Macbeth Essay

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“It is neither the wickedness of the witches nor the urging of Lady Macbeth that finally ruins Macbeth. His basic weakness leads him astray.”

In Shakespeare's grand "tragedy of blood", we are pitched into the time of a valiant warrior who has constantly been trustworthy to his king, until he hears of a prophecy that he will befall king. This is where the universe begins to acquire an unbalanced shift. This disturbance has occurred as a result of Macbeth’s various weaknesses. His sensitivity to his feelings of insecurity which was played upon by the witches, how his manhood was attacked by Lady Macbeth, his drive for ambition and his fear of guilt greatly contributed to the destruction and transformation of Macbeth that lead him off …show more content…
Macbeth is driven by the ambition for his own individual status and power. Macbeth’s ambition causes him to slaughter many people, which in sequence leads to his ruin. “I am in blood stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er”. This quote reveals that his drive for ambition has resulted in great deal of blood to be left on his hands, expressing that it's too late to turn back. The more ambitious he becomes, the more his moral sense continues to deteriorate. The event where Macbeth arranges for the slaughtering of Macduff’s entire family illustrates that Macbeth will not stop at anything for power. “Your castle is surpris’d; your wife and babes savagely slaughter’d…” This directly leads to his downfall as it causes Macduff to sincerely loathe him. By letting this tragic flaw of ambition corrupt his morals and massacring the family of Macduff, Macbeth lays down the point for his own demise.
A manifestation of guilt is also emphasised as a weakness which ruins Macbeth. This weakness leads into Macbeth’s descent into madness. Hallucinations are supernatural symbols of Macbeth guilt and generally serve as a token of what heinous acts have been done or are about to take place. One of the key illusions that occur in the play is the floating dagger which appears before Macbeth before he murders the King of Scotland. “Is this a dagger which I
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