Villain or victim? Is Macbeth a victim of external circumstances or a man solely driven by evil?

Villain or victim? Is Macbeth a victim of external circumstances or a man solely driven by evil? Macbeth is the most widely translated Shakespeare play for good reason. The legend of Macbeth is a timeless tragedy, the hero succumbing to his fatal flaw. All Shakespeare's tragedies focus on this same idea; a single flaw in the person that leads to their destruction, desperation and death. Macbeth's fatal flaw is ambition, once the flame of his desires is lighted, it grows and engulfs all that it comes into contact with. But what is it that drags our 'noble', 'brave' Macbeth into the pool of devastation and evil? Is our tragic hero simply a victim of external circumstances, or a man solely driven by evil? It is clear that throughout the play, Macbeth's evil actions do not come unprovoked. Macbeth's ambition was unleashed the second he met the witches. The witches do not stumble upon Macbeth, they plan their meeting upon the heath, and they see the destruction he will cause. Though Macbeth does not immediately appear to believe the prophecies, '...to be king Stands not within the prospect of belief No more than to be Cawdor.', He soon warms to the idea. The witches speak in riddles, and in a different rhythm to Shakespeare's usual iambic pentameter, emphasising their abnormality and evil. Angus awakens Macbeth to the idea by telling him of the Thane of Cawdor's downfall and

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Equivocation in Macbeth

Equivocation in Macbeth In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the theme of equivocation to effectively illustrate the evil nature of the witches. Equivocation is the use of ambiguous expressions in order to mislead. The prophecies of the witches play a mischief in this play, as they are a form of deception that at times use vague language to dodge an issue. The three influential prophecies, which the witches make in this play, are that the protagonist Macbeth will become the king of Scotland, Banquo will be the father of the king of Scotland, and Macbeth will not be killed until the Birnam wood moves to Dunsinane hill. The sources of these prophecies are the witches who put together the devious words into Macbeth's mind, which demonstrates the evil nature of the witches. In Macbeth, one of the earliest prophecies that the witches make is that Macbeth will become the king of Scotland. "All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter!"(I.iii.50) is the prophecy in which no indication of the doom of Macbeth is present. The literal meaning of this apocalypse is that Macbeth will become the king of Scotland. Thus, his ambition to take the pursuit of breaking the natural order to become the king becomes ungovernable. This is evident when Macbeth is shown hallucinating of a dagger before he kills Duncan, the real king of Scotland. Macbeth says, "Is this a dagger, which I see before me, /

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It is not only the heros character that feeds into the construction of a tragedy; external events also play a part. Does either one of these components have, in your opinion, an overriding influence on Macbeth, or do they make an equal contr

It is not only the hero's character that feeds into the construction of a tragedy; external events also play a part. Does either one of these components have, in your opinion, an overriding influence on Macbeth, or do they make an equal contribution to his downfall? Tragic plays, according to the rules laid down by Aristotle, should involve several key components; amongst them the idea of 'the catastrophe', a calamitous outcome, which evokes an emotional response in the audience; 'the three unities', i.e. that the action of the play, the location of the play, and the time period during which the play takes place, should all be synchronised; and the idea that the play should be centred on the protagonist of the play, and that an error in the judgement of the protagonist should result in the previously mentioned 'catastrophe'. Aristotle called this fatal error 'Hamartia', which was often brought about due to the 'hubris' of the protagonist, or his excessive pride. Shakespeare, however, having never read Aristotle nor heard of his 'rules', carves his own form of tragedy, wherein the lines between the 'divine punishment' given to people, and the punishment they bring upon themselves, are blurred. Also blurred are the lines between what is truly 'good' or 'evil', and if we can truly take any comfort in either of these terms. From the outset of Macbeth, we are told of the power of

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Discuss the soliloquy in Act III, i. How does Shakespeare convey the change in Macbeth since the soliloquy in Act I, vii?

Macbeth Discuss the soliloquy in Act III, i. How does Shakespeare convey the change in Macbeth since the soliloquy in Act I, vii? Peter Kim (Dong Hee) 5C1 Ambition is a quality that enables man to evolve physically, and spiritually. However, in Shakespeare's tragic play of "Macbeth", it is not just pure ambition the protagonist embodies: his ambition further develops into hubris, which ultimately leads to his demise. Perhaps, the most valid reason for why "Macbeth" is so tragic, is the fact that Macbeth, in the incipient stages of the play, is so innocent and unworldly, as Lady Macbeth describes him: "like th'innocent flower". However, upon hearing the witch's prophecies, his reputation is defiled as he steps into a realm of evil, and more tragically, finds that he has "in blood stepped in so far that should [he] wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er". As the play progresses, he becomes more of a "serpent", and two soliloquies in Act I, vii and Act III, i illustrate this gradual change. In Act I, vii, we peek inside Macbeth's mind for the first time in the play through his first soliloquy. At this point, the audience is curious to find out how he responds to the prophecy of the witches, and the seductions of his wife. In this soliloquy, he is yet, "th'innocent flower" and moreover, he displays his judiciousness as a brave warrior by contemplating the

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Kingship in Macbeth

Kingship in Macbeth Throughout the play we see many of Shakespeare's ideas on the topic and theme of kingship but also what he thought the qualities a man should have to rule his country Macbeth is a play about power and about how the characters in the play handle it and use it. These characters are judged as leaders by their personalities, relationships with their subjects and their attitude towards the country. The characters Duncan, Macbeth, Malcolm and Edward all represent their own brand of kingship and as the play progresses we see the faults in each of these. The first to represent kingship in the play is Duncan. He is loved by his subjects and this love is well deserved and Duncan may be considered the most generous and loved king but that does not mean he is infallible. He is a good king has two sons and cares for Scotland. He is described as a sainted king by Macduff in Act 4 scene 3. Duncan places a lot of trust upon his soldiers and they are very loyal as we see in the bleeding captain fighting against mercenaries and Macbeth says himself his loyalty and service to Duncan is sufficient for his reward and also says ''he hath honoured him of late'' and the essence of Duncan's good nature creates doubts in Macbeth with regards to the murder and Lady Macbeth has also experienced this kindness, a large diamond received for been a good hostess. We see Duncan is

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Lady Macbeth character analysis

Darya Barshak 03/22/2012 AP English/ Pd.4 Lady Macbeth symbolizes the evil of human nature. Her ugly intentions are seen in the apostrophe when she calls: "Come you spirits." She calls for the spirits in the same manner as do many witches. She betrays her femininity by asking the spirits to "come to [her] woman's breast and take [her] milk for gall." Moreover, she calls for them to completely "unsex [her] here." The disgusting imagery used in the line "make thick my blood" flashes back to Act I Scene I and parallels Lady Macbeth with the three witches. Just like witches, she wants to control people's lives, especially the life of Macbeth. She works her way through by repeatedly belittling and emasculating him. Lady Macbeth is sly, selfish, and manipulative because she finds an approach to change Macbeth's decision about the regicide by using emotive arguments to refute his logic. At first, Macbeth remains thoughtful: "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition." In contrast, Lady Macbeth is completely guided by her desire to gain self-profit. When she sees that Macbeth is close to rejecting the idea of regicide, she decides to play on his pathos. She applies hyperbole to display her bravery by saying that she is capable of "pluck[ing] nipple from [baby's] boneless gums and dash[ing] [its] brains out." She purposely uses this

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Explore the impact of the witches in Act One Scenes One and Three

Kelly Nicholas Explore the impact of the witches in Act One Scenes One and Three The aim of this essay is to explore what impact the witches had in Act I, scenes I and III. This will be achieved by analysing the setting and atmosphere, considering the language used by the witches, the audience and the main events which occur. One of the most important things that Shakespeare had to think about when writing his plays where his audience. We can see that he has chosen specific words and phrases to impress, shock, frighten and keep their attention. It must be realised, that the majority of people watching his plays, were not very wealthy, and had to stand up during them. This meant Shakespeare had to keep their attention through the whole of the play. The audience during Elizabethan time were much more rowdy and more active then the audience in modern day theatres. If they were not impressed or satisfied they would heckle or throw things such as vegetables at the characters and also 'boo'. Macbeth was based very much on what was happening around the time which Shakespeare wrote it. Such things as, witches, had a major impact upon this play. Throughout Shakespeare's life, witches and witchcraft was the object of morbid and fevered fascination. Another reason Shakespeare used witches in this play are because he was aware King James I would be seeing it and knew it would

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How does Shakespeare characterize the witches?

Macbeth By William Shakespeare The Witches The fantastical and grotesque witches are among the most memorable figures in the play. * How does Shakespeare characterize the witches? * What is their thematic significance? How does Shakespeare characterize the witches? In the play Macbeth, the witches have been characterised intimately. Shakespeare has portrayed them as evil hags that are possessed by the devil. The belief that witches are part of reality was widespread. The book, Daemonologie (published 1599), written by James I, shows that James firmly believed in the power of witchcraft and the harm that it could produce. The witches in Macbeth are the antithesis of God's divine commands. They appear in bad weather, talk in riddles and their appearance is somewhat inhuman. They have no respect for anyone and, as their actions imply, they do their foretelling for their own good, not for others. The witches could have originated from three possible phenomena: the Three Fates or Norns, devils, or sorcerers. Historically the Three Fates have the omnipotent power of controlling all things. The old English word 'Wyrd' was a noun meaning 'Fate', forming the connection between the Three Fates and Macbeth's 'We?rd Sisters' (act 1, scene 3). However, his 'We?rd Sisters' have the traditional accessories and attitudes of normal witches, like possessing familiars, and, unlike

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How does Shakespeare present Macbeth in a way that allows us to feel sympathy for him?

How does Shakespeare present Macbeth in a way that allows us to feel sympathy for him? At the beginning of the play our first impressions are that Macbeth is a hero, he is brave and fearless. However, we also get an impression that he is ruthless as he has just been in a battle with "The Merciless Mcdonwald". When Macbeth is in the battle we find out that the original Thane of Cawdor was a traitor and was executed. When the King hears of Macbeth's bravery he does not hesitate to make him Thane of Cawdor, which may seem ironic in retrospect. In Act 1 Scene 2 a Sergeant says "For brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name-" As well as showing his bravery and his fearless side it says; "Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps" This reveals Macbeth's brutality and a totally different side that has already been conveyed. However, in Act 5 scene 7, Malcolm refers to "Of this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen" This shows that the description of Macbeth has dramatically changed from being a respected hero to a detested "butcher". However it is Malcolms perspective which is only an opinion from the outside, which he has every reason to believe that Macbeth is a butcher as he has killed Malcolms family. However, we have a different opinion to Malcolm because we have a different view about Macbeth as we have an insight into what he is thinking through his soliloquies.

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Is Macbeth a Hero or a Butcher?

Is Macbeth a Hero or a Butcher? 'Macbeth', one of Shakespeare's shortest plays though often described as his best, was written in 1606 for the newly crowned King James I of England and VI of Scotland. It tells of a Scottish warrior named Macbeth who killed the King and eventually met his own gruesome end. But is Macbeth really the tragic hero he is made out to be? Does he really deserve to be glorified as a worthy and noble warrior? No. Macbeth was a brutal butcher who slaughtered his own people mercilessly and ruled his country tyrannically. First, let me clarify the definitions of the words 'hero' and 'butcher' which I will be using. A 'hero' is a man who is greatly admired for his exceptional qualities and achievements. A special kind of hero was the 'tragic hero'. The criteria for a 'tragic hero' were set by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle and can be summed up briefly as a great man high up in society, with a fatal flaw which would eventually lead to his downfall - a man whom the audience will feel sympathy for when he falls. A 'butcher', in this context, is someone who kills people cruelly without feeling guilt or remorse - something which Macbeth is a clear example of. Macbeth's actions at the start of the play are already depicted as barbaric. When the Captain describes the battle between Macbeth and the rebel Macdonwald, he claims that Macbeth split

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