Macbeth

The influence of Dreams, Visions and Hallucinations in Macbeth and other Literary Texts “The realities of the world affected me as visions, and as visions only, while the wild ideas of the land of dreams became, in turn,—not the material of my every-day existence–but in very deed that existence utterly and solely in itself. ” —- Edgar Allan Poe Uncanny encounters with visions and hallucinations blur the presumed constraints of time and space. The ‘phantasms’ or sensory impressions incited by diurnal experiences which are unrealized in normal consciousness, gets holistically unveiled through conjuration of dreams.

Referring to one of the foremost exponents of ‘weird’ literature Howard Phillips Lovecraft, definite emotions of pain and pleasure were associated to phenomena whose cause and effect could be discerned by men but those beyond his power of comprehension were marvellously interpreted as supernatural ploys thus, sowing the seeds of awe among a race possessing limited experience. The process of dreaming aided in constructing the notion of an unreal or spiritual world towards which man’s natural response was fear and hence, man’s hereditary essence became saturated with superstitions.

Though the territory of the unknown has diminished in the present times, a physiological fixation in our nervous tissues makes the inherent associations, clinging around objects and processes once mysterious (but now explainable), become operative even when the conscious mind has been purged of all wonder. The appearance of the three Weird sisters at the inception of Shakespeare’s timeless play, Macbeth, excites a sense of awe coupled with a subtle dread due to contact with unknown spheres and forces and their re-appearance in the third scene after the King’s order establishes the influence of ‘supernatural soliciting’.

The role of imagination is indispensible since, the deadly outcomes stemmed from imaginings of a sensitive mind and even the exposure of the crime happens due to the hallucination of the criminal which provides the turning point of the play. While Holinshed’s Macbeth was merely a brave warrior turned cruel murderer, Shakespeare’s Macbeth has an overtly fertile imagination which plays dual roles; when kindled with hope, it impels him to stifle the voice of his conscience for engaging in a heinous crime and also, increases the anguish of guilt when plagued with fear. Aristotle’s tragic hero has the crowning virtue” or magnanimity (derived from the Greek word, megalospuchia) as a consequence of which, he knows no pettiness or restrictions and fearlessly pursues his passions. That Macbeth effectively slips into the role of an Aristotelian tragic hero becomes predictable early in the play in Act I, Scene 3 from his reaction to the prediction of the Weird Sisters which immediately gives rise to a “horrid image” which while, unsettling him propels him to play and replay the prophecies in his mind till he starts to believe in their future possibility and is driven towards their attainment.

Contradictorily, Banquo is guided by reason and though the third witch predicts “Thou shalt get kings”, he prevents himself from taking any drastic step – “Oftentimes to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness tell us truths…. ” The disparity in personality of the different characters is ruled by the varied degrees of imaginativeness which originate from the varying proportions of humours in each person. According to the Greek scientists Hipp ocrates and Galen, a person’s character was influenced by a blending of four fluids or ‘humours’-black bile, phlegm, yellow bile and blood which ruled the body.

Later, the Elizabethans applied this ideology in medical treatment and associated each humour with one of the four temperaments-melancholic (excess of black bile), phlegmatic (surplus of phlegm), choleric (predominance of yellow bile) and sanguine (superfluity of blood). Unbalance in proportion of any one of the humours perturbs psychological poise, aggravates the inherent hamartia or tragic flaw in the character while making the mind more sensitive to the impressions of visions and hallucinations.

Anderson describes choleric individuals as “easily provoked, given to treachery, vehement in action; fierce in assailing but inconstant in sustaining assault; inclined to envy, pride, prodigality, and wrath. ” In Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth is faced simultaneously with two revelations- a letter from Macbeth disclosing the witches’ prophecy of kingship and the news of King Duncan’s arrival conveyed by a messenger following which she delivers her famous soliloquy where she calls upon the familiar spirits to change her temperament to choleric. Choler could be intrinsic, or the effects of astrology, diet or even time of the day.

With her desires that “no compunctious visitings of nature” thwart her purpose, she unwittingly implies the cessation of her periodic menstrual flow and the “murth’ring ministers” are called upon to replace the nutritive fluid in her breasts with “gall” or choler. According to Malleus Maleficarum, the Devil’s power is greatest where human sexuality is concerned and “all witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable”, hence, the Weird Sisters who have been unsexed themselves and are known to sport beards defeminises Lady Macbeth, turning her thus, into the fourth witch.

Since, she feels that her husband is too full of the “milk of human kindness” and in spite of being ambitious, he lacks the choleric illness necessary to drive him to his purpose, she embraces biological and subsequently, psychological unsexing in order to impart to her husband by persuasion the choleric drive the supernatural spirits have bestowed on her and thus the tangible world of action and the surreal world becomes interlinked.

Annihilating Macbeth’s qualms regarding the murder of the sanguine Duncan by provoking in his mind fantastic images of kingship, she relieves him of his melancholy temperament. While choler keeps the body vitalized, corrupt choler results in evil passions and dreadful dreams which accounts for Macbeth’s murder of reason and consequent inability to distinguish between the real and the illusory before Duncan’s murder.

The illusionary significance of the dagger (floating before Macbeth) is that it is “air-drawn” consigns it to the dominion of the witches (“they made themselves air”; “they vanished/into the air”; “infected be the air whereon they ride”). Again, Macbeth’s auditory hallucinations preceding the commitment of the murder which involves the continual knocking on the gate (or his own conscience) in the porter scene and the ominous whispering “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep… coupled with the spectre of Banquo (visible solely to Macbeth) implies that conscientious nagging is still alive and he has still not been able to gain command over corrupting choler. However, after a few consequent murders, Macbeth attains immunity to fear (the quality of a seasoned warrior) and a stoic control while Lady Macbeth, who had chided him for his weakness earlier, degenerates. By perversion of humours, she succumbs to insanity whose symptoms include sleepwalking. Michel Foucault notes in “Madness and Civilization” that madness in literature and art appears around the late 1400s.

While it was sometimes used in the theatre as a device for entertaining the audiences, madness, often conflated with foolery, had “still other powers: the punishment it inflicts multiplies by nature insofar as, by punishing itself, it unveils the truth. ” This is certainly the case in Shakespeare, whose fools, madmen, and madwomen all “[remind] each man of his truth. ”Left to their imaginings, the insane might revert to more vivid mental pictures, as when Lady Macbeth in her somnambulism, reproaches her husband “Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and afeard? and instructs him, “Wash your hands, put on your nightgown; look not so pale! ”Music intensifies imagination and in Orson Well’s sleepwalking scene, Lady Macbeth’s voice moves from its usual low tones to a high-pitched sing-song, impersonating that of the witches as they cast their spells, again uncannily bridging the chasm of the supernatural and the real. . Macbeth’s ascending choleric ambition incites his oedipal hubris and he, with the same anxiety which impelled Oedipus to know the Oracle of Delphi, seeks knowledge of the security of his ill-acquired kingship.

The three apparitions which the Witches summon before Macbeth comprising “an armed head”, “a bloody child” and “child crowned with a tree in his hand” accompanied with the foretelling –“none of woman born shall harm Macbeth “or “Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him” and lastly, the show of a line of eight kings with Banquo at the end, unsettles Macbeth. On his quest to know more, the Witches perform a mad dance and disappear engulfing him in a greater perplexity of the fleeting panoramas and deceiving predictions.

Macbeth’s dilemma concerning whether to trust the apparitions or not echoes the eternal debate regarding whether illusions can be treated as banes or boons. While Biblical injunctions state that the dreams or visions which promise truth in actuality are like wind and shadow, “deceptorium” and “vanuum”, Gregory believes in the usefulness of certain dreams. Again, Aristotelian works reinforced the growing tendency to associate dreams with psychological and somatic processes, dismissing the divine or supernatural origin of dreams, confining them to the mundane realm.

In 13th and 14th centuries, writers continued to argue that dreams come from varied sources- internal and external, divine, mundane and demonic, and the dream remained strongly associated with the intermediate psychic realm of imagination, bridging body and mind, the physical and the abstract. The conclusion was reached that dreams of psychosomatic, diabolic and divine nature were possible and the psychologist Jean de la Rochelle emphasized the dream’s duplicity according to which if he dream arose due to the operation of the spiritual essence that is devil, it is called illusion. Similarly, if the dream was triggered by a good spiritual substance, it was known as a revelation. In Macbeth’s case, it is conceived then that the illusions outnumbered the revelations leading him gradually to his downfall-his “bad angel” fires his “good one out”. Macbeth’s vision and hallucinations have influenced myriads of later literary works including Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, the fifth book in the series by Rowling.

Not only does the notion of disclosure of the prophecy by Professor Trelawney claiming that neither could live while the other survived reverberates the theme of the Witches’ prophecies central to the play, throughout the book, Harry continues to have perturbing dreams. Through Harry’s psychic connection with Voldemort, he has the premonition in which he sees himself transfigured into a snake about to attack Arthur Weasley, his friend Ron’s father which propels him to raise an alarm thus saving a life.

While this vision, though inadvertent, acts as a boon, later, partially due to Harry’s failure at Occlumency( the art of compartmentalizing one’s emotions and thoughts), Voldemort takes the role of the evil Witches, invading his mind and creating the illusion of his godfather, Sirius Black’s imminent danger. Harry’s belief in the hallucination in this case, ushers further peril, resulting in the loss of Black’s life.

Even in the genre of graphic novels, the first dialogue of the protagonist Vendetta in Alan Moore’s “V for Vendetta”, is borrowed from Macbeth, ““The multiplying villainies of nature do swarm upon him” and proceeds to explore the common theme of hallucinations. For reshaping Evey’s character and to purge her of the weaknesses preventing her from becoming ruthless albeit for a greater cause (and consequently, V’s rightful partner and successor in the commitment of murders), the anarchist Vendetta whose role is similar to that of Lady Macbeth’s makes her go through a hoax ordeal when she starts believing what she is made to see.

Again, Eric Finch, the head of The Nose — the regular police force, travels to the abandoned site of Larkhill, where he takes LSD and the introduction of hallucinogens to artificially induce visions propagates the idea how the notion of hallucination has developed in literary history. Finch’s hallucinations show him his past life, where he was the lover of a black woman who was sent to the concentration camps for her race. His delusions also make him act as a prisoner of Larkhill who is soon freed, like V, giving him an intuitive understanding of himself. To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow” proves the illusory movement of time-backward or forward, for Macbeth, who is caught in the sameness of any day. Tomorrow merges with today and acts as if it is today rendering a reverie-like appearance to the play- “All that we see or seem/ Is but a dream within a dream… ”(Poe) Though the debate regarding the beneficence or derogatory effect of hallucinations and visions remains unresolved, the importance of life being negated as a “poor player”, the titanic significance of dreams, induced from traceable and untraceable sources, gains the limelight.

Lovecraft’s theory of cosmicism stating that human life, interest, emotions have no validity or significance in the cosmos-at-large is at par with Shakespeare’s nihilistic observation through Macbeth, “Life is but a walking shadow…. ” Macbeth’s humaneness has already undergone irreversible plunder, driven by the overwhelming impression of the Witches’ prophecies, so that he is incapable of feeling much sorrow at the news of his loyal partner’s death, he has lived in, through and for his fantastic imaginings. “Sometimes I believe that this less material life is our truer life, and that our vain presence on the terraqueous globe is itself the secondary or merely virtual phenomenon. ”- “Beyond the Walls of Sleep”, H. P. Lovecraft (2196 words) Works Cited: Arnold, Aerol: “The Recapitulation Dream in Richard III and Macbeth. ” Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. (Winter, 1955), pp. 51-62, JSTOR Bella, Tenijoy La: “A Strange Infirmity”: Lady Macbeth’s Amenorrhea. Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Autumn, 1980), pp. 381-386, JSTOR Crawford, A. W. : “. ” Modern Language Notes, Vol. 39, No. 6 (Jun. , 1924), pp. 345-350, JSTOR Fahey, Caitlin Jeanne: “Altogether governed by humours: The Four Temperaments in Shakespeare” Favila, Marina: “Mortal Thoughts and Magical Thinking in Macbeth. ” Modern Philology, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Aug. , 2001), pp. 1-25, JSTOR Foucault, Michael: Madness and Civilization Grossvogel, David I. : “When the Stain Won’t Wash: Polanski’s Macbeth. ” Diacritics, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Summer, 1972), pp. 46-51 JSTOR Kramer, Heinrich and Sprenger, James: The Malleus Maleficarum Kruger, Steven F. : Dreaming in the Middle Ages Leonard, Kendra Preston: Shakespeare, Madness and Music Lovecraft, H. P. : Supernatural Horror in Literature – – – H. P. Lovecraft goes to the Movies

Moore, Alan and Lloyd, David: V for Vendetta Moschovakis, Nick: Macbeth New Critical Essays Parker, Barbara L. : “The Great Illusion. ” The Sewanee Review, Vol. 78, No. 3 (Summer, 1970), pp. 476-487, JSTOR Paul, Henry N: “Macbeth’s Imagination”- Bloom’s Macbeth through the Ages Poe, Edgar Allan: Benerice – – – : A Dream within a Dream Rowling, J. K. : Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix Wain, John: Macbeth, a Casebook Welles, Orson dir. , Macbeth, Republic Pictures, 1948. Film.

There are some traits I think they are also my weaknesses that I do not like about myself, I am not able to change them completely because they make me different from others and also defined who I am. However, I am trying to improve myself day by day to adapt, work, and communicate with others and to limit effects of these traits in my performances. These traits are trying to make anything as much perfect as I want, Judging a person by external appearances and lack of self-control.

Firstly, I want anything has done as much perfect as possible, it is may be good because I can gain a lot of good feedbacks or good results but it also causes a lot of troubles for not only myself but also others. Since I expect too much so I tend to collect other works; therefore, I usually work under pressure, feeling overwhelm and depressed when the result went bad. Moreover, I usually work in team, sometime I create stressful because of my requirements. That leads some unnecessary discussions and arguments.

Hence, to improve this weakness I think I should truth in there contributions by instead of do or try to fix anything by myself, I can discuss and give some recommendations for others and lets them finished in their own ways. As the result, I can reduce the volume of my tasks, avoid unnecessary arguments, have more time and wide views to check and evaluate final performances. Secondly, I tend to Judge a new person based on their external appearances, it can prevent me from making true friends and is misleading.

To avoid these mistakes, firstly, I should spend more time to know new people because different people have efferent life styles, backgrounds and believes which their appearances cannot show. Secondly, I should remind myself some mistakes that I already have because mistakes are lessons. Hence, keep in mind these lessons will help me give expectations and behavior to others in appropriate levels. Finally, I think self-control is an important point which I should improve because I communicate ad interact with others every day and time.

Therefore, my attitude and behavior will directly affect others’ Judgments about myself. When I was in a first workup at university, it was hard to make appropriate responds when I was angry. This leaded to lost friendships and stress feeling for me. To improve my self-control, I should find and remember some signals which appear before I cannot control myself, for example high temperature, or get wet at my hands. Moreover, I think that keep calm- silent in a moment before starting or continuing a discussion or argument is a good way, because I have time to think carefully and refresh my mind.

This helps me o avoid letting my emotion cover my opinions and lead my actions. In conclusion, to have a happier life by reducing stress and work under pressure, I should not try to finish anything perfectly as I want, but I can ask for helps and be open minded. Moreover, to avoid and limit mistakes caused from my Judgments which base on other external appearances, I should spend more time to Finally, to improve my self-control, it is better to recognize and remember signals occurred when I am getting angry, and keep calm will create time for me to think carefully about my reactions.

In todays society, different themes such as ambition, good vs. evil, and believing in superstitions are still prevalent. Similar to Macbeth, many people will go great lengths in order to achieve their goals in life. Some are consumed with ambition to the point where it doesn’t matter what the consequences are for their actions as long as they are satisfied. An example of this is seen when our economy fell into a deep recession as a result of ambitious business people. Good vs. evil is oftentimes viewed in todays society through our Justice system.

It is this constant battle between the police and criminals that keep our society at balance. Superstitions play a big part in some cultures and are still prevalent in todays society. Just like Macbeth, people follow these superstitions that are put into their mind. They believe that there will be a bad outcome so, they follow these superstitions to keep out of danger or bad fortune. When the three witches informed Macbeth about his prophesy he was in shock but felt anxious for it to happen sooner than later.

The ambition that made him want to fulfill that prophesy took a lot of wrong doing but he went ahead and did it anyways. The fact that his wife’s ambition for Macbeth was even stronger than his own and encourages him even more to make that prophesy come true. In todays society there are many ambitious people out there because without ambition people wouldn’t get very far and would Just give up. For high school teenagers their ambition may be wanting to attend a college of their choice and will work hard in order to omplete their goal.

Along with ambition, violence is also s recurring theme in Macbeth because there was a murder in basically every act. Throughout the play there is a lot of killing, fighting and blood, which are all results of violence. No matter how much we wish violence wasn’t around in todays society it is still present because of the disagreement between two parties. War is a big factor of violence because two countries or whoever cant come to an agreement so they result in violence.

There’s no such thing. It is the bloody business which informs Thus to mine eyes. ” (2. 1. 23). Macbeth’s brain is so overloaded or agitated, about the murder that It projects a symbol of murder, the bloody dagger. After killing Duncan, Shakespeare uses the blood symbol to express and guilt over his crime. Macbeth says, “What hands are here! Hal they pluck out mine eyes” (2. 1. 24). Macbeth says that the sight of the blood or even the idea is so awful it figuratively hurts his eyes, indicating the extent of his stonishment.

Macbeth not only is horrified by the murder, but also feels extreme guilt After the killing of King Duncan. “this Is a sorry sight” (2. 2. 18), proclaimed Macbeth looking at his bloody hands movements after the murder. Maybe Shakespeare is trying to show us that Macbeth has a little sympathy for his wrong doing; however, Lady Macbeth seems to think that’s a foolish thing to say. Later that evening lady Macbeth notices a spot on her hand. “Out, damned spot! , I say! ” (5. 5. 29-31). This bloody spot will not come out. Is this a sign of guilt or perhaps

Shakespeare Is hinting she wont get away with what she did. “It will have blood, they say, Blood will have blood” (3. 3. 5-39). This meaning whoever is involved In these crimes will someday become victims of them or maybe “a little water clears us of these deeds” (22. 64) Lady Macbeth thinks this as she washes her hands with water. As seen in the quote, blood symbolism serves as a continuous indicator of characters Sleep is another one of the many symbols used. Sleep is something that is meant to be peaceful and innocent, “sleep signifies the nature and essence for a person Bernard).

In this play it symbolizes death and culpability. It became something people feared rather enjoyed. Some didn’t feel safe because they felt like they might be next person to die. “Me thought I heard a voice crying sleep no more! ” (2. 2 34-50). Macbeth has killed someone in their sleep but now he cannot sleep. He killed a blameless man and now it’s coming back. “Sleep has now become a torture of the mind rather than to lie in restless ecstasy’ (Barnard). It was said before sleep is a representation of innocence; so now that virtuousness has been murdered.

He will o longer be able to sleep because of this fault he holds. “Shakespeare allows Lady Macbeth and Macbeth to commit these crimes but punishes them by not allowing them to rest” (Bernard). They will never be able to turn back. “done cannot be undone” (5. 1. 30-45). Lady Macbeth states later that once something had been done, you can’t go back and reverse it. So even if Macbeth is starting to fell contrite for what he had done it is too late. Shakespeare continues to use the symbols of sleep and sleep withdrawal in his play to express pain and repentance. Both Lady Macbeth and

Macbeth experience unfruitful nights. The sleep walking scene is a perfectly logical outcome of these feelings. Lady Macbeth was seen sleep walking while talking about the murder. “Shakespeare is expressing the importance of sleep by using sleep deprivation as a sign of remorse” (Bernard). Her talking in her sleep showed that she felt guilty. Shakespeare also uses the Banquds murderers to warn him of what will happen to him if he continued to go through with the prophecy. “It will drain him dry as hay; sleep neither night not day hang upon his pent house lid he shall live a man f forbid” (3. 1-20). This is another example of Shakespeare warning Macbeth that his wrong doings will come with no reward. Through the play Shakespeare brilliantly plays around with sleep by using it in ways that are obvious and hidden. He makes the audience think their own definitions of sleep. It makes someone believe that although sleep is precious, it is one thing that only comes easily to people with clear conscience. In Macbeth case, he cannot sleep until he himself is killed. He loses something precious that is often taken for granted because of what he has done.

Shakespeare chose to repeatedly mention sleep because whether it is at the end of the day or end the end of ones life, everyone eventually goes to sleep. Yet Shakespeare gives the reader a better idea of how valuable it truly is, Shakespeare also knows how to get you mind thinking by using symbols in the form of other living objects like animals. Sleep and blood are only two of the many symbols used in the play. Shakespeare has interwoven the symbol use of animals throughout his play. Not only does he allude with the accuracy of a naturalist to the peculiarities and habits of ertain targets but also to animals. Shakespeare use of animals is often repellent and even repugnant to the audience” (Olsen). They always serve a purpose. For example the owl was used to represents fatality. “Tis unnatural a falcon tow ring in her pride of place was by a musing owl hawked at and killed” (2. 2. 10-21). The owl represents Macbeth and the falcon represents King Duncan who Macbeth killed. Expressing how unnatural it is for an owl to kill a hawk because owls usually for mice. Duncan. The owl announcing Duncan’s death is revealing how it is connected to the upernatural world.

Just like the owl was used as an import and symbol, so was the bird. “The raven himself is hoarse: that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlement”(l . 5. 38-40). The raven is a bird of ill. Lady Macbeth was referring that even the bird was Horace from saying king Duncan must die, lady Macbeth was trying to say the bird was a sign that they should go on with the plan and kill the king. This symbol Just like all the others, is giving the reader a hint for something to happen in the future of the play, Shakespeare also has ways to make an audience feel some ype of way when something has occurred. They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly but bear like I must fght the curse”

Macbeth bumped Into three witches after his battle. The three witches tell Macbeth he will become thaln of cawdor and glamls, and then king. He then becomes the thaln which opened up an opportunity for him to become king. He then writes a letter to his wife in which he wrote to her about everything that was going on and she decides they need to kill the king in order for him to seize the throne. Macbeth kills the king but his wife has to return the daggers to the guards, to frame them for the crime, because Macbeth did not.

After all that the King Duncans’ sons run away becuase they fear that they were gonna be put to blame. Macbeth then becomes king. Once he became king, he did not want anyone else to have the same power as him or to do the same thing to him, as he did to King Duncan. Also he remembers one of the prophecies of the witch where they told Banquo the his children will be king. So he then orders the murderers to kill his best friend, Banquo and his son, Fleance . Macbeth is then haunted by Banquos ghost at his party.

After all that he goes back to the witches and he sees three things; a bloody baby saying “beware Macduff, a bloody helmet saying that he cant be killed by anyone born of a woman, nd a child with a crown and a tree branch saying that he does not need to worry till the Birnam woods moves to Dunsinane. Macbeth started to worry and demanded Macduff and all his family killed, but Macduff left already. Lady Macbeth starts getting crazy and comitts suicide. Macduff heads over to Macbeths’ castle with the army to kill him. Macbeth is killed, and gets his head cut off by Macduff.

Macuff was born by C-section which was not considered to be born of a woman. One of the aspects that Macbeth grasps to make him an antagonist Is greediness. The three witches that he met In the beginning told him his prophecy, which Is that he Is going to be the future king of Scotland, ” All hall, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter” (l, l”, 53). At first he doesn’t believe the prophecy at all and thought that they were being foolish. But then the predlctlon of the witches starts to come true after being persuaded by his wife, Lady Macbeth, that he had to take some steps to make It come true.

Once the first prophecy came true, he wanted all the prophecies of the witches to come true. Once Macbeth Is king, he becomes one of the most owerful person in his land, yet he still demands for more respect and power and does not want anyone to nave any part In It. 10 make tnls nappen ne KIIls Banquo, nls best friend, so he wouldn’t create a line of king as it was one of the witches prophecy and attempts to kill Banquo’s son, Fleance, however he escapes. Macbeth was told by the witches that no human born from a women, that is everyone, could kill him. Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn, The power of man, for none of woman born, Shall harm Macbeth” (‘V, i, 85). Macbeth believes this and gets greedy making im trust that no one could kill him. Overall this proves that Macbeth is definitely a greedy person in this play. Another open feature that Macbeth is distinguished for is ambition. Macbeth wants to prove to his wife that he is the one that she desires for and to do that, he listens to whatever she has to say. He is so deeply in love with his wife and ambitious towards her that he starts committing dangerous and risky crimes.

Macbeth is also very ambitious towards becoming king. In order to become king he had to kill King Duncan. ” I go, and it is done; the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell; That summons thee to heaven, or to hell” ( II, i, 69). This quote indicates that it is time to kill King Duncan. He is also speaking to Duncan though he is not actually present. He tells the imaginary Duncan to not pay attention to the bell as it marks his death and therefore will send him to either hell or heaven. Again, Macbeth was very ambitious in becoming king but he is also ambitious to remain king.

He kills Banquo so that no could take over his position as king. “It is concluded. Banquo, thy soul’s flight; If it finds heaven, must find it out tonight” ( Ill, i, 157). This quote is saying Macbeth has made all the arrangements of the murder Banquo’s and that he is going to heaven or hell because he is dying tonight. After that he also finds out the one of Banquo’s children would be king, so his ambition towards remaining king leads him to kill Banquo’s son, Fleance, however Fleance escapes and is never heard after that incident.

To sum it up, ambition is definitely a character trait in this play. Finally, the third character trait of Macbeth is bravery. It is barely noticeable in Macbeth but he is recognized for it. Macbeth at first seemed to be a courageous, rave and capable warrior who would risk anything for his country. At the beginning of the play Macbeth’s skills and strength saved the day on the battlefield. ” For brave Macbeth -well he deserves that name-; Disdaining fortune with his brandish’d steel” ( l,ii, 18).

The quote shows that Macbeth is brave and he is the one who helped defeat Sweno, the king of Norway. Macbeth also shows bravery because he goes after what he wants and accomplishes it. For instance, Macbeth wanted to become king, to do that he bravely killed King Duncan which is evil but it shows that he would do anything to full fill his desire. Macbeth is brave near the end because when all of his prophecies were finished, he still fought Macduff. ” Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb; ” ( V, viii, 19).

The witches said that no human born from a women could kill Macbeth and Macduff said that he was delivered prematurely. So according to the witches prophecies he is able to kill Macbeth. Thus bravery is definitely one of the character traits of Macbeth in this play. In conclusion Macbeth is a person who is consistently stuck in ugly situations. respectful towards the king by winning the important battle and the war but also rutal and cruel because after he killing Macdonwald by slicing him from his middle to his Jaws and placed his head on a stick.

Macbeth was also everybody’s hero for winning the war. He was also a good friend to Banquo, in fact they were best friends. But then Macbeth changed, he become greedy. He met these three witches who completely changed his life When he was not happy and satisfied with what he had, Macbeth felt that he had to move up a level and become king. Macbeth was confused at first and was not sure if he should kill the king or not, started to argue to himself if e should stay on the good side or move to the bad side.

He told his wife, Lady Macbeth, everything and she started to convince him to kill King Duncan and seize the throne. After all of this, once he becomes king, he becomes crazy when he sees blood on his hand and started to think that he can not get rid of the blood on his hands after killing the king. After that he is heartless and started to kill every single person who dared to cross his path or anyone that he suspects is a threat. Macbeth is ambitious to be totally in control. Macbeth without a doubt was out of control and vil when he kills Macduffs’ children and wife.

He is also very self assured and brave because he refuses to run away when an army is attacking his castle. But after all that, he still shows some kindness towards Macduff by saying that he does not want to kill him before he is killed by him. Although Macbeth would have been a great and brave king, it was the manipulation of his wife and the three witches that led him to an evil path. He became a greedy and very ambitious king. After a while, because of his fearlessness, he died devastatingly. words: 1539

Macbeth Character Essay In Act 1, Macbeth is described by Duncan as “O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman! ” By the end of the play, Malcolm calls him a “dead butcher”. Trace the changes in Macbeths’ character, analysing the reasons behind them. Macbeth’s ruthless seeking journey for power, urged on by his wife, becomes his tragic flaw which leads to his downfall in all ways. The tragic hero is used by Shakespeare to show how the tragedy lies in the greatness that could so easily have been Macbeth’s.

Inevitably, his conversion in character all results in his ambition which causes him to act in such brutal ways. We note how an idealised individual such as Macbeth’s changes into a despised one. We observe Macbeth’s greatness and bravery in combat through the Captain’s account of the battle. Macbeth is described as “Valour’s minion” who “carved out his passage till he faced the slave”. One examines the respect enclosed in his companion soldiers who give him the name “brave Macbeth”.

This is followed by a line of reassurance which is “well he deserves that name”. Macbeth’s honour and excellence in battle is demonstrated in Duncan’s words “O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman! ”. His lack of fear displays his courage and heroism presented in the line “As cannons over-charged with double-cracks”. Shakespeare uses this to highlight the greatness he once had. We immediately suspect the thought of Duncan’s murder in Macbeth’s mind through the line “Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear things that sound so fair? . Macbeth’s ambition seems to take control of him as he continuously orders the witches to inform him of the prophecies in the lines “Stay, you imperfect speakers! Tell me more” and “Speak, I charge you! ”. One can imagine Macbeth’s subsequent actions in the line “nothing is but what is not” as through it we realise that the only values that exists for Macbeth are those which he does not yet have, the Kingship. This continues to demonstrate how his ambition takes full control over him.

Macbeth realises that he must act quickly as “The Prince of Cumberland” is “a step on which he must fall down, or else o’erleap”, which continues to indicate how his ambition is taking over him and triggers his thought of Duncan’s murder which will soon become a reality. Macbeth recognizes the various reasons of why he should not kill Duncan and is tormented about these doubts, however he resolves to his “Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other”. However the loyalty shown to King Duncan in previous scenes is forgotten completely and his true colours are really being shown.

We can see how Macbeth deceives Banquo by replying: “i think not of them” when Banquo says he dreamt of the witches. This is linked to the theme of “appearance vs. reality” as we see the “false face” Macbeth has put on. Macbeth’s guilty, overwrought brain induces him to see visions before he does the murder. His guilt becomes outwardly visible to his own eyes, which he calls “a dagger of the mind”. This is a sign of the great turmoil in his mind where this fearless soldier is now tormented by images of blood and fear of the unknown.

After Duncan’s murder Macbeth realizes that because of the deed he has just committed he has lost the possibility of ever receiving blessing. He appears to be conscience stricken as he struggles to say “Amen”. He realises perfectly well the extent of his guilt as we see in the lines “Will all great Neptune’s Ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No” and “The pluck out mine eyes”. Macbeth’s guilt induces loss of sleep and, since he has lost his peace of mind, his innocence and guilt will torture him. His guilt becomes clearly evident in the line “Wake Duncan with thy knocking!

I would thou couldst” and this shows how he will be scarred and damned for eternity. Macbeth’s mind is tormented by the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s descendants will be kings of Scotland and convinces murderers that Banquo has always been their enemy while forcing them to kill him. This imposes the reprehensive position with which he has become, even worse than the murderers. Macbeth’s guilt and wickedness is also embodied in the ghost of Banquo which appears to torture Macbeth at the banquet he has organised for the succession of the throne.

As soon as Macbeth hypocritically mentions Banquo, he sees his ghost however Macbeth attributes his hallucination of the ghost to being a result of him being a beginner in murder. In later murders Macbeth appears to be quite hardened to the horrors of murder. He does feel guilt but this is not enough to keep him from committing further murders as he says that he is “in blood stepped in so far that should I wade no more returning were as tedious as going o’er”. Macbeth derives security from the witches as he typically interprets the apparitions in his favour, rejecting what is unfavourable to him.

We remember Hecate’s words: “security is mortals’ chiefest enemy”. By the end of the play Macbeth becomes completely ruthless and irrational and decides that “The very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand”. He therefore resolves to attack Macduff’s castle and kill his family. This accentuates Macbeth’s evil even more while showing the degeneration in his character as he murders a defenceless woman and her children. Macbeth no longer has any soul searching as he does not justify himself anymore with soliloquies before doing his deeds.

This causes him to become completely ruthless and unscrupulous, making him an outright villain. Although throughout the book Macbeth seems to be influenced by his wife and the witches, it is Macbeth and his will to become king that performs each and every deed. Macbeth could so easily have been a righteous and respectable person however it is his ambition and will that induces him to become a “hell hound” and a “dead butcher”. Although Macbeth has become a changed man his only kingly characteristic was his courage to fight until he, the lonely saddened yet ruthless character, died in battle.

Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth contains an ellaborate exproation of the theme of kingship. The main character’s evil plan aims at overthrowing the current ruler and assuming power over Scotland. Based on this the playwright profoundly analyses which qualities are the most important in a king and the divine right of kings. Before carrying out his plot Macbeth weighed up all the reasons why he wanted to proceed with it and all the arguments against his terrible murder plan. One such argument is that “this Duncan has been so clear in his great office. Duncan is portrayed as a wise ruler who feels strongly abou the security of his country in the ongoing war with Norway. However, our encounter with this noble man is very brief. Macbeth, once he became king, did not know how to rule a country. His major concerns are for his own safety and for te security of his own power. He doesn’t even consider the welfare of the Scottish people before going ahead with the regicide. This shows that no matter how dedicated you are to your country, even as a great warrior and “Bellona’s bridegroom” – as an ordinary person you may not rule a country.

This message is reflective of the prevailing belief in the divine right of kings that existed in Shakespeare’s day. Macbeth is not fit for the task: with his Scotland is “bleeding. ” The tyranny is reflected by the weather and bizarre supernatural events (pathetic fallacy). The playwright’s use of language in Macbeth is probably the brightest example of his ability to develop striking images. The enormous amount of heart-stopping gruesome references to blood and violence emphasise the consequences of the inadequate regime for which Macbeth is responsible.

However, the Bard of Avon not only condemns the bad ruler but he explores the good qualities that a king should possess. Desperate and helpless, Macduff arrives in England to see Malcolm, the legitimate successor to Duncan’s throne. Malcolm is almost an embodiment of all the positive qualities of kings. He, along with his brother, immediately decide to rely on themselves to preserve their dynasty by leaving Scotland despite the obvious and inevitable suspicion that it raises and their own bereavement. They handle the situation with wisdom and courage, all for the sake of their kingdom.

When Malcolm meets Macduff we see more of his wisdom. He adopts the personality of a man who is “not fit to govern and not even to live. ” Malcolm makes sure to not jeopardise his own life and the welfare of Scotland by “testing” Macduff. Malcolm, unlike Macbeth, is able to tell appearance from reality in his superiority as king. The main aspects highlighted by Malcom that are absolutely incompatible with a decent king are lying, voluptuousness and greed. He plans to “cut the nobles of their land, desire his jewels and this other’s house… our wives, your daughters, your matrons and your maids may not fulfil the cistern of my lust. ” Satisfied with Macduff’s reaction Malcolm opens up: “All I am is thyne and mine country to command” and admits that he is not ridden with vices are he pretended. We find out Shakespeare’s vision of king-becoming graces: “Justice, Verity, Temp’rance, Stableness, Bounty, Perseverance,Mercy, Lowliness, Devotion, Patience, Courage, Fortitude ” The return of the rightful king is marked by the delight of he army. Nature reacts positively when Malcolm returns.

Macbeth, on the contrary, is full of bravado anf feels invincible one minute and then left thinking about “all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death… a poor player that struts and frets his hours upon the stage” as Scotland, Lady Macbeth and his soul are all deteriorating around him. In conculsion, the theme of kingship is well developed in the play, with illustrations of the difference between a noble king and anoble man turned incompetent tyrant and the principles behind kingship.