Preview

Johan Lehrer's Macbeth: Self-Control

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
510 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Johan Lehrer's Macbeth: Self-Control
Lady Macbeth
How many problems can you think of that could have been easily avoided if you had applied self-control? In Johan Lehrer’s newspaper article “Don’t! The Secret of Self-Control” kids are experimented on how they cope with their struggle to resist a treat. If the kids wrestled the temptation, they received double the marshmallows, however, if they forfeited, they only get one. Similarly, Lady Macbeth was ambitious about becoming queen, the marshmallow of Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, if she controlled herself, she got the throne, otherwise she suffered.
Lady Macbeth has a supernatural strength that she shows in the beginning of the play: her meticulous planning on the killing of Duncan. In Lehrer’s article, the kids are ambitious

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Lady Macbeth’s ambition and ruthlessness is evident when she asks for the spirits to “unsex [her]” so her “manliness” will give her strength to be cruel and perform murder of Duncan without remorse and compassion. Her strength of purpose is in contrast to Macbeth’s “nature” as he is “is too full ‘o the milk of human kindness”1.4 p45” to commit murder. This is confirmed later by Macbeth’s admission that his only motive for the murder of Duncan is his…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    William Shakespeare ‘permeates almost all aspects of our society,’ and speaks ‘to us through his plays’ by commenting ‘on his life and culture as well as our own’ (Sir George Williams University, 2000). This is no different in his acclaimed play Macbeth, which tells the story of nobleman Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth who plot and murder the king of Scotland in order to obtain the throne, exposing “human nature, ambition, evil, gender, human relationships, kingship,” (Sir George Williams University, 2000) and supernatural forces. The play explores the ideologies and cultural assumptions of witchcraft, gender roles, the great chain of being, divine…

    • 2044 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare’s witches, or the “three weird sisters” (1.3.32) serve several purposes. With their persuasive techniques and ability to either see or influence the future, their most important role seems to be their power to influence decision-making and cause the initial deterioration of Macbeth. By providing five prophecies, the witches “provide Macbeth’s ‘call to action’ and drive his thirst for power”, (Jamieson). However, by not telling Macbeth the full truth, they give him false hope, and expectations that ultimately lead to his demise. The witches influence him so greatly, that without their presence, it is possible that Macbeth would never have even committed the murder of King Duncan.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This essay will attempt to explore what the play ‘Macbeth’ suggests about the states of minds of both the titular character Macbeth, and his scheming wife Lady Macbeth, using extracts from Act 1, Scene 7. I will also examine how the language used emphasises the key themes and ideas within the play. The characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are revealed and developed through their dialogues with use of soliloquies and asides, helping to reveal their personalities, states of mind, emotions and motivation. Much figurative language and imagery is used by Shakespeare to emphasise the themes within the play, creating atmosphere and mood in order to achieve dramatic outcome (109). Initially eager to have the deed done, he would have it done sooner rather than later and hope for the murder to be the finish of it all:…

    • 1495 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is crystal clear that Lady Macbeth was influential in Macbeth’s horrendous act of killing the King. She feared that Macbeth was “full of th’ milk of human kindness”. Knowing her husband is ambitious but lacking ruthlessness, she had begged the spirits to “unsex her here and fill her from the crown to the toe with direst cruelty” so she wouldn’t feel guilty for the crime she was persuading her husband to commit.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All through the catastrophic play of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main character, Macbeth, makes countless poor choices. The three witches’, also referred to as the three weird sisters, prophecy is the event that tipped him over the edge and into mental deterioration. From Act 1 to the very ending of act 5, Macbeth suffers through the consequences of his actions and choices which are the ultimate cause of his mental deterioration and downfall, as well as the development of psychological disorders.…

    • 1876 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tizbeth slumped down and an arrow struck the ground where she had been standing. She swore and rolled away. Syd, on her feet, created a protection bubble.…

    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Power Analysis

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Despite Macbeth seeming noble and courageous towards the court, I, as a reader, am knowledgeable of his true feelings and do not feel sympathetic towards him. He does not fulfill the definitions of a sympathetic literary character that I carry in my mind, as he is aware and in control of his evil intentions and actions. In Act I, Macbeth’s initial reaction to the prophecy is murder, and his eventual commitment to the act showcases his true character as a murderous but independent…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The idea of “loss of control” is highlighted through one of the main protagonists, Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare presents lady Macbeth as having lost control over her body and mind. Her character has completely changed from the strong leader she previously was. Lady Macbeth has been driven mad by guilt and fear and so she begins to sleepwalk. Sleep walking in the Jacobean era would’ve been deemed as a form of insanity; almost a disability. People would’ve just viewed and commented on it without treating it. This is evident when the doctor and gentlewoman say, “her eyes are open but her sense is shut”. In her sleep, she’s trying to wash away a spot of blood which is a metaphor for the guilt she has for Duncan’s murder. Her language especially reflects…

    • 176 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Theme Of Power In Macbeth

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Macbeth, a dark and gruesome tragic play written by William Shakespeare primarily discusses the concept of greed for more authority. Emasculation and the Great Chain of Being are some core components of this play that are discussed through gothic poetry. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the main characters in the play. Through Macbeth’s catalyst, his wife, he found the strength to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth was his agent in many of the scenes in the play. Their compatible pairing lead to many “successes”, but also to their own deaths. Shakespeare brilliantly uses garment metaphors throughout the play as well as the innocent flower and crafty serpent motif to express Macbeth’s mindset and tragedy.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Macbeth’s Rites of Violence” by Derek Cohen, which analyzes the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Cohen analyzes and critiques Macbeth’s motivations and reasoning behind his countless acts of murder. He breaks down the omnipresence of violence in the play, how the “primal energies” of the characters “give it momentum and direction” (Cohen). His analysis provides an in-depth look into the significance of each act of violence, and what it means to the theme of the play as a whole. Cohen’s analysis of this classic tragedy argues that Macbeth is primarily centralized around the idea of violence, and is driven by the murderous acts Macbeth commits that surround the concept of blood as not just a tangible object, but also a symbol for guilt.…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth was naturally an ambitious man, who constantly desired more. However, he was greatly influenced by his wife Lady Macbeth, for in the beginning Macbeth’s nature was “too full o[f] the milk of human kindness”. Lady Macbeth’s provocation encouraged the evil residing in Macbeth and his ambition only increased “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on the other.” The weird sisters were aware of his overpowering determination and were able to manipulate him into believing he had the potential to gain “absolute power”. Via these strong influences and his unfathomable ambition, Macbeth went to great extents to retrieve ultimate power, essentially transforming into a tyrant within the process.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Insanity In Macbeth

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The timeless play, Macbeth, centers around themes of power, guilt, insanity, magic and revenge. The main character, Macbeth, although once brave and loyal, slowly goes insane in his attempt to achieve power. Macbeth's character, along with his wife, Lady Macbeth, go through dramatic changes; they fall into the dark abyss of their own deeds and lead themselves into hell. Each incident on this path of darkness, relates to seeing the blood of their victims. To Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, seeing blood meant the end to all rational sanity and marked their beginnings as ruthless murderers unable to work past their guilt and paranoia. I explore how blood represents a mental inability for the Macbeths to escape from their evil deeds of cold blooded…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    *“Lady Macbeth’s ambition, like that of her husband, leads her to an unnatural, paranormal realm of witchcraft, insomnia and madness. But unlike Macbeth she cannot deal with the evil she has unleashed.” Discuss*…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ambition can be described as a dangerous quality but also a desirable one because it sets our goals and helps lead us to where we want to be. Macbeth and Mark Zuckerberg are both ambitious in their own ways to achieve their goals. They both have the right mindset, motivation and lack the negativity to not do so. Both Macbeth and Mark went through a lot to reach their goals and they were both ambitious in doing so, but the real question that comes to mind is “what is the true cost of ambition”?…

    • 1661 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics