Examples Of Similes In Macbeth

How far would people go to gain power? In the beginning of the play Macbeth, Macbeth is a loyal soldier to King Duncan. His loyalty to his king soon changes when he is given predictions at the hand of three witches. Their predictions describe that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and soon after will reign over Scotland. With Lady Macbeth’s persistent behavior, Macbeth is able to fulfill their plan to kill Duncan so he will be able to take throne. His guilt for killing Duncan and ambition for the predictions to come true drives Macbeth to murder friends, like Banquo, that he believes are a threat to his power. Macbeth’s deranged actions lead to his own downfall. William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in 1606 for King James. Shakespeare utilizes similes,

The story of Macbeth begins when Macbeth becomes a great war hero by killing the enemy leader. He secures the victory for Scotland over Norway and earns the respect of his king, Duncan. Macbeth is named the Thane of Cawdor, taking the title from a traitor during the war. Macbeth was called “noble Macbeth” by King Duncan, showing the respect he had earned (I,ii,78). Later, honorable Macbeth is told a very implausible yet fruitful prophecy by three witches depicting him as the King of Scotland. This slowly turns Macbeth evil as can be seen through dreams and hallucinations. Dreams and hallucinations are a theme throughout Macbeth, and they show us how Macbeth is changing through more than dialogue alone.

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

To begin, the witches are the catalyst to Macbeth’s crimes because the convince him that he will become king. Macbeth first meets the witches while returning from a gruesome battle and it is safe to say that they greet him with some audacious titles. They initially greet him as the Thane of Glamis and the Thane of Cawdor, but it is their final greeting which has the greatest effect on Macbeth. The witches hail Macbeth as someone “that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.53). This ignites a fire inside Macbeth, who is an immensely ambitious person. He begins to fantasize about the luxurious life he would have if he were the king of Scotland and he suddenly has the temptation to kill King Duncan. Although the witches’ prediction is favourable, Macbeth has no reason to believe them, at least until one of their other predictions turns out to be true. This

     One technique that Shakespeare uses is irony. Verbal irony is when a character says one thing but means the opposite. When a reader understands the irony of what a character is saying, then

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a trusted soldier, who is honest and noble. Unfortunately, he meets three witches who tell him three prophecies; that he will become thane of Cawdor, that he will become king and that Banquo’s sons will become kings. These three prophecies slowly change his opinions on life and turn him into a greedy, dishonest, tyrant, full of ambition. Lady Macbeth’s thoughts change as well when she is told about the three prophecies that were told to Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is

Shakespeare uses metaphors and figures throughout his plays to give the reader and audience a further understanding of the story he is telling. In Metaphors We Live By, it is stated that “…Metaphorical expressions in everyday language can give us insight into the metaphorical nature of concepts that structure our everyday activities…” (Lakoff & Johnson 7). Through these conceits Shakespeare expands a normal idea and transforms it into

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.

These are represented by his fear and horror he sees by someone taking him place on the throne. “There is none but Banquo Whose being I do fear, and under him My genius is rebuked, as it was said Marc Antony’s was by Caesar”(Shakespeare 3.1.55-57). King Macbeth after realizes what problems and threats his friend Banquo, a decorated military leader may possess. Banquo later comes to the conclusion that Macbeth has probably cheated his way to the mighty crown. This entices MacBeth, his insecurities cause him to see Banquo as threat, by putting all of their friendship behind them, Macbeth takes Banquo's life as he triggers Macbeth's emotional side. After MacBeth murders Banquo, he discovers yet another target. This target is MacDuff. “ Give to the edge o’ the sword His wife , his babes and all unfortunate souls That trace him in his line”(Shakespeare 4.1.151-54). Macbeth realizes that Macduff may or may not be planning something against Macbeth, acting out of fear and insecurity, Macbeth sends a kill order to MacDuff and his

Fleance does not return back to Macbeth’s castle shows that he has control over his own fate by opposing to the future that the witches had seen in their prophecy. “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none” (act1 scene3 line 70) In the beginning of the play the witches had foretell Banquo that his sons will become the king. Macbeth strongly believes in the witches prophecy. He commits murder against Banquo and Fleance in order to fight against the destiny that the witches had prophesied. “Thou may ’st revenge —O slave!”(act scene line) Banquo urges Fleance to escape and someday to take revenge of this gory tragedy. The reader expects Fleance to return to Macbeth’s castle to take revenge by murdering Macbeth similarly like he had done to his father. Though, the reader loses where he had fled in the story after he had escaped from that scene. This may show that he would not become the king. As the witches recite in the beginning of the play. “Fair is foul, foul is fair”(act scene line), Macbeth acts as what the witches had said. He is brainwashed by the evil spirits, he has no more control over himself. He believes that he is doing the right thing but he is actually trapping himself in a difficult situation. Although, both Banquo and Fleance opposes to this

     Once Macbeth possessed the power of being Thane of Cawdor he began to exhibit more greed. He has just been given such a huge responsibility and once he was given new power, he craved more; especially when he stumbled upon the witches. He liked the power that he had and wanted to gain more, no matter what he has to do to get it. Macbeth had an encounter with the three witches and they had told him that he will become the next king. Although the witches did say this it did not mean that it was certain, it was just a possibility. But when Macbeth realized the opportunity for power he knew he wanted to become the king. This passage was in part of the letter that Macbeth wrote to Lady Macbeth: “Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it came missives from the King, who all-hailed me ‘Thane of Cawdor,’ by which title, before, these Weird Sisters saluted me and referred me to the coming on of time with ‘Hail, king that shalt be’” (1.5.6-10). . It seems as if the power and greed now had full control over him, he is doing things that he wouldn’t do when he did not have all this power. This is the first time that we see this side of Macbeth, the side of him that is greedy for power and is willing to kill the king to do so. In the beginning of the play the thought of being Thane of Cawdor never even crossed his mind, and by no means being

Despite the manipulation from Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is the one who ultimately makes the decision to murder King Duncan in order to become king. When Macbeth is given the title of Thane of Cawdor and the witches’ prophecies come to him, the thoughts of murdering King Duncan to become King emerge in Macbeth’s mind. Macbeth has mixed-feelings about the prophecies and asks himself, “Why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair, and make my seated heart knock at my ribs, against the use of nature? Present fears are less than horrible imaginings: my thought, whose murder yet is

In the beginning of the play, the witches make three prophecies. First, that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor. The second part of the prophecy is that Macbeth will become King. The third prophecy being that Banquo will be father to future kings. When Macbeth first hears the prophecy, Duncan holds the position as king. King duncan is also a very loved king by his people. Macbeth and Duncan even have a good relationship. Macbeth is Duncan’s greatest war hero and because of Macbeth’s great success in battle, Duncan rewards him by promoting him to the position of Thane of Cawdor. With this promotion, Macbeth realizes that the witches first prophecy was true. With this realization, Macbeth’s head begins to fill with thoughts of killing King Duncan to speed up the process so that he can become king. When he tells his wife of the prophecies and his promotion, she becomes extremely

Macbeth is a valiant warrior, Thane of Cawdor for his performance in the war, and eventually the King of Scotland for performing a low-key immoral deed. In the eyes of Shakespeare’s audience, Macbeth is noticed for killing enemies in the war. Macbeth portrays himself as strong and fearless man but shows weakness to his wife by denying murdering the King. Macbeth angers Lady Macbeth by backing out of the plan when he says,

In Act 1, Scene 3, the witches tell Macbeth that he will be made Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland. Shakespeare uses this scene to tell the audience and Macbeth of things to come, but he also uses it as motivation for his character Macbeth. After hearing the predictions,