Skip to main content

What are Macbeth's flaws that led to his demise ?

Macbeth's most crucial flaw is his ambition. It drives him to commit unnatural and evil deeds to fulfill the witches' prophecy as he understands it. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is described by his peers as a virtuous and loyal thane to the king, his kinsman Duncan. But as soon as he encounters the witches and hears their prophecy that he will become king, he is consumed by what he calls his "black...

Macbeth's most crucial flaw is his ambition. It drives him to commit unnatural and evil deeds to fulfill the witches' prophecy as he understands it. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is described by his peers as a virtuous and loyal thane to the king, his kinsman Duncan. But as soon as he encounters the witches and hears their prophecy that he will become king, he is consumed by what he calls his "black desires." He acknowledges his own ambition when he vacillates over murdering Duncan, admitting that he has no cause to kill the king except his own ambition:



I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
And falls on the other...



The problem with Macbeth's ambition is that it drives him to rise above his place in society. It upsets the natural order of things, and unleashes a flood of violence that consumes Scotland. 


Another of Macbeth's flaws is his willingness to listen and to be directed by others. His wife, convinced that Macbeth might be too "full of the milk of human kindness" to carry out the brutal deeds necessary to fulfill what she sees as his destiny, challenges his masculinity and his courage to goad him into killing Duncan when he hesitates. Macbeth also places total faith in the witches, which causes him to interpret their cryptic prophecies in ways that turn out to be misguided. For example, he believes that the witches' statement that he can never be killed by anyone "of woman born" causes him to be overconfident, and when he discovers that Macduff was born by Caesarian section, thus technically fulfilling the prophecy, he feels that unnatural forces have tricked him. Still, it must be said, he allowed himself to be tricked, and doing so brought him to the fateful meeting with Macduff outside Dunsinane. 

Labels

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more

How did the United States become an imperial power?

"Imperial power" is a bit of a vague label. It tends to mean several things at once, so let's unpack it. In the sense of "this country was built on conquest by force," the "imperial power" part of America actually predates the United States proper. The territories that would become the United States were imperial colonies, established by the great European empires of the 17th and 18th centuries. Much of the US Constitution and American governance generally goes back to England, history's largest and most successful imperial power, but vital aspects of American culture come from other imperial powers, such as France and Spain. Much of American culture comes from sources other than the old empires, but they were key influences on what the United States became. In the sense of "this country treats conquest by force as a fundamental component of its culture, economy and politics," the United States has always been an imperial power. Even earl...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more