In Shakespeare's play "Macbeth," the theme of honour and certainty is explored through the struggles of the characters to maintain their sense of self-worth and find a sense of security in a world that is constantly changing. Macbeth's struggle to restore his honour, Lady Macbeth's attempt to rid herself of guilt, and Banquo's fight to maintain his integrity are all examples of the importance of honour and integrity in the face of adversity. Macbeth, the play's protagonist, initially enjoys a high level of honour and respect as a brave warrior and loyal subject to King Duncan. However, his ambition leads him down a dark path, and he becomes consumed by his desire for power. In his attempt to become king, Macbeth murders King Duncan and others, which compromises his honour. His struggle to restore his honour and overcome his guilt ultimately leads to his downfall. Macbeth's attempts to maintain his power and position as king by …show more content…
Her ambition and desire for power drive her to persuade Macbeth to commit regicide. Lady Macbeth's attempts to rid herself of guilt are evident in her constant hand-washing and attempts to dissociate herself from the murders. However, her guilt becomes too much to bear, and she ultimately takes her own life. Lady Macbeth's struggle highlights the consequences of unchecked ambition and the importance of maintaining one's honour and integrity. Banquo is a foil to Macbeth, as he maintains his integrity and honour throughout the play. Despite his ambition for his own descendants to become kings, Banquo does not act on it, and instead remains loyal to King Duncan and his successors. This loyalty ultimately leads to Banquo's death at the hands of Macbeth, but his integrity remains intact. Banquo's struggle to maintain his honour and integrity highlights the importance of staying true to one's values and principles, even in the face of
His greed leads him to commit sins such as murdering the well-liked King. All in all, Macbeth’s ambitious actions drive him to destruction through his
Macbeth decides he needs to take action to keep his crown, “Given to the common enemy of man/ to make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings/ Rather than so, come Fate into the list” (3. 1. 70-72). After seeing that all of his prophecies come true Macbeth thinks about Banquo and fears losing his crown. Macbeth hires murderers to go and kill Banquo and Fleance so that he remains king.
Macbeth recognizes the rapid and drastic downfall of his life and by making the comparison to a poor player that is no longer heard from, he thinks that life is meaningless and lacks purpose. Understanding how his deception leads to destruction, his perspective on life shifts to a cynical view. His existence is merely a performance and his inability to continue the honorable act illustrates Macbeth’s undoing of his former nobility. As his destructive nature changes his attitude, his carelessness will continue to spike as he reaches the end of his life. Shakespeare uses Macbeth to give attention to the reckless attitude that results from allowing deception to
Macbeth ultimately fails to stay in power because of his ambition. Macbeth fails because he is overly ambitious, lacks loyalty to his friends and his people, and is overly gullible and easily manipulated by the witches and Lady Macbeth. Nonetheless, Macbeth’s ambition makes his emotions get the best of him, and ultimately fails to stay in power. Macbeth killing Banquo results in Macbeth losing another loved one. Banquo being his closest friend, this had a stronger effect on Macbeth's conscience especially when he “dare… Approach thou like… rugged Russian bear”( Shakespeare 3.4.121-122).
Shakespeare’s story Macbeth is a play that contains guilt, pleasure, and manipulation. The character Macbeth was always loyal to his king that he had served, King Duncan, until Macbeth’s wife Lady Macbeth manipulated him into killing his king that he has been so loyal to. Macbeth thought that it was absurd to think that way, but she made it possible to make him think that it is a good idea to get him what he wanted, to be king. Macbeth made a deal with three witches to that he could become king if he completed his three prophecies, they gave him. He completed the job of murdering the king and has become king, but he was reminded of something, that his friend Banquo were still here and that he also made a deal with the witches to make his son
His greed for power eradicates his moral compass; only then is he able to kill someone who he has previously sworn loyalty to. Additionally, once Macbeth becomes king, he does not have qualms about murdering Banquo, his closest friend. During the conversation between Macbeth and two of the murderers, he mentions that “so is [Banquo my enemy]” (Shakespeare III.i.116). Macbeth’s ambition quickly and effectively eradicates his attachment to Banquo and his conscience as Macbeth is blinded by the desire to seize more power. His ambition alters his moral compass, which allows him to make radical decisions that are innately forbidden.
Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action. Ambition alone is displayed throughout the play to be the most significant cause for Macbeth’s downfall.
Macbeth had become everything that he had ever wanted to be which was the king of Scotland and when the witches told him that someone else was going to take his crown he went to extremes to try to keep them from doing that which was eventually what lead to him dying. The witches had told Macbeth that the sons of Banquo would take his crown so he decided to have Banquo and his son killed Macbeth said, “Our fears in Banquo stick deep/ And in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared”(3.1.49-51). Macbeth did everything he could to protect his crown, but that is eventually what lead to his downfall and his death. He killed his best friend Banquo which was when his ambition had gone to far and was the beginning of his decline.
First, Macbeth expresses fear when it comes to Banquo’s prophecy. “Then, prophet-like, they hailed him father to a line of kings. Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, and put a barren scepter in my gripe, thence to be wretched with an unlineal hand, no son of mine succeeding” (Shakespeare 3. 1. 57-61). This shows that in Banquo’s prophecy he will heir kings and Macbeth will not. This proves that Macbeth killed Duncan for no reason and Banquo is making him look like a fool for doing so.
Macbeth’s impatience for power leads to drastic actions. He murders the king in the belief that “this blow might be the be-all and end-all” (1.7.5). This assassination could never “trammel up the consequence” (1.7.2-3), as Macbeth believes, but only leads to more trouble. Although Macbeth seizes the throne, Macbeth had to betray his loyalty to the king whose “virtues will plead like angels” (1.7.18-19), and his morality has paid the price. Macbeth has now lost all sense of what honor is by using such dishonest ways to become king.
Integrity can be defined as being honest and having strong morals. Being able to balance one’s own integrity and professional responsibility is what determines how successful they will be. If someone’s personal integrity and professional responsibility aren’t balanced, they will interfere with or hinder the other. Ultimately, a person is successful if they can balance their personal integrity and professional responsibility.
In the tragedy Macbeth, illustrated by William Shakespeare is about Macbeth and his lack of integrity which leads to him murdering the King of Scotland Duncan. Shakespeare has demonstrated the thematic message of integrity where one’s lust for power and at large ambition leads to the destruction of himself and others. Three significant scenes were elaborated in order to demonstrate Macbeths integrity; Act 1 scene 2, Act 1 scene 7 and Act 5 scene 7 were the scenes. Throughout the play Shakespeare has successfully used literary devices to construct and develop the thematic message relating to Integrity in Macbeth.
Synopsis: In Shakespeare's Macbeth, The author challenges the reader's perception of the truth literary pillar. The main character Macbeth, is faced with many dilemmas in which he chooses to be deceitful to benefit his wife and himself. Macbeth does everything in his power to take the throne from Duncan and ensure he remains king; this included murdering Duncan, Banquo and framing Duncan’s sons for his murder. However, as the story progresses, the reader can see how being deceitful leads to his downfall.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare set in Scotland about a murderous and vehement king who spirals on a path of destruction as he suffers from the consequences of determining his own fate. The predominant theme portrayed throughout the play is honor vs. loyalty. This is represented through the identification, actions, and quotes of numerous characters. To introduce the theme of honor vs. disloyalty, the characters Banquo and Macbeth exemplify traits that are equivalent with the moral of the story.
“For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered, Put rancors in the vessel of my peace, Only for them; and mine eternal jewel Given to the common enemy of man,To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings. Rather than so, come fate into the list And champion me to the utterance. ”(shakespeare 3.1.63-70).As macbeth seen how the witches prophecies became true for him he is worried they'll be true for Banquo as he is endangered to losing his throne and is now ambitious to keep his throne and kill his best friend and his friends son. Macbeth was very ambitious because of his strive to become King, even though the prophecies showed him what would happen.