Ela Macbeth Essay

Diploma exam topic – January 2011 (Discuss the ideas developed by the text creator in your chosen text about the conflict between pursuing a personal desire and choosing to conform) Macbeth is a dramatic play that displays a strong emphasis on the effects from personal desires and choices made by characters. The play does not solely focus on the judgement made by Macbeth, other characters within the play are also developed and exhibit new motives or personalities as a result of poor decision making.

Ranging from the desire to murder a man or to follow witch’s prophecies in a quest for personal benefit, the characters will have to conform to the consequences of their decisions – William Shakespeare exemplary demonstrates the power of corruption in society. With that said, the characters in Macbeth did not thoroughly contemplate their actions, thus leading to their downfall. Whether characters had made harmful rulings due to their irrational thinking or because they were caught up in the moment – Shakespeare stresses the theme of conflict between pursuing a personal desire and choosing to conform vastly within the play.

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The play’s protagonist goes under the name of Macbeth – a name that should be known by all as he effectively ended a war by personally slaying the traitor Macdonwald in battle. This act of bravery effectively earned him the foundation of his fame, becoming renowned throughout Scotland and to be praised as an idol, of sorts. However, when he meets a group of witches named the Weird Sisters “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man that function Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is But what is not. (1. 3. 9) Macbeth jumps into conclusions that he has to kill king Duncan in order to become king, but the witches didn’t say anything about murder he is overtaken taken by ambition and personal desire The fact that his first thought is about killing the king is mighty suspicious almost as though they've just awoken a murderous ambition that's been there all along. He is tempted into belief that their prophecy of him becoming Thane and King.

The Weird Sisters play an immense role on the story – as they were the individuals who corrupted Macbeth into his insanity and collapse from grace. With the intention of becoming royalty in mind, nothing could stop Macbeth on his quest to achieve greatness, whether murdering his leader, the King Duncan, or his partner on the battlefield, Banquo. “Infirm of purpose! , give me the daggers; the sleeping and the dead are as loud as pictures. ”(2. 2. 5) At this point in the play Macbeth just killed king Duncan, Lady Macbeth was doing all of the critical thinking which was non-sense, she wasn’t really thinking about the karma that could be brought upon them for killing king Duncan, Lady Macbeth puts aside her love for Macbeth and brings in her desire for power and richness to only call Macbeth a coward for not going to back to leave the daggers in the crime scene, Lady Macbeth says she will paint the servants faces to make them the guilty ones for the crime, little did she know she will pay for her desire to conform in a deadly way.

Macbeth carries a heavy burden of knowing the future, but it was his own personal decision to carry it out in a way that lead to his defeat. “For mine own good All causes shall give ... way. I am in blood Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er. ” (3. 4. 24) by comparing his heinous actions to wading through a bloody river, Macbeth suggests that once a man commits a murderous act for his own gain, it's impossible to stop. Turning back would be 'tedious. By this point, Macbeth is willing to anything in order to help himself and it's becomes easier for him to commit evil deeds. According to Macbeth, he's got to look out for his own best interests. It is even stated by Macbeth himself that if luck would make him king, then that he would have to do nothing at all and that it would simply come to him. However, because of his stubborn personality – Macbeth determines that he must rush to become the new king of Scotland, and is not afraid of bloodshed to accomplish his objective.

Playing a crucial role in the plot development of the play, Macbeth is faced with fate and temptation, but he, as an individual, chose to descend to the means of immoral actions to attain his goal. Macbeth superbly demonstrates the effects of the choices we make when pursuing a personal desire, and how dangerous they can be when conforming to them. Greed within the story played a heavy burden – leading to the death of many characters because of their inability to control the enticing inducement of temptation.

One must wonder though, that in the event that the Weird Sisters were not present in the play – would the outcome be the same as it was? Had there been no prophecy, no decision-making by Macbeth to originally murder King Duncan, where would Macbeth be now? Taking this into consideration, Macbeth very likely would have lived an exceptional life in luxury, as he would be Thane of Cawdor. In conclusion, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth provides a comprehensive examination on the choices that we, as everyday humans, are to make and how we should realize that some choices made can even lead to our own defeat.



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