The violence of the dishonorable Thanes of Cawdor led to a snowball effect of civil unrest in Scotland in Macbeth. The Thane of Cawdor, before Macbeth had the title, was dishonorably initiating a rebellion against King Duncan for more power in Scotland. In response to the Thane of Glamis, Macbeth enters the fight for his honor and the honor of his King, Duncan. He fights beside Banquo in a heroin battle “As cannons overcharged with double cracks”(I, ii, 41) where eventually “The victory fell on...”(I, ii, 65) the honorable Macbeth and for King Duncan. That leads to Macbeth being rewarded for his honorable action with the newfound title of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth acted honorable in his violent efforts to defeat the dishonorable rebels yet if there were no dishonorable actions due to the lust for power at all then there would be no violence or bloodshed. The only reason this occurred was due to the dishonorable actions to quench an individual’s lust for power and violence that begets more violence from the honorable side, a lesson that should’ve been learned by the victor, Macbeth.
However, Macbeth did not learn his lesson but copied the mistakes of his previous enemy. When Macbeth dishonorably took the throne from Duncan, after killing him in cold blood while sleeping, he became blinded by his hubris due to the second prophecy of the weird sisters. He believed that even due to the dishonorable action he is to “..beware, MacDuff..” (IV, iii, 71), that “..none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” (IV, iii, 80-81), and that he “..shall never vanquish be until Great Birnam wood to high Durninane hill” (IV, iii, 92-93). Due to the second prophecy, he found himself to be invincible in his rule it is impossible for the woods to be moved, or that any man who opposed him, especially the honored MacDuff or otherwise could kill him as each child must be a woman born. Macbeth at this time acted dishonorably again as he ordered the slaughter of Macduff’s defenseless family. Thus, when the honorable army made by MacDuff and Malcolm moved to Macbeth’s castle and broke each prophetic message by coincidence the battle between the dishonorable Macbeth and the honorable Rebels was already decided. Alike to Macbeth’s previous battle against the dishonorable Thane of Cawdor, the honored side won the fight. Especially as MacDuff broke the first and the second prophetic message as he “..was from the mother’s womb untimely ripped” (V, vii, 15-16) meaning he showed “.. the blood will have blood”(III, iv, 123) as he avenged his family and freed his country from bloody torment of Macbeth. Shakespeare emphasizes once again that dishonorable violence begets honorable violence. If Macbeth had not been tainted by dishonor and stuck to his honorable values such as loyalty then there would be no violence. Yet dishonor and blood followed Macbeth’s lust for power, which blinded him to his inevitable death.
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The fall of Macbeth’s honor all began due to his lust for more and more power. Before meeting the three witches, Macbeth acted honorably, towards his king and country, yet once he heard that his fate was to become “..Thane of Cawdor!”(I, iii, 51) and “..thou shalt be king hereafter!” (I, iii, 52) and that the king was going to “..call thee [Macbeth] thane of Cawdor..most worthy thane!”(I, iii, 109-110). Something in Macbeth must’ve changed as it seemed his prophesied fate was to come true since he began to act dishonorably on that same day with his wife, Lady Macbeth. For Macbeth and his wife commit one of the worst possible sins to quench his lust for power, he murders his king whom he was previously loyal to in his sleep and his wife “..gild the faces of grooms withal: for it must be their guilt” (II, ii, 70-71). This despicable and extremely dishonorable action sets into motion events that destroy the two inside and out.
Macbeth is tormented by his blood-soaked hands that “..all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand..will rather..incarnadine..the green one red” (II, ii, 75-78). Macbeth is also haunted by the ghost of whom he ordered to be killed, Banquo, who they killed for the threat that his “..children shall be kings”(I, iii, 88). Banquo’s ghost “..that dare look on that which might appall the devil” (III, iv, 58-59) at Macbeth’s banquet leads to each one of his fellow leaders believing that he is going mad. This madness would later be turned into blinding hubris to his final battle. Lady Macbeth deals with her demons as she begins to “..rise from her bed, throw her night-gown upon her, unlock her chest, take forth paper, fold it, write upon’t, read it, afterward seal it, and again return to bed; yet all this while most fast asleep” (V, I, 6-9) that inevitably leads to her death as she gets no treatment from her doctor, as he ran away from Dunisandane. This turmoil within both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth occurred due to their dishonorable killings to quench their lust for power and keep that power. The turmoil that began in their heads as if they were poisoned with nightmares by their dishonorable actions inevitably led to their demise on the battlefield or by simple misfortune.Â
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