Preview

An Analysis of the Use of Threes in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth"

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2301 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
An Analysis of the Use of Threes in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth"
Bad Luck Happens in Threes: An Analysis of the use of Threes in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”

Since the Mesopotamian era of 3000 B.C. numbers have been an essential part of life and are easily found throughout society, imbedded in religion, intertwined in mythology and commonly related with superstitions. Even in the twenty-first century people still believe in ancient numerical superstitions, such as the lucky number seven, or the unlucky number thirteen. During the seventeenth century William Shakespeare uses societal superstitions in his famous tragedy, “Macbeth”, by writing in a threefold literary pattern. Shakespeare reinvents the number three by relating in to evil and darkness throughout the play, providing it with a new superstitious meaning. “Macbeth” follows the transformation of the title character from thane to king, sane to evil. After putting down two rebellions against the King of Scotland, Macbeth is awarded title and favor with the gracious King Duncan. When greeted by three mysterious witches, they prophesy that Macbeth will be made Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesize that Banquo will beget a long line of Scottish kings but will never be king himself. Macbeth and Banquo treat their prophecies sceptically until some of King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has indeed been named thane of Cawdor. In attempt to aid the prophecy, Macbeth murders the good Duncan and is crowned King of Scotland, but once his great goal to be king is achieved he begins to fear the prophecy brought forth to Banquo. In fear of being overthrown from the throne Macbeth goes on a psychotic rampage attempting to protect his future while ruining his sanity and brings upon himself his own demise. While entangling the threefold literary pattern into a tragic plot, William Shakespeare presents the appearance of three apparitions, the three murders, and the character choice of



Cited: Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In William Shakespeare's story Macbeth, the hero, faces a conflict that impacts how the play will go and delivers a message within the story. The conflict starts with the prophecies of the Weird Sisters and later on gets worse from the trickery of Lady Macbeth. The result concludes a series of repeating thoughts running through Macbeth's mind, whether to kill or not to kill Duncan.…

    • 278 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Macbeth is arguably one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. Written sometime between 1603 and 1606, the play is strongly written with King James the first’s of England’s interests in mind; the supernatural. Because of this we are introduced to the idea of the paranormal and witchcraft straight way in the play with the three. This would have scared a Jacobean audience as they feared the supernatural; it also foreshadows the likeliness of disturbed characters to be introduced later in the play.…

    • 3194 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In William Shakespeare’s play, “Macbeth”, one dominant moral is made clear to the audience, do not tempt fate, let nature take its course. Some of the ways that Shakespeare achieves this is through the development of conflicts in the plot and also through dialogue, vivid imagery and metaphors created by the atmosphere in the play. The characters develop in the early acts to identify the protagonist and antagonists to the audience. The characters contribute rhetoric that reveals the disturbing of Shakespeare’s theory of the Great Chain of Being, the natural course of order.…

    • 257 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Macbeth” a text written by William Shakespeare set in 11th century that follows a Scottish thane and his rise to the throne as a result of many cases of manipulation.According to the natural order which was the law of the times a king was chosen by god and the title should not be allowed to be obtained by want for it.The first instance of manipulation in the text comes from the witches when they announce that he will soon become king as well as thane of Cawdor.”All hail,Macbeth,hail thee,Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”.When Macbeth is named “Thane of Cawdor” shortly after a seed is planted in Macbeth's mind that it may be possible for the throne to become his.He soon realizes that he would need to…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the middle century, people believed in witches to have the power to predict the future and to call on higher power to proclaim prophesies. It is in this nature that Macbeth learned that he is to become Thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be King hereafter”. And true enough, when the witches vanished, a message…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Shakespeare’s masterpiece of a play, ‘Macbeth’, carefully depicts that Macbeth’s character was not ruined by fate but rather by damaging errors in his personality. Macbeth’s dangerous quality of ambition brings about his downfall as well as his treachery against his king, his tyranny and also his imaginativeness that eventually lures him into the murder. Although Shakespeare suggests that Macbeth’s decisions were greatly influenced by other characters in his text, it was Macbeth that ultimately decided to listen to these influences due to the many faults in his character.…

    • 88 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Diction In Macbeth

    • 172 Words
    • 1 Page

    In the play, Shakespeare uses diction to reveal dominate role Lady Macbeth plays in the Macbeth’s marriage. To begin, the playwright depicts Lady Macbeth’s dominate role through her famous speech in which she states “Come, you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here” (Act I, scene v, lines 38-39). Shakespeare reveals to the audience that Lady Macbeth’s ambition is strong and she pursues her goals with great determination compared to Macbeth. Lady Macbeth wishes she could be unsexed in order the kill King Duncan herself.…

    • 172 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macbeth is a Shakespearean tragedy, written between the years of 1599 and 1606. It tells the story of a Scottish general, known as Macbeth who receives a prophecy from three witches claiming that he will, someday, become king of Scotland. The play demonstrates two main themes through the desires of kingship and power Lady Macbeth has for Macbeth and the numerous murders committed by Macbeth in order to fulfill these and his own want for power. The two main themes of Macbeth include ‘the corrupting nature of unchecked ambition’ and ‘the relationship between cruelty and masculinity.’ The first and most common theme, ‘the corrupting nature of unchecked ambition,’ initially arises when Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth of his new title and how he is…

    • 554 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare’s witches, or the “three weird sisters” (1.3.32) serve several purposes. With their persuasive techniques and ability to either see or influence the future, their most important role seems to be their power to influence decision-making and cause the initial deterioration of Macbeth. By providing five prophecies, the witches “provide Macbeth’s ‘call to action’ and drive his thirst for power”, (Jamieson). However, by not telling Macbeth the full truth, they give him false hope, and expectations that ultimately lead to his demise. The witches influence him so greatly, that without their presence, it is possible that Macbeth would never have even committed the murder of King Duncan.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In William Shakespeare's, Macbeth, a tragedy written 1606, Shakespeare brings to attention the complex intellect between the ideas that man must face in making decisions. This play takes place in eleventh century Scotland. Macbeth, a once noble and loyal soldier turns to evil ways for things he desires such as power and approval. He murders his precious king, friend, and other innocent civilians to become king. He takes advice from three witches and his wife, neither of whom gives just advice. He then kills and becomes a villainous tyrant, mad on his lustful and wanton thirst for power. With Macbeth's mind going and in his undulated state Macduff and Malcolm overthrow him. He dies by the hand of Macduff in a final battle. His gullibility and listening to others become the tragic hero's major weakness in the play.…

    • 541 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Metaphors In Macbeth

    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page

    3. Prophecies The three witches predicts that Macbeth will be the thane of Cawdor, thane of Glamis and then the King. They also predicted that Banquo’s son will be the king. Their prophecies caused Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to dream about their future and planted the idea of killing Duncan inside their heads.…

    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ever since he exterminated his own cousin, Macbeth’s life has been spiraling into a vortex of confusion and difficulty as of late, and in order to find some kind of resolve, he goes to meet the 3 witches about his situation. At a closer look, Shakespeare made Macbeth’s anxiety very obvious to us readers. That only goes stronger when Macbeth gets 3 strange apparitions--3 visual riddles--that foretell an unfavorable outcome. Afterwards, his speech becomes angrier, sporadic, and anxious as these speculations only fuel his impending madness and apathy.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macbeths Reputation Essay

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Macbeth’s previous history must’ve been something to earn himself the immutable respect of so many people, even the King addresses him in exclamation, “O worthiest cousin!” He commands respect where ever he is, and common soldiers know even to pay him the reverence he deserves, “Hail, most worthy Thane” (Ross). All this trust, dedication, and deference shown towards Macbeth indicate clearly that he is a valiant hero of Scotland, and has obviously no desire to throw all his fame away. However, this is indivertibly achieved by one action, one very evil and malicious action. Juxtaposed against the stormy night, Macbeth, under the influence of evil, ambition, his wife’s taunting and a supernatural spell, Macbeth murders the King.…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    A+ Macbeth Essay

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the dramatic play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare many things come in groups of three. The number three is very common throughout the play and it had a huge role in Macbeth’s insanity. The three murders are the most obvious group of three in the play. The next group of three is the three witches that convince Macbeth to do all of the bad things. The final group of three is all of Macbeth’s titles.…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The medieval society was divided based upon your social status and divine powers. In a monarchical government, the king, positioned at the highest order, was closest to God through the authority of the divine right of kings. Therefore, challenging and betraying the king would, in turn, defy the authority of God. In Macbeth, King Duncan is murdered at the hands of Macbeth. Macbeth, the thane of Cawdor, rebelled against a man of a superior standing; instead, he, who is a man of lower status, should have served and respected his king. Greedy for power, he set off the balance of nature and the universal unity. As a consequence of his impiety, the great chain of being will experience a downfall, and disorder will fall upon Scotland. The shattered chain invites evil beings of Hell, a world unbound by the order. The recurring appearance of the three witches could be foreshadowing imminent danger and turmoil. For the assassination of King Duncan, Macbeth may have to face death himself in order to revive the natural…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics