The play Macbeth (1603-1607) by William Shakespeare is a tragedy about the struggle for power, deception, lies, treason, and war, hero to villains, suffering, guilt, and falls from grace. Caught in the middle of this is a well known Scottish general, Macbeth. Macbeth’s downfall is most note worthy as it isn’t a slow fall, from the noble, humble man the reader is introduced to in the beginning, but rather a quick fall to the tyrannical, bloodthirsty man at the end of the play. There are many causes to Macbeth’s downfall, but the most prominent were Macbeth’s character flaws, his predetermined fate, and his equally power hungry wife, Lady Macbeth. At first glance, Macbeth appears to be a noble, humble, and brave man, but as the play progresses, Macbeth’s good character regresses.
With the witches’ prophecies mulling over in his mind, and knowing that he was not the successor of the throne, he knew he had to take matters into his own hands. With the support and persuasion of Lady Macbeth, he kills King Duncan and gains his kingship. When Banquo makes his vow to find out who killed Duncan, Macbeth knew he had to silence him. After Macbeth is named king, he seeks out hired murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. Macbeth does this because he is afraid that Banquo will get in the way of his new title and Fleance, because he is prophesied to be king.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is considered one of his darkest and most powerful tragedies. Macbeth is a brave soldier and a powerful man, but he is not a virtuous one. Due to the prophecies of the three witches, he is easily temped into murder to fulfill his ambitions to the throne. In the play, Macbeth is considered a tragic hero. He was of high standing, came from a noble background, and possessed a flaw in his character that brought him to his own downfall.
Macbeth State of Mind after Killing Duncan Immediately upon returning after he has committed the crime, it is obvious that he is highly disturbed by the crime that he has committed. He tells Lady Macbeth that he cannot pronounce the word “amen.” This implies that he is now unholy. In addition, this begins the insomnia that drives him to madness. He says that he heard someone say “Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor/ shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more” (II.2.55-57).
Act 2 Scene 2 Essay Act 2 Scene 2 starts after Macbeth speaks a soliloquy about the terrible deed he is going to do. The soliloquy he speaks portrays his fear of killing Duncan, his fear that he will be caught in the act of murder and the supernatural theme running throughout his soliloquy. At the start, Macbeth sees a vision, a ‘dagger which I see before me’ which evidently shows that he is thinking about the murder he is about to commit. The reader can interpret this vision very differently, by saying that Macbeth is going mad from fear and it is ‘a dagger of the mind, a false creation’ before him, which creates a sense of panic and curiosity, as the reader is not sure whether he is stable enough to go through with the murder. The other interpretation is that something supernatural and scary is at work, that the dagger is a sign from the witches Macbeth spoke to.
As the play goes on, Macbeth slowly looses his morality as he strives for more control whilst Lady Macbeth steps into a frantic stage of guilt. After killing the king, Macbeth starts to plot other evil undertakings as he becomes nervous that someone will take away his power. At one point he goes from wanting to needing the sovereignty, which makes him loose sight of his integrity. As Macbeth begins to immorally act in order to achieve what he hungers, the line between good and evil starts to fade. “I am in blood / Stepp’d in so far, that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er.” (3.4.136-138) In this quote, Macbeth is telling himself that because he has stepped into evil so deeply, it will be hard to go back to morallity because he will never be able to rid of this guilt brought onto him.
Macbeth is Responsible In Williams Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, there are many acts in which Macbeth proves that he is responsible for his own death. Macbeth is a tragedy involving the murder of multiple characters. Macduff physically murdered Macbeth; though Macbeth is responsible through his own actions. Macbeth believes the witches prophecies, and caves when Lady Macbeth pressures him to murder King Duncan. His own human nature, paranoia and selfishness are what leads him to his death.
When Macbeth debates with himself regarding the pros and cons of killing Duncan he states: “I go, and it is done. The bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell,” (Macbeth 2.1.62-64).It is clear from this quote that Macbeth’s ambition is stronger than his moral code and trustworthiness. Having murdered Duncan, the evil act of killing becomes easier to handle as he plots to murder Banquo
His plan of action was almost complete if he was able to murder Cassio. Iago’s motives are told throughout the entire play such as, seeking revenge due to the fact that Othello was given the title of lieutenant, throwing out accusations of him sleeping with his wife. In the end he is handed over to the torturers where he finally is quiet and stops giving reasons. Critic Robert Heilman (1956) states “lago’s case is too good; as a hunter of motives has bagged more than the legal limit” (pg.33). Othello is susceptible to lago’s evil.
Another example of blood portraying honor takes place later in the play during the death scene of Macbeth. Right before Macduff kills Macbeth, he tells the ill-fated title character, “My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier than terms can give thee out.” With this line, the audience knows that Macbeth’s pleas to have his life spared will not be answered by Macduff. In turn, this is a display of courage on Macduff’s part. Where betrayal is concerned, blood also symbolizes acts of murder and treason. One such allusion is mentioned in act 2, scene 1, during Macbeth‘s soliloquy.