Macbeth: A True Villain

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In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, we are presented with a convoluted universe revolving around the protagonist Macbeth, someone who is initially a man of honor, but slowly slips into being the antagonist of the play. While it is clear that Macbeth was influenced by Lady Macbeth and carefully observed by the Weird Sisters, I will argue that Macbeth’s fall into paranoia, murder, and tyranny actually stemmed from himself and his predisposed desires. Macbeth may have appeared to others as an honorable noble worthy of leading his country, but his secret inner thoughts drive him down a dark path in a quest for power. The outer versus inner conflict ultimately breaks Macbeth, thereby showing the face of a true villain.
Although the reader is not introduced to Macbeth until Act I Scene iii, there is some information revealed about him beforehand. The otherworldly Witches that open the production set a surreal tone to the entire play as they open the universe to the supernatural, speaking in their double language of equivocation by saying “Fair is foul and foul is fair”(Pg. 129; 1.1.9). This sets the course …show more content…
We meet Lady Macbeth alone on stage revealing her innermost thoughts, which are filled with the imagery of death and destruction. She asks for help from the spirits to unsex her and change her into a woman capable of performing heinous acts. She calls upon the night itself to hide her actions in a "blanket" of darkness. Bradley argues that the reason why Lady Macbeth entered this mindset is because one has to assume “that his [Macbeth’s] guilty ambition, whatever its precise form, was known to his wife and shared by her. Otherwise, surely, she would not, on reading his letter, so instantaneously assume that the King must be murdered in their castle ; nor would Macbeth, as soon as he meets her, be aware (as he evidently is) that this thought is in her mind” (pg.

The Role Of Macbeth In The Odyssey

blood “(Act II.2 line 49). Lady Macbeth told him to wash his hands and to put the dagger into the king sleeping guards to blame them for the tragedy. The next morning, to cover his tracks he killed the guards. After he killed them he said, “O, yet I do repent me of my fury That I did kill them” (II.3 3). He demonstrated how dark his heart truly was. If he let those guards alive his plans would have been ruined. In addition, King Duncan’s death was not enough for Macbeth. He planned to murder his friend…

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Macbeth Paper

dictionary, a villain does not solely have to be the person who commits all of the crimes. In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, while Macbeth does accomplish becoming an immoral villain who destroys his reign and his country, the real villain is his wife, Lady Macbeth, whereas she is the one who influenced her vulnerable husband to become evil in the first place. Lady Macbeth is the real villain for the following reasons: she commands evil upon herself, she plants the evil in Macbeth, and the planting…

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TO WHAT EXTENT DOES SHAKESPEARE PRESENT MACBETH AS A VILLAIN? Essay

PRESENT MACBETH AS A VILLAIN? Shakespeare presents Macbeth more extensively as a villain using methods which would be more understood in the era the play was composed, which was the Jacobean period, but influenced by the reign of Elizabeth. During the Elizabethan period people were preoccupied with the supernatural, which is one of the main topics in Shakespeare’s play. In my opinion Shakespeare structures the play to make the audience see Macbeth transforming from a hero into a villain, we can…

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Blind Ambition In Macbeth And Frankenstein

Blind ambition, a driving force in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth and in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, eventually leads to the main characters’ downfalls. In Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is an eager scientist, loyal son, and loyal friend; however, he does not stay this way throughout the book. In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth is introduced as King Duncan’s loyal soldier because he killed the wanted traitor, Macdonwald. Additionally, Victor is interested…

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Macbeth Act Essay

Within In the drama of Macbeth, there is an inner battle that Macbeth faces. He yearns to be respected as a great leader, but at the same time his thirst for power cannot be quenched until he is crowned king. After he is told his prophecy by the witches, he becomes like a child waiting for Christmas. He grows anxious and impatient waiting for his crown and eventually decides to take matters into his own hands and make his own prophecy a reality. Macbeth becomes a monster in the play.…

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Of Mice And Men Feminist Analysis

presented in Macbeth and Of Mice and Men and are it true to say that women are villains rather than victims Both Shakespeare and John Steinbeck wrote their books where male dominance was the norm. Both Lady Macbeth and Curley’s wife challenge this norm by manipulating men and in doing so they gain power over them in an attempt to become socially accepted as independent women in society. Both writers gave their characters powers which would be unusual in 1937 America and 1600 Scotland, Lady Macbeth uses…

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Lady Macbeth's Downfall

In William Shakespeare’s play of Macbeth, the main character is depicted as to be brave and a “Buther” but as the reader continues with the story the outcome of which to wether Macbeth should be blamed for the events in which he committed such traitorous crimes or if he was in the right the entire time for his choices. At the beginning of the story Macbeth is portrayed as a faithful and respectable person however, his character changes when influenced by others manipulating his decisions of doing…

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Lady Macbeth Femininity Quotes

In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth takes on the role of a tragic hero through his embodiment of several common tragic traits. His wife, Lady Macbeth, brings about her husband’s downfall by encouraging destructive behavior that only magnifies Macbeth’s tragic flaws of pride and greed. Her desire for power prompts her interest in controlling Macbeth’s actions. From this, it results in an inadequate adjustment of their relationship. This triggers different characteristics and emotions…

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Macbeth Essay Answer

Macbeth Essay Answer Shakespeare’s play Macbeth has become a classic, not just because of the fascinating plot but also because of its fully developed, realistic characters. This play has been described as “a powerful study of the ruin of a human soul.” The main character Macbeth is an especially interesting character to analyze because he does not begin the play as the villain. Instead, Macbeth is a tragic hero because he had been greatly admired, gave into temptation, and was never able to…

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Macbeth and Witches Essay

the influence of Lady Macbeth, or the prophecies from the three witches. Draw explicitly on quotations and plot development to support your ideas. Macbeth, a tragedy scripted by William Shakespeare in the 17th century, shows the effects a desire for power can have over a man. Macbeth, the title character of the play is often expressed as being the villain of the tragedy however through the study of the play it is evident that rather being an innately evil character Macbeth was a tragic hero. Doomed…

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