People will do many things to claim power.
His sense of pride prevented him from admitting to the adultery. Thus, the town did not understand Abigail’s motivation as did Proctor. He could have also prevented his demise if he had chosen to sign the paper. However, he feels that his name is “not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang” and chooses death over humility. This play exhibits tragedy because, though Proctor had many opportunities to change his fate, he chooses his demise because his tragic flaw prohibits him from doing otherwise.
Macbeth’s ambition leads him to murder Duncan with the assurance of good reward. He then enters battle with what again seems to be positive assurance. Only when it is too late does he realize that he is being led to his destruction. Macbeth’s constant reoccurring fatal flaw is his ambition. He is lead by ambition into situations and finds himself with no way out; this is what kills Macbeth.
He also loses reputation due to his fatal flaw. In Act 1 Scene 2, we know that Macbeth is the main character, because of his brave actions in the battle. A tragic hero’s exceptional nature generally raises him above the average level of humanity. “Disdaining fortune with his brandished steel” (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 17) Macbeth’s heroism can be seen by the way Macbeth rejects ‘fortune’ that is personified as a glorious warrior. Macbeth is described as ‘Brave Macbeth’ and also as the servant of the God Valour; he is ‘Valour’s minion.’ This is hyperbole, because a human being can’t fight as if he was the servant of god Valour.
Deadly sins The seven deadly sins are renowned for a reason, which is that just one of them can drive a person insane. Greed and envy together can lead a person into doing immoral and unjustified deeds. In the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, Claudius is the villain who contradicts Knight's The Embassy of Death because Claudius's actions and behavior result from his innate greed for wealth and envy of true love that his brother King Hamlet had; on the other hand, Knight views that his actions were forced upon him due to Hamlet's unstable mentality. (wrap up the thesis statement, condense to the main point. You don't need to make a comparison, but pick which view you agree with, Knight or Shakespeare's, or make it into 2 separate sentences.
In part of the play, Macbeth even admits to his ambition, "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself, and falls on the other." As a result, many decisions were influenced negatively. His choice to kill the king was made too quickly, and had begun the snowballing effect of killing innocent people. After the witches had told Macbeth the four apparitions, he felt as though Banquo needed to be killed, since he was in the way of Macbeths becoming king. Other Characters in the play greatly influenced Macbeth.
Hamlet is a moral and intelligent man, he is aware of what is right and wrong and it is due to this morality that he delays the murder of Claudius and ended the cycle of revenge. After conversing with the ghost of his own father, Hamlet already devises a plan to kill Claudius in order to fulfill the ghost’s wishes to get revenge. However, much time passes throughout the play when Hamlet could have taken his revenge but he has yet to complete the deed. He admits he may have been deceived by the ghost when he says, "The spirit that I have seen / May be a devil, and the devil hath power / T' assume a pleasing shape (II:ii, 627-629). Hamlet delays the murder of his uncle due to the doubt he has in the validity of the information provided by the ghost.