Macbeth Group

Question:


r0sered17
Student
High School - 12th Grade

how can we feel sympathy for macbeth even though he has been described as "a hell hound" and "a butcher" ..

please explain with few examples of quotes

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Posted by r0sered17 on Wednesday November 14, 2007 at 12:05 PM and tagged with a hell hound, butcher, macbeth, sympathy.

Answers:


  1. luannw Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The sympathy comes from Macbeth knowing what he has become.  In Act 5, scene 3, Macbeth laments in his speech, "...my way of life is fall'n into the sere, the yellow leaf;..." that he realizes his life has taken a bad turn, he has little to look forward to, he has no friends, etc.  Two scenes later, in scene 5, in his famous, "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow..." speech, he again tells us that he knows he's been a fool.  We see him fall prey to the witches and their misleading prophecies.  Overall though, I believe we can sympathize with him because we can see bits of ourselves and our own ambitions in him.

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    Posted by luannw on Wednesday November 14, 2007 at 1:54 PM

  2. beautiful-nightmare
    beautiful-nightmare Student
    High School - 11th Grade

    We can feel sympathy for Macbeth in the sense that this wasn't realy his fault. Yes fate usually means that it will happen no matter what but due to the witches telling him his fate and Lady Macebeth calling him names, questioning him manliness, one cannot help but feel bad for him. Also, since becoming King was all he wanted we see the struggle to keep his goal, to keep what he wants, and many of us can sympathize with him because of that fact, the fact that most of us want our goals and ambitions in life to be complete.

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    Posted by beautiful-nightmare on Wednesday November 14, 2007 at 6:22 PM