Responsibility vs Passion in Macbeth

Responsibility and passion can go hand in hand when it falls on a steady person. For instance an adult may have a project due for work on a certain date. They will get the project done on time and do as best as they can to make it perfect.

Most adults have the responsibility of work but also have the passion to go out and follow their dreams. The conflict occurs when the adult doesn’t want to do the responsible thing and instead follows their passion which may seem like the easy way out.

In Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth chooses to follow his passion for royalty and power instead of the responsibility due to his kingdom. Macbeth had a huge desire for power which fueled him to take on murderous actions. In the beginning of the play Macbeth and his friend Banquo come across the Three Weird Sisters who prophesied the future and said ”thou shalt get kings though thou be none, so all hail Macbeth and Banquo!”(Shakespeare 19).

Macbeth get consumed with excitement and immediately send for Lady Macbeth to hear about it and that they will soon rise to power. Macbeth and his passion becomes darker as he decides to kill the king of Scotland.

Without too much reflection, Macbeth keeps going down this line of tyranny and destruction of anything that gets in his way from getting to the throne and staying king. In order for this to happen, Macbeth makes sure that his friend Banquo is murdered of what the Three Weird Sisters prophecy.

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Macbeth only thinks of his image, and does not think of his responsibilities as King or his loyalty towards his friendship with Banquo. Macbeth’s actions towards his passion begin to take his sanity away. Before Macbeth killed King Duncan, he sees,” a dagger of the mind, a false creation,”(Shakespeare 53), which causes Macbeth to question his behavior. Instead of letting himself feel any guilt he motivates himself through his passion to keep going. Macbeth reveals that he believed he has a weak mind and believes more and more in his superstitions. Macbeth slowly begins to feel guilty and for Lady Macbeth it was so bad that she committed suicide.

Effects of the Prophecy

The Weїrd Sisters prophecy blinded Macbeth from seeing the danger and consequences of rising to power in the way that he acted. By speeding up all of the prophecy that was given, many unlucky events followed. In the end Macbeth gets killed by Macduff in a battle and Macbeth’s belief that everything would go right was ruined by his passion.

Conclusion

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Passion and responsibility become a conflict within Macbeth’s mind. His responsibility as a husband, king, and friend was completely blindsided by passion. Passion can be a very dangerous feeling, that can control a person’s mind, and it is the person’s choice to not let passion blind them from their responsibilities.