William Shakespeare, a globally renowned playwright who is known for over thirty plays, wrote everything under the sun: from comedic and romantic to historic and dramatic. Shakespeare was particularly skilled at writing tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, and most notably Macbeth, to name a few. Macbeth focuses on the character Macbeth and his rise to the Scottish throne in a blood-thirsty, heinous fashion; the death count rises to double digits, an astounding ten people—Macbeth included. While not all of these deaths were at the hands of the Scot, an overwhelming amount was (over five!) causing great debate over who is to blame and whether or not the death toll was of Macbeth’s free will. For many critics, blaming others for Macbeth’s wrongdoings …show more content…
Macbeth makes clear and conniving decisions to claw his way to the top and stay there. Throughout the tragedy, Macbeth demonstrates critical thinking and awareness proving his actions were within his own will. A clear point of contention in the free will debate lies with Macbeth’s state of mind where many see him as crazed or demented prior to and after the murders; if that was the case, Macbeth could more than likely plead not guilty on the basis of insanity and would thus be absolved of all wrongdoings. One key scene people bring up when proving this case has been dubbed “the Dagger speech”. In this scene, Macbeth questions the reality of the world around him and even sees a dagger in front of him that is not truly there. And, although this may seem like damning evidence that he is not mentally stable, parts of this scene showcase the …show more content…
The Weïrd Sisters are the keepers of Fate and as such play a large role in Macbeth’s rise to power; it was the Weïrd Sisters who told Macbeth of the original prophecy beginning Macbeth’s yearning for power. On Macbeth’s second visit to the Witches hoping to learn more about his future, they give him a warning about his downfall, “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until/Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill/Shall come against him.” (4.1.105-108). Due to the wording, Macbeth believes that an entire tree must be brought to the castle, and feels confident that he will never be vanquished, “That will never be.” (4.1.109). Afterward, Macbeth considers himself untouchable and his ego grows massive—in his mind no one can stop him! Immediately following this scene, Macbeth decides to kill again out of pure spite; knowing that he is unstoppable, he easily gets his killing goons to do his bidding. His target, the Macduff family, were casualties as a result of his ego, he had nothing to gain politically from killing them. His actions, no doubt, resulted from him realizing his invincibility which emboldened him to kill even more. Someone who is deranged or insane would kill on impulse just to kill on impulse, they wouldn’t take their time to double-check that there will be no repercussions
Throughout the book Shakespeare depicts Macbeth's sanity as deteriorating after he commits the heinous crime of plotting a usurpation. This can be seen through the quote ‘’ Is this a dagger?’’ This shows Macbeth's mind slowly declining with guilt and paranoia from coveting from the throne. It also foreshadows Macbeth’s resultant downfall. The readers are positioned to question the sanity of Macbeth and his mental status.
Walter J. Bennett Mrs. Speight English 10 2nd Honors 28 April 2023 Decision Making In William Shakespeare’s play, “Macbeth”, Macbeth’s decision making is challenged various times throughout the story. Macbeth’s thinking is so impacted by his surroundings that it really showcases the central idea of the text. Macbeth’s ambition to be king and the fear of the choices it takes to become king, lead Macbeth down a path of negative acts. Ariely’s TED talk helps understand the human mind on how people really are not in control of their decisions.
Throughout the play, Macbeth struggles immensely to procure Scotland's throne, and these efforts tore him apart and created internal conflict. Ultimately, these internal struggles led to Macbeth’s downfall and death. Macbeth’s hardships are revealed during his hallucination of the dagger,
Then he begins to hallucinate the dagger being in the room which drives his mind to a deeper state of anguish. Macbeth mind played games on him so much he committed treason then proceeded to turn on himself and feel regret and guilt towards his past actions.
Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff! Beware the Thane of Fife!“) At this point Macbeth has gone to the weird sisters the second time, he demands more prophecies because he wants to feel more secure in his position. He asks who he should watch out for because he is trusting people less and suspecting them
Each death in the play affects Macbeth, but the death of the king is the most problematic causing his endless loss of mental sanity. Meanwhile, the deaths of Banquo and Macduff’s family were indicative of the severity of Macbeth's lust for power (Becker). In Seth Clark’s essay, “Confusion Now Hath Made His Masterpiece”: (Re)Considering The Maddening Of Macbeth,” he states, “Arguably Macbeth’s problem at this point is his inability to stop killing.” Macbeth is unable to stop killing even though he does not a reason to kill. The killings represent his eagerness to kill in order to keep the crown.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare writes about a man named Macbeth, who has a very strong ambition to be the the king of Scotland. His credulousness led him into believing the prophecy from the three witches without thinking rigorously. Because of this prophecy, Macbeth is willing to do everything he can to gain the throne, even to the extreme of murdering someone. Shakespeare uses syntax, similes, and personification to convey the evolution of Macbeth’s insanity.
Macbeth, by Shakespeare, is a story of a great warrior named Macbeth who was told by three witches that he would become king. This prediction makes him think it is justified to kill the current king and once he is king he believes that he is invincible. In Macbeth, many symbols are used such as a dagger that isn’t there, hallucinations of blood, and ghosts to show the overwhelming guilt that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have over the murders to highlight the theme that guilt can drive people to insanity when kept in secret. First of all, Macbeth is alone and has decided that he is going to kill King Duncan. All of a sudden he sees a dagger but can’t feel it and says, “I have thee not, and yet I see thee still” (Shakespeare 2.1.35).
At the beginning of the suspenseful play, Macbeth is consumed by his thirst for power and his lust to become the ruler. His heavy ambition persuades him to commit many acts of murder, starting with murdering King Duncan. Macbeth’s want for power guides him to be a continuous murderer, finally resulting in the horrible deaths of a great number of characters. A specific piece of evidence that points to Macbeth’s accountability
Macbeth, Macbeth begins his soliloquy. The soliloquy consisted mainly of a floating dagger. This floating dagger resembles how Macbeth is about to murder king duncan. Macbeth's guilt is making him hallucinate considering that King Duncan was a wonderful man and he is contemplating ending his life that very night. This soliloquy shows that even though Macbeth had a lot of guilt it was unfortunate too little to overpower his ambition for power as he kills Duncan in the following scene.
The voices he hears that threaten: “Macbeth shall sleep no more” indicate a relationship between guilt and madness. Therefore, the manifestation of the dagger suggests that he feels guilty because of his attempt to murder Duncan. There are three major transitions of thought. First, he contemplates about the dagger’s existence; the second is the invocations of dark images; finally, there is the bell that cuts off Macbeth’s contemplations. The transitions between topics indicate that while Macbeth feels guilty for the murder, his determination makes him ignore
Macbeths guilty conscience makes him unable to play the ‘true’ role of a villain of the play. Macbeth begins to see ‘false creations’ before murdering Duncan; the image of a floating dagger taunts Macbeth’s senses. Macbeth is devoured in his anxiety he starts to hallucinate the crime before going through with it. Macbeth is unable to dispose thoughts of his guilt and doubt, which prevents him from being stuck at the point where it is too late to turn back, yet the fear of his nature prevents him from turning completely into a ruthless coldblooded
Macbeth, ultimately, is responsible for his crimes. Shakespeare’s idea of free will associated with fate and destiny is a common theme. Notably, before assessing Macbeth’s responsibility for his crimes, there must be validation as to if Macbeth has free will or a way to change his fate. One example is the choice of actions between Macbeth and Banquo.
Like many Shakespearian texts, Macbeth is another victim of fate. It is his determination for Free will that is profound within the text on a thematic level. As the protagonist, we can see this through the language in which shakespeare employs. Russ McDonald (2003) disscuses how the “language is more sinister” through the course of the play. The tool of employing demonic forces to create means of error and deception, allowed Shakespeare to generate disgust, sympathy and vulnerability from his audience (McDonald, 2003).
Although Macbeth has reason not to trust the weird sisters as they “look not like th' inhabitants o' th' Earth”, he is so “rapt” by the idea of what he hears from them that he does in fact trust them and he does so because of his desire for what is