Shakespeare's Tragedy: Macbeth

Shakespeare develops this tragedy by creating a character who is struggling through the worst battle one can endure – one against himself. This tragic figure along with the bloody imagery, murders, and the dark tone from the start of the play, “(Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches) When shall we three meet again /In thunder, lightning, or in rain? / When the hurlyburly's done, / When the battle's lost and won. / That will be ere the set of sun.” makes for a master tragedy.

The three witches and Lady Macbeth have such control over Macbeth and know his weaknesses so well that it creates a sense of hopelessness and doom. They key in to Macbeth’s weaknesses (ambition, insecurity, and courage) and are able to convince him to believe and act upon everything they say. Along with the sense of hopelessness is the sense of doom, created by the dark settings, the blood, and of course the numerous unnecessary murders of men, women, and children.
Slowly we watch Macbeth destroy himself – or rather, allow himself to be destroyed – as the play unfolds. The witches test his ambition, knowing that if he has a goal, he will not be satisfied until he has attained his goal. They then set dangerous and ultimately impossible goals and watch as Macbeth struggles to reach them, knowing full well he never will. Lady Macbeth then attacks his insecurity by questioning his manhood, forcing him to feel as though he must prove himself to her. While a true man would have the confidence to defend himself and his morals, Macbeth’s insecurity causes him to doubt himself and question any morals he may have. Lady Macbeth knows he is insecure and therefore presents him with a different version of manhood (a murderer!), which Macbeth then feels obliged to fulfill.
Finally, Macbeth’s courage and bravery are tested by everyone, for he needs these qualities in order to attain these ambitions set for him – he needs the courage to kill and will then become king of Scotland.

I found that the language of Shakespeare’s Macbeth was wonderful; however, I did find the story to be rather boring and too similar to Richard III. It seemed to be the same old story – a power-hungry character sets out to rule the world, yet never achieves his goal, and only murders everyone along the way. Now don’t get me wrong, there were many differences, like Macbeth was a tragic figure and Richard was pure evil, I simply felt as though it was very predictable. This may also be due to the fact that we read the two plays one right after the other. There is an upside, of course, because this is Shakespeare – Macbeth is a classic and, as I have now noticed, is referenced everywhere! I am glad I have read the play and can now relate to it when it’s mentioned out of the classroom.