Free Macbeth Essays Examples to Help You Write Any Paper on Shakespear's Classic Play

Expressed in Macbeth

Myths and legends are part of our common collective unconscious; they provide us with ways to process the feelings and aspirations we have as individuals to better ourselves and be rewarded for our hard work and moral goodness. There is also a psychoanalytical portrait to this sense of myth as well, as Freudian concepts of dreams and human fantasies of the unconscious combine with Jungian archetypes to create models of human behavior that we wish to emulate and look up to. No matter the story, be it Jesus or Holden Caulfield or Luke Skywalker, myths often operate on a Continue reading...

The Scotland play is a dramatization of political effects and corrosive psychological effects that sprout out in fulfilling power’s ambition. The tragedy tells the story of Macbeth, a brave Scottish soldier, which meets three witches and prophesy he will be King of Scotland. Ambition consumes him to the extent that results to his murder of King Duncan thus he grabs the throne. He ends up becoming a tyrannical ruler due to the paranoia and guilt thus committing more murders in protecting himself from suspicion and enmity. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth end up in realms of madness, death and Continue reading...

Macbeth is one of the most brilliant, fascinating, well thought works of Shakespeare. Equally, it is widely accepted as one of Shakespeare’s darkest works. The play is set in the Victorian age and pundits and critics have come to describe it as a tragedy. This is due to the fact that, despite the heroic acts of the lead character Macbeth, his expeditions are laced with tragedy. Shakespeare seeks to portray the utter destruction rendered when evil is allowed to have its way. He uses a brave, courageous, regal general in Macbeth. Macbeth ambition is further increased when a Continue reading...

The Elizabethan period was a phase of industrial development, scientific improvements, commercial growths and eventually of material affluence. The period was intensely categorized by an unending hunger for knowledge, insatiable yearning for power and a fervent aspiration to disrupt the chains of human restrictions. Ambition can be fatal if one would pertain it to the obsessive hunger for an extraordinary power and knowledge practices the focal point of the entire plays of Marlowe. Doctor Faustus is the piece by Christopher Marlowe which arranges with the yearning for tremendous mortal knowledge which effects the everlasting punishment of the existence of Continue reading...

Shakespeare is well-remembered for his exemplary work in the work of literature. Considered by many as the finest author during his time, he wrote books on different genres. However, it is how he managed to employ certain themes in all the genres he worked on that communicates his mastery of literature. He mostly worked on here genres of literature: History, comedy and tragedy. The two genres that this paper will work on are tragedy and comedy. The paper will focus n Merchant of Venice as the comedy and Macbeth as the tragedy. Using these two works, the paper will Continue reading...

Introduction

Thesis: Lady Macbeth is the greatest female villain and one of the most notorious female villains in Shakespeare’s works and the western literature in general. The role she plays in Macbeth is evident.
- As a powerful and influential woman
- She has the qualities of a man
- Evil was tied to masculinity, but she crosses over
- Her Impact in Macbeth
- She is responsible for Macbeth’s fall
- Overambitious as a tragic flaw
- Her role in the death of Duncan
- ‘Performing for men’
- Conclusion
Thesis restated: Although she is not the Continue reading...

Introduction

- The desires and ambition of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth drove them to commit the most hideous act.
- Innocent thoughts and ambition become corrupt when you cast aside your moral judgment.
- Loyalty and kingship replaced by the sweet taste of success.
- Thesis statement: Lady Macbeth, unlike her husband, is unscrupulous. Her strong nature overpowers her husband’s forgiving nature and causes him to think evil. She becomes the most ruthless female, committing one act after another leaves her satiated with blood.

Body

A.
- Macbeth questions the three Witches predictions (“All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king Continue reading...

Introduction paragraph

Thesis: Lady Macbeth is the most important character in Macbeth because she tries to act like God, she has a flaw that the audience can identify with and that she stark raving mad.

I: Lady Macbeth Tries to be God

- Hannibal quote
- Similarity to Lady Macbeth
- What being God entails
- Manipulates Macbeth – questions his manhood

II: Lady Macbeth’s Tragic Flaw

- She’s a human being
- Audience can identify with her flaw
- Makes her so memorable
- Everyone has thought about killing someone

III: Lady Macbeth Goes Stark Raving Mad

- Duncan looks like her father
- She empathizes with her victims, even though logically she shouldn’t

Lady Macbeth, Hannibal Lecter Continue reading...

Macbeth is considered as Shakespeare’s tragic hero. Macbeth, a strong, chivalrous and ambitious Thane of Glamis in the Scottish army under the King Duncan is returning from a war where he killer the traitorous Macdonwald and is stopped by three witches. The three witches tell them about their future that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and after that King. Banquo, a companion of Macbeth is also intrigued by witches prophesies and enquires about his future. To which witches reply that even though he is not as strong as Macbeth nut much greater and happier than him and Continue reading...

1. What might have prompted Shakespeare to write this play? What elements of the play reflect the interests of King James I?
Answer: Shakespeare’s Macbeth traces its origins from the Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland by Raphael Holinshed which dates back from 1587. Published in this book are the factual records of King Macbeth’s reign. “Macbeth ruled in the eleventh century, yet it wasn’t until the fifteenth century that monks recorded his tale in early Scottish history. Andrew of Wyntoun, a canon of St. Andrew’s in Fife, completed his Cronykil in 1406. Although he Continue reading...

The majority of the respondents were of the view that the media is primarily to blame for the rising cases of school shootings. This responsibility by the media was attributed to the glorification of these school shootings by the media (Clemons, McBeth, p. 208). This is because any school shooting gets national publication. School shootings may be isolated and rare, but the media makes sure that these incidents receive national attention and thus, blow them completely out of proportion.
The majority of the respondents also felt that the content being aired by the media was to blame for the Continue reading...

The tragedy of Macbeth that was termed as Macbeth is a tragedy that was written by the renowned William Shakespeare, and it was produced in Scotland. The play dramatized the corrosive psychological and political effects produced when the malevolent is opted for as a way of fulfilling and attaining the wishes of those that wanted power (Howell, 2008). In the play, a Scottish general by the name Macbeth dreams of becoming a king something that will force him to kill with his wife’s motivation and help the dream to come a reality. As a result, it was reflected Continue reading...

Interpretive Analysis for Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's Macbeth illustrates different theme in his book through quotes from different characters. The ambition is one of the themes that are the driving force in the play as various characters struggle to meet their goals. Another theme is romantic that appears to be in trouble, in this play. For instance, during courtship that is before marriage as well as at marriage there seem to be a struggle between the parties. Even though the two couples Macbeth and the wife are united and happy, it is ironical. It is because the unity between them is due to their mutual Continue reading...

Shakespeare

The belief in the power and existence of witches was extensively believed at the time of Shakespeare. This fact is demonstrated clearly by the European witch craze, at that time approximately nine million females were put to death as they were considered as witches. In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero is a fascinating example of a high magician that has used dark magic. Propero has considered that there is no selling of the soul as well as no contact with evils or devil. Prospero has used his magic in order to accomplish his role as a master of his Continue reading...

Film Studies

1.Yojimbo (1961) and Jidaigeki (Period Drama)
Yojimbo is one of my absolute favorite Kurosawa films; I’m just so impressed by its incredible energy and pep. Toshiro Mifune seems to have a tremendous amount of fun as the ronin who marches into town and quickly ends up solving its problems. He is literally the archetype for Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name, and Yojimbo lends itself well to the Western format. In the space of a few minutes, we are told the stakes of the town, the different factions in it, and Sanjuro chooses to take down both Continue reading...

Audiences and readers around the world have been thrilled by Shakespeare’s dark and sinister Macbeth for the last four centuries, and not without reason. Various scenes of parts of scenes, character developments and dialogues or soliloquies in Macbeth are particularly powerful, impactful or full of meaning and combine to make Macbeth the great, epic and enduring work that it is and places the characters of Macbeth and, to some extent, Lady Macbeth, in league with some of the greatest, richest and most complex characters in theatre history.
The play, after opening upon the three witches in a sinister Continue reading...

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s literature works, a play involving the character Macbeth of Scottish origin and his wife Lady Macbeth. The play starts with the successful story involving the win by three Scotland generals over their foes from the nation of Ireland, Macbeth being among them. This shows the nobility and loyalty that Macbeth had towards his king and country because he was willing to die for his country in the battle field fighting his countries enemies (SparkNotes Editors). Despite all of Macbeth’s achievements he met his downfall which was mainly contributed by the interferences of Continue reading...

Introduction

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is widely acknowledged as the greatest English language playwright. He was born and raised to a middle-class glove-maker in Stratford-upon-Avon, England (Cohen, 6). He wrote masterpiece poems, plays, short stories and books about 400 years ago and his works have been timeless. Two of Shakespeare’s most celebrated works are the play titled Macbeth and the novel titled Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare’s upbringing in a middle class family and lack of adequate education predisposed him to a challenging life which motivated him to write as a way to express to future generations the turmoil and Continue reading...

Compare and contrast the characters of Claudius and Macbeth

Introduction
William Shakespeare is well known for his plays, from comedies to tragedies to love stories. His plays are popular for their invention of the most powerful characters who give life to these plays. Claudius and Macbeth are characters from two different plays, yet so similar, and still so different in qualities. These characters are very powerful in their respective plays. Macbeth and Claudius are both hungry for power, irresponsible an insane. The author uses these two characters similarly and differently to depict the different leadership qualities of authoritative kings as well as the characteristics of their kingdoms. William Continue reading...

Macbeth is one of the plays written by Shakespeare that is set in Scotland. The play is a tragedy that shows the political and psychological effect when evil mechanisms are employed to achieve political ambitions. There are several motifs in the play; they include weather and blood among others. This essay evaluates the money in which the motif of blood is employed in the play.
The major idea in the play is the killing of King Duncan that occurs in the second scene. In the scene, Kind Duncan yells “What bloody man is that?” (Shakespeare I, ii, 1). This Continue reading...

Even thought the phrases ‘victim of ambition’ and victim of fate’ appear inconsistent with the character of Macbeth, elements of both ambition and fate surface in his life. Although it appears that Macbeth might have always preconceived the desires to be king, this is not revealed until he meets the three witches, who prophesize that the ball is set in motion thereby bringing his ambitions to light. After this meeting with the witches, several instances of both fate ambition and fate mold Macbeth’s character. By the end of the play, though his wife’s ambitions and the prophetic Continue reading...

Thesis Statement

Macbeth was not an influential or powerful leader; in fact, he was a coward and insecure person.
Introduction
Macbeth is the protagonist of a story named Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare. The play is based on Scotland where the king of Scotland is at war with the King of Norway. It is argued that Macbeth was a brave and influential leader and this paper argues against this statement. In this essay, it has been argued that Macbeth was not an influential or powerful leader; in fact, he was a coward and insecure person. The explanations, presented in this paper, Continue reading...

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Macbeth is one of the most powerful plays in the history of literature and is perhaps William Shakespeare’s masterpiece. It deals with the psychological effects of power and how these eventually destroy Macbeth who turns to dark and brutal murder to accomplish his ambition of becoming King of Scotland. The ritual underplays of the drama are indeed powerful and gripping especially those where the monologues of Macbeth are concerned. The other characters in the play also mix well especially Macbeth’s wife and the erstwhile Banquo who returns to haunt Macbeth like a ghost.

The Gift of the Magi

This great little short Continue reading...

Macbeth As A Tragedy

One of the most prominent themes in the story of Macbeth is ambition. Once the main character gets a taste of power, he does almost anything in order to keep his seat of the throne. This is representative of human nature, in a way where people are always very paranoid and greedy. Although at first, he wanted to leave things to chance, or fate, he soon convinced himself that this isn’t the best way (Shakespeare, 1.4.4). He grew impatient and also hateful. Instead of allowing things to fall into place, Macbeth wanted to take things into his own Continue reading...

Influence can be compared to a liquid that flows in and out of all human beings. The character that flows within you really affects your senses directly and what flow outside has influences others and the environment. Each contact, friendship, and relationship can carry with positive or negative elements. There are some instances that when you are engaged in a conversation, you are left with a feeling of encouragement from someone you conversed with. The feeling after a conversation can also be a negative result such as the feeling of fear and full of negative ideas influenced by whom Continue reading...

It is true that people’s lives are to some large extent shaped by those people they relate or associate with. This is so because what other people do or say to them becomes the references against which they check their actions and maybe try as much as possible to do according to that reference. It does not come as a surprise that people talk about peer influence affecting the decisions and the things that people do. It is therefore true that who we become depends so much on the influence that other people; especially those whom we consider Continue reading...

Literature

After Malcolm was Named King
Introduction
One of Shakespeare’s best-known literary work and is considered to be the most powerful tale of tragedy is Macbeth. Believe to have been written between 1605 and 1606, it features a dark and short narrative about vengeance and death. The death of Macbeth marks the end of the story and with Malcolm reclaiming the throne of his father. However, the audiences are left with questions as to what happened next. Malcolm’s point of view in this matter is essential in pointing out the direction of the story beyond the texts of Continue reading...

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is one of the great tragedies of English literature, featuring ambitious characters undone by their own lust for power, and the struggle between destiny and choice. Like many stories, Macbeth has many elements of the Joseph Campbellian Hero’s Journey, where a character must come from humble beginnings and follow a certain path to his destiny. Furthermore, Macbeth features one of literature’s greatest temptresses – Lady Macbeth – whose own ambition causes Macbeth himself to make the many tragic mistakes he will make over the course of the play. The supernatural also plays a role in Macbeth, Continue reading...

Play Synopsis In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a trio of witches predicts that Macbeth will be made king of Scotland. When the witches’ prophecies start to come true, Macbeth starts to have ambitions about becoming the new king. Despite his own doubts as to this prophecy, his wife, Lady Macbeth, schemes with him to kill the current king, Duncan, so that he can take the throne. He simply follows the orders of his wife blindly, even though she is clearly interested only in her own ascent to power. Macbeth soon succeeds in his plan to kill King Duncan, and ascends Continue reading...

Part 1: Question 1

“What if”. Two words, six letters. Alone they mean nothing, combined and they form one of the heaviest phrases to start a sentence with. In this case however, starting the story with what if may have been better. Everyone who’s read the story of Macbeth knows exactly what happens; a good man is corrupted by the lust of power, armed with the knowledge of the future and urged by the whispers of his wife into rushing headlong into the unknown and ends up fulfilling all of his dreams, never realizing that nightmares are dreams too .
The tragedy of Continue reading...

So what do you expect to find in a play written hundreds of years ago but is still read with unrelenting enthusiasm and interest as never before? What is that make this possible? Can you really tell the best way of presenting a play in which a character, cheered by his over ambitious wife, kills people mercilessly in order to gain power and safeguard it? These are some of the questions that you get answered as you read Macbeth, a Shakespeare’s play .In my analysis of this play, I am going to discuss some major characters ,themes and Continue reading...

Introduction

One of the darkest plays of William Shakespeare, “Macbeth” is a poem that holds a significant artistic and symbolic power, striking by the brutality and violence of the murdering acts committed by Macbeth and his wife, which are, in the end, the results of uttered prophecies. The poem imposes a note of dark mystery and an estate of anxiousness, because of the murderers committed by Macbeth, which indicate the force of evil taking over the human nature through rage, despair, thirst for power, violence and agony. Likewise, the presence of the unnatural elements (the three witches and their prophecies, Continue reading...

Introduction

The aim of the research paper is to discover and investigate the principle of tragedy so that we can get an insight relationship between human conditions and the tragedy in literature. The research paper aims to discover the various types if tragedy that befell Macbeth and other characters in Shakespeare’s play. This dissertation will also identify how these tragedies are important in defining and modeling the society. Shakespeare uses the character Macbeth to communicate the theme of tragedy that can lead to destruction and failure of all ambitions of a human being. He discusses a series of tragedies Continue reading...

Critical Essay

Macduff- A man on a mission
One of the lords describes Macduff as a man on a mission, who has left home seeking the support of King Edward in order to stop the shedding of innocent blood in Scotland, and to restore peace in his land, so that its people may live in harmony. But by being an ideal nobleman, was Macduff ignoring his duty to his family? It is unfair to declare that Macduff fails as a father and does not protect his wife and children.
Macbeth sends a messenger to bring Macduff back to his court. The Continue reading...

Critical Essay

Role reversals exhibited by Macbeth and his lady
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are dynamic characters and Shakespeare reveals the distinct and different thought processes of these two characters through soliloquies and dialogues. As the play progresses, their mindscapes alter until a complete reversal of roles occurs between the protagonist and his wife.
In the first act, a bleeding captain describes the protagonist as “brave Macbeth”, who is “valour’s minion” and a lion, who vanquishes the Irish rebels, as well as the Norwegian invaders to protect his king. Thus he wins the title “Thane of Cawdor”.This title probably Continue reading...

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is an engaging play which documents the journey of Macbeth up to the paramount helm and his subsequent downfall. The play portrays the dichotomy of mind, the hunger for power and the brutal clutches of fate that looms over the lives of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who finally succumb under the onus of their deeds. How life meanders its way through the series of events finally leading to the downfall of the duo is aptly portrayed by the stalwart playwright. Shakespeare uses the protagonist of his play to exude the horrendous effects of ambition and Continue reading...

A soliloquy is defined as a portion in which characters are involved in talking to themselves without directly speaking to the audience. This have well been used in the play by Shakespeare in most his books to reveal more about the character. In the book Macbeth soliloquy is used to relate the character and their true emotions which make it easier to relate it to the audience. The most forceful example is Macbeth’s dialogue with the phantom dagger, here the ‘heat oppressed brain’ created by the power of imagination. The dagger is more than a mere recipient of Continue reading...

“What are these/So wither’d and so wild in their attire,/That look not like the inhabitants o’ the earth,/And yet are on’t? Live you? or are you aught/That man may question?/You seem to understand me,/by each at once her chappy finger laying/Upon her skinny lips: you should be women,/And yet your beards forbid me to interpret/That you are so” (Shakespeare, Act I, scene III). Both in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart the main characters’ lives seem to be controlled by fate: both Macbeth and Okonkwo play out their lives in Continue reading...

“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare is filled with many complex and intriguing characters. However one character in particular caught my attention because of her devious and conniving ways, Lady Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth is also a cold, calculating woman. She goes into great detail planning the murder of King Duncan (Shakespeare). She leaves no stone unturned and goes about her plan with great fortitude. She is quite different from many female characters in the sense that murder does not disturb her. She is quite a blood thirsty lady! She assists in the plan by dipping her hands in Duncan’s blood Continue reading...

Pride is the essential hallmark of tragedy - the best tragedies involve someone who is well-intentioned or honorable who are undone by their own assumptions and delusions of grandeur. This fatal flaw is understandable and tangible, and yet it allows us to see the inevitable downfall of people we relate to and wish to do good. The titular character from Shakespeare's play Macbeth suffers from immense pride, which is often inspired and egged on by various cultural and social factors, pressuring him to do things that are simply outside his capabilities. The result is a feeling of disappointment, and Continue reading...