Macbeth

A literary tragedy is defined as a drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. From “Hamlet” to “Othello”, Shakespeare created many of history’s most memorable tragedies. Perhaps his finest is “Macbeth”. It is the story of a man, once honored and respected as a war hero, who became so wrapped up in his own ambition that he transformed into a murderer and dictator-like ruler. Macbeth is not entirely unaided in his descent into evil. He is influenced throughout the play by the Supernatural, and these forces drive the action of the play.

The first sight of Supernatural forces comes in the form of the three witches, or “weird sisters”. They open the play with a short scene that reveals their devious intentions to meet with Macbeth. Though it is unclear what they have in store for him, their quote “Fair is foul, and foul is fair: hover through the fog and filthy air” hints at deception to come. The exact origin of the witches is unclear, though it is speculated they are “partly rules of nature, and belonging to the nocturnal half of this earthly creation; partly human s

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At the feast in Banquo’s honor, Macbeth sees his ghost. (Curry SLC 3 240) The vision of the dagger, caused by the evil supernatural forces, serves to confuse Macbeth’s already unclear thinking and to reinforce the idea that he should kill Duncan. (Knight SLC 3 232)

After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is crowned king. The murderers succeed only in murdering Banquo and Fleance escapes. Once he became king, they filled his thoughts with false promises of immortality. ” (Snider SLC 3 210) Here, they prophesize that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor, and later that he will be crowned King, and reveal a prophesy for Banquo as well:

First Witch: All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glaimus!

Second Witch: All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!

Third Witch: All hail Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter…

(Banquo) shalt get kings, though thou be none. Macbeth then learns that Macduff’s mother had died as she was giving birth, fulfilling the second condition that Macbeth’s killer would not be woman born. Macbeth and Banquo come upon the witches together, “to lay stress upon the reality of the Weird Sisters, the poet has introduced two men beholding them at the same time, so that we cannot well assert the appearances to be a mere subjective delusion, as we might, if only one man saw them. The story of Macbeth’s descent into evil is caused by his tragic flaw, ambition.

After this encounter, Macbeth and Banquo learn that Macbeth has been named Thane of Cawdor. In Act Two Scene One, the night of Duncan’s murder, Macbeth sees an apparition of a floating dagger, and says, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee: I have thee not, yet I see thee still. ” The dagger then becomes bloody, “And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, which was not so before”. “We may reasonably suppose that the storm which rages over Macbeth’s castle and environs in Act II is no ordinary tempest caused by the regular movements of the heavenly bodies, but rather a manifestation of demonic power over the elements of nature”. Having persuaded and otherwise incited Macbeth to sin and crime, the Devil and his angels now employ illusions which lead to his betrayal and final destruction”. By doing away with what evil the witches’ created by making Macbeth king, Hecate is restoring a natural order.

Approximate Word count = 1568
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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