~ Macbeth ~
Critical Analysis
"Hail, king! For so thou art: behold where stands th' usurper's cursed head. The time is free." (Shakespeare 5.8.54 pg. 96) With these words, the reader sees Macbeth's life and all hopes of him ever becoming one of the great rulers of Scotland end in bloody savagery. However, it is not common for the reader to have much sympathy for the deceased Macbeth: he was not murdered in his bed, he was not betrayed and killed by a close friend, but was punished for the dreadful sins he and his wife had committed. By being over-ambitious, by acting through fear, and being unable to control himself, Macbeth became one of the most recognizable and tragic of tragic heroes ever in worldly literature.
The event that sparked Macbeth's ambition and eventually was the root cause of all the drama and action that led to the death of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth was the encounter between the three Weird Sisters, Banquo, and Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth by George Cattermole.
Macbeth Consulting the Vision of the Armed Head. B...
English: Poster of Thos. W. Keene in William Shake...In the rain, the three witches prophesied to Macbeth that he will become Thane of Cawdor, and then the king of Scotland. At first, Macbeth treated the prophecies as if the witches had been simply insane. However, after the message came from king Duncan that he was to take on the title of Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth begins to take the prophecy seriously. He then begins wondering how exactly he will become king of Scotland and see the roadblock: Duncan. He immediately begins forming plans for murder, which seemed so unlike the personality of Macbeth. For example, on the first night of Duncan's visit, he is already attempting to figure out how to carry out the deed: "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were don e...