... all to a sudden end. Othello and Desdemona's reasons for marriage were highly irregular and therefore weak and unable to endure Iago's evil schemes. "She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them." Desdemona fulfilled a place in Othello's view of himself.3 She merely ... order of things.8 He wanted to be king, but he knew it wasn't his place to be one. "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir." Macbeth knew that his restless desire to interfere with destiny was arrogant and useless.9 However, Macbeth was too ambitious ......

• Word Count: 1655
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... is a guest in his castle, Macbeth begins to hallucinate. He sees a dagger before him and speaks: "Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell, that summons thee to heaven ... images of three apparitions who will inform him of the future. The phantoms inform Macbeth; "Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff; beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough," "Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn, the power of man, for none of woman born, Shall harm Macbet...

• Word Count: 1444
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... is very persistent on Macbeth fulfilling the witches" first prophecy. Lady Macbeth requests that the, "spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/of direst cruelty- (Act 1.5, 40-43). The supernatural world will aid her in ... to show signs of insanity, as he follows a dagger up stairs to King Duncan's bedroom, "Is this a dagger which I see before me, / the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee- (Act 2.1, 34-35). He chases the dagger and King Duncan's reign as King of Scotland ends. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth ... demons a...

• Word Count: 2078
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... apparent. Macbeth realises he will have to start to stir' but he tries to withhold his dark side as much as he can "Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires."" However his "vaulting ambition- is pushing him over the edge. Later on in the play when he has ... him to Duncan's chamber which he eventually follows and kills the king Duncan "is this a dagger I see here before me?- and Banquo's ghost seated in Macbeth's place at the feast "Avaunt and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee!-. These both tease Macbeth's mind. Although these might have just been visions i...

• Word Count: 1459
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... this point Macbeth is worried, and believes something evil may be informing him. "This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill, why hath it given me earnest of success, commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor: If good, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And ... 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 done, to see." In the next scene, Lay Macbeth rea...

• Word Count: 1488
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... to answer his questions so he can know more about his future. He is persistent in his demand when he says, "Answer me..Though you untie the winds and let them fightAgainst the churches, though the yeasty wavesConfound and swallow navigation up, Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down" ( ... from the witches and he will do anything to get these desired answers. For example, he states, "Though you untie the winds and let them fightAgainst the churches,though the yeasty wavesConfound and swallow navigation up" which shows that his obsessive desire for answers trumps even adverse ev...

• Word Count: 1890
• Approx Pages: 8

... to pass out rewards. The first to get one is Macbeth, who will be named the new Thane of Cawdor. Most books will tell you Bellona's Bridegroom means Macbeth but let's think it through. Ross and Lennox are coming from Fife. Who is the Thane of Fife? Macduff. Wouldn't it seem reasonable he would be fighting in Fife? And it helps ... ." Or, don't trust witches. Do you think Macbeth is paying attention? Does he already have other things on his mind: "If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me / Without my stir." Sounds ominous to me. scene iv The revolution is over. Macdonwald is d...

• Word Count: 1879
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... , he writes to his wife at his home in Inverness (Act 1 Scene 5). Upon receiving and reading the letter, Lady Macbeth is determined to let the third prophesy come true. While the King in the previous scene had praised Macbeth's sense of loyalty and honour, Lady Macbeth sees these qualities ... 't want to go through with the killing of the King. He tells Lady Macbeth: "We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honored me of late, and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so ... happen next then a g...

• Word Count: 1891
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... begins with three witches preparing a meeting with Macbeth. There are three examples of rhyming couplets in Act one Scene one. The following rhyming couplet gives me an indication of the theme of the play. "Fair is foul and foul is fair; Hover through the fog and filthy air"" This quote implies that ... man". However, at this point, Macbeth is loyal to the king, and he rejects the idea of murder, "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir." The predictions by the witches may have strengthened the criminal intentions that Macbeth had probably never yet dared t...

• Word Count: 1547
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... 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 done, to see." (I.iv. 48-53) Macbeth is perturbed and confused to why ... floating in front of him. He attempts to reach out to grab the dagger, but finds that he cannot grab it, he is appalled:"Is this a dagger which I before me,/ The handle toward my hand? ... A dagger of the mind, a false creation,/ Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?" (II,i, ...

• Word Count: 1455
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... devotion, the person will shine like a star, since light is seen as good. Macbeth, however, already begins to ignore these values, " Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires ; "( 1.4.50-52) In this case, light represents goodness and honesty. Macbeth does not want his morals to interfere with his ... made the arrangements for the murder of Banquo, Macbeth tells the murderers that   "Fleance his son, that keeps him company, Whose absence is no less material to me Than is his father's, must embrace the fate Of that dark hour" (3.1.134-137). The hour will be "dar...

• Word Count: 1376
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... the actions of Hamlet, he was poisoned in the same fashion as Hamlet when he had learned of the incident involving his father. Ophelia was weaker against the poison and let it pull her into insanity. Ophelia escapes the poison when she takes her own life by drowning herself. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the leit motif of poison in the same ... of some way to murder the king. When Lady Macbeth learns that the king will visit her house, she said, "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty Come to my wom...

• Word Count: 1312
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... the actions of Hamlet, he was poisoned in the same fashion as Hamlet when he had learned of the incident involving his father. Ophelia was weaker against the poison and let it pull her into insanity. Ophelia escapes the poison when she takes her own life by drowning herself. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the leit motif of poison in the same ... of some way to murder the king. When Lady Macbeth learns that the king will visit her house, she said, "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty Come to my wom...

• Word Count: 1310
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... is murdered he will seem inculpable. During Macbeth's dagger soliloquy, he is overcome with a false vision, as the following quotation supports: "Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. / I have thee or, and yet I see thee still. / Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible / to feeling as to sight? Or art though but / A dagger of ... faces Macduff in a dual. Macbeth, who has been told that no man born of woman could hurt him, is confident until Macduff offers him these words, "Despair thy charm; / And let the angel whom thou still hast s...

• Word Count: 1772
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... own, eventual downfall. Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth at the beginning of the play, telling her of his experiences with the "weird sisters". "They met me in the day of success: and I have learned by the perfect'st report, they have more in them than mortal knowledge." (Act1 scene 5) After she has ... she makes a huge effort to get herself into a murderous state of mind, crying out, "Come you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty!" Lady Macbeth wants to lose her femininity so she can be cold-bloo...

• Word Count: 1636
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... what he wants to hear. For a moment Macbeth's ambition takes over. "Why do I yield to such suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir." (Act 1, scene 3) Wanting to become king and believing the witches, at this point he will not allow anything to get in the way of ... calls upon spirits to give her power to plot the murder of Duncan without any remorse or conscience. She says, "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty; make t...

• Word Count: 1519
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... thinking to himself of how to become king, he is scared to voice them out loud or for anyone to find out about his ambitious thoughts: ?Let not light see my black and deep desires?? His mind is still thinking of the murder, but he is still honest with himself, knowing they are ... over as well as seeing that he is going slightly crazy, seeing things and illusions. His tone becomes grim and frightening, shocking the audience: ?'the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell, that summons thee to heaven or to hell.? After Macbeth has done the killing, the audience sees ... fal...

• Word Count: 2167
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... for revenge by his male peers: Malcolm: Dispute it like a man. Macduff: I shall do so, but I must also feel it as a man .... Malcolm: Be this the whetstone of your sword, let grief convert to anger: blunt not the heart but enrage it. This is an excellent example of the way men are expected to act. Even at the death of all ... rejects her female self in her quest for power: Come you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here; And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty "Unsex me here," she asks evil spirits. These words reveal to me that it was supposed to...

• Word Count: 1432
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... is most prevalent in the scene right when she hears of the three witches' prophecies of Macbeth becoming king. "Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty." (Macbeth, I, v, 47-50) Immediately, Lady Macbeth begins to stand out of the "feminist norms" ... from burying Polynices at this point is Ismene's constant remarks and dissuasions to keep Antigone from committing "too rash a deed". Ever the real hero, Antigone responds, "leave me to suffer this-dreadful thing. I will suffer nothing as great as de...

• Word Count: 1748
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... on Macbeth. When he saw the ghost sitting on his seat, he was shocked, and suddenly became irrational. "Thou canst not say I did it. Never shakeThy gory locks at me." (Act Three, Scene Four, 61-62) Banquo's ghost made Macbeth cause a scene, which, for the first time, tarnished Macbeth's image in the public. Since the day he chose his ... the three witches for help, this time, different from his previous reaction to his visions, he demanded those signs and apparitions for a taste of his future. "Call 'em. Let me see 'em." (Act Four, Scene One, 67) He met with the armed head, th...

• Word Count: 1367
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... who will both be king. Then the witches vanish and Macbeth and Banquo are left standing there, wondering whether or not they had seen the witches let alone whether the prophesies will come true. They even joke as they ride off about Macbeth becoming king and Banquo's sons becoming kings. As they were ... become king then surely he would not have to interfere with the course of fate to bring this eventuality about. "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir." When Lady Macbeth hears of her husband's meeting with the witches she is overcome with an ambitious gr...

• Word Count: 2447
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... others would have avoided talking to witches for their obvious affiliation with evil, Macbeth hears what they have to say and responds with curiosity, saying, "Stay, you imperfect speakers. Tell me more." (Act I. Scene iii). This is also an example of his other flaw, hearing only what is beneficial to his ulterior motives. In the early stages of the play Macbeth ... the Prince of Cumberland and the next in line to the throne. Macbeth, seeing an obstacle and a contradiction to his previous conclusion that "if chance will have me king, why chance may crown me without my stir," realizes th...

• Word Count: 1512
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... thought that it is impossible to become a king when the King is alive. A thought encroached into his mind and said, "if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir- (Mac.1.3.143-144). Thus, he goes to his wife Lady Macbeth and she tells him that he can kill King Duncan and by ... by that she will be the queen. Her evil ambition makes her call upon the forces of darkness to support her in her purposes: Come you spirits And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood, Stop up th' access and passage to remorse. (Mac.1.5.39-43 ....

• Word Count: 1322
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... - (5.5.11-12). But the guilt continues to show itself through his hallucinations, which show the ever-growing instability of his mind. Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of ... , shape Macbeth's destiny. His life is a process in which certain things happen, certain decisions are made, that determine his fate. "Rather than so, come fate into the list, and champion me to th" utterance" (3.1.74-75). In the en...

• Word Count: 1316
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... the one who killed Duncan but before he does, he seems to be unconscious of the fact that he is about to kill Duncan. "Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee." (Act 2, Scene 1, line 33-34) "I see thee yet, in form as palpable At this which now I draw Thou marshall'st ... me the way I was going." (line 40-42) The night Macbeth kills Duncan, a floating dagger appears before him pointing towards Duncan's chamber. Macbeth unconsciously follows it. Macbeth's greed and power as ... ...

• Word Count: 1628
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School