In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the main character initially demonstrates qualities of being a tragic hero, but by conclusion of the play his deceitfulness and his overwhelming gullibility lead him to be portrayed as a criminal. Macbeth has serious issues with power, greed, and even his own self- esteem and self- conscious. He knows when he kills Duncan and Banquo that it is the wrong thing to do but he still does it anyways. He also becomes obsessed with idea of power and becomes more power hungry as each day passes. He has become an unstoppable killing machine who believes he is invincible once the three witches reveal their prophecies and their apparitions to Macbeth.
Downfall: Macbeth’s Malevolent Ambition William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a dark tale of murder, rape, deception, and the supernatural, and it very much reflects the state of England at the time. With the death of Elizabeth I, her distant Scottish cousin James took the throne, and many other relatives of the former queen were quite angry with the fact that James got the throne and not them. There was a huge conspiracy where many relatives planned to seize the throne, but the plot was foiled and the conspirators were tortured and then executed in a brutal fashion. Many historians believe the play was written because King James was Scottish and there were not many stories of Scotland, but the deeper reason is that he wanted to show the evils and dangers in having such large ambitions, such as regicides like the relatives of King James. Now in the play, Macbeth starts off as a loyal, courageous, stereotypical, drone like war hero but once a group of witches put this idea in his mind that he could become king, he starts spiraling downhill.
It is in human nature that the more power one desires the more corrupt one’s actions must become to achieve it. The tragedy of Macbeth is about a Scottish noble whose lust for power leads him to do many terrible deeds that in the end lead to his demise. Although Macbeth is ultimately responsible for his fall from greatness, the witches’ prophecies and Lady Macbeth’s manipulation assist in his downfall. Macbeth’s growing character degenerates from a noble man to a violent and paranoid individual. At first, Macbeth and nobility were synonymous terms.
He commits murder and puts his entire kingdom in danger. Still, many of his evil acts are committed while he is under the influence of the Weird Sisters and Lady Macbeth, who are often considered to be the true villains of the play. At the end of the play, Macbeth realizes the evil he has committed and seems to feel sorrow for such. Because of this realization Macbeth is often viewed as a tragic hero, for tragic heroes almost always recognize the errors they have committed by the end of their stories and seek, in some manner, to atone for them. Macbeth is indeed a bit too complex to be categorised as a villain or a hero.
He has lost the ability to sense right and wrong. He has become twisted and evil. Macbeth has got what he has worked for and promised. He becomes king by killing and is unwanted by the people. With all of his murders, it lead someone to become suspicious of him.
Moaraj will be proving that his superstition was the cause of Macbeth’s lust for power, and I will be proving that his greed was the main cause for the terrible deeds that had transpired. Women were not considered the same level in society (Elizabethan order) as men and were objects of the men would not have had much of an influence on men. Macbeth used Lady Macbeth for her innocence and he kept her out of his plans to murder Banquo and to murder Macduff’s family. This shows that Macbeth acted out
After the killing Macbeth would be choosen king and this is when his ambition would take control of him for the worse. Now king Macbeth viewed everyone as a threat to his throne including friends. Macbeth would hire two men to kill his friend Banquo and his son. Macbeth viewed them as a threat to his throne as Banquo was suspicous to how Macbeth had became king and his son was suppost to become king which was promised by the witches. This shows Macbeth ambition gave him the desire to maintain his power by any means necessary if even that meant killing a loyal friend , which he did in getting Banquo killed.
The actions he took from killing Banquo, then having Lady Macduff and her children murdered, shows the insecurity that was present in Macbeth. Macbeth can be summarized into a character although strong physically he is very weak mentally and it is this weakness that caused the downfall and change of Macbeth. It should be remembered that at the beginning of the play Macbeth and his wife were ordinary people. Macbeth is an extraordinary play about how power and greed can corrupt ordinary people. Is it really their fault?
It represents the efforts Macbeth and Lady Macbeth go through to cover up the crimes they have commited. They imagine that the blood never leaves their hands, and the truth of what they did never escapes their minds. The crime of murder carries a guilt that neither one could discharge. Although Macbeth thought he found happiness as the king, his guilt dug him into an even deeper hole of unhappiness, leading him to kill Banquo, MacDuff’s wife and son, and young Siward as well. The endless guilt causes Lady Macbeth to take her own life and leads Macbeth down a path of arrogance and paranoia until eventually he too was
Macbeth Essay No matter how much you trust people there is always a chance that they could betray you. This happens in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. Macbeth betrays King Duncan by killing him. Macbeth was power hungry, and by killing King Duncan he became king. Macbeth kills one of his best friends Banquo.