Macbeth

        

                                         Macbeth

                                                   - William Shakespeare

                   

               

                            (  Tragedy by William Shakespeare )

                 Macbeth is one of the most famous tragedy of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare was the most poular dramatist and poet of the Elizabethan Age. He is often called English Nation poet and the " Bard of Even ". He wrote many plays including history plays, comedy and tragedy. And he is most known for his tragedies.

                       
                                   

                       ( William Shakespeare :- 1564 - 1616 ) 

                

                                                

         Macbeth is a tragedy by Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first perform es in 1606. It drama tiada the damaging physical and Psychological effects if political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I , who was patron of Shakespeare's acting company. Macbeth most clearly reflects the playwright's relationship with his sovereign.

                                     

        Thinking activity on Macbeth :- 

   1 )   Who is responsible for Macbeth downfall?

 

                    In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth is influenced by the three witches , pressure of Lady Macbeth and his own fate ultimately led to his tragic downfall. The three witches played a huge part in Macbeth's downfall, as they were the first characters to tempt and deceit Macbeth into commiting evil deeds.

                            Lady Macbeth is responsible for the Macbeth's downfall because she convinces and manipulates Macbeth into killing Duncan. She convinces and manipulate Macbeth into killing Duncan by insult in and telling him she would "(dash) the brains out " of her newborn babe if he asked. Lady Macbeth does all of this because of her greed for power. This shows that without lady Macbeth , Macbeth wouldn't have killed Duncan and there wouldn't have been a tragedy.

                          Macbeth is also responsible for his downfall because without him being so ambitious and narrow sighted the play wouldn't have turned out as it did. Macbeth is to blame for what happenes after he kills Duncan, without him seeing the ghost of Banyak and shouting it out and also without him overreacting at Duncan's death there would have been little suspicion of his involvement with the murder, without Macbeth's ambition and conscience the play wouldn't have taken the path it did.

                                  Without three witches intervention Macbeth would he never murdered Duncan. The witches could be considered evil because one of them murders an innocent sailor just because his wife didn't give the witch a chestnut and the other witches help plot against the sailor by saying " I'll give the a wind...And I another", this means that when they spoke to Macbeth they knew he was going to cause all of the chaos that he did. The witches tell Macbeth that he will be king and this is how he comes up with the first idea to kill Duncan which penultimately leads to his death.

                                In conclusion, without Lady Macbeth convincing Macbeth, the three witches putting the idea in Macbeth's mind and Macbeth actually killing or giving the order to kill the people the tragedy would never have happened and the play wouldn't have taken the same path as it did.

 

2 )   According to your reading, who is more powerful, Lady Macbeth is           powerful or Macbeth is powerful? Between them who is controlling   another can you illustrate that?

                                  In the play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is more powerful. She is the one who pushes her husband to kill Duncan and do other things necessary to become king and keep his power. She shows more strength then because she is more willing than he to do what is necessary.

                             Lady Macbeth is the most powerful character in Macbeth because she is unmerciful, deceitful and vigorous first and foremost Lady Macbeth is a dominant character because she is bloodthirsty. She lacks all humanity, as we see well in her opening scene, where she calls upon the 'spirit that tend on mortal thoughts' to deprive her of her feminine instinct to care. Lady Macbeth  persistently taunts her husband fo his lack of courage, even though we know of his bloody deeds on the battlefield. But in public , she is able to act as the consummate hostess, enticing her victim , the king, into her castle , when she faints immediately after the murder of Duncan , the audience is left wondering whether this, too ,is part of her act.

                                    She fails the test of her own hardened ruthlessness. Having upbraided her husband one last time during the banquet, the pace of events becomes too much even for her! She becomes mentally deranged, a mere shadow of her former commanding self, gibbering she " Confeesses her part in the murder. Her death is the event that causes Macbeth to ruminate for one last time on the nature of time and morality in the speech " Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow."

    

                                   So, according to me Lady Macbeth is more powerful. And also Macbeth is controlled by another. Because he did murder by manipulating of Lady Macbeth. And she make change in the personality of Macbeth. Also the three withces control Macbeth by their propheses. So, Macbeth is controlling by another.

    3)      How you look or interpreted the the supernatural power in                             Macbeth  context.

                                      

                    

                        In Shakespeare's time, the powers of evil were thought to be absolutely real; to most people Hell was an actual place and the Devil a constant threat to their souls. In particular there was a fascination with witches and witchcraft. Hundreds of innocent people (mostly women) were executed as suspected witches. King James I was extremely superstitious and integrated observation and written research of the phenomena eagerly into his life.

 

                                When Shakespeare came to write his play, he knew that his audience would find the theme of evil and the supernatural very interesting indeed. The dark and mystical issues form a pivotal role in the entire play. Without magic behind the ensuing madness, it would be yet another cold - hearted bloodbath plot commonly found in the entertainment world.

                     The witches and their leader, Hecat are knowledgeable of the past, present, and future revolving around the fates of the mortals in Macbeth. One could even consider them to be the puppeteers responsible for the tragic events that occurred and Macbeth’s descent into insanity, later followed by his wife. The three weïrd sisters proclaim to Macbeth and his companion Banquo that Macbeth will be king and later the heirs of Banquo. This plants the seed of greed and murder within Macbeth’s heart and mind that soon will overtake his reason. Banquo comments on the witches’ power of persuasion, saying, And oftentimes, to win us to our harm , the instruments of darkness tell us truths.    

                      Hecat , leader of the witches and goddess of witchcraft, also declares their control over the situation:

As by the strength of their illusion

Shall draw him on to his confusion,

 He shall spurn fate, acorn death , and bear

His hopes ' boven wisdom , grace , and fear ;

And you all know, security

Is mortals' chiefest enemy.

                     

                        With this declaration of meddling responsibility, the audience sees the inevitability of the murders to follow that are beyond Macbeth’s control. The witches prey upon his weak and impressionable mind as he continues to seek them out for more prophecies and answers, addicted to having his fate planned by another rather than thinking for himself and making his own future.  Every action he takes and person he kills stems from the witches’ words fed to him. This magical element behind the. murders creates more intrigue and fascination for those observing from the outside.

          

                          The hallucinations and visions of the paranormncorporate an element of sympathy for the infected minds of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth that would otherwise be lost. As he sneaks in the night to kill King Duncan, Macbeth has delusions of a bloody dagger as a precursor to his madness and paranoia. The ghost of Banquo appears at a banquet held in the recently crowned Macbeth’s honor, bringing his insanity to the public eye. In the end, Lady Macbeth’s mind succumbs to a dreamlike state in which she perpetually envisions blood on her hands, sleepwalks, and reveals their part in the murders without awareness. These add qualities that bring out their human frailty as a contrast to their portrayal as tyrannical and barbaric souls. The magic and paranormal aspects in this play bring a new perspective to the motivations behind the characters.

                

                       To conclude, despite the advance of science and learning , the majority of the people in the age of Shakespeare believe in witchcraft, charms , all sorts of omens and superstition , Shakespeare has to cope with his age so as to make his plays successful and watched by greatest number of audience. The magic and peranormal apsects in this play bring a new perspective to motivations behind the characters.

        4 )        Explain the quotation.

                                  " Fair is foul , and foul is Fair."

                           The phrase “Fair is Foul, Foul is Fair” Scene is chanted by the three witches at the beginning of the play. It acts as a summary of what is to come in the tale. Shakespeare uses the phrase to show that what is considered good is in fact bad and what is considered bad is actually good. The theme of fair is foul and foul is fair is therefore very prevalent in Macbeth.

                                  The line "fair is foul and foul is fair" comes from William Shakespeare's Macbeth. In Macbeth, Macbeth and his wife plot to kill the king. Shakespeare uses three witches in the play as a type of chorus to foretell Macbeth's demise. They are also the voices in the play who remind the viewer that looks can be deceiving, specifically through their assertion that "fair is foul and foul is fair."

             Examples of Fair is foul ad foul is fair :- 

The play opens with the three witches talking in a deserted place. They talk of meeting again when they greet Macbeth, and the scene ends with these lines:

Fair is foul and foul is fair,
Hover through the fog and filthy air.

The line "fair is foul and foul is fair" means that all is not what it seems. What seems good and trustworthy is actually not; what might seem repugnant is actually good. The witches are foretelling the treachery of Macbeth, who will commit treason by killing the king.

The idea that looks and surface actions can be deceiving is repeated throughout the play (a motif). The witches themselves are ugly, but they offer what Macbeth would think are beautiful words about his rise to power. Macbeth seems heroic and loyal to the king, but he is actually a traitor. The witches seem to prophesy later in the play that Macbeth cannot be killed by man-by "one of woman born." But, he is later killed by someone who was born through a Caesarean section.

When the line "fair is foul and foul is fair" is used today, it is often used in reference to someone who appears good, trustworthy, and genuine; but who is not-looks can be deceiving. This idea is often repeated in reference to public figures, such as politicians, who have a public persona that does not match who they really are.

     5)     Can we say that Lady Macbeth is more greedy then any other character in the drama.

                         In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the main reason that Macbeth is transformed from a noble , respected Thane into a ruthless, murderous character. Lady Macbeth fuels his inner desire for powers and brigs forth his greed and ambition , which both eventually lead to his downfall.

 

                                 The tactics that Lady Macbeth use to drive her husband to this downfall are manipulation, dominance and her evil nature. Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into beleving that he is a coward and a bad husband , which persuade him to agree to the murder of king Duncan. 

                          Through the first act of MacBeth, Lady Macbeth is overtaken by the greed and the need for power. When her husband does not follow suit, she becomes a manipulator with a single goal; to become a royal. In addition to the art of manipulation, intimidation is one of Lady MacBeth's strongest greed.

                              She dwells on the fact that he is a coward, when she says "My hands are of your colour, but I shame/ to wear a heart so white". This instills feelings of embarrassment into his mind, and manipulates him into believing that if he does not murder King Duncan, he will be a weak, cowardly man. Not only is she challenging his manhood, by appearing to be the stronger and braver of the two, but also, by calling his heart "white", she is criticizing his cowardice. The fact that his wife is undermining his masculinity causes Macbeth to want to be stronger, and not to appear weak and timid. When Lady Macbeth yells "Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers.                       

                            The sleeping and the dead/ are but as pictures. 'Tis the eye of childhood/ that fears a painted devil" she further contributes to the shame which she has driven into Macbeth's mind. She bluntly tells him that he is acting like a weak, nervous child, and insults him for being afraid of something that is already dead! This shame encourages Macbeth to want to consent to his wife's plan. Another method which Lady Macbeth uses to manipulate her husband's mind is by making him feel guilty for being a bad husband, who breaks his promises: "What beast was't then/ that made you break this enterprise to me?" She knows that by saying this, he will feel remorse for breaking a promise to his wife whom he loves so much.

Thus, we can say that Lady Macbeth is more greedy then any other character in the drama. She is well - known for being Macbeth's ambitious , manipulative and nasty wife. Her desire for power and rank pushed her to persuade her husband to commit a mortal sin.

6 ) Who is more responsible for King Duncan's death? Supernatural elements? Greed of Lady Macbeth? Power desperate Macbeth? According to your reading who is responsible for this?

There are three main people that should be responsible for King Duncan's death :- Lady Macbeth , The three witches and of course , Macbeth himself. The witches are the primary suspects for forcing Macbeth into killing king Duncan, this is because it is thought that the witches first put the idea of killing Duncan into Macbeth's head although this is not the case in my view. Before the battle the witches plan to meet Macbeth and they do not talk of Macbeth and the king a lot.

In a sense, Lady Macbeth is responsible for Duncan's death. In fact, she admits that she would have killed him herself had he not resembled her father sleeping. Repeatedly, Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth's manhood when he has second thoughts about murdering Duncan.

Lady Macbeth was a component during the murder however she cannot be accused of being more responsible for King Duncan's death. Lady Macbeth was not veiliger thn her husband Macbeth. Macbeth was the character who did the deed which  therefore makes him more vain.

                      Macbeth  is responsible for King Duncan's death because he allowed himself to be manipulated, but the witches and Lady Macbeth share responsibility. By all accounts, Macbeth was a brave and loyal soldier before hearing the witches' prophecies.

                                        We certainly know that the direct responsible for Duncan's death is Macbeth . However this does not necessarily mean he is to blame, for his violent death is obviously the consequence of certain influences that forced Macbeth to perform his fatal deed. Furthermore, to unearth the truth about who is really the guilty for Duncan 's murder we must explore the influences the different characters have on Macbeth's impulses and the overall scenario of the slaying.

We can see that witches did not refer to regicide to any of their appearances. May be the throne was destined to be his but he did not need to kill Duncan to do so , and because he did he cause trouble for himself and did not achieve anything.

In this way we can say thay not only one person responsible for the death of king Ducan. All including Lady ? Macbeth, three arches , and Macbeth are responsible for it. If Lady Macbeth didn't manipulate him, he did not going to kill Duncan and also he is follow to other's instructions so he killed the king. So , they all are responsible for king Duncan's death.

Thank you....