Tyranny in Macbeth free essay sample

The only character responsible for the tyranny of Macbeth is the man himself. Discuss. In the Shakespearian play, Macbeth cannot be solely responsibly for the tyranny that he causes. Macbeths close relationship with lady Macbeth and his own ambitions to become king lead him to many evil actions. This relationship causes many fatalities, which is turn leads to changes in the personality of lady Macbeth and this can be seen, as she has difficulty in coping with the situation that she has put herself in. However, slow reactions by other characters in the play, may have been the cause many unnecessary events to occur. But, theses may not have mattered is it wasn’t for the apparitions given to two characters by the evil sisters, these prophecies and apparitions can be seen as the spark to all the tyranny is William Shakespeare ‘Macbeth’. At first Macbeth seems to be a loyal and brave servant to his country and King. We will write a custom essay sample on Tyranny in Macbeth or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But, his relationship with his wife and his desire to become king cause him to live a life of many harmful actions. These actions cause a huge change in his characters personality. However, to say that he is the only man responsible for the tyranny in ‘Macbeth’ is ludicrous. Although he is somewhat to blame for his ruthless rule, his close relationship with his ‘dearest love’ motivates him to complete the evil ‘deed’. Becoming king, Macbeth has a responsibility to protect and serve his country, a job, which he does poorly. Instead of this, he proceeds with the evil, and kills his best friend in Banquo. Even after being haunted by the ghost of Banquo, he continues his tyrannical run by destroying the household of Macduff, all because he was a threat to his kingship as show to him by apparitions. However, Lady Macbeth can’t escape the involvement in sparking the monster called Macbeth. Upon hearing the news that her husband has received prophecies the he ‘shalt be king,’ she instantly tries to conjure up a plan to kill King Duncan. She even goes to the extent of acting out of what was normal for her gender. While Macbeth has two thoughts about the murder plot, Lady Macbeth would rather have ‘ dashed the brains out’ of her own child than go back on what he has ‘sworn’ upon. This contradicts to the actions of lady Macbeth after the tyranny that Macbeth causes. The crazy state of Lady Macbeth, which eventually caused her death, could have been non-existent if she hadn’t been the motivation and just as much the driving force behind her husband’s ruthless leadership. On the other hand, there are some characters that are also somewhat responsible for their lack of involvement, or failure to react quickly to the suspicious murder of King Duncan. These two characters are Banquo and Malcolm; although they are not directly involved in the cruel regime of Macbeth, they could have reacted quicker and they may have stopped many unfortunate events from occurring. Malcolm fleeing the country it fear of his life, takes the eye off Macbeth and immediately makes him a suspect. If he had stayed and put forth his suspicion of Macbeth, he may have stopped Macbeth from ever even becoming king and therefore taking away the likelihood of tyranny in the paly. More importantly, the way in which Banquo dealt with the issue, and his hesitation to reveal the prophecies of ‘weird women’ cause his own fatality. However, Banquo may feel his actions can be justified as he has also received prophecies that he ‘should be the root and father of many kings. This all goes back to the evil sisters and their prophecies, which started all of the tyranny. The three evil witches prophecies can be seen as the actual cause of the tyranny of Macbeth; as they are the ones who revealed that he ‘shall be king. ’ These prophecies caused the murder of Duncan, Banquo and eventually lead to Macbeths down fall. His thrive of becoming king and his confidence that he is going to live his full life all came from the three witches. These apparitions are what cause the ignorance of Macbeth. Making him feel invincible as ‘none of woman born can harm him. Although, the witches are to be held responsible for the revelations of the apparitions, it is the misinterpretation of these apparitions that leads Macbeth into having a selfish, unjust and ruthless reign as king. No one character can be blamed for the tyranny of Macbeth. As there were many who were directly or indirectly involved with the cruelty of Macbeth. The close relationship between Macbeth and lady Macbeth, and the ‘unsex[ed]’ Lady Macbeth successfully convinces Macbeth into killing Duncan, starting the tyranny. In addition, the silence of Banquo about the prophecies, and the fleaing of Malcolm cause even more events that could have been stopped. But, the real start of the tyranny is the apparitions and prophecies given to both Banquo and Macbeth. Because, if wasn’t for these prophecies then, Macbeth wouldn’t have had the desire to become king or lead to the tyranny that he caused and the ruthless ruler and king. BY: Ilker Dayakli Class: 11D