This quotation tells one that even the King, Duncan, considers Macbeth to be brave.
Macbeth also kills Macdonwald and the Thane of Cawdor who are considered to be traitors of Scotland. He not only killed the men but the ways he committed the deeds were most gruesome.
Here is a quote that shows the way Macbeth was capable of killing someone.
“Till he unseam’d him from the nave to the chaps,”
(Act 1, Scene 2, Line 22)
This is the scene in which the sergeant had described how Macbeth had killed Macdonwald. From this we can see images of more blood pouring everywhere and Macbeth standing above the mess looking quite unaffected. This helps to show what Macbeth is capable of as well as him also having the bravery to commit such deeds.
A fatal flaw is a feature which all tragic heroes should posses. It may be a lack of knowledge about themselves or a weakness, which helps to drive the character to do what they do.
Macbeth’s fatal flaw is his ambition and he is well aware of this. One knows this from the next quotation.
“Vaulting ambition, which o’er – leaps itself
And falls on others”
(Act 1, Scene 5, Line 27 – 28)
In this quotation, Macbeth personifies his ambition in a metaphor as a leaping horse. He talk as if his ambition is a horse which is bound to fall down as it tries to jump to high. It also tells us that he is well aware of where his ambition could lead him, yet he still goes ahead with his plans with this knowledge in his mind.
Macbeth writes a letter to his wife. After Lady Macbeth has read the letter she talks about his ambition.
“...Thou wouldst be great,
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it:”
(Act 1, Scene 5, Line 17ff)
Here Lady Macbeth is saying how great a man Macbeth would be if he had the evil in him which is needed in order to commit some the gruesome deeds he would need to do. 0He does have the ambition needed though. She encourages him to commit the deeds he does through out the play and, at the beginning of the play, appears to be the stronger, more dominating person out of the two.
She shows her strength in the following quotation.
“That tend on mortal thoughts! Unsex me here,”
(Act 1, Scene 5, Line 40)
In this quotation she is saying she would give up all her womanly assets in order to be manlier. This is a very disturbing image of a woman having all her womanly parts removed, physically and emotionally. She would have this done in order to be able to gain power like a man would and to help him because she loves him.
The witches also have an influence in encouraging Macbeth’s ambition.
“All hail, Macbeth! that shall be King hereafter.”
Macbeth is aware that what the witches had said were predictions for what was going to occur. From this Macbeth is reassured about his decisions now that he knows he will become King. This helps to give him the confidence he needs to continue his quest for the throne.
The witches and Lady Macbeth use this knowledge of Macbeth’s fatal flaw and they use his ambition to encourage him to reach for the throne.
The witches prophecies are Macbeth’s lack of knowledge or even ignorance on his part. Another weakness of Macbeth’s that he trusts far too many people. One can see that from this trust in the witches and of his wife.
From Act 1 Scene 2, in the sergeant’s speech, one has already got an image of a man who is extremely violent. Macbeth continues his violence and in turn causes a lot of suffering to a lot of people.
One can see how he causes suffering to Duncan from the following quotation.
“Hear it not Duncan for it is the knell”
(Act 2, Scene 1, Line 63)
This is said by Macbeth before he goes to murder Duncan. Macbeth talks about the knell, which is a funeral bell. This quotation is quite morbid and one can have a vision of Duncan’s funeral. Duncan suffers from his own death.
In relation to Duncan’s death, his sons, Donalbain and Malcolm, suffer too.
“There’s daggers in men’s smiles: the near in blood,
The nearer bloody.”
(Act 2, Scene 3, Line 141 - 142)
In this quotation Malcolm and Donalbain discuss how the closer in blood they are to Duncan the more danger they are in. They do this in the form of a metaphor. They are also saying that no one has any idea who killed Duncan and it could be anyone.
Not only are Malcolm and Donalbain grieving for their father, they are also in fear of their lives. By their hasty retreat, others are left thinking that Malcolm and Donalbain are the possible assassins of the Duncan.
Banquo also suffers at the hands of Macbeth.
“O, treachery! Fly good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!
Thou mayst revenge. O slave.”
(Act 3, Scene 4, Line 17 – 18)
Macbeth has three murderers set free to kill Banquo and Fleance. This does not work as Fleance escapes from the murderers. Shakespeare has used repetition here to emphasise Fleances escape. From Fleance’s escape, Macbeth should have known that already he is unable to fight the witch’s prophecies
Macbeth wants them killed because the witches had told him earlier that Macbeth would never have any children and so he would not have successor to the throne. Instead, Fleance would gain the throne. In order to try to prevent this from occurring, Macbeth plans to have them both killed.
Macbeth has now killed one of his close's friends in order to keep the throne. This shows he has already started to commit great travesties to stay as King.
As a repercussion of Banquo’s death, Fleance suffers having seen his father die and seen a threat on his own life.
Macbeth then goes on to cause suffering to Macduff’s family.
“He has killed me, mother:
Run away I pray you!”
(Act 4, Scene 3, Line 84 – 85)
This is said by Macduff’s son before he dies. Macduff’s family is killed because Macbeth thinks that Macduff has grown too suspicious of him. The Macduffs are introduced into the play prior to their deaths so we feel more pathos for them when they are killed. This then reflects badly on Macbeth, making him seem as if he has got out of control and gone on a murder spree. One could see him as someone who has murdered an innocent family.
At the death of Macduff’s wife and son, Maduff suffers too.
“What, all my pretty chickens and their dam
At one fell swoop?”
(Act 4, Scene 3, Line 218 – 219)
Macduff receives the news of his massacred family from Ross and though he now grieves, he has also become more determined to rid Scotland of Macbeth.
Macbeth has also causes suffering to Scotland.
“Bleed, bleed, poor country!
Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure,
For goodness dare not check thee! wear thou thy
wrongs;”
(Act 4, Scene 3, Line 32 – 34)
Macbeth is not only causing suffering to different individuals, but he is also causing suffering to Scotland by being a terrible King.
From this quotation we get an image of country suffering terribly due to a poor King. It can also make one consider Macbeth as a King who does not make the right decisions for his country. The first line of the quote above is written in a slight hyperbole, emphasising the country's distress.
Later on in the play, Macbeth’s own men say they only follow him because he is King but if he was not they would not listen to him.
It is King Edward, also known as Edward ’the healer’, who rids Scotland of Macbeth. This is rather fitting as he was considered to have the power of healing and he has healed Scotland by riding it of Macbeth.
Almost no one is pleased by Macbeth’s reign. It has become such a situation that Macduff has gone to search for Malcolm, who was chosen to be the successor of the throne by Duncan.
Macbeth also causes suffering to his wife.
“The queen my lord is dead”
(Act 5, Scene 5, Line 16)
At first Lady Macbeth appears to the stronger more dominating character out of Macbeth and herself, but later on her strength seems to crumble and Macbeth become the stronger one out of the two. When Macbeth receives the news of his dead wife he is quite calm and does not grieve because he feels life is meaningless. Macbeth has contributed to Lady Macbeth’s madness by excluding her from his plans. When he had planned to kill Macduff and Banquo, he did not involve Lady Macbeth. Due to her exclusion, Lady Macbeth could no longer share her guilt with Macbeth. Later, she slowly goes mad and dies in act 5.
Though Macbeth has caused a lot of suffering to others, as a repercussion, he himself suffers.
“She would have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word”
(Act 5, Scene 5, Line 17 – 18)
This is said by Macbeth after he receives the news of his deceased wife. By all his murdering, manipulating and lying to people, he has detached himself from most human feelings.
Towards the end of the play, Macbeth is reminded of a few of the feelings he had forgotten.
“I have almost forgot the taste of fears.
The time has been my senses would have cool’d”
(Act 5, Scene 5, Line 9 – 10)
In this quotation Macbeth acknowledges that he has frozen out his feelings.
After the initial murder of Duncan, each time Macbeth would kill again, he would find it easier. He then began to take people’s lives quickly without much thought to the consequences. An example of his attempt to keep suspicions at bay is Macduff’s tribulations caused by Macbeth. Macbeth feared Macduff discovering his murderous sins so as an attempt to have Macduff silenced, he has Macduff’s son and wife killed.
Though Macbeth considers killing people his solution to his problems, every time he has murdered, it has only made the situation even worse.
An example of murder deteriorating the situation is the death of Maduff’s family. Instead of Macduff becoming silenced, he is given an even greater reason to want the fall of Macbeth.
One quality that is blatantly strong through out the play is Macbeth’s bravery.
“At least we’ll die with harness on our back.”
(Act 5, Scene 6, line 52)
Macbeth says this before he goes in to battle with Malcolm. From this one can see that Macbeth’s bravery is one feature he has manage to keep through out the play.
At the end, Macbeth’s senses are restored and he is given back his humanity, but though this has happened he still can not be forgiven for his sins.
Everyone is in control of his or her own destiny and one can not always blame others for the circumstances that arise. In the end we have control over our own fates yet Macbeth leaves his fate in the hands of the witches.
Macbeth causes an excessive amount of pain and anguish through out the play to many characters. The manner in which he killed was also extremely cold and detached.
Several times he also manipulated the situation to suit him. An example of this is when he twisted thing so that three murderers would set out to kill Banquo.
Macbeth shows a slight unhinging in the following quotation.
“Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle towards my hand? Come let me clutch thee:
I have thee not. And yet I see thee still.”
(Act 2, Scene 1, Line 33ff)
This quotation is said by Macbeth prior to his attack on Duncan. In the form of an allegory he is imagining a dagger in front of him which represents his conscious’ attempt to make him feel guilt as well as prevent him from continuing with his traitorous plan.
The quote also goes along with the theme of appearances being deceptive, which runs through the play.
Even though Macbeth had killed, betrayed, and lied, one still feels a sense of loss at his death. One can see the potential Macbeth had to be a great man. Yet his ambition over rode his other senses leading him to hunger for the throne. Had he not tried to reach so far above himself, he may have been a well-respected man and he may have even been given the throne.
Though one knows Macbeth should pay for his sins, one still hopes he does not die. There is a catharsis of emotion over his death. One feels pathos for Macbeth because the witches have tricked him in to his situation. One also fears the picture of the world the witches have painted. It is of one where no one has any control over his or her own destiny. One feels he has paid the price for murdering his fellow men and one feels justice when he dies. Yet one does not blame the catastrophic situation only on Macbeth. One must look at all the other factors involved in Macbeth’s plans. The witches and Lady Macbeth are partly to blame as well.
Macbeth does fit the structure of a traditional tragic hero as he possesses all the features required in order to be categorised a ‘tragic hero’.
One of the main reasons why ‘Macbeth’ still attracts many people from all kinds of varying backgrounds is due to it relevance. Even though this play was written over four hundred years ago it still has a basic structure that is still used in many books and movies today to attract large crowds.
Nakita Bhamra English 10sk Ms Saville Macbeth Essay
