Why Macbeth becomes Ruthless in Shakespeares Macbeth Essay

Macbeth is a tragedy of a Scottish general who dramatically â€Å"transforms† from being a noble and dutiful soldier to a ruthless butcher. This is a direct consequence of the supernatural world, his wife’s manipulation and persuasion, and Macbeth’s own ambition. One of the main factors that influenced Macbeth’s transformation was the impact the witches and the super natural world had on him. It is an important theme as in Shakespeare’s day, the audience strongly believed in the existence of witches, the power they contained, and the substantial evil intentions they had. â€Å"I’ll drain him dry as hay, Sleep shall neither night nor day†. The weird sisters were the creatures that created the concept of a supernatural world, and their absence in†¦show more content†¦By Shakespearean standards, as Lady Macbeth’s wicked actions imply she is witch-like, she could be considered and classified a witch at that time. As the weird sisters undermined the usual arrangements of society, Lady Macbeth subverted the typical order of sexes within man and wife. During the period which Shakespeare wrote in, women’s status in society was not equivalent to men, they were inferior to them, and their role was to e ncourage and support any of their husband’s decisions. As their value was subordinate this would result to shocking Shakespeare audiences, due to Lady Macbeth’s authority between her and her husband. Immediately, after reading Macbeth’s letter, Lady Macbeth’s malevolence urges her to plot the murder for the king. She decides to encourage Macbeth and calls for evil spirits to aid her brutal plans, â€Å"Come, you spirits†¦ you murd’ring ministers†¦ You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night†. Her talk about defeminising herself and making her the superior amongst the couple, â€Å"That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here†, suggests Macbeth is weak and powerless in her presence. She implicates her husband of not being physically impotent but soft hearted and sentimental. She confronts him of this and warns him of his manliness and cowardice. She uses these various, manipulative strategies (challenging his manhood, being more aggressive, and defeminisingShow MoreRelatedLady Macbeth Is More Ruthless1179 Words   |  5 PagesMACBETH ESSAY In life everyone has goals that they hope to attain and there are many ways that one can achieve these goals. To achieve what you desire you can either wait for time to take its toll, or take matters into your own hands and do what you have to do in order to fulfill your desires. You can attain your goal as long as you have ambition. In Shakespeares Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had the goal of Macbeth becoming king: to obtain this they took matters into hands and killed DuncanRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Macbeth Essay examples1588 Words   |  7 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Macbeth The story of Macbeth on a purely literary level could be appreciated as a fantastically dark story teeming with evil and uncertainty and the blind ambition of a blood thirsty warrior. However one would have to merely scratch the surface to discover that it is bursting with periodical references to political and social foundations of Shakespears and James I era. Shakespeares blend of the subliminal political and social references complimentRead More The Thin Gender Line in Macbeth Essay975 Words   |  4 PagesGender Line in Macbeth      Ã‚   Some people would do anything to get what they want. The characters of Macbeth are no exception.   Shakespeare creates people who either strive for, or abuse authority.   The men and women in Macbeth have varying degrees of guilt, power, and integrity.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to compare the genders in Macbeth, one must understand how women were treated in Shakespeares time.   The great Queen Elizabeth I died three years prior to the writing of Macbeth, and yet herRead MoreEssay about macbeth and antigone1110 Words   |  5 PagesNguyen  1   Diana  Nguyen   Tanaka   Honors  Humanities  Ã‚   01  October  2013   Macbeth  Ã‚  Antigone:  Make  Me  a  Man?   Feminism  is  a  method  of  analyzing  women’s  positions  in  society  by  examining  the   gender  role  and  how/why  some  behaviors  are  stereotyped  towards  a  certain  gender.  A  concept  of   feminism,  patriarchy  is  a  male  centered  and  controlled  society  and  is  arranged  to  make  women   feel  inferior  to  Ã‚  men  in  every  occupation  whether  it  be  religion,  family,  politics,  economics,  legal   or  art.  Women  are  then  seen  lacking  in  male  organRead MoreMacbeth, By William Shakespeare1243 Words   |  5 PagesIn William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Macbeth†, the author portrays the main character Macbeth as a very tortured and flawed individual whose actions only serve to further unravel him. He is conflicted and power hungry, which drives him to perform evil murders and become a ruthless person. Macbeth’s moral compass is not resilient enough to withstand his wife’s manipulations and he is provoked to act on his malicious thoughts of murder. The author explores the terrible effects that ambition and guilt can haveRead MoreLady Macbeth vs. Serena Essay836 Words   |  4 Pages Comparing Serena and Lady Macbeth It is no secret that Ron Rash’s Serena is a very similar character in comparison to Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth. These two women are very much alike and only slightly different. Though Rash does not claim to base his work off of Macbeth, the two characters resemble each other in a couple different ways. Serena and Lady Macbeth are alike in the fact that they are both ambitious, malicious, and cold-blooded women who are driven by their love for their husbands.Read MoreEssay Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeares Macbeth1403 Words   |  6 PagesLady Macbeth in William Shakespeares Macbeth In act 1 scene, we see lady MacBeth reading a letter that her husband, MacBeth has sent her, it has been written as a soliloquy, she reads aloud to the audience how he has been given information about his future by a group of witches. MacBeth sent this letter to his wife quickly, he is was obviously pleased with the news and wanted her to know about it. This gives the audience the impression that Lady MacBeth was very dominantRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Macbeth, also known as The Scottish Play is one of the most distinguished1500 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Macbeth, also known as The Scottish Play is one of the most distinguished pieces of literature ever created in history. Written in the early 1600’s, this play embellished tragedy touching upon themes such as death, fate, war, and power. Characters such as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth became iconic and often imitated in theatrical work. Today, Macbeth still reigns supreme throughout the globe, and known to be on of Shakespeare’s many treasures. The production has been put on worldRead MoreLady Macbeth of William Shakespeares Macbeth Essay1185 Words   |  5 PagesLady Macbeth of William Shakespeares Macbeth Shakespeare shows Lady Macbeth as an ambitious woman. She starts out as a fiend like queen, who is capable of evil. However, as Macbeth grows more evil and ruthless, she sees the error of her ways and lacks the strength and courage to see things through. We first see this when she receives a letter from her husband. We see from the letter that Macbeth treats her as an equal, My dearest partner of greatness, and that heRead More Ambition Determines the Fate of Characters in Shakespeares MacBeth766 Words   |  4 PagesAmbition Determines the Fate of Characters in Shakespeares MacBeth What a person craves for herself often determines her fate. The ambition of three characters in the play MacBeth was a key factor in the outcome of their fate, MacBeths ambition for the throne of Scotland, Lady Macbeths ambition for her husband to have power, and Banquos lack of ambition for himself. These intentions all determined the fate of these characters, as well as the outcome of the play. Being named Thane of