MACBETH

Power & Leadership
 
 

Welcome to my web page on Macbeth. I'm no computer buff so sorry if it's not up to your standards. I did my part of this group project on power & leadership in the plot and the irony of Macbeth. Enjoy. I hope the work I've done will help others to do less.

The Plot

The story of Macbeth is essentially the actions he takes to fulfill his desire to become the all powerful leader of Scotland. In the beginning, everyone loves Macbeth, especially Duncan, the current King of Scotland, because he killed MacDonwald, a traitor, in battle.
* Macbeth is already Thane of Glamis, but after he knocks off Macdonwald, Duncan declares him Thane of Cawdor too. Duncan sends Ross and Angus to bring him the news of his new found fame.
* Macbeth is traveling with Banquo along a moor when they encounter three witches who greet him with
" All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!"
" All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!"
" All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be King hereafter."
Act1, Scene 3, lines 48-50

Before Macbeth's run in with the three witches we see no desire in him to become King. He is happy with the way his life is going, that is, slowly and steadily to higher and higher nobility. He does not admit his desire for the kingship at this moment,
"If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me, without my stir."
Act 1, Scene 3, lines143-144
* Macbeth and Lady Macbeth keep very little secrets from each other. Macbeth sends her a letter describing to her the prophecies of the three witches. This is when we begin to see an unexpected side of Lady Macbeth. She becomes cruel and hungry for power. She prays to darkness to rid her of her womanly weakness and to give her strength to help her convince her husband that they should kill Duncan.
"Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts! unsex me here, and fill me
from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty; make thick my blood,"
Act 1, Scene 3, lines 39-42
* Lady Macbeth starts her work on Macbeth of trying to convince him that it would be a good idea to kill Duncan and become king. Macbeth is hesitant, he wants to enjoy the new title he has recently won.
" He hath honour'd me of late; and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people,
Which would be worn in their newest glass, Not cast aside so soon"
Act 1, Scene 7, lines 32-35
These lines show that Macbeth is still against the idea of killing Duncan. He isn't opposed to becoming king though, and Lady Macbeth senses this and continues with her tirade on Macbeths masculinity.
" And live a coward in thine own esteem"
Act 1, Scene 7, line 43

*Macbeth in convinced. He will go and murder Duncan when he is sleeping. Macbeth wants to be king and although the idea of affecting the great chain of being worries him, his desire for power and leadership is greater.
* Macbeth begins his downfall after he murders Duncan. From this point on his life continues in a downward spiral of powerlessness.
* Macbeth murders Banquo and attempts to murder Fleance because he fears the prophecy that Banquo's sons would be future kings. He does this to maintain his power as king, yet because he fails at murdering Fleance he has allowed himself to loose some control.
* Macbeth continues his blood bath by murdering Macduffs family. He does this to assert his supremacy over Macduff. It also acts as a warning to Macduff from Macbeth.
* Macbeth has lost a great deal of power by devoting himself to his personal affairs instead of the affairs of Scotland. He goes back to the witches for more prophecy on his future. He wants to regain control of his life, yet he's relying on the witches to predict and help him.

"Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff; Beware the Thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough"
" Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth"
" Be lion-mettl'd, proud and take no care Who chafes, who frets, or where conspires are: Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him"
Act 4, Scene 1, lines 72-73, 77, 79-81, 90-94
* After these prophecies, Macbeth becomes full of confidence and feels powerful again, but it is a false sense of power. Soon after he returns from the witches, his wife, who prayed for strength, has lost her mind and killed herself. Oddly enough, Macbeth shows little emotion and is not disrupted by this startling fact.
* In the last act of the play, an army comes to Dunsinane disguised with trees cut from Birnam wood. The prophecies are all coming true and Macbeth begins to finally realize that he has lost all control over himself and Scotland. Many of his subjects have fled to join an army led by Macduff to kill Macbeth and return the rightful king, Malcom, to the throne.
* Macbeths final loss of power and leadership is when he is killed and decapitated by Macduff, who we learn was torn from his mothers womb.

Irony

* Thane of Cawdor was originally a traitor. When Duncan awards this title to Macbeth, it is ironic that he believes he can trust the new Thane of Cawdor more than he could the late Macdonwald, who was a traitor to the crown.
* After he hears the prophecy of his future reign as king, he makes a statement

"Too high a vault can only lead to a fail"
This line shows that he is aware that a plan to kill the king will surely end up with his death, yet he still proceeds. It is ironic that he knows the consequences of his actions and still continues.
* Macduff runs away to England and appears to be a coward because he left his family to die, yet in the end he returns and is the one who strikes down Macbeth.
* Macbeth kills a king, and then is killed as king




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This page by Laura M.


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