In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth, a Scottish soldier, is led on a path of violence, corruption, and greed after taking his chances with a prophecy that claims he will become the king of Scotland. When this prophecy is first proclaimed to Macbeth, is it not mentioned how he will become king, but due to the mystery surrounding the prophecy and his wife’s incitement, he eventually decides to take power through assassination. However, this marks the beginning of the end, Macbeth’s downfall, as even his first murder alone makes the people of Scotland suspicious of his rise to power. Because of the external factors that pushed him in the beginning of the play, the question as to whether or not Macbeth is responsible for
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By mentioning how he would wholeheartedly murder Duncan if it would be the “be-all and the end-all,” it becomes clear that he knows he will have to continue murdering people in the future if he decides to kill Duncan. Furthermore, at a later point in the same speech, Macbeth states that he can’t spur himself to kill Duncan and the only thing that still drives him is his ambition, which he recognizes often leads people into disasters. Since Macbeth is able to recognize these two very important reasons not to embark on a path that he knows will lead to disaster, he should, therefore, have had enough mental strength to neglect his wife’s poor attempts at convincing him to murder Duncan.
Throughout the first act, Lady Macbeth maintains a large influence on Macbeth as she pushes him to be a better man as she envisions. In her monologue in Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth says, “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o ' th ' milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it. What thou wouldst …show more content…
Macbeth is driven by ambition, which causes him to become impulsive later on in the play. Without thinking, he hires murderers to massacre Macduff’s family while Macduff is in England. Macbeth obviously didn’t take any time to think this action through because he intends to stay in power, but by doing this, he only makes Macduff want to kill him even more, to the point that he assembles and army and invades Scotland. Another attribute of Macbeth’s character that influences his outcome is his desire for immediate satisfaction. Never content with the way things are, Macbeth always wants to challenge the prophecy given to him. To start, he decides to kill Duncan instead of finding a way to become king more peacefully, maybe by progressing through a hierarchy and being crowned the title of king at some point later on. Because the prophecy states that Banquo’s descendants will have power and not his (1.3.65-66), he also attempts to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. This, of course, comes back to hurt him as Fleance escapes and Banquo’s haunts him later on. Macbeth, although he has a sense of what is right early on, is more driven by greed than morality, and, therefore, makes poor decisions that lead to faster “rewards,” even when he is aware that other decisions may allow him to reap the same rewards, but not as
By mentioning how he would wholeheartedly murder Duncan if it would be the “be-all and the end-all,” it becomes clear that he knows he will have to continue murdering people in the future if he decides to kill Duncan. Furthermore, at a later point in the same speech, Macbeth states that he can’t spur himself to kill Duncan and the only thing that still drives him is his ambition, which he recognizes often leads people into disasters. Since Macbeth is able to recognize these two very important reasons not to embark on a path that he knows will lead to disaster, he should, therefore, have had enough mental strength to neglect his wife’s poor attempts at convincing him to murder Duncan.
Throughout the first act, Lady Macbeth maintains a large influence on Macbeth as she pushes him to be a better man as she envisions. In her monologue in Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth says, “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o ' th ' milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it. What thou wouldst …show more content…
Macbeth is driven by ambition, which causes him to become impulsive later on in the play. Without thinking, he hires murderers to massacre Macduff’s family while Macduff is in England. Macbeth obviously didn’t take any time to think this action through because he intends to stay in power, but by doing this, he only makes Macduff want to kill him even more, to the point that he assembles and army and invades Scotland. Another attribute of Macbeth’s character that influences his outcome is his desire for immediate satisfaction. Never content with the way things are, Macbeth always wants to challenge the prophecy given to him. To start, he decides to kill Duncan instead of finding a way to become king more peacefully, maybe by progressing through a hierarchy and being crowned the title of king at some point later on. Because the prophecy states that Banquo’s descendants will have power and not his (1.3.65-66), he also attempts to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. This, of course, comes back to hurt him as Fleance escapes and Banquo’s haunts him later on. Macbeth, although he has a sense of what is right early on, is more driven by greed than morality, and, therefore, makes poor decisions that lead to faster “rewards,” even when he is aware that other decisions may allow him to reap the same rewards, but not as