Preview

Macbeth essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
527 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Macbeth essay
Macbeth Essay

Some people can be influenced by others and can eventually lead them to a downfall. In this case, Macbeth was led to a tragic downfall by the role of supernatural. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth seemed to be a very loyal and honourable person. The witches prophecies, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth's ambitions all influenced Macbeth in several different ways, but, in the end, he is still responsible for his own destiny.

Firstly, the witches were the one's responsible for putting the idea that Macbeth would become king of Scotland in his head. The three witches say, "All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter." Macbeth's curiosity of how he could become king comes into play. As the play progresses, Macbeth slowly starts to rely more on the witches prophecies. The witches are clearly evil and deceiving and eventually lead to corruption of Macbeth. Macbeth creates his own misery when he is driven by his own guilt, which causes him to become more and more insecure about his actions. He would have never seriously thought about killing king Duncan without the witches influence. The witches never really had the power to affect the future of the play.

Secondly, Lady Macbeth, an ambitious woman, easily manipulated Macbeth. She manipulates his self-esteem by playing with his manliness and bravery. When Macbeth is hesitant on killing king Duncan, she scorns him, "But screw your courage to the stretching place, And we'll not fail." Lady Macbeth had success with altering his ambition. She wants her husband to become a more powerful man and help gain the throne. Macbeth loves his wife and will do anything to make her happy, so, he kills king Duncan. He starts to feel the guilt arise and wishes he could just awake him from his sleep, but it is undoable. Lady Macbeth brings out Macbeth's true side of evil and after the first murder, he will continue murdering to cover up his wrong doings. This is the main cause that increased Macbeth's ambition.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Witches through their prophecies led to Macbeth committing murder of Macduff’s family and Banquo’s murder. The Witches caused nothing but trouble for Macbeth, his belief in them was so high it led to him becoming insecure. They told Macbeth only part of what they could see. The main prophecies that led Macbeth to his greed and corruption was, ‘’beware Macduff thane of fife.’’ Al he wanted was to be king due to his wife’s ambition, and her basically saying if you don’t stand up and kill Duncan you’re not man enough. ‘’No man born a woman can harm Macbeth.’’ Led to Macbeth thinking he was invincible, ‘’Macbeth you have nothing to fear until birnam wood comes to Dusinane Castle.’’ Thinking he was safe, when he really wasn’t. The Witches and their prophecies were one of the main causes of the tragic events during the play of Macbeth.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “It is neither the wickedness of the witches nor the urging of Lady Macbeth that finally ruins Macbeth. His basic weakness leads him astray.”…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The tragedy Macbeth written by Shakespeare shows a man fall from the greatest pedestal, kingship. It is one of the greatest tragedies because it demonstrates how a once loyal and courageous man can diminish into an immoral 'butcher'. Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches' stating that he would become King. This prophecy enkindled Macbeth's 'vaulting ambition' and after the prompting of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth commits regicide. Killing the King is the beginning of Macbeth's tragic fall. After Macbeth rises to kingship he begins to behave like a tyrant because he becomes obsessed with his elevated position. He becomes paranoid about Banquo's prophecy so he kills Banquo and tries to kill his son. He commits evil after evil, killing anyone who threatens his reign. Macbeth's monstrous behaviour ends with his death and the restoration of Duncan's royal line. In Macbeth there are many tragic events that are caused because of the involvement of the witches, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. These tragic events led to the demise of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.…

    • 1350 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages

    ESSAY TOPIC: By the end of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are described as “a dead butch and his fiend like queen” Is this a fair appraisal of the characters?…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macbeths Downfall

    • 1691 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In the beginning of the play Macbeth, Macbeth is a successful and noble Thane of Glamis. The witches tell Macbeth prophecies that guide him to his downfall, but in the end it was his own selfish decisions that caused his demise. The other person that is blamed for Macbeth’s destruction was his wife Lady Macbeth because she was able to manipulate and control his self-esteem by playing with his courage and bravery. However, Macbeth was only guided by his wife; he chose to play out his own outcome. Overall, Macbeth’s own ambitions, greed and self control were the main problems that caused his downfall. In the play these factors have some influence on Macbeth; however he is still responsible for his own destiny. The influences of the witches prophecies, and Lady Macbeths desires play a small part towards Macbeth’s demise; it is Macbeth’s selfish ambitions that are the main reasons which lead to his downfall and destruction.…

    • 1691 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Ambition Essay

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages

    To begin, Lady Macbeth is a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power. She is the one who initially spurs her husband into killing Duncan. As soon as she learns about the witches prophecies and spies the opportunity for her husband to become king, she instantly thinks of a plan to accelerate the process. Her longing for power and convincing manner encourages him as to act without any reflection, and to murder. There’s a quote that defines very well how Lady Macbeth was affected by ambition: Niccolo Machiavelli states “He who blinded by ambition, raises himself to a position whence he cannot mount higher, must thereafter fall with the greatest loss”. Lady Macbeth, who was blinded by the envy of gaining wealth, in the end committed suicide because of the conscience she had developed. She had realized how tough it is to wash or soak out nasty bloodstains. Even though her husband didn’t get to the point of hurting himself as he died in a battle against others, he too deeply regretted his actions. One of the main reasons why he felt powerful enough to do such a thing has a lot to do with the knowledge he thought he had thanks to the witches.…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Macbeth was a tragic hero who made a Faustian pact with the devil due to his pride and ambition which led to his destruction.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “If you do not create change, change will create you”. In other words, if you do not change willingly, change will ultimately modify who you are. The change can be exceptionally superb or awfully terrible. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the character Macbeth drastically changes. As the play goes on, Macbeth transforms from being a loyal warrior to a traitorous murderer, a loved thane to a hated king, and a weak husband to a fearless killer.…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth, there are constant battles throughout the plot that can be identified with the main conflict. These battles surround our protagonist Macbeth as his life turns upside-down in disorder. These battles started when he chose to act quickly on the prophecy that he would become king. After the gruesome murder of King Duncan, his destiny then lied with the choices he made then after. Little did he know that his actions would lead him, and the world around him to madness as the very balance of the universe was disordered. The Chain of Being was constantly being challenged resulting in chaos because of Macbeth’s lust for superior power as well as the struggle to restore balance back to the universe.…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The choices we make every day are what shape who we are as human beings. To ask how many choices are made in a day is preposterous to ask because everything we do in life is a choice. The fact that I am writing this essay is a choice, what I eat today and how I chose to life my life are choices. Some of those choices can seem as insignificant as what we chose to wear to school, but what we learn is that no choice is insignificant. Others could be the difference between life and death. In his book “Choices” Dr. Shad Helmstetter stated “No one else can ever make your choices for you. Your choices are yours alone. They are as much a part of you as every breath you will take, every moment of your life.” This reinforces the idea that the choices we make yesterday are responsible for who we are today. It widely believed that we are in influenced by the people we associate with, this is the same with choices. Our choices are influenced by the people we associate with and events that have occurred earlier in our lives. Our choices not only affect our own lives, but the lives of the people around us, these effects can be positive or negative. Before we do something we need to stop and think about the impact that choice will have on not only ourselves, but also rest of the world. The problem is not everybody “stops and thinks”. That one seemingly unimportant problem is the cause of nearly every form of evil in our world and causes the many hardships we as humans endure. A piece of literature that relates to choices and their consequences is the play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare. Whether it is Macbeth and Lady Macbeth orchestrating the murder of Duncan or Macduff refusing to attend Macbeth’s banquet, we see how the choices we make will hold an effect on us, even if it may not seem like it. In this essay I will explore the choices which lead to the character Macbeth’s downfall. In “Macbeth” William Shakespeare illustrates that the…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the beginning it started with Macbeth being given the title of 'Thane of Cawdor ' in Act 1 scene 2…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The witches did not directly advise Macbeth to kill Duncan, instead they used a very subtle form of temptation when they mentioned that he was going to be king. The witches could make predictions, but they could not control destiny. Although the witches prophecy was one that was not clear and did not have a true meaning, Macbeth did not question it, he interpreted it the way he wanted to. Without the witches prophecy, the idea of becoming king would have never occurred to him. Although initially, Macbeth did not believe what he was told, once he was granted the title Thane Of Cawdor, he began to consider that what the witches said, could very likely come true. His desire for this power arose and his ambition started to take control. It was this moment that started his transformation from hero, to tragic hero.…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Evil. Immoral. Devious. However way one says it, they all mean the same. People associate these words with dark, sinister feelings that most try to avoid. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth may be considered evil or immoral solely on the basis of her actions alone. The full presentation of Lady Macbeth in the play makes the audience react more sympathetically then they otherwise might.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The witches and his own wife, Lady Macbeth, take advantage of Macbeth. The witches use Macbeth’s courageous qualities to eventually hurt him, which all begins with the murder of King Duncan. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’ other”(41). Although Macbeth is not necessarily determined to kill anyone, he does. His ambition is taken advantage of to gain more power. This is tragic because it shouldn’t be like this, but it is. Lady Macbeth and the witches take his authority and power and make the worst out of him. “Why did you bring these daggers from the…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hurt people hurt people. This is what induces a cycle of revenge and somehow our species rejoices at the thought of “a tit for a tat”; finds happiness it even. Incidentally, Shakespeare’s play Macbeth focuses on characters thirst for vengeance. Some today may say its justice, but justice has a way of being twisted and induces to fit the needs of the moment and therefore better suit the definition of revenge. People have an innate need to seek revenge.…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays