Trivia time: Which Shakespearean play actually happened, with some artistic liberties of course? It is of course the story of Macbeth! Not all of the play actually happened, which is fairly apparent when considering the presence of witches within the play, however there actually was a king Macbeth of Scotland who killed a person named Duncan, only to be slain in battle. He lived from 1005 to 1057 and seems to be a very clear inspiration for the story of Macbeth. Yet, the story of Macbeth within literature seems to inspire more intrigue than that of the real world. It poses ones such as the everlasting question of fate. Depending on the angle from which the reader views this, Macbeth can either be tied up by fate or simply bringing about his
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This is evident straight off in the beginning scenes of Macbeth, where the man of honor is confronted by three witches. The witches say that Macbeth will be Thane of Glamis, Cawdor, and the King of Scotland (I.iii.51-53). This prophecy is one that causes one which inspires much greed within both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Sure, at first, they treat the words of the three witches with much disbelief, however, minutes afterwards, a messenger approaches Macbeth and declares, “He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor, …” (I.iii.109). Macbeth is dubbed the Thane of Cawdor, as was promised in the prophecy. This tiny bit of foreshadowing from the Weird Sisters gives Macbeth the belief that he is to become king. That also compels him to tell his wife, who pushes him to fulfill the prophecy and kill the king to succeed him as ruler. So, from here on out, Macbeth was set on a path to become king and eventually be killed due to his malevolence. And he does indeed become king, as was predicted, though the ways through which he carried it out were not mentioned. He does not limit his malevolence to his life before his rules however. After Macbeth becomes king, Banquo becomes suspicious of him. He mentions how …show more content…
Before he was crowned king, he had to get rid of his king Duncan. Right before Macbeth has succeeded in his plans to kill Duncan, he states, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee!” (II.i.41-42). Macbeth was the person who committed the initial task which led to his reign. He did once try to retract his attempts to kill Duncan, however, at a certain point, that motif becomes corrupted, and he goes through with his plans of killing the king. This starts what will be known as the reign of the tyrannical Macbeth, who used murder to become king as well as to defend his rule. Tyrannical is used here to denote his malevolence and cruel behavior when dealing with potential enemies, such as his friend Banquo. Yes, Banquo is killed. Macbeth, after sending murderers after Banquo and Fleance, says that ‘if Banquo is to be killed, it must happen tonight’. (III.i.155-156). Banquo and his son Fleance, supposedly pose a threat to Macbeth’s rule, and thus, he determines that they must die. Thus, he does what any ruler would do: attempt to take their lives. Banquo dies, however Fleance survives and dies alone in the woods or finds a new place to live. Banquo’s death marks the complete shift in the play. Macbeth has had his best friend killed and this leads to his
This is evident straight off in the beginning scenes of Macbeth, where the man of honor is confronted by three witches. The witches say that Macbeth will be Thane of Glamis, Cawdor, and the King of Scotland (I.iii.51-53). This prophecy is one that causes one which inspires much greed within both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Sure, at first, they treat the words of the three witches with much disbelief, however, minutes afterwards, a messenger approaches Macbeth and declares, “He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor, …” (I.iii.109). Macbeth is dubbed the Thane of Cawdor, as was promised in the prophecy. This tiny bit of foreshadowing from the Weird Sisters gives Macbeth the belief that he is to become king. That also compels him to tell his wife, who pushes him to fulfill the prophecy and kill the king to succeed him as ruler. So, from here on out, Macbeth was set on a path to become king and eventually be killed due to his malevolence. And he does indeed become king, as was predicted, though the ways through which he carried it out were not mentioned. He does not limit his malevolence to his life before his rules however. After Macbeth becomes king, Banquo becomes suspicious of him. He mentions how …show more content…
Before he was crowned king, he had to get rid of his king Duncan. Right before Macbeth has succeeded in his plans to kill Duncan, he states, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee!” (II.i.41-42). Macbeth was the person who committed the initial task which led to his reign. He did once try to retract his attempts to kill Duncan, however, at a certain point, that motif becomes corrupted, and he goes through with his plans of killing the king. This starts what will be known as the reign of the tyrannical Macbeth, who used murder to become king as well as to defend his rule. Tyrannical is used here to denote his malevolence and cruel behavior when dealing with potential enemies, such as his friend Banquo. Yes, Banquo is killed. Macbeth, after sending murderers after Banquo and Fleance, says that ‘if Banquo is to be killed, it must happen tonight’. (III.i.155-156). Banquo and his son Fleance, supposedly pose a threat to Macbeth’s rule, and thus, he determines that they must die. Thus, he does what any ruler would do: attempt to take their lives. Banquo dies, however Fleance survives and dies alone in the woods or finds a new place to live. Banquo’s death marks the complete shift in the play. Macbeth has had his best friend killed and this leads to his