Role Of Control In Macbeth

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- Controlled Assessment Macbeth Macbeth is a famous play by William Shakespeare known for its violence. The story begins as one of a loyal and honourable hero of Scotland. However, Macbeth's character changes gradually during the play. A powerful ambition for power caused him to make sinister decisions that created for him only despair, guilt, and madness. At the end of the play he was no longer honourable and, instead, a tyrant. He starts off as being very human; he is actually a war-hero. However the seed of change is planted right away when he meets the witches and they tell him their prophecy of him becoming king. This makes Macbeth ambitious, and it leads to his demise. Once he kills Duncan the change rapidly begins to accelerate. By…show more content…
This is significant because they foreshadow future events. The witches announce what will happen in the play, revealing little pieces of information to the audience: here we are told of a battle taking place that shall end before the ‘ere of the sun” with one side winners and the other losers, and most importantly it tells us of the future gathering with Macbeth that will take place later on in the play. They also speak in an ironic order, with the first witch speaking followed by the second and then the third, despite being known as agents of disorder and anarchy. Scientifically, lightning comes before thunder and in the play Shakespeare writes ‘in thunder, lightning…’, suggesting that these witches can only create destruction seeing as the order of words is not how it would normally go, just like the order of events in the play. The three witches started the catalyst for Macbeth's ambition with their predictions of promotions to Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland. However Banquo was sceptical, suggesting that they must have gone a little bit crazy to be seeing the witches and believing in their existence and their predictions. He accepted that if they really had seen the witches, then they needed to be suspicious of the reasons. He cut right to the chase when he suggested that the forces of evil made their presence and powers known only to the detriment of…show more content…
It doesn't take long for Macbeth to make the connection that his time in the throne will be short, and that perhaps Banquo will be looking to supplant him just like he with Duncan. Macbeth seems to disregard his Fate, not fully comprehending that it is virtually impossible to change your fate once it had been decided, but to avoid any chances he has Banquo killed. Macbeth has now started to become irrational; ordering the death of his best friend, who he only, at the time, suspected would potentially kill him to allow his son to takes the throne. He is restless and terrified, he says’ O full of scorpions is my mind dear wife’ implying how as his dishonesty took him to the throne, his kingship will be blighted. He seems to also become scared of what he is now capable of, as he is repeatedly reminded of the deed that had then taken place. Seeing Banquo’s apparition at the feast causes Macbeth to scream, leading the guest to imagine that the new King has gone mad. It is said that ghost serve only two purposes; unfinished business and untimely deaths. Macbeths mind has spiralled out of control; he can no longer sleep. This was earlier mentioned in Act 2 scene 2, when Macbeth told his wife that “Still it cried, “Sleep no

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