Macbeth Act Essay

The Monster 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. His inner animal is unleashed and he has a total loss of morality and loses sight of what is right and wrong to him. His relationships fade and he no longer cares about what is between him and the person he deems expendable. Macbeth was not born a man of bloodlust; he was a brave warrior that carried himself with the utmost dignity. He had respect not only for himself but for the man he fought on the frontlines.

Sergeant:- "For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name -
Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like valour's minion carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave;
Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chaps,
And fix'd his head upon our battle-+ments""

(Macbeth Act I Scene II)

His peers had the utmost respect for him. They felt he was a good man and he would do good things as thane. But what they were not aware of was that Power would turn Macbeth into a demon that was filled with emotions:

“Macbeth’s ambition soon spirals out of control and forces him to murder again and again to cover up his previous wrongdoings. Macbeth’s first victims are the Chamberlains who are blamed and killed by Macbeth for the murder of King Duncan. Banquo’s murder soon follows once Macbeth fears that the truth could be exposed.” (An Analysis of Macbeth's Ambition, Jamieson, Lee)

Doing what he increases his guilt. Macbeth cannot come to terms that he has murdered and does not want to. Yet inside he knows that he will continue to murder to cover up his tracks. HHHe fears it will catch up to him and he will be cut down. When Macbeth commits his second murder he distances himself from his wife. He has a further disconnect as his actions differ this time because he hires two murderers in Act 3.
He does this to relieve the weight of doing the deed himself so that it would ease his conscience. He wants to separate himself from what happens to Banquo and not experience the same feelings that he had when he killed the last time. Although he does not have the blood on his own hands, at the dinner, upon hearing the news from the two murderers, it hits him. He begins to have fits because he cannot handle his emotions and knowing that yet again he has put another man in his grave.

“Ere humane statute purged the gentle weal;

Ay, and since too, murders have been perform'd

Too terrible for the ear: the times have been,

That, when the brains were out, the man would die,

And there an end; but now they rise again,

With twenty mortal murders on their crowns,

And push us from our stools: this is more strange

Than such a murder is.”(Act 3 Scene 4 Line 80)

Although he did not commit the act it still weighs on his conscience.
“For example, Macbeth is visited by the ghost of Banquo, who he murdered to protect his secret. The apparition embodies Macbeth’s guilt and therefore causes Macbeth to nearly reveal the truth about King Duncan’s murder. However, Macbeth’s guilt is not enough to discourage him from murder. This perhaps indicates a lack of morality – Macbeth’s key character failin.”
(Analysis of Macbeths Guilt, Jamieson Lee)
It weighs so heavily on him that he almost confesses his guilt at the dinner and reveal to all of his guests that he has had Banquo murdered. Macbeth is slowly losing his morality but there is still a hint of morality that remains. Due to

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