This is my first time posting (recent year 11 student), and curious about how I compare. Currently I am rank 1 in my school (which averages very poorly in English) so I feel like I'm the big fish in the small pond. I won't say my mark to avoid either harsh criticism or biased leniency, but I done relatively well.
I understand most don't read 800 word, dry text responses; a quick skim is what I expect. If you could, give me a rough estimate of where this ranks.
Spoiler
Macbeth is a character of conscience, but his ambition is a fatal flaw. Discuss.
Macbeth is a ‘worthy gentleman,’ a ‘peerless kinsman,’ and also an ambitious thane, whose desire for greatness blinds and dooms him. Macbeth’s gullibility gave leverage to the witches over Macbeth, who cheated him with their incomprehensible twist of reality. In spite of dealing with a devil, Macbeth’s consciousness is only slightly scathed. His wife, who betrays her place in society, continuously probe’s Macbeth and shines light on his ‘black and deep desires’; as well as his supposed lack of masculinity. Ambition, along with the aforementioned, trigger Macbeth’s lust for power, and diminish his consciousness as an effort to please his lady and calm his greed.
Macbeth is praised by the captain and king throughout the first act; ‘brave Macbeth,’ a ‘valiant cousin,’ clearly a man of reputable character, but as ambition clouds his vision, his morale and morals are all subject to change. Shortly after, Macbeth is titled as Thane of Galmis and foretold of further greatness – to become the king. Pleased with what he heard, but not yet convinced, he leaves it up to chance; until Malcolm is promised the ‘noble having and royal hope.’ Ambition and anger build up in Macbeth, giving him ‘a step on which [he] must fall down or else o’erleap,’ and the only sense he makes is a ‘fantastical murder,’ marking the start of an ill-fated rise to power. Macbeth’s ambition is yet to become the blazing desire which engulfs everything, including himself, into an unbridled flame; rather, it is a tamed fire, steadily burning.
The three witches contort Macbeth’s fate when foreboding it, greeting him ‘with present grace and great prediction’ yet the reality for Macbeth is much more horrifying, though, almost resembling another fatal flaw, his naivety clings to the devil’s premonition. Macbeth’s crave for right and might both spark the idea of murder, awaking his conscience, though Macbeth promises that while ‘the eye winks at the hand; yet let that be, which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.’ And at this point, Macbeth realises that ‘chance will [not] have [him] king,’ without his stir, so he sends to his wife, hoping that she is delighted with what he had been foretold; but instead of acting as a barrier and shielding him from evil, Lady Macbeth turns into a driving force, leading Macbeth further into his corruption and sin, moving the flame within him, and deteriorating his conscience; further than what the three women had done to it.
Macbeth’s Lady aggravates his innate ambition and amplifies it further by humiliating him and constantly proving to be a better man than himself, going to lengths even the manliest wouldn’t dare enact. Her constant probing of Macbeth’s character, namely his masculinity, forces him to adopt her ideals, consuming his conscience character. Macbeth is constantly taught by his partner how to act, ‘Look like th' innocent flower, / But be the serpent under 't,’ and is also covered up for when his conscience is let loose. Lady Macbeth further asserts her husband’s course of action when he takes on the destructive mission of Duncan’s murder; Macbeth, being the moral man he is, gives chance for his conscience to stand and argue against his lady’s greed for power and criticism of her husband. His conscience explains that ‘He’s here in double trust: / First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, / Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,’ though his wife is displeased with this cowardice and claims that, not only is this what the witches meant, but that this their only chance at the future they had been promised. Macbeth ignores his conscience half-heartedly, and focuses on his ‘vaulting ambition’ that cries for the throne and title, a tragedy in the making.
The destructive nature of ambition in Shakespeare’s tragedy is continuously emphasised, whether it be reluctantly, as portrayed in Macbeth, or ecstatically, as depicted in Lady Macbeth. The star-crossed duo lead themselves into troubling events, by basing their judgement and rationale on the words of demonesses, who are infamous for deception and often strange articulation, purposefully selecting words to make ambiguous their evil intent. The two protagonists further worsen their situation by following their ambition, loosening their control over their character and persona, and slowly losing control of their surroundings; and soon enough, their lives. This gradual increase of power is compensated by their decreasing luck, beginning by unanswered prayers and ending with distorted fates.
Not sure if I want to be a law student, but I definitely want a chance to become one. Currently keeping my options opened with methods and chemistry, but I'd drop them if I have hope.
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Topic: Year 10 Essay (Read 5489 times)