Macbeth Theme Essay Draft 1

           Macbeth, an infamous character by William Shakespeare is the play of a fallen king. But more importantly, the story of a king who rose to the thrown, after being told by witches he would, and murdered those that were a threat to his crown. Macbeth's downfall happens ten good men and one family later by a father and husband (Macduff) who swore to avenge his dead family. The whole play, Macbeth battles greed for the crown with his dying loyalty to his friends and country. Eventually, greed and his pursuit for power drove his intentions and a once brave and valiant soldier, tempted by the crown and destiny, became a murderous tyrant. Macbeth by William Shakespeare conveys that when lured by fate, there is a fine line between a benevolent man and a lethal one.
       Lady Macbeth is a prime example of a women turned evil by the perceptions of fate. Once an honorable and loving wife, read from her husband that he was presumed to become the king of all the land instantly believed that the only way to obtain the throne was to turn evil and kill for the crown. "Thicken my blood. Make me remorseless, so that no urgings of conscience can alter my fouls plans, nor stand in the way of what must be done. Come to my woman's breasts and turn my milk sour, you ministers of murder, wherever you lurk invisibly, awaiting evil deeds!" Right after Lady Macbeth received a letter from her husband that he heard he was to be king, her greed for the crown resorted straight to evil tactics to try and achieve it. So much so that she killed the king himself, or rather convinced her husband to. "He'll never see tomorrow's sun! Your face, my thane is like a book. It can reveal strange things to its readers. Avoid suspicion by acting normally. Be full of welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue. Look like the innocent flower, but be the snake that's lying under it." Lady Macbeth wanted to be queen so much that she tried and turn her loyal husband against the king and act like a flower, but be as a snake and kill him, that is the only way to be king. Therefore the fate told to her through her husband, fueled her greed and turned her deeds murderous.
       The more obvious example from the play, is Macbeth himself. The witches told him that he would be king and that left him vulnerable to the lethal acts of Lady Macbeth. Furthermore, the idea that the crown was only a "body" away drove him to kill more people even without the helpful persuasion of his wife. "Banquo scolded the Sisters when they first told me I'd be king, and ordered them to speak to him.  Then, like prophets, they hailed him as a father of a line of kings. On my head they placed a sterile crown and put a barren scepter in my hand- to be wrenched by a stranger, instead to be handed to a son of mine. If that be so, I've corrupted my mind for Banquo's offspring." Banquo was Macbeth's best friend and right hand man on the battlefield but now, the tables have turned seeing as Banquo threatens his crown, he is now his enemy and he must kill him to protect his crown. In the middle of his reign, he chose to be the murder that the thrown and fate had made him because after he killed Banquo and his wife asked about his fallacies, he replied; "Come, we'll go to sleep. My delusions are beginner's fear. I need experience. We've only just started." He believed that the only way to stay in power was to kill and since his greed for the crown was strong, he thought it was a suitable trade. Macbeth, once a man coated with honor and loyalty has turned against his country and friends for the power of being king, he has resorted killing his friends and king all for the chance to be king.
        Shakespeare often writes about the temptation of fate and destiny and how is can transform a man to do terrible deeds. In Macbeth, he was the first victim in the story, not of death, but of fate and greed and it turned him into a man he never should've been. The play conveys that when lured by fate, there is a fine line between a benevolent man and a lethal one. The ending resulted with Macbeth's head on a stick and Banquo's son still alive, ready to take the crown. So don't let greed drive your ambition but hard work and dedication, which is how Macbeth got his success as a soldier in the first place.

Macbeth Act 4-5

What does the decision to murder Macduff's family show about Macbeth?
It shows that Macbeth will stop at nothing to end the paranoia that he has gotten from murdering 2 people before going after Macduff's family. That he has finally been pushed to have no boundaries and just silence who ever needs to be in order for him to rule "peacefully". 

What is the purpose of the scene between Lady Macduff and her son?
The scene between Lady Macduff and her son is to show the effects of a tyrant, that is injured the families relationships and the kind of impact Macbeth's lust for the crown was having on an innocent family. The scene would intel the mothers love for her son and even though they were killed, the still tried to protect one another, opposite of what Macbeth had become, killing for himself. 

How does Malcolm test Macduff?
Malcolm tests Macduff by lying and saying he has a lot of lust for the crown and he would be an evil tyrant to the country of Scotland. When Macduff hears this, he says a man like that doesn't deserve to live let alone govern and when Malcolm hears this, he knows that Macduff isn't a traitor because if he was he would support Malcolm's lust and wouldn't contradict his intentions.

How does Macduff receive the news of his loss?
He and Malcolm are contemplating whether to go to war with Macbeth and try and impeach him, saying they have their soldiers ready and when Ross tells Macduff that his whole house has been slaughtered, his desire to avenge his family fuels his drives to go to war and kill Macbeth. 
Does Lady Macbeth's mental condition come as a surprise or was this possibility part of her character from the beginning? Explain.

It wasn't a surprise, in the beginning, she was a little mentally ill, asking the devil or evil spirits to help her murder someone. I think the guilt and the burden of carrying the secret of killing someone and that she drove her husband to kill one person that inspired more killings become tool much for her and she finally couldn't take it. Who or what do you think is ultimately responsible for Macbeth's death? Give reasons.
What do you think is Shakespeare's opinion of Macbeth? Lady Macbeth? Explain.

I think Macbeth is ultimately responsible for his own death,  he was ruthless, greedy, lustful, and impulsive and his own actions led to his own downfall. He didn't have to act on what the witches said, if he had waited he might have had a better outcome, just like Fleance is waiting and it is predicted that he will rule Scotland one day. He kept killing out of fear, and became a completely different man than he was before. First valiant and loyal, then the total opposite. I think Shakespeare thinks Macbeth is a good example of many people in society (on a more dramatic scale) but only doing things for himself, trying to climb up his own ladder, and not considering the repercussions of actions. Greed drives more of our actions than ambition and honesty does. How does Macbeth receive the news of his wife's death?

His servant tells him as he is preparing to battle the army coming towards him, he hears cries from women and asks his servant why they are crying and his servant replies by saying that his wife has died. 

How does Macduff reveal Macbeth's doom?

They exit fighting and Macduff comes back into the scene with Macbeth's head on a pole and says the country is free, "The world can breath again...I call upon to join aloud with me: 'Hail, King of Scotland!'".

What is the significance of Malcolm's ascension to the throne?

The significance of Malcolm's ascension to the throne is that the crown/throne went back to the same family that Macbeth took it away from in the first place. The crown fell to Duncan's son and it was if Macbeth became irrelevant to the time line of kings it was just succession, Duncan died so his son rose to power. 

QUOTES: 

Instead of crying, let’s keep hold of our swords and defend our fallen homeland like honorable men. Each day new widows howl, new orphans cry, and new sorrows slap heaven in the face, until it sounds like heaven itself feels Scotland’s anguish and screams in pain.

How could it be wisdom! To leave his wife, his children, his house, and his titles in a place so unsafe that he himself flees it! He doesn’t love us. He lacks the natural instinct to protect his family. Even the fragile wren, the smallest of birds, will fight against the owl when it threatens her young ones in the nest. His running away has everything to do with fear and nothing to do with love. And since it’s so unreasonable for him to run away, it has nothing to do with wisdom either.

Maybe you lost your hopes about me where I found my doubts about you. Why did you leave your wife and child vulnerable—the most precious things in your life, those strong bonds of love? How could you leave them behind? But I beg you, don’t interpret my suspicions as slander against you. You must understand that I want to protect myself. You may really be honest, no matter what I think.



Why should I commit suicide like one of the ancient Romans? As long as I see enemies of mine alive, I would rather see my sword wound them than me. 

(rubbing her hands) Come out, damned spot! Out, I command you! One, two. OK, it’s time to do it now.—Hell is murky!—Nonsense, my lord, nonsense! You are a soldier, and yet you are afraid? Why should we be scared, when no one can lay the guilt upon us?—But who would have thought the old man would have had so much blood in him?

The noise is coming from over there. Tyrant, show your face! If someone other than me kills you, the ghosts of my wife and children will haunt me forever. I can’t be bothered to fight these lame soldiers who only fight for money. I’ll either fight you, Macbeth, or else I’ll put down my sword unused. You must be over there. By the great noise, it sounds like one of the highest-ranking men is being announced. I hope I find him! I ask for nothing more than that.

Macbeth: Act 2

1. In your opinion, is Lady Macbeth a cold-blooded murderer? Why or why not?

Lady Macbeth isn't a cold-blooded murderer, despertation to be queen just clouded her proper judgement. I believe she just wants success and kingship for her husband because she says "my brave words will overcome the scruples standing between you and the golden circle.." she was willing to sacrifice her "humanity" in order to do the hard things to get her husband.  She also refers to him as "her dearest partner in greatness." I don't thing that her actions were sadistically motivated but she just wanted him to be king.  

2. Lady Macbeth has her own antics throughout the play. Why does Lady Macbeth faint in Act II? Does it serve its purpose? Explain

She faints in Act II to keep up the facade that her and Macbeth are innocent, an average woman's stomach would turn if she heard someone describing murder so vividly. "Oh, gentle lady, my words are not for your ears. No woman could survive the telling. Lady Macbeth was playing the part of an innocent woman that became sick at the sound of a killing so it would appear like she has nothing to do with the death of Duncan. Therefore when they described his dead body she said "Help me, please." pretending to suffer at the lose of the king instead of secretly benefiting from it.

3. How does Macbeth's attitude toward Duncan change after the murder?

His attitude toward Duncan changes because at first he knew he had to fight for him and his country, but after his death, he discovered his definite loyalty is more to himself and his wife not to Duncan. "I'm settled on it then. All my faculties shall be devoted to this terrible deed" He killed him and then lied about it to the officials, to cover for his wife "Who could hold back (from killing the servants) that had the loving heart to show it?" And  after, he was made king. He realized the positive repercussions of his actions and he liked them, therefore, even though he felt bad and guilty, he knew he had to keep the act up like his wife. 

4. If so pressuring on Macbeth, why didn't Lady Macbeth kill the king instead of Macbeth?

Lady Macbeth didn't do the killing herself because Macbeth didn't want to take what he wanted, he was fine with waiting for it while Lady Macbeth believed they had to act right away in order to get the throne. "You won't lose a moment's enjoyment through ignorance of the greatness that is in store for you." By convincing Macbeth to do the killing, he would be just as motivated and hungry for the crown and therefore enjoy that he made it. She wanted to be the puppet master, not the puppet. She says, "Are you afraid to match your actions with your ambitions? Can you want the glittering prize - the crown - yet be a self confessed coward?" She wanted to convince him that the crown was his to take, not hers to get for him.  

5. Now that Macbeth has killed the king, do you think he must do anything else to reign as king? Explain your answer.

With any big lie, the truth will start to come out and people will start connecting the dots, how Macbeth got all this power and he was conveniently at the place where Duncan died. Therefore I think that he will start killing people that question his rise to the thrown or his wife will convince him that the only way to stay king is too keep killing people so no one will find out he was the one that murdered the king in the first place.