As the play starts off, a loyal kingsmen, Macbeth comes back from a battle and gains recognition from the king. He was like any other citizen of Scotland, he was faithful to the king, until the prophecy was given to him. Macbeth was approached by three witches explaining that he would become king. Macbeth expresses, “If Fate wants me to be king. Fate can make me king without my stir” (I.ii.20) ). At first, he really had no intention of becoming king. He tells the witches that he will count on fate for what is to come. This is crucial because Macbeth had no reason to become king, but he later becomes ambitious. Later in Act I, Macbeth declares, “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, For in my…
After Macbeth meets the three witches that tell him of his fate he instantly begins planning how he will make these things happen rather than wait for fate to take care of it. This proves to be a poor thought process when he thinks that murdering both the thane and King is the best way to ensure these events happening. Macbeth not wanting to wait for fate to play out is an example of his overactive ambition. Macbeth’s drive is clearly identified when he states, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir.. Come what come may, Time and the hour runs through the roughest day(1.3.147-53).” Here Macbeth goes from waiting for fate to decide to resolving that it would happen one way or another in a matter of seconds. Instead of waiting for “chance to crown” him he decides that there will be no way of this not happening if he makes it happen himself. If macbeth hadn’t had such a drive of self ambition he would have waited for fate to take care of everything instead of making it happen himself. This poor ambition leads to Macbeth killing a total of 7 people. These murders cannot be considered an accidental bad decision but rather a fatal flaw in…
At the start of the play Macbeth is brave and loyal and displays many of the attributes of a great king. However after conversing with the three witches his state of mind goes on a downward spiral eventually ending in his demise. His thirst for power and wealth cause him to act foolishly and with haste rather than waiting to see if the witches’ predictions come true. It is clear from Macbeths reaction to King Duncan telling Malcom that he will be Prince of Cumberland that Macbeths desires have already started to take a toll on his mind ‘That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, For in my way it lies.’ (I. IV. 48). This clearly shows that ambition is taking away Macbeths rational thoughts and he is choosing to act without thought towards the consequences and is only focused on his goal of becoming…
Watch as Macbeth drives himself insane trying to claim the throne. He hears that the Thane of Cawdor died and he could become king. The Thane of Glamis develops an ambition to be king and kills Duncan, who is already the king. Killing Duncan drives Macbeth insane, and eventually, he loses all feelings towards life or death and goes numb. Since Macbeth’s ambition is to become king he is willing to do anything, but because of this, he begins to go psychotic by the end of the play.…
Although he often would suffer from guilt, when he had to make a decision about ending a character's life, Macbeth did not consult his morals that he once had. Once Macbeth was in a power, it seemed that he no longer need Lady Macbeth to make careless decisions. As Macbeth's independence grew, so did his ambition. His coming into power corrupted him in the way that he turned from an invincible warrior that wanted to serve and protect Scotland, to an ambitious murder that desired power. Macbeth clarifies his actions by stating that he is doing it “For mine own good” (III.iv. 135-138). Ambition did not just mold Macbeth into a selfish ruler, but a relentless murder that did not consider the outcome that his choice would…
Macbeth’s Ambition Political ambition undermines man’s loyalty. In the play, Macbeth decides to kill his king because of his ambition for position. At the beginning of the play, he portrays himself as a noble person. He fights in the battle against Norway and proves his loyalty; however, as soon as the witches prophesize that Macbeth “shall be king hereafter” (1.3.53), he is not longer trustworthy. Ambition for power starts creeping into his head. After Macbeth’s internal conflict over whether or not to kill Duncan, he decides to do it quickly (1.7.3) in order to hasten the predictions. He decides to kill the king because he wants to extend his power all over the country by becoming the new monarch. He desires to be more wealthy and respected by the nobility as well as by the common people. Becoming king represents the highest rang in the political pyramid. The act of murdering is the only way to make his dreams come true because Duncan’s fair and prosperous rule over Scotland experience the support of the whole population. As Malcolm…
In the words of Lord John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton “ Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”, this quote not only pertains to real life but also pertains to William Shakespeare's murderous play,Macbeth, by showing humans obsession and desire for power. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is seen as just a loyal and brave soldier, who has become close to the king, Duncan. When Macbeth revives the witches prophecy he decides to let fate control his destiny rather than doing something about it himself : “If chance will have me king,why chance may crown me king without my stir” (1:3.257-58). He makes this judicious decision with wit and honor for not only the king but himself. Even lady macbeth soliloquies about…
“Power is giving only to him who dares to stoop and take it. One must have the courage to dare.” stated by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Macbeth displayed the same situation, he dare to kill the king, his friends to get in power. In general the play of MacBeth contains story about a great general who led his army to a victorious battle. In which he later found himself outnumbered. As the play continues and plot twists arise, he finds his way to rise and become king. Macbeth became avaricious for power, due to witches prophesy, wife manipulation and ultimately his own ambition to become the ruler. Undoubtedly, Shakespeare used all theses reasons to put Macbeth in power, from witches prophesy, wife manipulating, his own manipulation, but nothing matter at the end as it all end in chaos with people character.…
Throughout reading the play, Macbeth changes a lot from being a man of loyalty and honesty, to a man of whom is power hungry and greedy. This shows how the more power you receive the more power you want; which in many cases, such as this one leads to destruction. Many of the choices that Macbeth made were influenced by the power that he had, and this power began to take over him. This then lead to greed and destruction of not only others, but himself as well.…
Even the most noblest man's heart and mind can become corrupted. Macbeth is shown to be a noble and honest man in this play, but like any other man, something can corrupt the mind, and in this play, that is greed. The three witches in this play are the ones that get the little fire in Macbeth going. When Macbeth runs into the witches, they start the idea of him becoming the next king. He somewhat believes them because they told him "Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor" , which indeed he did become (1, 3, 50). So when plans take a path that didn't led to him becoming king, he began to think why he wasn't good enough to become king. Seeing Malcolm become king didn't go so well with Macbeth and this is were just a little more corruption adds on. After all of this, he talks to himself about murdering King Duncan to make himself king. He is on the border of committing the murder and just dealing with the fact that Malcolm was going to be king. He knew it was a treason to do it, and that "We still have judgment here, that we but teach bloody instructions, which being taught, return to plague th" inventor: this even-handed justice commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice", so he would just be a hypocrite in the end (1, 7, 8-11). At this point he is not so sure about going through with it. When Lady Macbeth returns from the dinner she tells him that the plan will work. Macbeth is not…
Carter Nedruban Mrs.DeLory ENG3U1-06 Monday April 22, 2013 Victimized: No control over one’s own actions…
Macbeth and his selfish needs conflicted with the Chain of Being and the superior power it held. Instead of choosing to continue down his normal path, Macbeth follows a different path when he realizes how much power he is capable of obtaining. This path would lead him to be king, the highest possible power on earth. He had already been given the tittles, “Thane of Glamis” and “Thane of Cawdor” by the king, but because of his avid greed to become more powerful he was not satisfied with just that. He would let nothing get in the way, “[Malcolm] The prince of Cumberland! This is a step on which I must fall down or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies.” (Shakespeare.1.4.55-57). He knew the next in line to the throne would be Duncan’s older son, Malcolm and so Macbeth reveals to the reader in an aside, his greedy side and the problem he sees that will keep him from his throne. Macbeth is so caught up in what he can gain, he is willing to ruin things for others in order to get it. “ If ill, why hath it given me earnest of success… If good, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair…” (1.3.141-142,143-145).…
When one becomes aware of their glorious future, they will do anything to acquire it. Macbeth becomes corrupted because of the power he could possess. Macbeth seems like the person who would not commit the act of murder as he has a conscious. This is known because at the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is the one who manipulates Macbeth to commit the crime. In this dialogue between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Macbeth expresses his concerns and Lady Macbeth reassures him. Macbeth: “If we should fail?” Lady Macbeth: “… screw your coverage to the sticking place. And we’ll not fail” (1.7.67-69). Lady Macbeth then goes on to explain the plan and reassures Macbeth by saying “When in swinish sleep their drench natures lies as in death, what cannot you and I perform upon th’ unguarded Duncan? What not put upon his spongy officers, who shall bear the quilt of our great quell?” (1.7.77-82). Macbeth was evidently unsure about this and needed a great deal of reassurance to finally go through with it. Even though Macbeth’s gut instinct at first was not to commit the murder, he gives in to his wife and goes through with it. Despite that Macbeth is appalled by his deed, he still goes on to kill more people to secure his position. By the end of the novel, the other lords and everyone else have realized Macbeth is not fit for king and Angus states “Now does he feel his title hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief” (5.2.23-25). Macbeth is realizing that his robes, (roles), are too big for him too fill. He cannot fulfill the responsibilities of…
Macbeth was a character that, throughout the play, progressively impacted the lives of others by murdering and torturing them. He was extremely guilt free and his ambitions were a high standard, which belittled his supporters his family and his friends. Macbeth, who ascended to the throne by murdering its rightful occupants, died in a battle with Malcolm. Macbeths greed and desire for king is extremely positive. He believes he deserves king. He commits immature acts and shows little respects to the people he surrounds. Macbeth was not a good leader. He did not lead by example. The only thing Macbeth was concerned about was his position of king being taken over, so therefore cunning acts were portrayed to keep his placement as a leader. Characters in Macbeth also impact his actions. Lady Macbeth is manipulative and abuses him until Macbeth himself, starts to believe what she is saying. This demonstrates that Macbeth was gullible, and didn’t think things through. Macbeth is oblivious to his changes but it is evident to characters like Banquo, who compiles that Macbeth shouldn’t have believed the witches theory. In some circumstances, Macbeth had no common sense. Lady Macbeth saw Macbeth as a man who had no masculinity and bravery, but despite this, still honoured him. Macduff saw Macbeth as a weak and incapable of being in reign of a country.…
In the beginning of the play Macbeth is portrayed as an upstanding citizen to Scotland and a man with unending courage. He could do no wrong in the eyes of the king and because of this was presented with many honors. As with any person when they are recognized for what they have done Macbeth became somewhat greedy in his newly found fame and this greed also spread to his wife, Lady Macbeth. With this greed, as you can expect, came a want for more and more attention and fortune so Macbeth was going to do anything and everything possible to climb his way to the top even if this meant giving up his values and forgetting who his friends were if necessary.…