Preview

Analyzing Macbeth According to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
574 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analyzing Macbeth According to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
In reading William Shakespeare's play, MacBeth, readers can plainly see that character development is crucial to developing the plot, as well as the overall appeal of the literature. One can see the growth in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth throughout the story. The changes in the characters' personas is very much visible to the reader throughout the storyline. In analyzing MacBeth, one can use Sean Covey's insightful book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, to show the seven characteristics, as Covey describes them, show the changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.<br><br>To teach one's self a lesson in changes of character, one should read up on the character Macbeth. This man made a turn from a, more or less, flat character in the beginning of the story to a much rounder character with many complex parts of a personality by the time the story was over. But the common denominator within his character in all parts of the story was that, despite his stature as a "good guy" or a "bad guy", Macbeth exhibited absolutely no good qualities as shown in Seven Habits. When the witches foretold of his destiny, Macbeth did not Begin with the End in Mind. Hewas not proactive in helping his destiny come to pass, having his wife actually scheme to assassinate King Duncan. He did not follow the habit: "Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood". He never tried to understand anything. He just followed what his wife told him to do. When he thought that there was a threat to his position he would do anything, included cold-blooded murder, to alleviate the strain in his deranged mind. Even those close to him such as Banquo and others were killed just because of MacBeth's reactive nature. This is definitely a sign of a man with a win-lose paradigm. It was his way or the highway. MacBeth also had bad habits, such as being a procrastinator, waiting for Lady MacBeth to come up with a plan before he thought about the consequences. <br><br>On the other hand, Lady MacBeth exhibited some

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macbeths attitude, view on things, and charcter changed dramatically throughout the play. In the beggining he shows us his honoring side. Soon after that, he begins to show us how he starts to regret the things he had done, said, or thought. Lastly, he starts to become a tyrant and with what he is doing he shows us.…

    • 58 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macbeth is one of the greatest plays and most valuable lessons there is for the people who are overly ambitious. Macbeth’s downfall was all because of weakness, he didn’t believe in himself and he did not realize that he did not have to submit to his wife to be considered a man. Phony prophecies, overly ambitious wife, weak mind, insecurities and overall half of the ambition on his part was unwanted lead to all the atrocious acts done in the play. His wife was quite the manipulator and got him to do just about anything, many would say it is her fault for his downfall, although it may not be entirely her fault or the witches because somewhere deep inside of him he already had the burning sensation to be powerful, she played a big role in his…

    • 176 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory 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

    To begin with, the reader can see how the characters characteristics show their ambition throughout the play. In the play, Macbeth has many characteristics such as being determined, The Thane of Glamis and also The Thane of Cawdor which demonstrates how ambitious he is. Macbeth’s aspiration allowed him to receive the different name titles by accomplishing his goal. Another character who has characteristics of being very ambitious is Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth exemplifies the true definition of ambition with her characteristics of being strong minded and strong willed. One can see throughout this tragedy that Lady Macbeth’s…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Renowned play, “Macbeth” written by William Shakespeare in 1606, is one of the most prestigious dramas to date. Valiant and truthful soldier, Macbeth experiences dire changes of evil, in order to gain his thriftless ambition for king. His immoral change might have been influenced by Lady Macbeth and the witches’ prophecies suggesting Macbeth is a tragic hero who had no intent of abhorrent deeds. Once honourable Macbeth pledges glory to his king and gained honour through valiant accomplishments. Fear strikes him as his mind starts to deteriorate into utter chaos by his treacherous actions. His self-conscious mind transforms him into a superstitious villain who suffers in despair as he implicates regret.…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mac Beth Essay

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Macbeth is a determined man and has great qualities as a human being at the beginning. However, Macbeth is weak minded, and his will can be easily swayed which contributes to his undoing. Lady Macbeth is just one of the many characters who astray Macbeth’s heart. Due to his lack of sensibility and rectitude, he is unraveled to his very end. Macbeth is to take full responsibility for the tragedies that take place among the innocent lives, which were dealt the wrong hand of fate, during his conquest for complete power.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth is introduced as a humble and honest leader, however as the play continues his blinded ambition leads him down a dark path in which he loses all moral senses. Initially Macbeth is said to be “Brave”, “Noble” and a “Worthy Gentlemen” who is willing to puts his life on the line to protect his kingdom “Thawdor”. This all begins to change after Macbeth hears his prophecy and suddenly his ambition to become king alights. Macbeth is influenced so heavily by his ambition that he loses his original “Nobel” and “Honest” traits and begins plotting the murder of Duncan, “O, never shall sun that morrow see!”. This shows the first stage of the corrupting influence of unchecked ambition taking over Macbeth. Macbeth carries out the murder of Duncan and then soon after begins plotting the murder of his close friend Banqou. This reveals that the influence of Macbeth’s uncontrolled ambition has now completely taken him over. The influence of ambition on Macbeth to stay as king completely wipes his mind of all his morals and all things that were once important to him, Lady Macbeth is portrayed near the begging of the play to mean everything to Macbeth and Macbeth tried to do what he could to please her. However, when Lady Macbeth dies later in the play Macbeth’s only words are “she should of died here after” as he is annoyed at the fact she died at an inconvenient time. This illustrates how the unchecked ambition that has a corrupting influence upon Macbeth turns him against his once noble and honest path.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fatal Influence On Macbeth

    • 1659 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Everyone as a human being has both good and bad characters, and they will also change as they grow old and some people also learn from their mistakes. In the play, “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, the character of Lady Macbeth depicts both good and evil tendencies, particularly her evil tendencies can be seen at the beginning of the play. Over the course of time, Lady Macbeth changes adequately from the lust of power to more of an anguished person. The consolidation of the fatal influence by the witches and Lady Macbeth on Macbeth is what mustered for a disaster.…

    • 1659 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the first Act of Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth,’ the protagonist is portrayed as brave and courageous man. However, after the witches’ prophesized that he could become king his ambitions change from loyalty and courage to selfishness and greed. Macbeth knew that if he wanted to become king to had to slay Duncan, his relative. However, he is too loyal, instead he seeks Lady Macbeth for advice. She is eager to become queen, labelling Macbeth unmanly and fearful. ‘What thou art promis’d; yet…

    • 1062 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ambitions in Macbeth

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One of the primary forces in Shakespeare’s most compact and sublime tragedy, Macbeth is the drive of reckless ambition in the title character and the consequences that follow such impactful, unchecked emotions. This is expressed very transparently in Macbeth’s character. It is known from the very beginning that Macbeth is highly ambitious, though he is a man of morals and commits the heinous acts described in the beginning of the play solely the sake of duty. The integrity of his purpose is first compromised when the Three Witches reveal their prophecy to him. He ponders whether or not the title of King will simply arrive to him, or he must do something dark to obtain it. Before his emotions overtook him, Macbeth was a true Scotsman, loyal to his country and King, and “full o' the milk of human kindness,” according to Lady Macbeth. As the play progresses, his morals are overpowered by his ambition. The audience is treated to a plethora of dramatic irony to truly help how much Macbeth’s character has changed.…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth practice essay

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, being a tragic hero or villain is a debatable dilemma of Macbeth's character. Some people think Macbeth is a tragic-hero because he is forced to commit his crimes by the spell of the three witches and the pressure from his wife. But other people think that Macbeth may be a villain due to his bloody deeds and over-ambition.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeths Ambition

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Macbeth’s character is a clear example of how ambition corrupts man’s personality. After a brief period of hesitation, he finally decides to take the infamous way of murder in order to make his political desires come…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many critics of the play believe that from the first scene to the last, Macbeth's character is unchanging, and that he is always governed by his greed, selfishness and evil. This is not so. Right from the outset of the story, Macbeth's indecisiveness is evident. In act I, Macbeth struggles a great deal in deciding whether or not to murder the king and take his throne. When Macbeth is first given the prophecy that he will be king, he dreads the thought of killing a man that has been like a father to him. This shows that Macbeth has a conscience, and that deep down inside, he is a good person. When he arrives home to his kingdom though, he is greeted by Lady Macbeth who reveals her plan to make her husband King when she says:…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    William Shakespeare wrote the play “Macbeth” in 1606. It, as the title suggests, follows the story of a Scotsman named Macbeth and how, after the prophecy of three witches, sees his status evolve from a general in the Kings army to becoming the King himself. However the main theme that Shakespeare introduces in this play is the lengths man will go to fulfil ambition and the treacherous consequences that come with it. Not only do we see Macbeth’s status evolve but also his personality within. With each scene we see Macbeth succumb to the pressures of achieving power and how this affects his character as well. Act 1 of “Macbeth” truly, from the beginning, shows us a clear development of Macbeth’s disturbed personality not only through language but the context behind this tragedy.…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth is a very complex character. He has so many character traits. The most noticeable characteristic is that Macbeth is a very ambitious person. He also is a coward person as he always depends on others to make decisions. And one thing very important is that Macbeth is a incompatible person. The good and evil both exist in his characteristic.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays