One of the main messages he is trying to deliver to us is to always weigh what you achieve to what the consequences will be. This especially holds true for Macbeth, as when first contemplating if he should kill Duncan, not once did he think of how he could be punished. Also, when Macbeth first hears the witch’s prophecy of him being a king, he jumps directly to the idea of murder. This kind of thinking is exhibited in Macbeth’s monologue in scene 5 act 5, where he discus’s the uselessness of living, and this attitude towards life made him go mad. This also points to how unintelligent Macbeth really was.
This illusion is one of the witches, sowing the seeds of murder in Macbeth, and ultimately, immediately after he murders Duncan. Further, Macbeth again visits the witches, this time in a plead for further knowledge and is met with additional illusions. Before though, Hecate meets with the witches and states, “Shall raise such artificial sprites / As by the strength of their illusion / Shall draw him on to his confusion: / He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear”(Shakespeare 3.6.26-29). The witches use apparitions to further influence Macbeth this time leading him down a false path. By doing this, Macbeth becomes arrogant and feels invincible.
The witches are possibly linked as the “charms” seem to influence Macbeth and he begins to echo “foul and fair”. Whenever Macbeth seems at his most inhumane he uses rhyming couplets for example, “knell that summons…to heaven…hell” is used before killing Duncan in act 2 and “fight…heaven…find it out to-night” before killing Banquo in act 3.
Macbeth is deceived by his ambition, his power, and most of all by his fear. In Act II, Scene I, he sees a dagger before him. This is just as he is about to kill King Duncan. He sees it floating, but he cannot feel it. As stated, “Thou marshalest me the way I was going and such an instrument I was to use” (Shakespeare, 1997, 2.1.50-51).
This misinterpretation, committed in pursuit of power, leads Macbeth to perform certain actions which result in the death of the king, the death of Macbeth’s friends, and eventually his own demise. At the start of the play, Macbeth is seeking a great amount of power. His wife, Lady Macbeth says to him, “When you durst do it, then you were a man;” (Act 1, sc. 7, line 56), suggesting that they have either considered or committed murder for the sake of their own advancement in the past. Macbeth further condones this in his action to the witches’ prophecy that he will become king.
Macbeth’s Motivations Analyzation Essay Has you ever wanted something so bad that you were willing to commit horrendous deeds to accomplish it? In Shakespeare's world renowned play Macbeth, the series of murders that are committed by the main character, Macbeth are instigated by his own greed and ambitions. Throughout the duration of the play Macbeth seems to acquire the ability to kill cold-bloodily. He starts his disposition with the murder of Duncan and that suddenly triggers his inner eagerness which then lead to the murder of his friend Banquo and soon Macduff’s family. The play begins by showing the main character, Macbeth as an honorable man who has just become the Thane of Thamis, but soon realizes this is not enough for him.
There is none but he whose being I do fear. From this soliloquy, it’s obvious that Macbeth is once again encompassed by the extreme terror that Banquo, his best friend may know about the truth of the deed. The fear of unsecured throne terrifies Macbeth and causes him to send murderers to perform the assassination of Banquo. Later on, the unexpected escape of Fleance triggers the ideas of visiting witches once more to seek his fate. After Macbeth knows the fact that he should be aware of Mcduff, he sends orders immediately to commence a full murder of Mcduff’s family.
In the following context I am going to discuss the elements of violence from the quotation of the soliloquy when Macbeth is trying to murder Duncan. “Is this a dagger which I see before me”, I think “the dagger” here implies certain degree of the idea of violence to readers. Because when it comes to dagger, we will often connect it with an instrument of killing, and thus will come up with some bloody scenes in mind. Moreover, here is another quote in the passage “And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood”, again the concept of violence is highlighted through the words like “blade” and “blood”. Similarly, “Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse/ The curtained sleep”, the utilization of words like “dead”, “wicked” and “abuse” are all contain certain negative meaning regarding to violence for readers.
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.
Lady Macbeth also plays and evil role beside him. She mocks him, if he frets over her instructions, saying that he will be less of a man if he does not follow the plan. She gives Macbeth a lecture of deceptiveness when planning the murder of King Ducan. She had also prepared a dagger for Macbeth to kill the King in advance. Though Macbeth still had doubts, she was ready to do this blood thickening job, herself.