NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Macbeth (Tragedy) I decided to elaborate on three characters in this play: Ross the messenger, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Ross is the only person in this play who doesnt tell a lie. Ross doesnt only deliver messages though; he also gave Macbeth the clothing needed for the thane of Candor. Also Ross seems to know about everything that is going on in the play. He might be a professional message deliverer. Everybody can believe what comes out of Roses mouth.
For example, when Ross told Lady Macduff that Macduff left to England, she didnt start asking other people to make sure he left. Then after the murderer killed Lady Macduff and her son, Ross even went to England to tell Macduff. Ross likes being the messenger and he does it throughout the play, even at the end when he tells Macbeth that Lady Macbeth has killed herself. Ross has ways in some scenes of how he tells people the bad news. If its a friend of his he shows some kind of compassion to his friend when he tells them. When he tells King Duncan about the traitor situation he is direct and to the point.
When Ross talks to the king he doesnt waste any time with his answers. Also, when he tells Lady Macduff that Macduff has went to England, he doesnt waste any time at all because Lady Macduff is his cousin. He is just letting her know that everything is okay and that Macduff will be back soon. When Ross says, "You must have patience, Madam, thats when it seems that he just wants to tell her that everything is okay. (Parker, p. 64) It is a different situation though when Ross lets Macduff know his wife and son are dead.
Ross tells Macduff that the people he loves most have been murdered slowly so he can lay the news down easy on him. At the end of the play, when Ross tells Seward that his son is dead, he says it with compassion because he had done a great deed by standing up to King Macbeth. Ross shows compassion and no compassion for the bad news he tells people depending on the person. His role is important. Although he is a minor character, if it wasnt for him people wouldn't know the situations that occur throughout the play. Lady Macbeth is the most influential and powerful role in this play.
Her role in the play is to be strong for Macbeth and support him. Also, to get Macbeth in the right mind set to murder people. Although she doesn't have a lot of scenes, and the ones she does have are short; they are key essentials to the play. Lady Macbeth knows that she needs to kill the King as soon as the messenger tells her that the King is coming.
She says "come you spirits that tend to mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direct cruelty! Make thick my blood. " (Parker, p. 67) This means that she wants her female weaknesses to be taken away, and she wants to have manly strengths. Lady Macbeth then says one of the most powerful lines in the play, "are you a man?" to Macbeth. (Parker, p. 67) This line gets Macbeth back in the right mind set to take care of the problem without letting the quests know he sees a ghost. Lady Macbeth is stronger mentally than Macbeth, and is smarter when it comes to covering up things.
Lady Macbeth changes Macbeth easily. She uses a woman's way of words to get Macbeth to murder King Duncan. She is saying that this will prove if you love me or not. She asks him if he is afraid and chicken. This make Macbeth think that he is not fulfilling his role as a man if he doesn't kill King Duncan. Of course, this little game that Lady Macbeth plays with Macbeth works because Macbeth does kill King Duncan.
He thinks if he doesnt kill the necessary people that know of what he has done, that he is not doing his part as a man in the family and he would feel weaker than Lady Macbeth. Only Lady Macbeth could make him do these bloody deeds. Lady Macbeth has done almost everything but kill Duncan herself. She imposed her will on Macbeth and talked him into committing the murder. She kept saying how a little water clears them of the deed and questioning his manhood. Macbeth had dismissed the idea of killing Duncan until speaking with Lady Macbeth again, which shows that Lady Macbeth was more responsible for the murder of Duncan because of her pressure, actions, and words Macbeth finally killed Duncan.
Macbeth is really an honest man, but he eventually succumbs to Lady Macbeth's desires. Lady Macbeth had Macbeth by weakening his purity by questioning his desire, convincing him how they would not to be caught, and talking Macbeth out of his honest thoughts. After being told of the prophecies by the Weird Sisters, Macbeth comments to himself: If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me/Without my stir. (Parker, p. 71) Macbeth had only flirted with the idea of taking Duncan's life, as evidenced in this quote, and here also decides that only chance will have him become king. However, this quote occurs before Lady Macbeth learns of the prophecy, and once he tells her, she immediately forces her will upon Macbeth to get him to kill Duncan. As evidenced in this quote, Macbeth is against the murder of Duncan, and Lady Macbeth talks him into it. Macbeth is a good man until influenced by Lady Macbeth.
Macbeth knows he is an honest man, and that is why he tells himself he will get the throne by fate. However, once he tells Lady Macbeth what has happened, she immediately brainwashes and overpowers him into seriously thinking of murdering Duncan. Macbeth is shown in the play as a rather weak character, as a person that does not really have his own opinion and prefers to agree with his wifes words, however unreasonable they might seem to him. Although from the beginning of the play he appears to be an honest and trustworthy person, bad influence throughout the play makes him become a murderer, and afterwards he simply has to agree with his wife in everything she tells him, since the murder has been already committed. Macbeth is certainly one of the most controversial characters of the play.
Words Count: 1, 091. Bibliography: 1. Parker, P. Shakespeare from the Margins: Language, Culture, Context. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
Free research essays on topics related to: lady macduff, kill duncan, kill king duncan, lady macbeth, murder of duncan
Research essay sample on Kill King Duncan Murder Of Duncan
