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Macbeth 15 - Paper

Macbeth 15

Duncan and Macbeth's downfall in Shakespeare's play Macbeth results from their reluctance to question the motives and actions of others. It was that absolute trust, believing that no one would try to rise up against them, that foreshadows the murders of both characters. Duncan, the first to fall prey to over-confidence, trusted the Thane of Cawdor completely until he discovered that the Thane was a traitor who was betraying him. In Macbeth's case, he believed the prophecies of the three witches without realizing that they have ulterior motives behind their glimpses of the future. Mabeth shows similar weakness when he accepts the vague statements of the apparitions as absolute fact instead ...

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to overthrow Duncan's rule of Scotland. As a king, Duncan is well received which perhaps allows him to consider himself untouchable. He assumes that no one would have any reason to hurt or disobey him and so he allows his personal safety standards to fall to dangerous levels. This lack of concern also accounts for the manner in which he is unprotected while sleeping at Mabeth's castle. Duncan is governed by his ego to such an extent that he dismisses this breech of security by killing the disloyal Thane rather than try to correct and prevent the problem in the future. Macbeth's first meeting with the three witches shows his willingness to be led as he takes his prophecies to heart. When he says, "This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good; if ill, why hath it given me earnest of success, commencing in a truth," (I, iii, 130-33) he believes that his prophecies will all be fulfilled even though he has already become Thane of Cawdor and Glamis without the help of the ...

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Macbeth 15. (2008, October 29). Retrieved January 13, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Macbeth-15/92196

"Macbeth 15." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 29 Oct. 2008. Web. 13 Jan. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Macbeth-15/92196>

"Macbeth 15." Essayworld.com. October 29, 2008. Accessed January 13, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Macbeth-15/92196.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 10/29/2008 07:57:05 AM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 797
Pages: 3

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