Macbeth: Critical Essay. Whether we should or shouldnt sympathize for Macbeth will be the topic of my essay.

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Essay: Macbeth

Shakespearian plays always have a tragic hero in them, and his play Macbeth is no exception. After reading William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, I wondered if I should feel sorrow for the main character and tragic hero, Macbeth. Whether we should or shouldn’t sympathize for Macbeth will be the topic of my essay.

The play opens with Macbeth being hailed as a heroic soldier. Three witches then prophesize three great titles for Macbeth and soon after, two of these titles are thrust upon him. The words of the witches and the pressure from his dominant wife warp his original good intentions and cause him to kill King Duncan. Now king, his insecurities then lead on to him murdering his best friend, his supposed enemies and their innocent relatives.  Thinking he can trust the witches, he is tricked by their predictions that have double meanings and he believes that he is invincible. The true meaning of the witches’ prophecy becomes clear and both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are defeated.

In Act 1, Scene 2, we see a sergeant in the presence of King Duncan and several other nobles, who are deliberating over Macbeth. The sergeant tells the nobles:

 “For brave Macbeth –well he deserves that name

Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,

Which smoked with bloody execution” (1.2.19)

 This shows us that Macbeth is a dedicated soldier who fights to serve his king and is willing to place his life on the line to achieve this. His intentions are good at this point. This saddens me to think such a good, loyal man becomes ensnarled in the witches’ fun.

Macbeth and Banquo are reflecting on the day’s battle in Act 1, Scene 2, when they encounter the witches. The three witches greet Macbeth with the titles: Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King. Macbeth and Banquo are taken aback by these predictions and are sceptic. Macbeth is aware that he will become Thane of Glamis due to family relations but is sure he cannot become Thane of Cawdor or King as these roles are already taken. Moments after the witches vanish, Ross and Angus (two of Duncan’s attendants), appear and award Macbeth with the title of Thane of Glamis. Macbeth has an aside and ponders about the witches predictions. This is where Macbeth’s intentions start to become tainted as he says:

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“I am Thane of Cawdor:

If good, why do I yield to that suggestion

Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair

And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,

Against the use of nature? Present fears

Are less than horrible imaginings;

My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,

Shakes so my single state of man that function

Is smothered in surmise, nothing is

But what is not.” (1.3.141)

This aside states that Macbeth is thinking of killing King Duncan. This unnerves him and he is disgusted at himself for even imagining such treason. Nevertheless, he cannot shake the ...

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