MACBETH Analysis Essay Example For Students

MACBETH Analysis Essay A monologue from the play by William Shakespeare HECATE: Have I not reason, beldams as you are,Saucy and overbold? How did you dareTo trade and traffic with MacbethIn riddles and affairs of death;And I, the mistress of your charms,The close contriver of all harms,Was never called to bear my partOr show the glory of our art?And, which is worse, all you have doneHath been but for a wayward son,Spiteful and wrathful, who, as others do,Loves for his own ends, not for you.But make amends now: get you goneAnd at the pit of AcheronMeet me i th morning. Thither heWill come to know his destiny.Your vessels and your spells provide,Your charms and everything beside.I am for th air. This night Ill spendUnto a dismal and a fatal end.Great business must be wrought ere noon Christopher Columbus2 EssayMoreover, he never quite loses completely the liberty offree choice, which is the supreme bonum naturae of mankind. But since a wholly free act is one in accordance with reason,in proportion as his reason is more and more blinded byinordinate apprehension of the imagination and passions ofthe sensitive appetite, his volitions become less and lessfree. And this accounts for our feeling, toward the end ofthe drama, that his actions are almost entirely determinedand that some fatality is compelling him to his doom. Thiscompulsion is in no sense from without-though theologians mayat will interpret it so-as if some god, like Zeus in Greektragedy, were dealing out punishment for the breaking ofdivine law. It is generated rather from within, and it is notmerely a psychological phenomenon. Precepts of the naturallaw-imprints of the eternal law- deposited in his nature havebeen violated, irrational acts have established habitstending to further irrationality, and one of the penaltiesexacted is dire impairment of the liberty of free choice. Thus the Fate which broods over Macbeth may be identifiedwith that disposition inherent in created things, in thiscase the fundamental motive principle of human action, bywhich providence knits all things in their proper order. Macbeth cannot escape entirely from his proper order; he mustinevitably remain essentially human. The substance of Macbeths personality is that out ofwhich tragic heroes are fashioned; it is endowed by thedramatist with an astonishing abundance and variety ofpotentialities. And it is upon the development of thesepotentialities that the artist lavishes the full energies ofhis creative powers. Under the influence of swiftly alteringenvironment which continually furnishes or elicts newexperiences and under the impact of passions constantlyshifting and mounting in intensity, the dramatic individualgrows, expands, developes to the point where, at the end ofthe drama, he looms upon the mind as a titanic personalityinfinitely richer that at the beginning. This dramaticpersonality in its manifold stages of actuation in asartistic creation. In essence Macbeth, like all other men, isinevitably bound to his humanity; the reason of order, as wehave seen, determines his inescapable relationship to thenatural and eternal law, compels inclination toward hisproper act and end but provides him wi th a will capable offree choice, and obliges his discernment of good and evil. Macbeth Analysis Essay Example For Students Macbeth Analysis Essay In William Shakespeares Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, is a brave and loyal subject to the King of Scotland, but as the play progresses, his character begins to change drastically. Evil and unnatural powers, as well as his own passion to become king, take over his better half and eventually lead to his downfall. The three main factors that intertwine with one another that contribute to Macbeths tragic end are the prophecies told by the three witches, Lady Macbeths influence, and finally, Macbeths excessive passion and ambition which drove his desire to become king to the utmost extreme. The prophecy told by the three witches was what triggers the other factors that contribute to Macbeth s downfall. In the first act, the witches tell Macbeth that he is to become the Thane of Cawdor and soon after, king. This prophecy arouses Macbeths curiosity of how he can become the King of Scotland. Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more: By Sinels death I know I am Thane of Glamis; But how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives, a prosperous gentleman; and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief. (Act I. sc. III) This quote shows how the witches prophecy attracts Macbeth. It demonstrated how Macbeth thirsts for an answer from the witches of how is he to become the Thane of Cawdor and even king. As the play continues, Macbeth slowly relies on the witches prophecies. It becomes a remedy for Macbeths curiosity, which corrupts his character. One of the witches prophecies becomes true when King Duncan names Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor. At this point, Macbeth seeks advice from his wife, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth provides a scheme for Macbeth to assassinate the King. She is manipulative and persuasive in corrupting Macbeth s judgement. What beast wast then that you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man. (Act I. Sc.VII) In this quote, Lady Macbeth is agitating Macbeth by saying he is not a man if he does not do what he says he is going to do, which is to murder the king of course. This angers Macbeth and enables him to follow Lady Macbeths scheme to kill the King easier. Macbeths first murder is definitely a trying experience for him. However, as the play progresses, killing seems easy and the only solution to maintain his reign of the people of Scotland. Macbeth becomes increasingly ambitious as the play goes on. The witches prophecies and Lady Macbeths influence intensifies his ambition and drives Macbeth to obtain and maintain his title of Scotland by whatever means, even murdering his best friend, Banquo. Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, †¦no son of mine succeeding. Ift be so, for Banquos issue have I filed my mind; For them the gracious Duncan I have murderd; †¦To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings! (Act III. sc. I) At this point Macbeths passion becomes more and more extreme to the point where no one stands in his way. His greed, violence, and hunger for power drastically declines his character. The witches prophecy, Lady Macbeths influence, and Macbeths own ambition all contribute greatly to his deterioration of character which results in his downfall, which was death. All the causes link to one another. If it wasnt for Macbeths strong will and passion, Macbeth would still be his ordinary self. Because of this, Macbeths curiosity of possibly becoming king was brought out which led to Lady Macbeths controlling influence. Macbeths ambition then builds and causes him to commit a series of murders, one of which, includes his own best friend. If one of these factors were missing, Macbeth would not have been strong enough to carry the motive to kill King Duncan, which ultimately leads to his destruction.By: Jake Ascher