Preview

Why Does Macbeth Want To Be King

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
235 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Does Macbeth Want To Be King
As the play starts off, a loyal kingsmen, Macbeth comes back from a battle and gains recognition from the king. He was like any other citizen of Scotland, he was faithful to the king, until the prophecy was given to him. Macbeth was approached by three witches explaining that he would become king. Macbeth expresses, “If Fate wants me to be king. Fate can make me king without my stir” (I.ii.20) ). At first, he really had no intention of becoming king. He tells the witches that he will count on fate for what is to come. This is crucial because Macbeth had no reason to become king, but he later becomes ambitious. Later in Act I, Macbeth declares, “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, For in my

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Fate is more significant in determining Macbeth’s course, who is the main character of the play “Macbeth” which was written by Shakespeare. The following phrases said respectively by the second witch and the third witch: “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!” “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” are clearly examples of fate determining Macbeth's course. These two phrases of Act 1, Scene 3 said by the witches suggest a prophecy, which says that Macbeth shall become the Thane of Cawdor and later on, he shall become the King of Scotland. Another example of fate determining Macbeth's course occurs when Macbeth is killed by MacDuff, the Thane of Fife. The witches in Act 4, Scene 1 told Macbeth a prophecy, which is: “Beware…

    • 238 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Taking the throne was his destiny, when he mentions “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle towards my hand, come let”(2.1.33). In this quote, Macbeth describes a ghostly dagger that is just outside Duncan's room, and that the dagger is pointing to Duncan. So Macbeth realises that is his destiny to kill Duncan. This is why Macbeth is responsible for killing Duncan, and why he is more of a power hungry character, because after he saw the dagger he didn't need the Weird Sisters to tell him he needs to kill Duncan, or even his…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth filled with morality and respect, is very loyal to king Duncan. When Macbeth is first introduced, his bravery on the battlefield leads Duncan into crowning him with the formal tittle of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth could not imagine committing treason of any kind because of his profound regard for the king. The encounter and the prophecies of the three witches triggered Macbeth’s ambitious nature. They appear to him with visions into his future saying, “ All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.52) From this point on, Macbeth begins to think about his desire to be king,…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the moment the witches tell Macbeth and Banquo their prophecies, both of them are wondered about fate, is it real? Is my action necessary to make it come to pass, or will the prophecy come true no matter what we do? Different characters answer the question in different ways. In the play, fate has been playing an important role in the lives of Macbeth, lady Macbeth and Banquo. The final answers are ambiguous- fate is fixed, and is weaved by our free will., but fate knows what are we going to do. Macbeth is the one who’s trying to master his fate. After the fulfillment of the first prophecy, he begins to believe in the witches’ prophecies, his willingness to do whatever is necessary to become the king of Scotland have killed his reason, firstly, he kills Duncan, because only with Duncan’s untimely death, he may become the king. Macbeth has to kill him before he appoints one of his son to be the heir. Short after, fate plays a role in the death of Macbeth, because the witches are…

    • 3357 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the start of the play Macbeth is brave and loyal and displays many of the attributes of a great king. However after conversing with the three witches his state of mind goes on a downward spiral eventually ending in his demise. His thirst for power and wealth cause him to act foolishly and with haste rather than waiting to see if the witches’ predictions come true. It is clear from Macbeths reaction to King Duncan telling Malcom that he will be Prince of Cumberland that Macbeths desires have already started to take a toll on his mind ‘That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, For in my way it lies.’ (I. IV. 48). This clearly shows that ambition is taking away Macbeths rational thoughts and he is choosing to act without thought towards the consequences and is only focused on his goal of becoming…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cotton King

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Macbeth was a good solider, a noble solider but it all changed when he had chance to pike at his fate. The first encounter Macbeth had with the witches, he learns that he is destined to receive the kingship of Scotland. Here is the beginning of Macbeth power thirsty journey, although he was unsure of the accuracy behind the prophecy but his desire to be king is seeded. Furthermore, after the witches vanish, part of Macbeth prophecy came true. Now Macbeth is intrigued by the possibility of the remainder of the witches’ prophecy. With part of his destiny already a reality, Macbeth’s urge to receive the kingship is now even stronger than before.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Fate, a powerful source thought to control all events, even a person’s destiny. If fate were to be real, then the outcome of a person’s (Macbeth’s) life would be inevitable. If the concept of fate was true, from the moment of birth your life would have already been planned out and you are helpless to change it. The questions that seemed to, and still does, taunt me was “Was Macbeth really a victim of fate?” and “Did the choices he made have some sort of impact on the outcome of his destiny?” In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there is a constant looming of these two questions. Macbeth had been given all these prophecies, that all seemed to come true, but he also played a big role in those because of the decisions he made. Macbeth is in no way under a spell or curse; he chose to create a path of evil for himself. The ability for Macbeth to choose his own fate appeared as soon as he decided to stop and listen to the witches. He showed us that what they were saying was important to him when in…

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth S Passions

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The prophecies that the witches foretold to Macbeth played an immense role in fueling his passion to rule. These prophecies each held true to Macbeth in some way. Initially, the witches address Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis, which is what he is already considered as. This can be considered the first sign the witches know many things about Macbeth. The second prophecy stated that Macbeth would become Thane of Cawdor, which became true as the original Thane had been condemned to death as he was traitor. After being bestowed this title, the final prophecy appealed to Macbeth even more, as it stated that he would become the King of Scotland. Macbeth was confident in these prophecies because one way or another, they assumed that he would be very successful in life. These prophecies can be the ones to blame for igniting the spark inside of Macbeth that would slowly fuel his deep and treacherous ambition to rule. They changed his attitude immediately and from that point on, he was bent on fulfilling his future by committing actions that would lead up to each of these situations to come true.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the play Macbeth, Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches that tell him that he will one day become king. Macbeth then sets out to make the prophecy a reality by committing regicide and taking the king’s life, then becoming king himself. After he becomes king, he begins to go mad with guilt and paranoia from what he has done, yet he still commits more murders in order to keep his throne. The country is thrown into chaos after the death of the king, and Macbeth does little to nothing to keep his country in order due to his own personal issues, which causes a rebellion, led…

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of the play, Macbeth hears a prophecy foretold by the Three Witches, in which he’s told that he is destined to kill King Duncan in order to acquire the throne.…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What Is Macbeth's Ambition

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ambition is the strong desire to achieve a specific goal and is often driven by determination. It can guide people to achieve goals and aspirations, and some are willing to do anything in order to satisfy their ambitious personalities. The French military and political Napoleon Bonaparte successfully defined what ambition truly is by stating, “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.” In other words, ambition is not only aspirations that will help people strive to their successes, but it can also fuel a dangerous desire that people will manipulate and use toward ruthless acts. The desire to achieve has proven to emphasize…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth shares information as important as becoming king with his wife, which one can assume he most likely would not have done if he believed the Weїrd Sisters to be telling lies. Even though Macbeth accepts what the witches have told him as truth, he still struggles with his free will and means of fulfilling the prophecy. When speaking with Lady Macbeth, he rejects her plan to kill King Duncan, the reigning King, and tells her that they will, “proceed no further in this business”(1.7.34). Macbeth begins this scene by having new information about his future proposed to him, and questioning how, and if, it is to come to be. By the end of the scene, he has accepted the inevitable outcome, yet still holds on to the means by which it is to happen.…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bill Bradley says, “Ambition is the path to success.” Ambition is the strong desire to achieve something. It can have a positive or negative effect on one. In Macbeth, Macbeth suffers from ambition, and it is his tragic flaw. Macbeth has a passion to become king and have power. He uses the ambition throughout the play which contribute to many murders. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the protagonist Macbeth uses ambition to kill the king, murder Banquo's’ sons, and kill Macduff’s family.…

    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Macbeth three witches prophesied that Macbeth would be king. Doing what anyone else would do, he told his wife and she brewed up this plan to murder the king. The king would be staying at the Macbeth’s castle, Inverness for a party. At first Macbeth was against the plan but Lady Macbeth was not backing down and talked him into it. “Macbeth talks himself into a kind of thoughtful stupor as he tries to work out the situation for himself. In the following scene, Lady Macbeth will emerge and drive the hesitant Macbeth to act; she is the will propelling his achievements. Once Lady Macbeth hears of the witches’ prophecy, Duncan’s life is doomed.”( Shakespeare A 1, 1–4) Her plan was well thought out and she could not wait. He patience overpowered her excitement though as she waited for him to fall fast asleep. Soon after he was asleep she had drugged the guards and Shoved Macbeth in towards the kings resting area. Macbeth was…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth was a noble man before he met the three witches and let his ambition take over. After hearing his predictions from the witches, Macbeth is named Thane of Cawdor, and this makes him become too ambitious. At first Macbeth was focused on becoming the king, but his ambition was not enough to make him to want to murder Duncan. When Duncan says that Malcolm will be the next king Macbeth became very upset. He says to himself, “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies, Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is down, to see”(Ⅰ.ⅳ.48-53). After learning that Malcolm would be king Macbeth’s ambition went into overdrive. This was the beginning of Macbeth’s tragic…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays