Macbeth: A Victim or an Agent
Humans naturally succumb to the intriguing possibility of power. Therefore, throughout the duration of the classic play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is faced with a plethora of circumstances and temptations that eventually lead to his downfall. Many people may argue that in order to execute his dreadful acts, Macbeth was influenced by his greed and choices to be. Yet on the other hand, others my say that Macbeth's harmful acts were a spawn to the thoughts fed to him by either the three witches or Lady Macbeth. All three options can be proven true; however, the most predominant influence is how Macbeth lets his hubris guide his belief of the words and prophecy of the witches in order …show more content…
During his first confrontation with the witches, they share part of Macbeth's future with him, which is the first step of getting him intrigued by the witches. He directly asks them, ¨Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:/ By Sinel's death i know i am Thane of Glamis;/ But how of Cawdor?¨ (Mac.1.3.70-72). Here, Macbeth directly alludes to his newly found interest in the witches prophecy by declaring that the old women must tell him more about their cryptic proclamation regarding his fate. He is showing how much he cares about anything that involves or revolves around himself, even in the slightest way. He doesn't question how the witches have obtained this information, the only questions he has regard himself and how he might benefit from what they predicted. Yet sadly, this event only marks the start of Macbeth's downfall due to his …show more content…
Surprisingly, Macbeth doesn't seem phased by this oncoming threat, instead he reacts to them by saying,¨ Hang our banners on the outward walls./The cry is still ´They come!´ Our castle's strength/ Will laugh a siege to scorn. Here let them lie/ Till famine and the ague eat them up¨(Mac.5.5.1-4). Macbeth is openly saying how he has no fear of the enemy advancing towards him, even though he knows he is vastly outnumbered and cornered in his castle. He has a limitless amount of reassurance that he and his army will be able to demolish the soldiers attempting to thwart his plans. Macbeth´s self confidence and hubris gave him false hopes of holding on to his crown. Yet, while in reality, Macbeth is slain due to the fact the the enemy becomes too powerful for him to
Humans naturally succumb to the intriguing possibility of power. Therefore, throughout the duration of the classic play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is faced with a plethora of circumstances and temptations that eventually lead to his downfall. Many people may argue that in order to execute his dreadful acts, Macbeth was influenced by his greed and choices to be. Yet on the other hand, others my say that Macbeth's harmful acts were a spawn to the thoughts fed to him by either the three witches or Lady Macbeth. All three options can be proven true; however, the most predominant influence is how Macbeth lets his hubris guide his belief of the words and prophecy of the witches in order …show more content…
During his first confrontation with the witches, they share part of Macbeth's future with him, which is the first step of getting him intrigued by the witches. He directly asks them, ¨Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:/ By Sinel's death i know i am Thane of Glamis;/ But how of Cawdor?¨ (Mac.1.3.70-72). Here, Macbeth directly alludes to his newly found interest in the witches prophecy by declaring that the old women must tell him more about their cryptic proclamation regarding his fate. He is showing how much he cares about anything that involves or revolves around himself, even in the slightest way. He doesn't question how the witches have obtained this information, the only questions he has regard himself and how he might benefit from what they predicted. Yet sadly, this event only marks the start of Macbeth's downfall due to his …show more content…
Surprisingly, Macbeth doesn't seem phased by this oncoming threat, instead he reacts to them by saying,¨ Hang our banners on the outward walls./The cry is still ´They come!´ Our castle's strength/ Will laugh a siege to scorn. Here let them lie/ Till famine and the ague eat them up¨(Mac.5.5.1-4). Macbeth is openly saying how he has no fear of the enemy advancing towards him, even though he knows he is vastly outnumbered and cornered in his castle. He has a limitless amount of reassurance that he and his army will be able to demolish the soldiers attempting to thwart his plans. Macbeth´s self confidence and hubris gave him false hopes of holding on to his crown. Yet, while in reality, Macbeth is slain due to the fact the the enemy becomes too powerful for him to