Literary Analysis of Macbeth Essay

Ambition has been a driving force of humanity since the beginning of time. Emotions have always had a strong influence on humanity, specifically emotions that tend towards the ruin of others and the gain another. Throughout the history of humanity there have been many examples of people abusing their position of power, to gain something they more than likely did not deserve. Whether it be Hitler and his repulsive ascension to becoming chancellor of Germany, or Kim Jong Un’s obsession with obtaining nuclear weapons at the cost of the people, humanities struggle with greed is unceasing. No one better illustrates this unrelenting thirst for power more than Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth is a good, brave, and beloved man at the beginning of the play with the end of his latest battle heralding a new title for him. Fate though, seems to have different plans for the good, albeit, ambitious Macbeth. He is told by the 3 weird sisters that he will one day become king. Thus igniting the flame of greed within Macbeth, signaling his descent into madness and the guilt he feels towards the deeds he has done. Lady Macbeth is much the same in the sense that once she knew of Macbeths own ambition, it hatched her own deep seeded desire for the crown as well. However, there various similarities end with the death of Duncan and the way they both deal with the guilt over what they did. In the play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have similarly great ambition, but this intense avarice in the end leads to their ruin in differing ways.

Shakespeare uses vivid and powerful forms of imagery to let the audience visualize the setting. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a strong woman who is attracted to power and would do anything to be in control; she is anything but an elegant and sensitive woman. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls an easy prey to insanity and guilt. Her soliloquy (5.1.24-30) shows her decline into madness when she says,“out damned spot...”

Shakespeare uses vivid and powerful forms of imagery to let the audience visualize the setting. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a strong woman who is attracted to power and would do anything to be in control; she is anything but an elegant and sensitive woman. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls an easy prey to insanity and guilt. Her soliloquy (5.1.24-30) shows her decline into madness when she says,“out damned spot...”

When it comes to power, Macbeth won't let anyone or anything stand in his way to achieve his goal. His first victim to obtain his “success” is the King of Scotland, King Duncan. After letting himself be manipulated by the Three witches predictions, Macbeth and his wife ; Lady Macbeth, make a plan to kill the King. They invite him to their house where Macbeth kills Duncan in his sleep. Many would think Macbeth would remain loyal to his King, but his desire for power is so grand that not even killing the most worshiped man in Scotland scared him.

The play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare tells the story of a noble and heroic man wanting to be king so badly that it pushes him to the point of no return. He soon becomes swallowed by his guilt and regret because of the actions he has taken to be king, and forces him to face the idea that he is no longer looked upto as a symbol of honor but a coward. Shakespeare captures key ideas such as honor, guilt and regret throughout the play with the use of recurring techniques to manipulate the reader's response. One technique used in the play to manipulate the reader's response is symbols. A sword is used to display honor throughout the play, in the beginning we saw the way people admired and looked up to Macbeth for being such a heroic fighter

Power is a very dangerous tool, a lot of people wish they were in power, whether it was amongst others, in life or even to have power over the weather. By nature humans often seek power because they like to be in control. Throughout the play the only thing lady macbeth was truly concerned about was being in control. The desire to be in control was what lead to the downfall of Macbeth because all he could focus on was the thought of being in power.

The lust for power is something that cannot be controlled. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is about Macbeth’s lust for power and how his decent into madness effects his relationships and loyalties towards the king, his friends, his wife, and the people under his rule. The first victim of Macbeth’s ambition is King Duncan. Duncan did nothing but right by Macbeth.

In the play Macbeth, Macbeth's actions show how power can lead to corruption. Lady Macbeth received a letter from Macbeth. In his letter he told her about three witches he has met who prophesied his rule as the Thane of Cawdor and then his rule as king. With this news Lady Macbeth fantasizes the ways for her husband to gain this power. She calls out…

In the text Macbeth by William Shakespeare the main character Macbeth gets corrupted by the avarice for power. When Macbeth realises that king Duncan is an obstacle, preventing him from being the king, he decides to obtain his power dishonestly. “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires”, Macbeth plots to murder the king to acquire power. After feeling the tingle of power, he becomes determined to keep it and acts brutally. He does not hesitate to murder his best friend to secure his and his future generations position as the king. “Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown and a barren scepter in my grip, Thence to be wrenched with an unlineal hand, No son of mine succeeding. If’t be so, For Banquo’s issue have

In Macbeth, the drive for power results in the loss of morals for many characters in the story. Power can either be destroyed or destroy the person who craves it. Macbeth’s want for power leads him to do many things that most people would consider immoral. His actions show

People find joy in having power over others, but when that power is unobtainable, it creates a power struggle that people could go insane trying to achieve. This power struggle is the reason behind Macbeth’s fall into being a vicious and delusional murderer. He carries on hurting the ones close to him to cover up his initial crimes perpetuated by his wife, the riddling premonitions of the apparitions and the witches, and his drive to secure that premonition, though he didn’t need to in the first place. Macbeth, the play, is constantly trying to gain power over others by murdering those who pose a threat to his insatiable need for power. The power struggle portrayed throughout the play is that power corrupts people.

Macbeth and his sense of overconfidence leads his to his demise. For example, when he was fighting Macduff and realized that Macduff was born of woman and then loses the fight. The witches also played a part in the death of Macbeth by telling jim that he will be the king of Cawdor and in order to fulfill the prophecy he thinks that he has to kill the current king of Cawdor. Macbeth’s wife pressured him a lot to do most of the thing he did. For example, he didn’t really wanted to kill Duncan but knowing that she will be queen she manipulates Macbeth to kill Duncan. In conclusion, too much ambition and thirst for power will lead to your ultimate destruction in

Macbeth is a Scottish general and at the beginning of the play he is the thane of Glamis. After three witches tell Macbeth a prophecy of him becoming the king of Scotland he acquires wicked thoughts and ideas. It gets worse after the prophecy of him becoming the thane of Cawdor comes true. Macbeth is a very brave and confident man on the battlefield although he is not as well suited for politics because he lacks the skills necessary to rule without being a tyrant. After his first crim of killing Duncan, all other crimes after that become increasingly easier to do.

When studying literature or reading a play, our attention is drawn to the protagonist or antagonist. Shakespeare directs our attention onto heroism, which can be seen across all of his plays like Macbeth or Julius Caesar. The protagonists Macbeth and Banquo conquer the evils that face them throughout the plot. However, the nature of violence that takes place throughout Shakespeare’s plays is in relation to“the source of the killing of the soul”(Macbeth and the Nature of Evil). In Macbeth, Macbeth is known as a superhuman warrior, the characteristics of being brave and having ambition. The main reason evil stirs up violence can be seen as examples in Macbeth and Julius Caesar, which is caused by “evil being incompatible with humanity” (Shakespeare’s Play Themes). The murders in Macbeth and Julius Caesar are both examples of the rotation of the natural order.

One of Macbeth’s flaw that leads to his failure is his thirst for power. Macbeth was one of the most trustworthy men Duncan knew, as Macbeth risked his life battling for Duncan. Macbeth is stressing over whether he should could Duncan or not and is starting to go insane as he sees a floating dagger in front of him. This is the starting point of Macbeth’s downfall as he is afraid “Whiles I threat, he lives. Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives” (II.II.56). This is where Macbeth’s greed and wanting for power takes control over his mind set and results in him killing King Duncan. Macbeth’s mind is drawn with fear and paranoia as more prophecies are being untold. He is bothered by the thought that “Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown And put a barren scepter in my grip, Thence to be wrenched with an unlineal