Macbeth Reflections
Macbeth is a book filled with betrayal, prophecies, revenge and many other themes. After reading this book I feel that Macbeth is indeed tragic because of his one fatal flaw, or harmatia. As one could see, throughout this book, Macbeth seeks guidance from the wrong people like the witches, his wife, whose ambition is as great, if not greater than his.
However, one must pause and consider whether Macbeth is really the cold blooded murderer and traitor everyone thought him to be. Firstly, the three witches, similar to the three Fates in the Greek legends, influenced him greatly with their prophecies. But without these prophecies of fame and power, would Macbeth actually have killed King Duncan? For instance, if Macbeth had not known that he would become king, would he have been bothered by the fact that Malcolm had been appointed the Prince of Cumberland? Would he, then, have killed Duncan to seize the throne? Macbeth most certainly has deep, dark ambitions inside of him, like kindling, but without the lit match of the three witches' prophecy, would his ambitions have been lit?
And secondly, irony is an ever prevailing theme in this book, from the beginning till the end. All of the witches' prophecies came true, but not in a way most readers would expect. That is why in any story, oracles (the witches in this case) speak in riddles, because they only gave away part of the whole picture but never the entire thing. What is ironic is that while the prophecies all seem in Macbeth's favour, he ends up getting killed because he placed all his faith in the prophecies and never even bothered with a back-up plan, and even though he is killed by Banquo at the end of the book, none of the prophesies proved false.
Another thing I realized in the book was the dilemma of whether Macbeth actually killed Duncan. Shakespeare neglected to mention a single scene where Macbeth is seen killing Duncan. The only scenes are before he kills Duncan (Act 2 Scene 1) and after he kills the King (Act 2 Scene 2). What happened in between those two scenes is an enigma which probably can never be accurately answered since Shakespeare has already left this world.
Moreover, even had Macbeth actually done it, the case would never stand to reason in our modern courts of law. Firstly, the three witches have told him prophecies which, as I mentioned previously, probably influenced him to kill Duncan. That would mean only a second-degree murder. Secondly, Duncan was staying in Macbeth's castle. The prescence of a king would probably guarantee a huge banquet held in his honour. Therefore, there is a high chance that Macbeth was intoxicated while doing the deed. That would mean only a manslaughter charge. Thirdly, as one could see from the book, Macbeth can become very bloodthirsty, and prone to anger. In a fit of anger, he had killed Macduff's entire family, including Macduff's young child. Nowadays, he could probably cope an insanity plea which would probably be sustained.
"Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more." (act 5 scene 5) This quote is perhaps one of the most recognizable quotes in the entire book. This could also be a theme to the book, Macbeth is telling us how short life can be, and how important it is to make full use of it. Perhaps that is the reason why he wanted to become king, to live life to the fullest.
This turned out a little longer than I expected, hopefully someone can trim it a little, and maybe provide some helpful tips. I think the conclusion is a little cheesy, might need help with that, but I really wanted to use that quote.
Macbeth is a book filled with betrayal, prophecies, revenge and many other themes. After reading this book I feel that Macbeth is indeed tragic because of his one fatal flaw, or harmatia. As one could see, throughout this book, Macbeth seeks guidance from the wrong people like the witches, his wife, whose ambition is as great, if not greater than his.
However, one must pause and consider whether Macbeth is really the cold blooded murderer and traitor everyone thought him to be. Firstly, the three witches, similar to the three Fates in the Greek legends, influenced him greatly with their prophecies. But without these prophecies of fame and power, would Macbeth actually have killed King Duncan? For instance, if Macbeth had not known that he would become king, would he have been bothered by the fact that Malcolm had been appointed the Prince of Cumberland? Would he, then, have killed Duncan to seize the throne? Macbeth most certainly has deep, dark ambitions inside of him, like kindling, but without the lit match of the three witches' prophecy, would his ambitions have been lit?
And secondly, irony is an ever prevailing theme in this book, from the beginning till the end. All of the witches' prophecies came true, but not in a way most readers would expect. That is why in any story, oracles (the witches in this case) speak in riddles, because they only gave away part of the whole picture but never the entire thing. What is ironic is that while the prophecies all seem in Macbeth's favour, he ends up getting killed because he placed all his faith in the prophecies and never even bothered with a back-up plan, and even though he is killed by Banquo at the end of the book, none of the prophesies proved false.
Another thing I realized in the book was the dilemma of whether Macbeth actually killed Duncan. Shakespeare neglected to mention a single scene where Macbeth is seen killing Duncan. The only scenes are before he kills Duncan (Act 2 Scene 1) and after he kills the King (Act 2 Scene 2). What happened in between those two scenes is an enigma which probably can never be accurately answered since Shakespeare has already left this world.
Moreover, even had Macbeth actually done it, the case would never stand to reason in our modern courts of law. Firstly, the three witches have told him prophecies which, as I mentioned previously, probably influenced him to kill Duncan. That would mean only a second-degree murder. Secondly, Duncan was staying in Macbeth's castle. The prescence of a king would probably guarantee a huge banquet held in his honour. Therefore, there is a high chance that Macbeth was intoxicated while doing the deed. That would mean only a manslaughter charge. Thirdly, as one could see from the book, Macbeth can become very bloodthirsty, and prone to anger. In a fit of anger, he had killed Macduff's entire family, including Macduff's young child. Nowadays, he could probably cope an insanity plea which would probably be sustained.
"Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more." (act 5 scene 5) This quote is perhaps one of the most recognizable quotes in the entire book. This could also be a theme to the book, Macbeth is telling us how short life can be, and how important it is to make full use of it. Perhaps that is the reason why he wanted to become king, to live life to the fullest.
This turned out a little longer than I expected, hopefully someone can trim it a little, and maybe provide some helpful tips. I think the conclusion is a little cheesy, might need help with that, but I really wanted to use that quote.
