Analytical Essay: Poetic Justice in Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth, authored by William Shakespeare, uses several techniques to elucidate what poetic justice is in a story. Simply with logic being rewarded or corruption being punished by an act closely relatable to a character’s own conduct. Shakespeare used this technique, in addition to many others, including the slaying of Macbeth, Macduff finding peace over his family’s murder and Lady Macbeth’s role in convincing Macbeth to slay the king.
The first example of poetic justice was Macduff slaying Macbeth in battle. Lady Macbeth and the three witches convinced Macbeth to pursue the opportunity of becoming King, resulting in numerous deaths of innocent people. In the view of Macbeth, it …show more content…
The witches and their prophecies essentially raised the idea of Macbeth becoming King of Scotland, however, Lady Macbeth was the one who actually took it seriously enough to consider. She wanted to become Queen and wanted Macbeth to have the power of a King, with the only way of doing this was to commit the most despicable of crimes. Once “the deed is done”, Lady Macbeth felt enormous guilt over King Duncan’s death; waking up every night and washing the blood off her hands in a sense of paranoia. “Out, damned spot! Out, I say! — One, two. Why, then, 'tis time to do 't…Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.” The guilt felt by Lady Macbeth throughout the play ultimately led her to committing suicide by leaping from a balcony, which she felt was the quickest possible way to end the pain. How poetic justice was shown in this last example came in the instance of Lady Macbeth’s death. She is nearly if not as guilty than Macbeth, because if it weren’t for her influence, the thought of killing the king would never had crossed Macbeth’s mind.
Therefore, poetic justice as a whole is used to give the most logical result in a text, showing the audience a ‘good over evil’ triumph. Macbeth showed this in many cases, including the death of Macbeth, Macduff finding peace over the murder of his family and the suicide of Lady Macbeth. Macbeth’s wife was just as culpable
The Tragedy of Macbeth, authored by William Shakespeare, uses several techniques to elucidate what poetic justice is in a story. Simply with logic being rewarded or corruption being punished by an act closely relatable to a character’s own conduct. Shakespeare used this technique, in addition to many others, including the slaying of Macbeth, Macduff finding peace over his family’s murder and Lady Macbeth’s role in convincing Macbeth to slay the king.
The first example of poetic justice was Macduff slaying Macbeth in battle. Lady Macbeth and the three witches convinced Macbeth to pursue the opportunity of becoming King, resulting in numerous deaths of innocent people. In the view of Macbeth, it …show more content…
The witches and their prophecies essentially raised the idea of Macbeth becoming King of Scotland, however, Lady Macbeth was the one who actually took it seriously enough to consider. She wanted to become Queen and wanted Macbeth to have the power of a King, with the only way of doing this was to commit the most despicable of crimes. Once “the deed is done”, Lady Macbeth felt enormous guilt over King Duncan’s death; waking up every night and washing the blood off her hands in a sense of paranoia. “Out, damned spot! Out, I say! — One, two. Why, then, 'tis time to do 't…Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.” The guilt felt by Lady Macbeth throughout the play ultimately led her to committing suicide by leaping from a balcony, which she felt was the quickest possible way to end the pain. How poetic justice was shown in this last example came in the instance of Lady Macbeth’s death. She is nearly if not as guilty than Macbeth, because if it weren’t for her influence, the thought of killing the king would never had crossed Macbeth’s mind.
Therefore, poetic justice as a whole is used to give the most logical result in a text, showing the audience a ‘good over evil’ triumph. Macbeth showed this in many cases, including the death of Macbeth, Macduff finding peace over the murder of his family and the suicide of Lady Macbeth. Macbeth’s wife was just as culpable