Macbeth Paper
In the play "Macbeth", Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as the normal man - at first. Through his skills as a warrior, his friendship with Banquo and his loyalty to Duncan, Macbeth attempts to be the everyday man. As the play develops, however, Macbeth becomes over ambitious and power hungry. Like the book A Simple Plan, where people become so involved in their own greed and self-prosper that they kill people they love, Macbeth gains power through extreme desire and corruption. Macbeth does not set out to possess these characteristics. His "simple plan" for life is to be a normal man, according to society, characterized by power, class, bravery, and pride. The plan goes astray as his greed and immorality destroy his pursuit of normalcy. Shakespeare clearly establishes that as Macbeth becomes immersed in his social goals, he becomes inhuman. Although Macbeth does not appear in the first two scenes of the play, other characters talk about him in very descriptive terms. Macbeth is seen as a very brave and extremely valiant warrior: "For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name - Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel Which smoked with bloody e
Macbeth's first evil act is to kill Duncan. Macbeth was loyal to the king for many years as he rose through the ranks of the kingdom. He served as Thane of Glamis and fought in Duncan's army. Macbeth had only killed on the battlefield. While Macbeth agrees to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth actually commits the murder. Early in the play, Macbeth meets the three witches, his first encounter with the supernatural. They prophesize that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland. Macbeth sees his future unfolding and becomes anxious to fulfill his goals. The scene with the witches foreshadows Macbeth's successes and eventually his troubles. Shakespeare's "Macbeth" teaches how "absolute power corrupts absolutely." The play also represents medieval society's descent into depravity and immorality. Shakespeare's normal man succumbs to the temptations of power and greed. Normal man becomes abnormal. As in the book A Simple Plan, where common people are tempted to obtain wealth illegally, greediness leads to destruction. Macbeth's decision to ignore his conscience permits him to commit evil acts. First, he kills Duncan, then he kills Banquo and finally he becomes estranged from his wife. Each action leads to the next. Macbeth becomes more active and less concerned with the consequences. Ribner says, "His voluntary choice of evil, moreover, closes the way of redemption to him, for in denying nature he cuts off the source of redemption, and he must end in total destruction and despair" (Ribner 247). Macbeth loses his bond to God and therefor becomes inhuman. Shakespeare, at the beginning of the play, carefully portrays Macbeth as a man of great stature with the capacity to be good, with "milk of human kindness" (1.5. 15). Through Macbeth's goodness, he is natural and similar to other men. Shakespeare depicts Macbeth as linked to humanity, his fellow men, and to God. As these connections to humanity and God are destroyed, Macbeth loses his conscience, his sense of compassion, and his desire to live. Banquo suspects that Macbeth is behind Duncan's murder. When Macbeth learns of Banquo's suspicions, he hires the Murderers to kill Banquo. Macbeth takes this action despite his friends
Some common words found in the essay are:
Lady Macbeth, Simple Plan, Banquo Macbeth, III Normal, Disdaining Fortune, Scotland Macbeth, Duncan Banquo, II Normalcy, Thane Cawdor, Shakespeare's Macbeth, banquo macbeth, lady macbeth, macbeth loses, simple plan, duncan macbeth, play macbeth, book simple plan, macbeth banquo, macbeth begins, wife macbeth, duncan's army,
Approximate Word count = 1519
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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