Macbeth
By: Israel Sanchez
What was the cause of Macbeth's demise?
Even though Macbeth didn't have to listen to the witches prophecies they still caused his demise indirectly. One way the witches caused Macbeth's downfall is they put the idea in his head that he would be king. in the book "Macbeth" the witches tell Macbeth " FIRST WITCH All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! SECOND WITCH All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! THIRD WITCH All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!" (Shakespeare 17-18). this quote is important because Macbeth is already thane of Glamis, and when he meets up with the king he gets promoted to thane of Cawdor, so when he thinks about it he feels that the witches prophecies will come true but he must kill the king if he ever wants to become king. Another way the witches prophecies cause Macbeth's downfall was they tell him he can't ever be harmed by any man born of a woman. The witches summon apparitions to tell Macbeth his future and the second apparition says "SECOND APPARITION Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth" (Shakespeare 121). This is important to how the witches cause Macbeth's downfall because they're telling him to never fear any man because he will never be defeated by one born by woman witch makes him over confident and eventually leads to his downfall because, Macduff was not born of a woman he was ripped from his mothers womb. A final way the witches cause Macbeth's downfall is they tell him his army will not be defeated and his reign will not end until the trees march to his castle on top of the hill. when the third apparition shows up he tell Macbeth "THIRD APPARITION Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are. Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him" (Shakespeare 123). this quote shows how the witches/apparition's lead Macbeth to believe he had nothing to fear because woods can't march up a hill but later in the story the rebel army takes branches from the trees as camouflage and marches up the hill to take down Macbeth. those are the main three reason i think the witches cause Macbeth's downfall they led him to believe that he could be king so he figured he had to kill Duncan and then they made him over confidant and made him act stupid when he should have fled.
Literary Device #1
The first literary device i found in "Macbeth" was a paradox when the witches start speaking they say "All. Fair is foul, and foul is fair..." (Shakespeare 7). this quote shows a paradox because the definition of a paradox is "a statement that seems to contradict itself but is nevertheless true" (Literary book Glossary). So it the case of the witches saying "fair is foul and foul is fair" it contradicts it self but is also true.
Literary Device #2
The second literary device i found in "Macbeth" was dynamic character. At the beginning of the book Macbeth felt really bad about killing Duncan and murdering people but latter in the book you can see his attitude towards killing people changes like he is just killing anyone who gets in his way without caring. also in the beginning lady Macbeth wanted to kill Duncan and is all cold and heartless about it and then towards the end she goes crazy seeing blood and feeling really guilty about killing Duncan. in the book you can see lady Macbeth telling Macbeth "Go get some water And wash this filthy witness from you hand" (Shakespeare 57). this quote shows that she was all chill about killing Duncan, like go wash your hands before someones sees. later in the story lady Macbeth is sleep walking and talking and she says "LADY MACBETH Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, Oh, Oh!" (Shakespeare 157). These quotes combines show how lady Macbeth went from having a clear conscience to feeling really guilty about killing Duncan that she sees and smells the blood when she is sleeping.
Literary Device #3
The third literary device found in "Macbeth" was irony. irony was foud when the third apparition was speaking to macbeth about his future. the third apparition told Macbeth "THIRD APPARITION Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are. Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him" (Shakespeare 123). This quote shows irony because The Freat Birnam Woods did go to Dunsinane when the rebels used them as camouflage, when macbeth thought it would never happen so he would never lose in reality the witches were playing him for a fool.
Ordo Funebris - A Witches Song
First Option (Song Connection)
I picked this song because it's called witches song and it has 3 witches in a circle chanting a song kinda like the witches did in "Macbeth" except in "Macbeth" they rhymed their enchantments instead of singing them
Supernatural 7x05 - Dean and Sam Try To Be Marriage Counselors
Second Option (Movie/Show Connection)
For my show connection i chose Supernatural because Dean and Sam, the main characters, are always fighting against evil super natural beings like witches, demons, windigos, angels, etc. In this particular clip you can see them facing two witches so i though it kinda connected even tho in "Macbeth" the witches don't directly harm Macbeth they plan it, and in Supernatural the witches are directly trying to kill Sam and Dean