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Example research essay topic: Hail Macbeth Hail Macbeth Lady Macbeth - 1,798 words

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Who do you blame for king Duncan's death? Consider the role of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the Witches. When answering this question you need to consider the roles of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the Witches. From this we need to also consider when the play was written and in what context the audience saw the characters in the time when the plays were written. Shakespeare was commissioned to write the play by James I of England who was also James IV of Scotland in the same period and was the new King of England. James I was obsessed and paranoid about witches, so much so that he wrote a book on the subject titled Demonology; at this time everyone believed in the existence of the supernatural, and when the Witches came on to the stage they would not be seen as funny or laughable but as sinister and scary.

James I mother, Mary Queen of Scots had been executed on the charge of treason, his father Lord Darnley had been assassinated. James I had inherited a time of political turmoil and confusion through the church and the monarchy's ideology; and a time where political murder and revenge murder were commonplace. James I himself had, had two assassination attempts made on his life. The second of these was in 1605 and is well known to this day it was the Gunpowder Plot; this may be why the murder of King Duncan isnt in the play because it may insight ideas about murdering King James I, also showing the murder may make James I seem less divine.

James I would be seen as less divine because if a King is seen to be murdered on stage while he is asleep with no struggle them he may be seen by the public as faulted and fallible. In Shakespeare's period people believed there was a greater power controlling life, and as long as this divine order was maintained chaos wouldnt take control. The murder of the king would throw the system into chaos; the murder would not only be a crime against the state but more importantly a crime against god. At the top of the chain is god with ultimate power over everything, then King, Thanes, citizens, and finally animals. Macbeth is thane of Glamis at the start and is then also Thane or Cawdor, this gives him a duty to the King and god that he must obey as they are his superiors. The audience believed that life is an act of God and terminating one so close to god would be a sinful act.

This is shown in Macbeth by dark clouds appearing on the horizon and all of Scotland being shrouded in darkness for the totality of the play, this is meant to represent the evil brewing in Scotland. It is only when the king is finally killed that the country becomes totally dark, concealed natural imagery vanishes from the kingdom as evil takes control. Killing a king, even today in modern society is the utmost crime. It is the only crime in the United Kingdom, which still caries the death penalty.

For such an act the only words which spark the beginning of the murder comes from the witches who recite a prophecy to Macbeth. The Witches play an important role in the killing of King Duncan as they are the ones who plant the idea into Macbeth's head. The witches appear amongst thunder and lightning. This dark weather creates a sign of things to come, and signals the arrival of evil to Scotland. It could be argued that the witches bring the dark weather and that they summon it as each entrance is met with thunder and lightning. Thunder and lightning are representative of unknown powers and are a destructive force much like the witches.

Shakespeare wanted to give the effect of an unknown element and give the witches an air of chaos by uniting them with mystical elements, and adding to their unpredictable nature and so increasing the impact they have on the people watching the play. This is also represented through their controlled verse and rhyme indicating a cruel and organized manner and the events they claim to have caused: In act 1 scene 3 this is shown by one of the witches casting a storm to kill a sailor after his wife refuses to give the witch chestnuts. This shows the unreasonable destructiveness that the witches are able to create. While they command these powerful yet small events it is also shown that they could control a greater power. The ship described in the scene could easily represent the ship of state, controlling it with simple powers.

If a ship was toppled by something as small like the wind then Macbeth could topple the state. This signifies how something small could topple a country, showing how unstable the kingdom of Scotland was. The Witches play the most fundamental part in the play, as the main objectives of witchcraft are believed to be the want to turn good to evil and upset the natural order. The witches are believed not to be able to touch King Duncan with their supernatural powers, as he is too holy due to the divine right of kings. We also see in the first act echos within Macbeth's language of the witches, at the end of Act 1 Scene 1 the audience sees the witches all chant Fair is foul, and foul is fair, Then within the space of 2 scenes and contained in the first line Macbeth says he echos the line by saying, So foul and fair a day I have not seen. This gives the audience the idea that Macbeth has the ability for evil.

This will prepare us for what is to come. In Act 1 Scene 3 when Macbeth and Banquo are both given prophecies, we see how contained in them there is the catalyst for both Banquo and Macbeth murdering King Duncan. At the beginning of the prophecy scene we are shown the power that the witches have and how they all come together and create evil. In this first passage of 35 lines we see that in a short poetic and dramatic verse they can seed revenge through sleep deprivation.

There is an uncertainty in the gender of the witches and the question of humanity. Macbeth is given his prophecies in relatively simple language, and soon after so is Banquo they are both three lines and are given in a very cryptic and confusing manner. The prophecies given to Macbeth are, FIRST WITCH All Hail Macbeth, Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis. SECOND WITCH All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor. THIRD WITCH All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter. Macbeth has been given three prophecies the first of which he knows to be true as he is Thane of Glamis, and then the second Thane of Cawdor he is not yet, and then finally he is told this he thinks about it more than Banquo thinks about his prophesy.

Banquo is told, FIRST WITCH Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. SECOND WITCH Not so happy, yet much happier. THIRD WITCH Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. These are very mystifying and complex lines and can mean many things such as the first line could be interpreted in several ways one of which is that although he is Lesser than Macbeth maybe in status or in confidence or in imagination, but Banquo is also greater.

This could mean in virtue, and that he is a better person. It could be interpreted that although Banquo is lesser than Macbeth in greatness he has a better domestic life with less problems. The one prophecy of Banquo's that could be most easily interpreted was the last of the three, which means that Banquo's children will be kings but he personally wont. Unlike Macbeth's prediction, Banquo's is less personal and doesnt really tell him much. The difference between these predictions is that Macbeth took his to heart and decided to act on it whereas Banquo did not. Macbeth's first meeting with the witches throws his mind into chaos.

Their mysterious imagery, rhyme and clothes are representative of something he has not seen before, something beyond nature. He is a soldier and honorable thane of the king, performing orders given to him and vanquishing the enemies of the kingdom. This is seen in his campaign against the traitorous thane of Cawdor. When he sees the witches his eyes appear opened. Through listening to the three prophesies: Macbeth will be, Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis and King hereafter He is introduced to ideas of greatness, a concept which has not crossed his mind before, therefore making him query the witches for more information to quench his curiosity for this new idea. Another idea to this is that is that Macbeth has previously thought of the murder of Duncan but has never had the drive to commit it.

Lady Macbeth also plays an important role in the play as she is the character who eventually persuades Macbeth to kill the King. Soon after the witch scene Macbeth writes Lady Macbeth a letter describing the three prophecies and how he feels about them, he draws Lady Macbeth into the murder by calling her, My dearest partner of greatness, that thou might not lose the dues of rejoicing by being ignorant of what greatness is promised thee. This not only shows that they are truly affectionate with each other but Macbeth has now promised Lady Macbeth a Queenship. At this point Macbeth is planting the idea of murder into Lady Macbeth's head and would also go through with it. Lady Macbeth portrays a weak stereotypical woman of the time, and her fainting in the murder scene proves this, but she is also the main instigator of King Duncan's murder. Throughout the play there is the constant theme of fair is foul.

Lady Macbeth is the personification of this phrase. As underlying her beautiful and fragile exterior is ambition maybe greater then Macbeth's and greed, as she wants also to be great. There is historical evidence that she was based on a real person and that this person was divorced from a previously powerful and rich man within Scotland. With the arrival of Macbeth's letter she is inspired as Macbeth is.

She sees as Macbeth does what has to be done to secure the final prophesy. We know what Macbeth wants to do and how he is dealing with it. In Act 1 Scene 4 as Malcolm is named as the Prince of Cumberland, the audience see an aside with Macbeth dealing with this point The Prince of Cumberland: that is a step On which I must...


Free research essays on topics related to: macbeth hail to thee thane, fair is foul, hail macbeth hail, macbeth lady macbeth, witch all hail macbeth

Research essay sample on Hail Macbeth Hail Macbeth Lady Macbeth

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