Monday, March 2, 2015

Discussing Macbeth's Discoveries in Act Five:

Anagnorisis is a moment in a play when the main character makes an important discovery. It usually happens in the final Act. What are the moments of discovery for Macbeth? What does he discover specifically? Textual evidence?

-Oakridge Fourth Period

4 comments:

  1. In act 5 scene 8 Macbeth realizes that the witches mislead him. They told him any man born of woman could not harm him. However on the battlefield Macbeth is so confident he could not be harmed, until Macduff tells him he was untimely ripped from the womb. This hinted toward the fact that Macduff was given birth by cesarean section. At that point Macbeth realized his life was coming to an end. Macbeth also had other moments of discovery when he began to hallucinate about the murder of Banquo in act 3. He realized how much blood he would have to shed to become king and who he had become to get the throne. He saw how worthless everything was when Lady Macbeth killed herself, because he saw that life was short. In act 5 scene 5 Macbeth said "Life is but a walking shadow...signifying nothing (5.5.27-31)." Macbeth was telling the audience how insignificant all he worked for was because it could be gone in a blink of an eye. Macbeth once was loved he had a good legacy but he tainted all the good he had done with his urge and ambition to gain power. Macbeth was a respectable man and unlike Richard III, Macbeth felt remorse and he had to get help from the witches to continue on his perilous path. His final discovery of his fate came in act 5 the last act of the play. Macbeth’s downfall was a true tragedy; he went from high moral standing to a murderous tyrant.

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  2. In act 5 scene 8 Macbeth realizes that the witches mislead him. They told him any man born of woman could not harm him. However on the battlefield Macbeth is so confident he could not be harmed, until Macduff tells him he was untimely ripped from the womb. This hinted toward the fact that Macduff was given birth by cesarean section. At that point Macbeth realized his life was coming to an end. Macbeth also had other moments of discovery when he began to hallucinate about the murder of Banquo in act 3. He realized how much blood he would have to shed to become king and who he had become to get the throne. He saw how worthless everything was when Lady Macbeth killed herself, because he saw that life was short. In act 5 scene 5 Macbeth said "Life is but a walking shadow...signifying nothing (5.5.27-31)." Macbeth was telling the audience how insignificant all he worked for was because it could be gone in a blink of an eye. Macbeth once was loved he had a good legacy but he tainted all the good he had done with his urge and ambition to gain power. Macbeth was a respectable man and unlike Richard III, Macbeth felt remorse and he had to get help from the witches to continue on his perilous path. His final discovery of his fate came in act 5 the last act of the play. Macbeth’s downfall was a true tragedy; he went from high moral standing to a murderous tyrant.

    ReplyDelete