Macbeth Essay

Danny Shapiro

Period 1

Wylie

Macbeth Prompt

Throughout Shakespeare’s literary career he always had a fascination with the characterization of certain characters. In his timeless masterpiece, Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, is mainly interpreted as one who has a serious struggle with his subconscious. Macbeth prioritizes his desires much more than the right thing to do. Throughout the play Shakespeare describes situations that are designed to make Macbeth feel tempted. After every decision Macbeth has the reader begins to analyze what lead up to the sudden events. With the stern conflict, each decision brings up the underlining question, “Is Macbeth’s fate due to poor choice or destiny?” Through Shakespeare’s creation of consciously conflicting situations and subliminal foreshadowing, he brilliantly has used Macbeth as a tool to drive to the action forward.

The play brings up familiar engagements in his characters where they must trust their gut. This begins right away in Act 1 Scene 7 when Macbeth is contemplating the murder of his own cousin, Duncan, who happens to be the King of Scotland. Macbeth is putting their relationship out the window and only using his envy towards being a powerful king in order to justify his decision. Often times Macbeth is put in situations where he knows what the proper decision would be but goes with his instinct due to the belief that “everything happens for a reason.” Due to this casual attitude towards consequences Macbeth doesn’t regret his actions until later in the story, and story progresses in an exciting fashion.

It becomes obvious when finished reading the story that there were hints along the way that hinted a significant event in the future. In Act 1 the entire bloody battle foreshadows the bloody murder of Duncan. The three witches say they will speak to Macbeth once the battle is over. That “battle” could be whatever you want it to be, the battle of Macbeth and his own mind, the battle in the beginning, or even the battle between Macduff and Macbeth. The point is that Shakespeare purposely wrote Macbeth to establish innovative thought in the reader. Keeping the reader engaged and on the edge gives the desire to look for future clues that will hint towards severe circumstances.

Essentially Shakespeare has characterized Macbeth as a mentally ill warrior who is battling the thoughts in his head and his community around him. When we are eager to obtain an internal/external good or service we usually let our emotions get the best of us, Macbeth did in much greater fashion. As Macbeth’s influence to become King became greater so did his misconception of how to obtain what he wants. What lead up to the downfall to this character? Is Macbeth naturally and genetically built to react the way he did? One may argue Macbeth can’t control his actions because his fate is predetermined, others disagree and point out if he stopped and made conscious decisions he would have caused much less destruction to himself and everyone around him. One thing remains constant, Shakespeare’s characterization of Macbeth leads to subconscious decisions that create the plot and allow us to further analyze literature.