Macbeth Essay Period 3

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth has always been the subject of discussion, with its versatile yet striking themes of superstition and fate. Shakespeare incorporates many literary devices, specifically characterization, in order to shape the idea of how man’s perception of fate affects man’s actions. This central theme is predominantly seen in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, with the former seeing the witches’ prophecies as a herald to his ascension and doom and with the latter seeing her provincial path she has to take to become a queen. Shakespeare’s characterization explains the paths they take in order to fulfill what they believe of their destiny, as illustrated by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

After hearing the witches’ first prophecy come true that he will be Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s perception is that the witches are his indicators of the future. Because of his mentality, he decides to put his trust to them, as seen in Macbeth’s ordeal with the seven apparitions. In the end of the play, Macbeth grows arrogant and dubious in the face of certain demise since he places his mentality and trust in the witches’ prophecies. He believes that these heralds are so ludicrous that it makes him feel invincible and affects his actions into becoming a ruthless tyrant. His embodied haughtiness that Shakespeare characterizes him produces negative outcomes and ultimately his death.

Unlike Macbeth and his open-ended interpretation that the witches’ prophecies will make him invincible and oblivious to all harm, Lady Macbeth has a set path that she forces herself to take to becoming queen. After reading the letter Macbeth had sent her, she instantly develops a narrow-minded plan to help Macbeth become king so she can be a queen, which is to kill Duncan. She had never thought of other alternatives, such as a probable cause that Duncan might die eventually and Macbeth might be king in another turn of events, and allows her perception to control her. Because she is embodied with a narrow-minded ambition as well as a fiery motivation, Lady Macbeth has her perception dominated by what she believes in as morals. She eventually suicides and ends up in a fate similar to that of Macbeth.

Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s characterization ultimately clarifies their reason for their actions, with the former as arrogant and the latter as ambitious. Though they had different reasons for what they did throughout the play, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plummeted towards their demise in a series of events dictated by their personalities. They eventually die at the end of the novel due to their characterization by Shakespeare.

-Erik Seetao, team 3