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Macbeth Character Analysis

Decent Essays

#7: method used to convince reader of an idea of value Conflict is a key them in countless stories, but the way it is used in Macbeth is particularly striking. There are three main conflicts in Macbeth, that both act as catalysts for plot, but also demonstrate ideas of value as Macbeth is performed is performed to an audience. First, Macbeth struggles against his ambition and greed for power when faced with the killing the king to take the position for himself, then he fights a losing battle against his own demons. Lastly, the final battle between dark and light as Macduff takes matters into his own hands and kills Macbeth. In the second scene of the play, Macbeth and his friend Banquo come across three witches, who prophesize that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor, then King of Scotland. At first Macbeth is sceptical, but when he is soon named Thane of Cawdor he plays into the idea of murdering the king to take the title for himself, but if horrified at his thoughts of murder, saying “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered in surmise, and nothing is but what is not.” This initial conflict of Macbeth’s sets the dark tone of the play, and acts as a catalyst for the events that follow. It also shares an idea of value, that one shouldn’t fall prey to vaulting ambition, as it is the downfall of many a man such as Macbeth. The second and most ongoing conflict is Macbeth’s battle against his inner demons.

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