Macbeth is one of those most famous tragedies of William Shakespeare. The story, centered with Macbeth, is obviously a tragedy in the formal sense. ¡°At the start of the play he is a very successful and highly esteemed member of a social group, loaded with honors and enjoying every prospect of further commendation. He has a loving wife and a secure home in his castle at Inverness.¡± As the play opens, we learn that he is a general with courage and loyalty. His noble fellows respect him. His king, Duncan, trusts him and relies heavily on his service. But at the end of the play, Macbeth, as he betrays and becomes a king, is totally alone. ¡°He has lost all his friends, he is universally despised, his wife is dead, and all his most eager hopes have been disappointed. He is a man without a place in the social community. He has become totally isolated. ¡° After reading this play, we can not help to think about why he murders the king, Duncan, and betrays, and what consequences his own evil brings about upon himself. …show more content…
Why Macbeth has committed this immoral crime?
Through analyzing the play, we can get four causes:
First of all, Macbeth himself is a man of ambition. He is not sufficiently happy with the high social position he occupies and the honored status he has acquired among his peers. His great ambition is stimulated by two elements: his overwhelming military abilities and his noble blood. In Act 1, scene 1, we learn of his heroic actions in defense of the kingdom. Shakespeare praises Macbeth and Banquo¡¯s courage through a sergeant¡¯s
mouth:
As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.
If I say sooth, I must report they were
As cannons overcharg¡¯d with double cracks;
So they In this great tragedy, Shakespeare presents us the life process of a man, changing from a kind, noble, respectable, loyal hero to a murderer, a villain, and a tyrant, driven by self-esteem and desire. ¡°As a result we react to Macbeth with conflicting emotions, wavering between abhorrence and awe¡±. He murders and usurps. He is a traitor and villain. However, at the end, he bravely confronts and fights with all the forces that seek to destroy him. At that time, he is so majestic that everyone may get moved and shocked. And the whole story is indeed a tragedy.