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Macbeth and human nature 2024
115
Macbeth helps us to understand human nature
Assessment Prep
Macbeth is a tragic hero character
Macbeth, a Tragic Hero
The character of Macbeth has many human weaknesses that led him to destruction.
Tragic Hero
A tragic hero typically has heroic qualities and they have
the audience's sympathy and admiration but they also have flaws (weaknesses) and make mistakes that lead to their downfall.
For Macbeth his weakness or flaw (harmatia) is his Ambition
After his encounter with the witches Macbeth says..
"I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on th' other"
Macbeth - Tragic Hero
He can not control his ambition of wanting to become King. Once he hears the weird sisters' prophecy Macbeth becomes so consumed by his desire for power that he becomes a tyrannical and violent monster who ultimately destroys himself.
We learn through Macbeth's character the terrible effects
of ambition, power, gulit and violence on a man who lacks
the strength to rise above of fight against these
weaknesses.
Macbeth tragic Hero
Early in the play, Macbeth is established as being honourable and loyal. He already has the title of Thane of Glamis, and also becomes Thane of Cawdor. These titles indicate that Macbeth is important, and is moving up in the ranks of Scottish nobility. In Act 1, Scene 2, Duncan addresses Macbeth as, “…valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!” and later as a “Worthy Thane”.
The manner in which the leaders of his country speak about Macbeth truly shows his respectable and honorable nature. Duncan speaks highly of Macbeth. From the wounded captain’s report, the audience see Macbeth as a brave and loyal warrior. The audience admires Macbeth at this early stage of the play.
Macbeth was once a good character
Macbeth's Character
Macbeth's character
After meeting the witches Macbeth's character begins to change..
He is a courageous fighter but hides a secret ambition for power. The prediction that he will be king surprises and inspires him, and creates an inner turmoil.
He is brave and loyal but he struggles to control his ambition and desire for power. Shakespeare uses Macbeth to teach the audience about human weaknesses. Macbeth shows us that when a weak character lets ambition, gulit and fear over take him, then his qualities of bravery, loyalty and honour are lost. He easily turns to evil and foolishly relies on the witches for guidance and this leads to his own destruction.
Macbeth's Character
Before he kills Duncan, Macbeth is full of doubt and worry and almost puts a stop to the crime. It takes Lady Macbeth’s influence to push him into committing the murder. After the murder, however, her powerful personality begins to disintegrate, she suffers terrible guilt, losing her sanity and leaving Macbeth increasingly alone.
Macbeth experiences many human emotions- doubt, paranoia and fear. As a result, he plans a series of murders to secure his throne. There are also moments of terrible guilt (as when Banquo’s ghost appears). These fluctuations reflect the tragic tension / conflict within Macbeth: Ironically after achieving what he desries most he loses his happiness and security. Macbeth dies as a desperate man on the battlefield, where he was once a hero.
Macbeth
character (cont'd)
The audience can relate to Macbeth
Macbeth's path of destruction
The audience can relate to and understand Macbeth because he has human weaknesses and he is easily influenced by his wife and the witches.
He then decides to use violence and this leads to tragedy.
After the witches told Macbeth about his future as King, his honorable nature fades, and is replaced by an “any means necessary” attitude. His lust for power, along with persuasive words from Lady Macbeth, led to him murdering King Duncan in his sleep and this is followed by other gruesome murders of Banquo and McDuff's family.
Macbeth's human weaknesses
Macbeth's path of destruction
Macbeth has many weaknesses. He is rather ignorant / foolish when he listens to his wife and the witches and he also becomes paranoid and fearful of others who are a threat to him.
Banquo / McDuffs family are murdered to protect his kingship. His ambition blinds him from seeing the destructive path he has created, ruling as a tyrant rather than a noble king. His human nature turns evil and he deviously and cowardly arranges others to kill for him.
His gullible nature causes him to not form his own thoughts, but rather listen to the words of Lady Macbeth and the three witches. These tragic flaws go on to play a major role in Macbeth’s demise.
Macbeth was foolish to believe the witches
Macbeth believed in the witches
The witches deliberately deceive Macbeth telling him no one of woman born shall harm him and he will never be defeated until the trees of Great Birnam Wood attack his castle at Dunsinane.
Macbeth saw both of these things as impossible, so he did little to protect his castle. He was surprised when he was told that the forest was indeed attacking his castle, which was actually Macduff’s army carrying branches as a means of camouflage. He come to realise his human failings during his battle with Macduff, where Macduff revealed he was not born of woman, rather he was ripped form his mother’s womb, implying a Caesarean section. In this moment Macbeth understands his own foolishness and that he has failed.
McDuff kills Macbeth to re-establish order and
goodness. The audience learns the dangers of ambition and giving in to violence.
Key Scenes
Act 1 Scene 2 - Macbeth is described as courageous and loyal, defeating the rebel McDonald (p5). Macbeth is a good and noble Character here.
Act 1 Scene 3 - Macbeth meets the witches and they give him the 3 prophecies. (p11-13) Macbeth's reaction to the witches, emphasise his true desire for power. He begins to give in to his human weakness.
Act 1 Scene 5 - Lady Macbeth reads the letter from her husband. she knows Macbeth is ambitious, but fears he is too full of “th’ milk of human kindness” to take the steps necessary to make himself king. She is determined to convince her husband to do whatever is required to seize the crown. She calls on evil spirits to unsex her and give her the power to control & persuade her husband. (p23-25)
Key Scenes
Act 1 Scene 7 - Macbeth is questioning if he should kill the king. He knows Duncan is a good ruler. He faces the fact that there is no reason to kill the king other than his own ambition,
He tells his wife he will not go through with it. L.Macbeth
is outraged, calls him a coward and questions his
manhood. She tells him her plan and
he is inspired and convinced, he now is
committed to killing the king!!
Key Scenes
Act 2 Scene 2 - Macbeth immediately regrets killing Duncan. He returns after the murder in a panic and forgets to leave the bloody daggers with the guards.
Lady Macbeth tries to calm her husband - "These deeds must not be thought after these ways; so it will make us mad." Macbeth inner turmoil and guilt has begun and will continue to haunt him. (p43-47)
Key Scenes (cont'd)
Act 3 Scene 1 - Banquo suspects Macbeth of foul play. Just before Macbeth's coronation he says - "Thou has it now King Cawdor, Glamis, all as the weird women promised and I fear thou played most foully for't." (p65) Macbeth sees Banquo as a threat and believes he suspects him. Macbeth arranges for Banquo and Fleance's murder but Fleance
escapes. Macbeth's paranoia grows - "To be thus is nothing but to be
safely thus." (p69)
Act 3 Scene 4 - Banquo's ghost appears at the banquet. The ghost represents Macbeth's guilt and fear. It symbolises his
inner turmoil and the conflict of good V evil within himself.
Act 4 Scene 1 - Macbeth, increasingly desperate seeks out the witches. He needs reassurance and
demands to know more about the prophecies.
They give him 4 more prophecies
designed to manipulate him.
Key scenes
Act 4 Scene 2 - Macbeth is embolden by the new prophecies and believes he is invincible. But the withches have deceived him. To make sure McDuff is not a threat, he orders his family/servants murdered. An unecessary murder and the killing of innocent people demonstrates how far Macbeth has descended into evil.
Key Scenes
(Cont'd)
Act 5 Scene 5 - Macbeth's castle is under seige and he is informed his wife has taken her own life. After the murder of Duncan she becomes distant from her husband and begins a decline into madness. Plagued by guilt, she has been reduced to sleepwalking through the castle, desperately trying to wash away an invisible bloodstain. Like Macbeth, her weaknesses has led to her own destruction. (p145)
Act 5 Scene 8 - Macbeth comes face to face with McDuff and he is told that he was 'untimely ripped from his mother's womb" Macbeth now knows the witches have deceived him and will now
meet his end. His bloody death at the hands of Mcduff fulfill
the prophecies, and Scotland is returned to order with
Malcolm, the true heir, taking the throne.
Key Quotes on Ambition
Act 1 Scene 1- "But all's too weak for Brave Macbeth - Well he deserves that name" The captain reports Macbeth's bravery on the battlefield in defeating the rebels. Here is considered a courageous and loyal warrior here.
Key Quotes
Act scene 3 - "Two truths are told.As happy prologues to the swelling act Of th’imperial theme" Macbeth speaks these lines as he realizes that the witches’ prophecy has come true. He immediately starts to wonder whether this means that their third prophecy (that he will become king) will also be true. He finds this appealing but knows he would have to commit a terrible and violent act to be king.These lines hint at Macbeth’s ambition and foreshadow his later actions even though, at this point in the play, he seems to refuse to consider acting upon it.
Act 1 Scene 5 - "Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it." Lady Macbeth speaks these lines. She knows that Macbeth is capable of ambitious dreams, but she thinks that he is unwilling to
to be ruthless enough to achieve these dreams.
Key Quotes 0n Ambition
Act 1 Scene 7 - "I have no spur, To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself
And falls on th’other" Macbeth is having doubts about the plan to murder Duncan. He acknowledges that his ambition is difficult to control and may lead him down a dangerous path.
Key Quotes on Ambition
Act 3 Scene 1 - "To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus." Even after becoming king Macbeth is fearful and paranoid. He is worried that others suspect him (Banquo) and are a threat to his power. He now must commit more violent acts to say secure, starting with Banquo and Fleance.
Quotes on Guilt
Key Quotes
on Guilt
Act 2 Scene 2 - "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?" Macbeth speaks this line when he encounters his wife right after murdering Duncan. He refers to both the literal blood on his hand but also to his sense of guilt. The metaphor of Netputne's ocean suggests that not even the oceans will wash away this blood or his guilt. His language implies that the consequences of his action will not be easily hidden, even though his wife implies that blood can be simply washed away. He will forever be a changed man as a result of what he has done.
Act 3 Scene 4 - "Thouds canst not say that I did it; never shake thy gory lock at me!" Macbeth is speaking to Banquo's ghost (a symbol of his guilt) claiming that the murder can not be blamed on him. Macbeth's guilt is so powerful he loses his sense of
reality and his mental torment is revealed.
Quotes on violence
Act 1 Scene 7 - "What cannot you and I perform on the unguarded Duncan? His spongy officers shall bear the guilt of our great quell." Lady Macbeth is telling her husband of her plan to murder Duncan in his sleep. Macbeth is inspired by her evil plan and commits himself to do it.
Act 2 Scene 2 - "I'll go no more I'm afraid to think what I have done
Look on it again I dare not." Macbeth will not go back to leave the daggers after Duncan's murder. He regrets his actions and is horrified by the King's violent death.
Key quotes on Violence
Act 3 Scene 1- "To leave no rubs or blotches in the work, Fleance his son must embrace the fate of that dark hour." Macbeth is instructing his muderers to kill of Banquo and Fleance cleanly.
Act 4 Scene 1 - "The Castle of McDuff I will surprise and give to the edge of the sword his wife, his babes and all unfortunate souls." Macbeth's order to murder
McDuff's family. An uncessary murder and shows
Macbeth's level of cruelty and evil.
Quotes on Betrayal
Act 1 Scene 7 ; "He's here in double trust: First as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then as his host who should against the murder shut the door not bear the knife myself." Macbeth is troubled by the idea of killing Duncan recognising that he is supposed to be his loyal servant and host not someone who should commit such an act and that killing the king is the ultimate act of betrayal.
Key quotes on Betrayal
Act 3 Scene 3 - "O Treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly fly! Thou mayest revenge - O slave ! Banquo is set upon by Macbeth's murderers and he knows Macbeth has betrayed their friendship. Banquo now attempts to fight the murders off to allow Fleance
to escape. Banquo dies as a result of Macbeth's desire to
elimante Banquo as a threat and kill his son to prevent the
prophecy coming true.