Thursday, July 2, 2015

Does Macbeth realize he is flawed?

Absolutely. The most striking thing about Macbeth is that he never feels entirely comfortable in his own skin once he's murdered Duncan and taken his throne. He immediately regrets killing Duncan, and this sets the pattern for the rest of the play, during which Macbeth, far from enjoying his new-found power, actually finds it a crushing burden.
As Macbeth wades deeper and deeper in blood, he realizes that there's no turning back. So on he goes, killing anyone he perceives as a threat to his crown, even innocents like Macduff's family. All the while, Macbeth is acutely aware of his own flaws, most notably his overriding ambition. But he can't help himself because he's succumbed to the forces of darkness. It's the witches' prophecies that determine how he conducts himself on the throne. Among other things, this means that there's no need for Macbeth to confront, let alone try to overcome, his flaws. He can simply absolve himself of all responsibility for his blood-soaked tyranny by convincing himself that it's all part of some gigantic cosmic plan.

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