Abstract
A paper which focuses on the psychological aspects of dreams and psychoanalysis in order to make sense of Lady Macbeth's actions. The author of this paper examines how Lady Macbeth turns from a single-minded, ambitious, unforgiving murderer to a guilty, sleepwalking, absent-minded mess. The author delves into instances from the text that suggest what Lady Macbeth was going through at the time and shows how, psychologically, Sigmund Freud's theory of psychoanalysis would be suited best to find the reasoning behind Lady Macbeth's metamorphosis.

From the Paper
"In order to make any headway into this subject, an overview of Freud's psychoanalytical theory is needed. Psychoanalysis is a theory that derives on the idea that the unconscious mind is driven by the sexual urges and primal instinct of man (Quigley 2). One of the most significant points in this theory is the idea that our inborn desires are governed by three separate entities designated as the Id, the Ego, and the Superego (Quigley 3). The Id is the part of the unconscious mind that contains the sexual, instinctive urges of man (Quigley 3). The Superego is the unconscious purveyor of the internalized rules of society; better known as the cautious part of the mind (Quigley 3). The Ego, on the other hand, is the medium between the Id and the Superego; the Ego takes the primal urge under advisement, brings the Superego into the equation, and comes to an eventual compromise between the two (Quigley 3)."

Tags:imagery, King, Duncan, sanity, hand, washing

Abstract
This paper is a look at how various animal images in the play "Macbeth" such as the owl, serpent, falcon, raven, rhinoceros, etc. contribute to the powerful impression the Bard leaves on his audiences. The author uses quotes from the play to back-up the explanations.

From the Paper
" In William Shakespeare's play MacBeth, Shakespeare uses imagery to help convey the words his characters speak in their dialogs. Throughout this play, animals are used to describe situations for characters. These characters include Lady MacBeth, MacBeth, Lady MacDuff, Ross, and an old man speaking with Ross. Animal imagery is used to illustrate evil, deceit and fearlessness made by characters who are indeed fearful, and paranoid with unnatural events occurring throughout the course of the play."

Tags:animals, imagery, macbeth, shakespeare

From the Paper
"Othello has often been termed a "tragic hero," however, that definition might not be the most accurate or useful one to fully understand the implications of this complex Shakespearean hero. Standard dramatic criticism argues that a "tragic hero," is "a good and noble man brought to a bad end because of some flaw in his character that leads him to the wrong course of action." Implied in that definition are four concepts, or templates, against which Othello can be measured: a) good and noble man; b) tragic flaw; c) wrong course of action; and d) bad end..."

Abstract
This paper discusses Shakespeare's use of Macbeth to illustrate the universal theme that a lack of strength of character will lead to one's downfall. Macbeth's actions and the motivations behind them are demonstrated with examples from the story and text.

From the Paper
"Many a great man has fallen prey to greed, ambition and power. Macbeth is no exception. His ambition to control the power of the thrown confuses his judgment. He succumbs first to the prophecies of the three witches and then later, murderously, to his wife's bidding.
Shakespeare uses Macbeth to show the terrible effects that ambition and guilt can have on a man who lacks strength of character. Although the play was written in 1600 England, its theme is universal and cares not about time. It is Macbeth's lack of character strength that is his demise.
The reader is introduced to Macbeth by way of description. A "bleeding sergeant" meets the good King Duncan and his son, Malcolm. The sergeant tells a tale of the recent battle in which "brave Macbeth" fought bravely (I.ii.19). At first introduction, Macbeth seems to be the perfect soldier, "carving out his passage" (I.ii.22). Between meeting the witches and his wife's immoral determination, we are left wondering if Macbeth ever really stood a chance against fate. Perhaps had he not started his crime wave, he might not have ended so horribly and would not have become the "tyrannt" everyone calls him by the end of the play."

Tags:ambition, greed, power, Duncan, murder, battle, tyrant

Abstract
This paper examines how in order to help us better understand and appreciate the mindset of Macbeth and his wife, pending and throughout their degeneration of morals, Shakespeare effectively employs techniques such as religious allusion, tragic irony, layered imagery and equivocation, as well as simpler methods such as tone and disposition to present and justify the protagonist and his spouse. Bearing in mind that the genre is a play, Shakespeare also uses many of his more signature methods such as the soliloquy and that of provocative sub-themes to amplify the dramatic effect of his work.

From the Paper
"Many of the key scenes of the play use another literary device of Shakespeare's, which is probably the most defining characteristic of all his works, that of the soliloquy. Soliloquies provide audiences with a superb opportunity to create or define their opinions of characters, as the character on stage is effectively talking to himself, and no other character can hear him/her. Shakespeare uses Soliloquies in order to inform the audience of Macbeth's true emotions, not only by what is being said, but also because the audiences' attention is focused on the one actor's movements and expressions. This is the reason that soliloquies are so powerful, dramatic and important particularly when used in the genre of the play."

Tags:soliloquy, irony, imagery, duncan, murder

Abstract
This paper reviews William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and in particular, analyzes how the character of Macbeth goes from being a brave loyal soldier to a murderer by the end of the play. It looks at how Macbeth is loyal to the King and serves his country as a soldier, not like the Thane of Cawdor. It also examines how at the start of the play Macbeth is ambitious, brave, superstitious and dedicated to his wife and how he becomes cruel and deceitful from the influence of Lady Macbeth. It explores the events that show this change i.e. the murders Macbeth commits, his intentional revisit to the witches and his response to his wife's death.

From the Paper
"At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a brave and loyal soldier in King Duncan's army. He killed the enemy in the battle; the situation was very treacherous which makes him a hero. Before Macbeth appears, he is described by King Duncan as "noble" Macbeth. Macbeth is seen as a strong soldier who is trustworthy and brave, a truly laudable figure. Duncan describes him as "worthiest cousin". To the wounded sergeant, he is "Valor's minion". All of these descriptions show that Macbeth is a loyal soldier and fought for his country very well. Macbeth puts his country and life before himself. This is what a true hero is, someone who puts other people before himself."

Tags:king, duncan, witches, thane, of, cawdor, lady

Abstract
This paper examines how at the end of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth," once Malcolm has gained his rightful place on the throne, he describes the fall of Macbeth and his dead wife as "this dead butcher" and "his fiend-like queen" respectively. It debates whether this is too harsh a description or whether is it suitable enough considering the atrocities they had committed.

From the Paper
"From the start, we are witness to the violent nature of Macbeth in the Captain's account of the battle: "[Macbeth] unseemed him from the nave to the chaps." He is also praised as a brave soldier and a valiant nobleman. From then on, events occur which only help to bring out the evil nature of Macbeth, and we see his ambition and evil thoughts build up in the play. The first of such events is his meeting with the witches, where they inform him of the honours and kingship he will obtain. Although he is slightly sceptical at first, he becomes noticeably excited when Rosse brings news that he is now Thane of Cawdor: he becomes "rapt" as Banquo observes, ignoring his companions in his deep and evil thoughts that have almost instantly taken over his mind: "why do I yield to that suggestion/ Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair?" "

Tags:butcher, death, lady, queen, tragedy

Abstract
The paper examines Roman Polanski's portrayal of Act 1 Scene 7 in Shakespeare's "Macbeth" where, whilst plagued with fear and self-doubt, Macbeth is seen being driven by his wife towards his greatest betrayal as she attacks the very notion of his masculinity. The paper critically analyzes the director's casting choice for lead characters, his continual use of camera close ups and voice-overs and the musical scores. The paper highlights the text that is deleted, the purpose behind the omissions, and how they are substituted by an overwhelming array of visual and aural images.

From the Paper
"The film scene being analysed relates to Act 1 Scene 7 in Shakespeare's text, the climax to the first act where, whilst plagued with fear and self-doubt, Macbeth is seen being driven by his wife towards his greatest betrayal as she attacks the very notion of his masculinity. A crucial element to the success of this scene is the director's casting choice for lead characters. Polanski decided that there was no textual reason for following the tradition of casting older actors in the roles. Youth, he felt, added plausibility to the theme of ambition (eofftv:1971). Being inexperienced, with their lives ahead of them, a young Macbeth and Lady Macbeth would have much at stake in their manipulations, and the drama would acquire new resonance. Polanski's emphasis on the conflict between age and usurping youth was, arguably, a device employed to make the film of interest to a younger audience and surely his choice of the handsome twenty-eight year-old Jon Finch, as Macbeth, achieves just that. With his brooding gaze, intense delivery and impressive command of the text, Finch convincingly creates the image of a youthful man in perpetual torment."

Tags:characters, camera, music, images, shots

Abstract
This paper discusses how Shakespeare uses several techniques to make act II scene ii dramatic. It analyzes the theatrical and rhetorical methods used with examples from several quotations. In particular, it looks at how Shakespeare uses the themes of the supernatural, madness and religion, to show that the murder of Duncan is wrong and that only bad things will come of it. It also takes into account the fact that "Macbeth" was written for King James I, who was fascinated by witches and the divine right of Kings and the fact that it was written to be performed rather than read.

From the Paper
"Macbeth then claims to have heard a voice cry out that Macbeth has murdered sleep and that every one should wake up. This reveals that he is very nervous as he is hearing voices in his head proclaiming his crime. This is another link to a recurring theme in "Macbeth" that of nature proclaiming his crime to everyone. One quote to illustrate this is "for fear thy very stones prate of my whereabouts." Incidentally, the number of times sleep is mentioned in this soliloquy is thirteen a number that was, and still is, associated with evil. Furthermore, this continues the theme of sleeplessness started by Banquo in Act II Scene ii with "Yet I would not sleep," and continued later in the play with Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking."

Tags:banquo, dagger, divine, duncan, god, king, lady, murder, natural, nature, order, unnatural

Abstract
The paper examines the similarities between the three characters Malcolm, Cordelia and Hamlet. It looks at how all are the children of kings and all have been usurped and attempts to determine what moral responsibility each holds towards their kingdoms and how this is manifested in the plays. It discusses the idea of legitimacy and how only the rightful heir can truly rule a kingdom and how any subversion of this "rule" leads to chaos and discord. It also goes on to examine the ways in which the responsibilities of the three characters in question differ from each other, asking whether it is possible to arrive at a definitive conclusion of how Shakespeare presents the theme of moral responsibility in his work.

From the Paper
"The whole tragedy of MacBeth seems designed to illustrate that this is the only possible outcome if the natural heir is usurped: we could conclude from this that Malcolm's moral responsibility, and indeed the responsibility of any such "natural" heir, is to reassert his own right to the throne in such circumstances. But can this view of moral responsibility be extended to the other two characters in question: Hamlet and Cordelia?"

Tags:revenge, tragedy, heir, kingdom