Characteristics and proof of Macbeth

Essay by BonkeyHigh School, 12th gradeA-, February 1997

download word file, 2 pages 4.4

Downloaded 31 times

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow..." Sometimes tomorrow never comes

and as for Macbeth, tomorrow meant another day of inner torment and guilt. This

victorious Thane literally got the better of himself as soon as he started to believe

in the witches. After the prophesies, Macbeth's popularity seems to take a turn for

the worst as well as his mental state. Even though the witches did tempt him with

the idea of becoming king, and Lady Macbeth helped him with his natural

hesitation of committing murder, Macbeth chose the crown over is honor.

Moreover, I believe that Macbeth caused his own downfall. There were people

like the witches and his wife who influenced him, but it was his choice to choose

over salvation of the next world and material gain of this one. Ambition is always

good...to an extent. An overambitious person, Macbeth is too intrigued by the

witches' prediction that he ignores all of the years of loyalty and ethics to his king

for his own selfishness.

And in the end, apparently, Macbeth's ambition is

stronger than his conscience.

In addition, Macbeth's ambition caused him to do desperate things.

Desperation. in my opinion, dug Macbeth's own grave. When the subject of

Macduff arrives, I don't think that he would have been so bitter towards Macbeth

if he hadn't killed his wife and children. Killing Macduff's family gains nothing

for Macbeth and tries to get at Macduff indirectly. This act of desperation and

spitefulness gives a good reason to now fear Macduff.

Also, as Macbeth took the throne, he really didn't trust anyone except his wife,

Lady Macbeth. Paranoid, due to King Duncan's murder, Macbeth let's his

delusional state of mind get to him. Therefore, from his original guilt of murder

causes Macbeth to become paranoid and kill some more. Killing Macduff's family

was definitely an act of desperation. He also plants spies showing again how

paranoid and desperate he was seeing his enemies, real or imagined, everywhere.

Lastly, I thought that Macbeth showed some very important traits that we

should all learn from. We should learn that it is good to be ambitious but being

overambitiousness could cause us to do desperate things. And while doing those

desperate things, we could possibly become paranoid and then do some more

desperate things. {When I say 'we', I mean the people of the world.} This is a

fatal circle that I believe that Macbeth got spun into by the witches and partly by

Lady Macbeth. It was his choice to follow through. No one put a, in this case,

sword to his head.