"Macbeth": The Great Tragedy by Shakespeare Essay

Submitted By nishal101
Words: 1075
Pages: 5
Open Document
The great tragedy, ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare is a powerful play that explores the consequences of unchecked ambition. The noble hero, Macbeth grows into a malevolent villain, who still presents noble attributes as he is about to die for his villainous actions. It’s a paradoxical play in many senses; Macbeth’s ambition is what earned him the crown but it was also his fatal flaw, and the cause of his inevitable downfall. The supernatural concept which acted as a foundation to the story presents the responder with a twisted plot, straying from what is believed to be natural and creating the unnatural through the murder of king Duncan. The good is overshadowed by the evil, and justice is only served at the cost of many lives. Genders are disputed, as Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and Macduff challenge the social viewpoints on male and female roles in society. Macbeth is a controversial drama which provokes a diverse range of subjective responses from critics.
One of the most disputed aspects of the play is the gender roles casted in it. A feminist reading would accuse the play to be dismissive of females considering how all female characters seized to exist by the climax. Marilyn French had dubbed the drama, “A total masculine world”, however in response to this view point it can be argued that it was the manipulative or emotional power females had on the male characters that started the chain of events for this tragedy. The masculinity of Macbeth was sarcastically questioned by Lady Macbeth “...live a coward in thine own esteem...”, this effectively spurred his need to prove himself not cowardly and therefore manly. Yet believing her husband isn’t manly enough Lady Macbeth conjures the spirits in her soliloquy, “unsex me...” pleading to transcend the limits put on her because of her gender. Joan Larsen Klein suggests that this is Lady Macbeth not wanting to physically become manly but rather, “... act with the cruelty she ignorantly and perversely identified with male strength.” Lady Macbeth is a character who recognised the limits for those of her gender in a patriarchal society and longs to act otherwise. However Macduff is a character aware of the fact that men are meant to repress emotion. Yet when he hears that Macbeth murdered his family, in responses to Malcolm’s suggestion, “Dispute it like a man,” Macduff also wants to, “...feel it as a man”. With Macduffs emotive reply Shakespeare presents the responder with another character who is contradicting stereotypes of gender roles, bringing to the responder’s attention that it is merely a human’s response to act on emotion regardless of their gender. Through the drama Shakespeare questions society’s stereotypical views on male and female responses, emphasising the fact that they are all people overcome by emotion and regardless of their gender it drives them.
Furthermore, Shakespeare explores the corrupting power that unchecked ambition holds through Macbeth’s character. At the beginning the witch’s prophesised to Macbeth that he will become Thane of Cawdor, then the ’King’. Not believing it at the start Macbeth moved on, until he was named Thane of Cawdor. His mind then wonders to thoughts of becoming king, “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical...” It’s evident from Macbeth’s aside that immediately he thinks of murder, thereby showing the responder how instantaneously his thoughts become corrupt. Macbeth’s conscience causes him to second guess his plan to kill Duncan, “For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires” Macbeth objectifies his ambition, the darkness he associates with his desires or ambition implies that he knows the wrong in it. However through the use imagery and rhetorical question, “Is this a dagger which I see before me,/ The handle toward my hand? Come let me clutch thee;” Shakespeare illustrates how Macbeth is so overcome by his ambition that it’s overriding his own conscience. Macbeth essentially
Show More

Related Documents: "Macbeth": The Great Tragedy by Shakespeare Essay

Essay on Lady Macbeth

Through the Eyes of a Killer Who doesn’t love a good play about corruption and greed? Shakespeare is the king of tragedy in the theatre. He takes extraordinary situations and puts characters in them. From love stories to tragedies, Shakespeare is one of the most well-known play writers. His Macbeth is no different. In this essay there will be explanations of the hallucinations, and the meanings behind them; how they change the characters and bring out their dark side. First, a brief introduction…

Words 633 - Pages 3

Lady Macbeth's Flaws

Tragedy is defined as someone who, at one point has great qualities as a leader, but let's one flaw completely and utterly destroys them. Macbeth is a prime example of this. His flaws to the average person would be looked at as something good for example, his positive attitude , caring tendencies, and loyalty to his country . These admirable characteristics are what led to the great tragedy of Macbeth. While bright ideas, it started out with caring parents with the best intentions, and turned into…

Words 730 - Pages 3

Essay on Review Of Macbeth By William Shakespear

Review of Macbeth by William Shakespeare Macbeth is one of most famous plays and a great tragedy of Shakespeare. It is also named as ‘The Scottish play'. The title itself suggests the name of the protagonists. The whole play revolves around the protagonists Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth. "Macbeth" means "son of life", and is a Christian name rather than a patronymic. The themes that are depicted in the play are that of fate, ambition, treachery and deception. The drama is rich in imagery. Moreover…

Words 623 - Pages 3

Evidence To Support The Overall Purpose Of Macbeth

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Holt McDougal Literature. Ed. Janet Allen, et al. Orlando: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Overall Purpose/Theme: The overall purpose for The Tragedy of Macbeth is to convey the message that ambition kills many and once you have the power nothing will stand in your way to earn even more power. Evidence to support the theme: 1. Lady Macbeth reads a letter from Macbeth talking bout ho he might become king so she states. “Glamis thou art,…

Words 593 - Pages 3

macbeth essay

2014 ! ! ! Why Shakespeare’s Macbeth Is The Best Classic Play Shakespeare’s Macbeth is by far the best classic play in existence. His writings pleased masses and he was very much ahead of his own time. Out of many great plays, Macbeth in particular stands out because of Shakespeare’s spectacular use of a supernatural essence to progress the story. Adding to it’s excellence is the writers effective use of pathos throughout the play to truly make it feel like a tragedy. Overall his knowledge of capturing…

Words 779 - Pages 4

Essay on Lady Macbeth

famous Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” comedy was perceived in an entirely different way than it is viewed today. Shakespeare’s earliest demonstration of comedy was in Macbeth during his very famous Porter scene. In Shakespeare’s eyes the point of the scene was just to buy time so that the characters playing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth could was there hands. The reason for this is because this takes place at the same time of Duncan’s murder. Many people have and still think that Shakespeare did not write this…

Words 711 - Pages 3

Greed In Macbeth

thing as too much power? Macbeth, who starts out as a highly moral individual, is overcome with greed and the lust for power. Power will eventually become Macbeth’s greatest downfall, and he will have to pay the ultimate price to keep it. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare illustrates the themes of greed and murder to show how the lust for power can turn a noble individual into a cold blooded murder, who will do anything to increase his station. Shakespeare illustrates many symbols and…

Words 646 - Pages 3

Senior Paper

2012 “My Wife Made Me Do It” “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (Shakespeare Coleman) stated the three witches in the beginning of Act I, after deciding on when they’ll meet again. This quote generally means that things are not always as they may seem and will foreshadow events soon to come. After the bloody battle between Scotland and Norway, the protagonist Macbeth meets three witches. These “black and midnight hags” (Shakespeare Coleman) tell his future by greeting him with three titles that lead…

Words 1023 - Pages 5

Shakespeare Writes About Issues That Are Still Relevant Today Essay

Shakespeare writes about issues that are still relevant today Shakespeare writes about issues that are still relevant today because his themes are universal, his plays have been updated and remade and there are various schools of thought who argue about his plays. His universal themes of vaulting and corrupting ambition, a reliance on superstition and gender tell us that the play Macbeth explored themes that are still seen in today’s society. The updated and remade film versions of Macbeth (also…

Words 1301 - Pages 6

Symbolism In Macbeth

Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, Macbeth. As this saying is repeated throughout the play the viewers continue to wonder, “is one’s actions beautiful on the outside or evil on the inside” and that is exactly what Shakespeare was trying to comprehend. This motif applies to the witches as they are ugly on the outside, but everything they tell to Macbeth is beautiful. Nevertheless, the witches told Macbeth of a prophecy that eventually led to the killing of numerous people and the death of Macbeth himself. So was…

Words 893 - Pages 4