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Literary Elements In Macbeth

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Great authors use literary elements to develop a message. William Shakespeare’s play, “Macbeth”, tells a tale about a man who desires to rule the country of Scotland as king. With three witches that tell him his future, Macbeth realizes that his life would be better off as king, but in order to seize the throne, he has to kill the current king. After motivation from his wife to kill the king, Macbeth’s life follows a series of events and actions that eventually lead to his death. Shakespeare uses characterization, conflict, and author’s purpose through “Macbeth” to convey to others that their worst enemy can potentially be themselves through the tragic flaw of overconfidence.
Through Shakespeare’s use of characterization, he portrays …show more content…

Later on, Macbeth pleads the three witches to tell him whether or not Macduff will threaten his reign. Desperate to secure his seat as king, Macbeth wants to “make assurance double sure, and take a bond of fate” (Shakespeare, IV, i, 83-83). Even though Macduff will most likely not expose Macbeth, Macbeth wants to make it certain that he will remain king. Shakespeare characterizes Macbeth as a man who uses ambition to carry out his actions by making him take desperate measures to secure his throne. As the play develops, Shakespeare purposely transforms Macbeth as someone who requires motivation to take action into a man who makes his own decisions to take aggressive steps in order to remain in control.
Shakespeare uses conflict of a high office to demonstrate how desire for power can lead to the downfall of a person. Once Macbeth holds power as king, he realizes how he can live a life full of extravagance. Obsessed with the idea of gaining more power, Macbeth wants to ensure his kingship. Afraid of potentially losing his power, he feels the need to kill all possible enemies, such as Banquo. Macbeth knows that he “could with barefaced power sweep him from my sight” (Shakespeare, III, ii, 118-119). With this new power as king that Macbeth possesses, he now believes that he can get away with not following the laws.

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