Macbeth. How does Shakespeare use language to explore and expose the characters state of mind?

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Muhammed Hasgul    10i                   English Coursework     Macbeth (State Of Mind)

How does Shakespeare use language to explore and expose the characters state of mind?

In this essay I will tell you about Macbeth and what he is thinking and what his state of mind is throughout the play.

Macbeth is a play about the character experiencing a tragic story. He turns from a good, loyal, brave man to an ambitious murderer. The reason for this is the witches. The witches talk to Macbeth telling him that he is going to be king, this causes Macbeth to think about it, he likes the idea of being king so how tries to do anything he can to be king, even killing. But in the end he falls for the witches tricks and he ends up dyeing himself.

We first hear about Macbeth in the start of the play when captain is talking to the king about the war going on, we hear him when he says to the king we was losing the war then brave Macbeth came along and we won our war. We hear this ‘Showed like a rebel’s whore. But all’s too weak, for brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name’. We hear that he is a good, brave, loyal man you can trust.  Later on in the play we meet Macbeth with Banquo. He meets witches and the witches talk to him and call him king and say your going to be king and Banquo will have kings. When he meets them he act normal like every other person will he just forgets about them and carries on walking ignoring them. We hear this in the play ‘All hail Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter’. ‘Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none’. When Macbeth first hear this he forgets about it but a bit further on he thinks about this he becomes curious because he thinks how I can ever be king, this is because in the time of Shakespeare people had a strong belief in witches. This prediction of the witches confuses him because he can be the king because it was the witches’ predictions. Macbeth is also curious as well, this leaves him with mixed feelings. This curiosity takes over his feelings so he asked for them to speak more because he wants to find out more, so he ask for more information from the witches, ‘Stay you imperfect speakers. Tell me more.’ This shows us that he is interested in the prediction and he likes the idea of being king. He is happy to hear this from the witches but he is finding it hard to believe it is a good thing, because this good is coming from the bad (witches). This leaves him confused again, well even more confused. A bit later on in the play the witches’ first prediction becomes true and Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor. ‘Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?’ Macbeth says this when they make him Thane of Cawdor. He gets confused because the Thane of Cawdor is still living so he tells them. ‘The Thane of Cawdor still lives’. They tell him that the public claimed to overthrown him.

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As we go on the witches unsettle Macbeth because in the time of Shakespeare they had strong beliefs witches .They believed that they can see the future and only do badly to people so they were all afraid of witches. They also believed that they had the power to change the weather. After he thinks about what has happened to him. His word are (in his mind) ‘Cannot be ill, cannot be good,’ ‘If good, why do I yield to that suggestion,’ ‘And why does my seated heart knock against my ribs’. At this present moment he cannot make up ...

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