Macbeth

                Hello everyone,I am Mansi Gujadiya.I am study in Department of English MKBU. Today I will write this blog for thinking task given by Dilip Barad sir.In over syllabus we are study Macbeth written by William Shakespeare. Here I write some question...

Introduction of Author 

          

          Macbeth is written by William Shakespeare.William Shakespeare (birth date 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist.

            He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some like

39 plays

154 sonnets

 three long narrative poems

few other verses

           And some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.He remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.

His 4 famous Tragedy are

1.Hamlet

2. Othello

3.Macbeth

4.Kinglear

Here we are discuss about Macbeth

Major introduction about this play

            Macbeth  is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606.It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, Macbeth most clearly reflects his relationship with King James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy.

*Theme of  Macbeth

-Ambition

-Appearance and reality

-Guilt

-Famininity and Masculinity

-Fate

-Violence

Main Character

Macbeth

Lady Macbeth

Macduff

Banquo

King Duncan

Malcolm

Donalbain

Lady Macduff 

 Question:-2 -Now we are discuss about one female character of this play .

Lady Macbeth

             

               “I fear thy nature;

                 It is too full o’ th’ milk 

                of human kindness

              Lady Macbeth is possibly Shakespeare’s most famous and vivid female character. Everyone, whether they have read or seen the Macbeth play, has a view of her. She is generally depicted in the popular mind as the epitome of evil, and images of her appear over and over again in several cultures. She is usually portrayed in pictures as something like a Disney character, a cross between Cruella DeVille and the wicked stepmother in Snow White.

               Although she has some of the most bloodthirsty lines in Shakespeare she is not quite Cruella De Ville or the wicked stepmother. The response she gets from the male characters suggests that she is a young, sexually attractive woman and, indeed, in her effort to influence Macbeth, she uses every method at her disposal, including the employment of her sexual charm

             She is usually depicted as a strong, tough woman and, in her drive to induce Macbeth to murder King Duncan, she appears to be that, but, having succeeded, it does not take long for her to crumble and break down, destroyed by guilt, and she ends up committing suicid

              Shakespeare does not have any evil characters. What he has are ordinary human beings, like you and me, placed in situations that challenge and test them. Some of them, like Iago in Othello, have personality defects, but that’s rare in Shakespeare and it’s not the case with Lady Mcbeth.

              The challenges that Shakespeare presents his characters with generates different responses from different people. Lady Macbeth’s challenge is that she discovers that her husband has been tempted by an encounter with three witches to do something about their prediction that he will become king. She knows that the king would have to die for that to happen. When she gets a message that King Duncan plans to spend the night with them at Glamys Castle it seems to confirm the thought that they would have to kill him and that this was their once in a lifetime opportunity. That’s the situation into which she has been thrust.

              this was their once in a lifetime opportunity. That’s the situation into which she has been thrust.

               She is as ambitious as Macbeth but she knows that for all his bravery in battle, all his soldierly and diplomatic qualities, he is basically much too soft –“too full of the milk of human kindness” – to take advantage of the opportunity. She makes up her mind to make him do it.

             And she is right about his lack of resolve – they talk it over and he tells her that he just can’t do it. She goes into high gear and virtually holds his hand through it. One of her strongest qualities is persistence and she shows it here. Macbeth hesitates, equivocates and falters but she holds firm. She argues the case, she mocks him, bringing his manhood into question, she appeals to his sense of loyalty to her, she takes him to bed, and she finally prevails.

              Macbeth kills Duncan in his sleep and from that moment their marriage begins to fall apart. They each fall into their own guilt-trip and hardly speak to each other. As king, Macbeth fears his political enemies and embarks on a reign of terror while Lady Macbeth stays in bed, unable to sleep, having nightmares when she does manage it. While walking and talking in her sleep she gives the game away about what they have done and sinks into a moral, physical and spiritual collapse. When Macbeth is on his last legs, with the rebels closing in, he gets the message that she’s dead. At that point, he says he doesn’t have time to think about it. “She should have died hereafter,” he says. Their partnership in this murderous enterprise has destroyed their marriage.

           The promise of strength that we see in her at the beginning of the play is an illusion. What we are seeing is naked ambition and a willingness to act on it without having the resources to deal with the consequences. We see how guilt can eat up your soul and destroy you. We see how hollow ambition is, both in her journey and Macbeth’s. (Read the most significant Macbeth ambition quotes.)

Character attributes

Some significant character attributes of Lady Macbeth are:

Controlling 

         she understands that her husband doesn’t have the savageness required to murder the king of his own accord, so she manipulates him. She plans out the murder, then takes control of events when Macbeth loses his mind.

Cruel 

           she is a violent, cold-blooded character who is happy to scheme the murder. She ridicules Macbeth when he doesn’t agree to participate in her violent plans.

Two-faced 

         she welcomes King Duncan like a friend whilst at the same time planning his murder. She also advises Macbeth to be two-faced.

 Question:-2 Macbeth a Tragedy of Ambition

Introduction 

  In Macbeth, ambition is presented as a dangerous quality. It is the driving forces of the play. It is ambition which causes the downfall of Macbeth and triggers a series of deaths in the play. Macbeth is inspired by the prophecies of the Witches to be ambitious and his ambition is driven by Lady Macbeth.

 

Macbeth a Tragedy of Ambition

               When the Witches meet Macbeth and Banquo, they greet Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis and the Thane of Cawdor, and predict that he will be the king of Scotland. Of Banquo, the Witches predict that he will be the begetter of a line of kings. When Rosse and Angus inform Macbeth about the conferment by King Duncan of the title of the Thane of Cawdor on him, Macbeth hopefully begins to look forward to the fulfillment of the final prediction, that is, of his becoming king. Thus, the prophesy of the Witches had made a deep impression on Macbeth’s mind. When Duncan nominates Malcolm to be to the heir to the throne, Macbeth thinks it to be an obstacle in the way of his becoming king. So, the thought of murdering Duncan has taken a firm root in his mind. It is evident that the Witches have stimulated in Macbeth an ambition which would have remained dormant if the Witches would make no prophecy.

   

            But the Witches are not fully responsible for Duncan’s murder. It is Lady Macbeth who gives the fuel to the fire of Macbeth’s ambition to kill Duncan. When Duncan arrived at Inverness, Macbeth controlled his ambition for the time being and did not kill Duncan. But his wife, Lady Macbeth brings him back to his original decision. Lady Macbeth convinced Macbeth that the murder would go undiscovered, and this was what gave Macbeth the courage and determination to proceed with his plans. Her forceful arguments revive his ambition and cannot but agree to his wife’s plan. So, he says:

            "  I am settled, and bend up

               Each corporal agent to 

               this terrible feat."

              Thus, Macbeth kills Duncan being influenced by his wife. Having taken the road of self damnation, he is now unable to stop. Macbeth is now always ready to remove every obstacle from his way to remaining in his state of power. Realizing the danger from Banquo and thinking of the prophecy that the throne will eventually pass to the descendants of Banquo, Macbeth hatches a conspiracy against that man and has him murdered. It is Macbeth’s second crime. He commits another crime warned by the first apparition. The first apparition warned Macbeth to beware of Macduff and Macbeth has already been feeling apprehensive of Macduff’s attitude towards him. As a result, he decides to massacre Macduff’s family.

             Here Macbeth degenerates into a butcher. His tragedy lies in this degeneration. At last comes the time of his doom. When he faces Macduff in the battlefield, he tells him that nobody born of a woman can kill him. At the time Macduff reveals that he was removed from his mother’s womb prematurely by means of a caesarean operation, and that he is not therefore no born of a woman in the normal sense. On hearing this Macbeth gives up all hopes and within moments he is slain by Macduff.

            Thus, ambition is the root cause of Macbeth’s downfall, as it planted the seeds of murder, which grew into an uncontrollable monster that eventually destroyed anyone who got in its way.

 

           And now day's we can see this type of ambition is over politician. They have a ambition of money and power.When election comes, over politician gives a so many promises.but when this person wins .They never follow his promises.

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