Double Trouble, and Fatal Flaws I feel that Macbeth is a tragedy of both fate and character. It is a tragedy of fate, because of the witches’ prophecy. Their words, from the very beginning, tell of a fate, but also have a double meaning that at the time isn’t realized. It is a tragedy of character, because both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth deal with a test of their character. In my opinion, the witches play a central role in the shifting of ambitions and actions, because without their prophecies, Macbeth would not have felt the necessity to murder Duncan, because he wouldn’t have felt the need to fulfill the prophecy of the witches or to become the king of Scotland. Their first prophecy stated that they would meet again "when the battle's lost and won" and when "fair is foul and foul is fair". Macbeth seems to feel that it is his fate and destiny to kill the king, yet his character won’t allow him to commit this awful deed. Macbeth realizes that his biggest flaw isn’t a lack of values, but actually a lack of drive to carry out that terrible deed. Lady Macbeth is quite the opposite of her husband. Because she swore to make the witches prophecy true, she had to denounce her feminine qualities. This just means that she cast aside all her sentimentality, and romanticism. …show more content…
The double meaning of the witches is just a smaller example of the plays ambiguity. The witches tricked Macbeth. They never said that he had to kill Duncan, Banquo and Macduff’s family to become king but Macbeth still believed he has to act on the witches' prophecy. The weird sisters seem to sort of represent the evil that is in Macbeth that does not come to the surface until the witches’ prophecy of Macbeth becoming king. The witches plant the idea, Lady Macbeth encourages it, and from there it grows wildly on its own within Macbeth as he plots the murders of Banquo, Duncan, and the Macduff family to enable his becoming
In English, I felt listless and ready to fall asleep. I glanced out the window. Once again rain was thrashing outside, and the sky was a surprising, saturated shade of dark blue. Ms. Valentine was turned, faced towards the whiteboard and began writing. We had returned to our reading of Macbeth, and despite my fondness for literature, I couldn’t be any less enthusiastic.
The Witches, who prophesied that Macbeth would be King, sparked an eternal thirst in him for royal status. Everything began to go downhill as Macbeth was riddled with greed for more and more power. Not stopping at any costs to give him more control. Macbeth was “once thought honest,” but with greed for power, his whole disposition changed into a wrathful, insecure
Therefore, Macbeth is not a tragic character because he is a patchwork of indecent qualities and flaws. Throughout the play, Macbeth does not rely on one sole flaw to destroy his well being, his idiotic ways allow him
The three witches prophesize that Macbeth is destined to become king. Although this prophecy is true, it is ironic because Macbeth’s idea of being king contradicts what really happens in the story. Macbeth most likely believed that once he kills Duncan that he would enjoy the wealth and power that comes with the throne. He believed that he would be happy. However, after he murders Duncan, Macbeth ultimately experiences the guilt of his actions.
Despite the fact that Lady Macbeth plays a large role in influencing his actions, these facts clearly show that the supernatural almost entirely controls Macbeth. It is quite apparent that the three witches are the first to even suggest that Macbeth might gain King Duncan’s throne. Without their words to Macbeth in the first act of the play, it is likely that the idea of seizing power never would have occurred to him. Before his encounter Macbeth is regarded as a hero: “But all’s too weak; For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)”
(1.3 50). When Macbeth sees the Witches for the first time they tell him he is going to become a King. Macbeth gets inspiration and ambitions of becoming the King of Scotland. After this meeting Macbeth becomes determined to reach goal and his wife forces him to murder the current King. The Witches subvert the stereotypical gender roles as they are females with power which gives them masculine characteristics.
The witches take advantage of Macbeth’s character and uses his flaws to lead to his death. Although the three weird sisters do not explicitly tell Macbeth to kill the king, they tempt him in a non direct way. By implanting this idea of ‘destiny’ into Macbeths head, the witches guide him on the path to his mental destruction. By ‘planting the seed within him,’ the witches have a major influence on Macbeth and his journey to
Throughout the play, the witches have a strong influence on many characters. MacBeth listens to their prophecies and tries to pursue ultimate power because of them. The witches are an example of supernatural beings and change in natural order of events. The witches prophecies were seen as concrete and not able to be altered, so by MacBeth trying to usurp and affect his future, he reaps the poor consequences of his actions. The witches are stronger and more powerful than MacBeth because they have all-power and the ability to forever alter the course of someone’s life.
Firstly, the witches appear unnatural as they speak with strange paradoxes, which confuses Macbeth since he call them “imperfect speakers”. Furthermore, they end their first apparition saying “Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air” as they talk about the Great Chain of Being, and say that everything natural is good and the unnatural things are bad. Moreover, Banquo think that they are unnatural “You should be women, And yet your beards forbid me to interpret That you are so”. Secondly, the hallucinations always happened when he is going to do, or that have just done something that destroyed the Great Chain of Being, the first hallucination is the dagger that he see in the air few minutes before kill the king “is this a dagger, which I see before me”, furthermore, the dagger is cover with blood, which represent the blood that is going to be in their hands all the play.
“All women are born evil.” -Jean Giraudoux. From the beginning, Eve gave Adam the apple. This marked the moment when women were destined to be evil. Eve, who craved for power, who convinced Adam to eat the apple, used her femininity to manipulate him.
When a play is referred to by many as one of the greatest tragedies of all time it 's safe to assume it’s writer had a good method for tearing their characters lives apart. In Shakespeare 's Macbeth, the playwright uses the main character’s ideas about predetermined fate to plummet him into insanity. Macbeth’s fate was not determined by outside powerful forces but by his own actions and decisions, and ultimately the tragic nature of his fate was caused by his assumption that his fate was sealed. Macbeth initially has no reason to believe in any certain path his life would take. Because of this Macbeth acts unselfishly and makes an effective hero.
Lady Macbeth found out what the witches said to Macbeth in the letter he wrote to her. They said that he would first become Thane of Cawdor, and then become king. She wants them to come true immediately, so she pushes Macbeth to her full extent just to get what she wants, to become queen. She wants him to kill the king, Duncan. “What beast was’t then, that made you break this enterprise to me?
The Tragedy of Macbeth incorporates character development to present William Shakespeare’s motive; throughout the play it allows the audience to see the message the play relays. The play is a tragedy and it specifically shows the tragedy of humans as they self destruct. There is a use of literary devices to create different aspects of each character allowing them to portray different images of themselves that wouldn’t be noticed initially. Compared to how the audience views each character in the beginning of the play, the image develops into something new as different aspects are revealed. The characters and their continuous changes become the essence of the play.
Firstly, the three Witches bring to life his deep ambitions in his heart which caused him trouble but nothing. Secondly, their foretelling is the reason of Macbeth’s death because they told him that nobody could harm him. Thirdly, sisters convinced him to be happy someday if he maintains his kingship, which is too far away from the reality. The Three Sisters contribute enormously to Macbeth’s collapse. Witches are very dangerous if you believe them, as Thomas Szasz says that “In the past, men created witches: now they create mental
Macbeth is not William Shakespeare’s most complex play, but it is still unique in its own way. Shakespeare filled this play with power and emotion. Unlike the rest of Shakespeare’s work where he explores intellectually, Macbeth is a ball of fire from its opening to its conclusion. The drama is a vivid sketch of theme, symbols, and character. Which has entertained audiences for nearly four hundred years.