… though it is what brings him to his height of power, it is also what leads him to his downfall. Vaulting Ambition is Macbeth's only flaw; it disables him to achieve his utmost goals and forces him to face his fate. Without this ambition, though, Macbeth…

… mad. He changes from a calm and cautious man into a cold-hearted power happy king. These acts show how his guilty conscious got to him and how they slowly turned his mind inside out. They also prove that his over confidence will soon bring the end…

… writings that there can be little doubt that a common perception is one of an imaginative mind concocting stories. In fact Shakespeare had many sources and much of his work was based on historical fact. Holinshed chronicled in the sixteenth…

… of Macbeth an accurate epitaph? I would argue that the phrase “…this dead butcher…” would seem fully justified to describe a king who has caused the deaths of so many innocent people, but is an over-simple and rash judgement by Malcolm in his emotio…

… play, Macbeth, darkness and night play a major role. Many deaths and other major events occur during this time. Macbeth is overwhelmed by power and feels he is unstoppable. There is something about the absence of light that makes people…

… by Christians, certain elements of witchcraft did represent an older pagan tradition. Witchcraft was linked and even considered to be synonymous with "divination," which means not only the art of foretelling the future, but also the discovery…

… sixteenth century are often pictured carrying a bundle of limbs tied with vines on their backs. This is a perfect metaphor for the events in Macbeth. Macbeth is one of many thanes, or limbs, bundled together. The thanes are united by the king, or…

… Shakespeare’s tragedy MacBeth is an unfortunate one. Although MacBeth does take the actions that lead to his downfall, he is not fully responsible for his behavior. After coming in contact with three witches who foretell the future for him, he…

… four great tragedies, the last of which was written in 1606 and titled Macbeth. This "tragedy", as it is considered by societal critics of yesterday’s literary world, scrutinizes the evil dimension of conflict, offering a dark and gloomy atmosphere…

… the underlying themes of a work or literature. In the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the most apparent of these is blood. Blood imagery is used frequently and consistently throughout the play, in fact, the word “blood” is mentioned forty-two…