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McKenna Forry
12114
AP English III
Mrs Edwards Macbeth During the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare there are many references to sickness and disease. A variety of metaphors are used to express key themes in this play.
However I would argue that the metaphor of sickness and healing is one of the most prevalent metaphors that is present in this play. Shakespeare addressed sickness and healing not only through the characters of this play but also through the country as a whole.Macbeth’s “sickness” affects both himself and the whole country of Scotland. From the beginning it is shown that Macbeth possessed of a violent nature that borders on psychological sickness. When the witches are telling Macbeth that he will be king, Macbeth is speechless by the fact that he has already thought about being king. It is almost instant when
Macbeth comes up with the idea that in order to become king he will have to kill the present
King Duncan. Sometimes when one is sick they believe that nothing is wrong and they will just let it pass its way through. Macbeth decides "One way or another what's going to happen is going to happen"(154155). This tells us that even though he has these dark thoughts of killing King
Duncan he decides he will not deny the thoughts instead just let them take their course. Sickness is when one is not at a stable state of health. It is shown that Macbeth is not in a stable state
2 mentally when he says "Let not light see my black and deep desires"(53). Macbeth is aware that he is having these dark thoughts but tries to hid them away in hopes that they might just go away, but anyone who is sick knows that they need to be treated in order to gain stability in their health. Thinking about killing Duncan makes Macbeth only get sicker and sicker. He starts seeing hallucinations of a dagger. "...as this which now I draw. Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going, and such an instrument I was to use"(4244). At this point Macbeth decides that killing
Duncan is the only way that he will be come King. No one is going to change his mind and when he says, "'twas a rough night"(37), we know that his sickness was to the point where he mentally could not compare right from wrong or Duke of Cawdor from murderer. Malcolm's sickness is only getting worse when he decides that in order to be able to keep his position as King he must kill Banquo as well. Macbeth's rage and craziness comes to surface again when he kills Banquo, but even more when he sees the ghost of Banquo. Macbeth starts talking to the ghost saying,
"Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake thy glory locks at me"(5556). As Macbeth is saying this everyone is listening to him and thinks he has gone crazy. Macbeth's sickness is now getting worse where everyone is now aware of it and are looking at him differently because of it. Lady
Macbeth explains Macbeth's reaction to Banquo by saying that he is plagued by a common infirmity that causes him to hallucinate. This is ironic as it suggests as it suggests that Macbeth is ill with the disease of corruption and evil. As Malcolm refers to Scotland in act IV he says it weeps,
An analysis of your impression on the witches, how they set the scene for Macbeth and how they impact him and Banquo We are greeted to ‘a desolate place’ with ‘thunder and lightning’ when we first meet with the three witches. Shakespeare has created a sinister and abandoned atmosphere, which could be foreshadowing the future. The introduction of the first scene begins with pathetic fallacy, ‘thunder and lightning’ and this could be associated with danger, forces or a storm. The witches set an atmosphere…
them at the same time. In the story the witches says to Macbeth that he will be the Thane of Cawdor and the new king, and that Banquo will be father of kings, but Macbeth found it hard to be live, but since the first prophesy became true, him and Lady Macbeth were fulfilled with ambition. Thus, they were eager to do everything in order for Macbeth to become king, and they killed King Duncan. In the story, when Macbeth kills Duncan, Macbeth says, “One cried ‘God bless us! ‘and ‘Amen’ the other as…
friendship of Macbeth and Banquo? Shakespeare develops Banquo and Macbeth’s friendship in a variety of different ways but his main method is to show how well they were friends before they met the witches, but after they met them, Macbeth was willing to give up everything to be King, including his friend. Banquo though didn’t believe the witches and decided to trust in his friend, which was his ultimate downfall. Macbeth and Banquo together encounter the witches where Macbeth hears their prophecy…
Lord Acton This quote means that power changes one’s personality for the worse. Reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth, one can axtell that the play has several instances where this quote is perfectly applicable to describe a scene. Macbeth, a noble Scottish General, goes to extremes committing murders and pulling devious schemes to gain power. Macbeth’s desire for power was caused by four main events, Macbeth hearing the prophecy, becoming king, hiring the murderers, and killing Macduff’s family. All of which…
English IV Macbeth Essay I believe that Macbeth is guilty because his ambition to become king was influenced by greed and selfishness. He was the main suspect in the killing of Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff's family. Macbeth should be punished for what he did because although he would have made a great king his way of becoming king was wrong. The very first murder in this story was committed on Duncan. It all started when the witches told Macbeth that he will become king. Macbeth was so overwhelmed…
Sebastian Merfea Jean Karpowich English 11 Honors March 18, 2013 Analysis of Macbeth by William Shakespeare Macbeth by William Shakespeare is set in year 1000 in Scotland. This dark, pagan atmosphere suits the thunder and lightning and the meeting of the three witches. Their use of the contradiction “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (I, 1, 12) immediately introduces the concept of contradiction, that things are not always what they seem. In scene 2 the mood quickly shifts. In the camp, a bleeding…
Macbeth’s Decisions and the Witches By Matthew Caputo Throughout William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the theme of Decision-making is constantly seen. The three witches are an extremely important element to the plot as they influence many of the decisions made by the characters through their predictions of what is to come. While they are connected to the supernatural ability to see into the future and are quite influential, they do not control Macbeth’s fate entirely. Their predictions are, however…
McKenna English 4 3-9-14 Summary of Macbeth The play begins with the trio of witches and then moves to a military camp, where King Duncan hears the news that his generals, Macbeth and Banquo, have defeated two separate invading armies—one from Ireland, led by the rebel Macdonwald, and one from Norway. Following their pitched battle with these enemy forces, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches as they cross a moor. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility)…
In act two scene 1 Banquo and his son Fleance walk in the torchlit hall of Macbeth’s castle. Banquo is having trouble sleeping saying his sleep inspired “cursed thoughts”. Macbeth enters, and Banquo is surprised to see him still up. Banquo says that the king is asleep and mentions that he had a dream about the three sisters. Then Banquo suggests that the witches have revealed some truth to Macbeth. Banquo and Fleance leave, and suddenly, in the darkened hall, Macbeth has a vision of a dagger floating in front of him…
Appearance (Macbeth and the witches) - Macbeth talks about how banque criticized the witches prophecies - “He chid the sisters, when first they put the name of king upon me, and bade them speak to him.” - “As the weird women promised,” Disorder (treachery and Murder) -Macbeth plans for the murder of banquo by hiring “Murderers” - “Acquaint you with the perfect spy o' th' time, The moment on ’t; for ’t must be done tonight” Light vs Dark -Macbeth deceives the Murderers telling them that Banquo is…