Ego Influence On Macbeth

Ambition is often the driving force in one’s life. It can have an extremely dominant impact on not only yourself, but also many people in your surroundings. You have the ability to control if the outcomes either have a lasting negative or positive effect. When a goal requires determination and hard work to complete, personal morals often take a back seat to the aspiration of accomplishing the goal. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it is clear that like many other great leaders, Macbeth exemplifies the necessary leadership virtue of ambition. Macbeth’s ambition does not just drive him to do great things. It in fact controls him. The playwright explores the idea of how an individual’s ambition can cause them to deceive others, make irrational

Macbeth’s unrestrained ambition to gain power turned him into someone completely different from who he was originally. When the play begins and Macbeth is introduced, he is labeled as brave, honorable, moral, and kind. He is such a well-versed person that his wife fears his nature is too kind for the harsh world, speaking of him with words of, “Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness…” (1.5.16-17). He makes his first appearance to the audience just after arriving from battle, and his behavior on the field is described by, “For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name—…” (1.2.16). Macbeth is a man that many admire, even King Duncan himself, who shortly thereafter names Macbeth Thane of Cawdor. Following his new label, Macbeth, with the help of three witches’ prophesies suggesting he will become king, notices the power that comes with such a title. Kenneth Deighton describes Macbeth’s behavior with, “When he is informed that Duncan had made him Thane of Cawdor, he at once gives way to the temptation suggested by the words of the witches, and allows his ambitious thoughts to

In Macbeth, a brutal tragedy by William Shakespeare, the author explores how when gone unchecked, power can corrupt all those surrounded by it. Lady Macbeth’s lust for power and Macbeth’s impressionable arrogance ultimately cost them their lives, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Notably, after hearing from Macbeth the witches prophecy, Lady Macbeth becomes obsessed with the idea of her husband becoming king. Willing to risk anything she formulates a plan and aggressively pushes Macbeth to murder King Duncan, insulting and manipulating him until he agrees. She chastises Macbeth, insulting his manhood and insisting that “when durst do it, then you were a man”. Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband into thinking

In the play, Macbeth possesses many strengths such as honor, respect, and he was viewed as being courageous. Macbeth was given the title “Thane of Cawdor " because he used his strengths to his advantage and was recognized for them. “For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name--Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,

Shakespeare effectively focuses on the cynical repercussions of ambition in 'Macbeth' and how it can lead to one's failure. Macbeth is shown as a wellborn protagonist after being regarded as "Noble Macbeth" by the King of Scotland, King Duncan after slaying the Thane of Cawdor and winning

Initially, Macbeth is viewed as a brave and loyal soldier, with Duncan praising him by expressing that “More is thy due than more than all can pay” (1.4.21). At this point, he has not been influenced by the three witches. Yet, by Duncan implying his importance, Macbeth gains a sense of self-worth and this arouses power within. His clear desire to be titled Thane of Cawdor while then having a growing temptation to commit regicide clearly demonstrate the early stages of his corruption and forms a basis for utilizing illegitimate power.

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play.

You may think that MacBeth is one hundred percent guilty and should receive a heavy punishment for his actions. But, have you ever considered the possibility that he may not have been responsible for them? Because he should not be held responsible for something he had no control over. I would like to point out that it was the Weird Sisters who told him prophesies which he then believed. It was his wife, Lady MacBeth, who pressured and convinced him to go through with the killings. And tell me, would any sane person commit the amount of crimes that MacBeth has? He has a mental condition that makes him go insane and start seeing things that are not actually there. These hallucinations are just one of the many causes that contribute to his

In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare I found at the beginning the character Macbeth was a portrayed as a noble, honest and brave man. As said by the captain in the second scene, ‘For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that title’ (I.2.16). This gives the audience an indication that Macbeth was highly respected by the king’s men and the king himself. His desire for power grew throughout the play from when he had his first encounter with the witches.

One example of Macbeth’s agency of pride that is expressed during the play is the willpower that Macbeth has to control his actions during the first meeting with the witches. In this interaction, the witches only tell him half of the prophecy “ By Sinel’s death I know I am Thane of Glamis. But how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives, A prosperous gentleman, and to be king Stands not within the prospect of belief, No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence You owe this strange intelligence, or why Upon this blasted heath you stop our way With such prophetic greeting” (Shakespeare). The encounter with the witches demonstrates how Macbeth had power over his response to the witches because he had two

Individuals continually deal with general events that affect their personalities. This can either strengthen an individual’s character or lead to one’s demise. William Shakespeare acknowledges these human experiences in The Tragedy of Macbeth with his focus on the protagonist, Macbeth. Fixating his focus on Macbeth, Shakespeare thoroughly portrays the protagonist as a frail human, easily influenced by his environment and personal relationships. Although Macbeth’s decisions determine his plight, he finds himself transgressing when he believes his prophesized throne is in danger. By eliminating what he perceives as threats, he sacrifices his honor, his friendship with Banquo, his wife, and his sanity, resulting in a personality change.

"Disdaining fortune with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, till he unseamed him from nave to th' chops, and fixed his head upon our battlements" (act 1, scene 2) This suggests an underlying side to Macbeth which was present from the start of the tragedy. That was enough that when given a small taste of power by becoming Thane of Cawdor, could bring out the more brutal side of him.

Shakespeare’s characterization of Macbeth and his consequences reveals his warning about ambitions and its downfalls. Macbeth begins as a noble man who’s ambition ruins him and his true self, leading to his inevitable death. In Act I, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as an accomplished man whose lust for more is fueled by his wife’s ambitions. At this point in the play, Lady Macbeth commonly challenges his masculinity to drive his ambition to kill King Duncan and acclaim the throne of Scotland: “Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art desire?” (P. 29). Conversely, by Act III, Macbeth’s ambition is self-driven because of the prophecy making him loses his sense of morality, and become corrupt. One such action is the murder of Banquo, Macbeth’s “noble partner” (P. 17): “Who wear our health but sickly in his life, which his death were prefect” (P. 56). Banquo’s murder serves as the beginning of Macbeth’s crumbling edifice, as for each murder he commits, he falls deeper into the world of deception.

After Macbeth and Banquo receive prophecies, the foil characters start to diverge as Banquo’s takes the moral path of goodness while Macbeth takes the immoral path towards his ultimate decline. Banquo and Macbeth have the opportunity to pursue the same path, but because of his unchecked ambition, Macbeth deviates from Banquo's path of good morals. Immediately after the witches tell their prophecies, Banquo’s mindset is wary and rational. He warns Macbeth that, “oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths...” (1.3.125-126). Banquo is not obsessed with the prophecies and the idea that one day his ancestors will be kings. On the other hand, Macbeth speculates, “Two truths are told, / as happy prologues to the swelling act / of the imperial theme.” (1.3.130-132) Because two of the three prophecies have come true, Macbeth is blinded by his ambition and seems to fantasize about the idea of being king. These contrasting reactions show that Macbeth takes a

Macbeth is a very complex character whom reflects man's thirst for power through the drastic changes of his personality; thus being one of the slightest reasons in which make this intriguing character, greatest of all Shakespearean’s well-known works.