Honorable and Dishonorable Violence in Macbeth




Honorable and Dishonorable Violence in Macbeth

When examining The Tragedy of Macbeth, violence is depicted throughout the story in both honorable and dishonorable ways. The murders of Banquo, Duncan, and the family of Macduff are all examples of dishonorable violence. Especially due to the fact that their deaths were committed only to strengthen the power of Macbeth.  The tragedy of Macbeth, can be connected loosely to the rise and downfall of Osama Bin Laden, due to their similar acts of violence. The death of king Duncan, can also be compared and tied down to the assassination depicted in the Tell-Tale Heart. As a result of his countless acts of violence, and his tyrannical rule over Scotland, Macbeth’s brutal murder can be considered one of the only examples of an  honorary death in the play, proving that there is such thing as honorable violence.

In the beginning of the story, it is important to note that Macbeth’s character started off as somewhat of a hero, for his part in killing Macdonwald, the leader of a rebellion against the king. This character's death, along with the execution of the previous thane of cawdor, can be depicted as one of the very few honorable acts of violence in the play, for their part in conspiring against the king.  “The thane of Cawdor will never again betray me. Go announce that he will be executed, and tell Macbeth that Cawdor's titles will be given to him. What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won.”(Macbeth 1.2.3) Here King Duncan decides to execute the Thane of Cawdor for treason, and give his position to Macbeth. This quote reveals the naiveness of the king for trusting Macbeth, and in doing so foreshadows his unfortunate assassination. Many of the murders portrayed in Macbeth are a result of Macbeth’s ambition to maintain his authority as king of Scotland, and the paranoia and guilt, which gradually grow worse after each murder he commits. This can be proven through Macbeth’s lack of sleep, and the appearance of Banquo’s ghost, who terrorizes his thoughts. It is essentially his many weaknesses and acts of violence, that make his death more justifiable.  In the beginning of the play some of Macbeth’s strongest qualities were his honor, his courage and his bravery, however it is these qualities that Lady Macbeth takes advantage of when she manipulates him into killing Duncan. This nature of his tends to be one Macbeth's greatest weaknesses throughout.

           One of the many pieces of literature that can be compared to Macbeth, can be the short story of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. Both Macbeth and the narrator of the story can both be seen as examples of literary villains, with their own free will these characters committed atrocious acts, and both characters had respect for their victims. The assassination portrayed in The Tell-Tale Heart can be connected to the assassination of King Duncan. The narrator declares that “I loved this old man” when he talks about his victim, Macbeth feels the same way for his cousin Duncan, causing him to almost postpone the assassination: “We will proceed no further in this business. He hath honored me of late, and I have bought, golden opinions from all sorts of people.” In both of these situations, both characters feel tension and fear of being caught, after getting rid of the evidence to the murders, both characters also experience similar nervous breakdowns. The narrator's nervous break leads him to exposing his crime in front of the police, Macbeth’s nervous breakdown leads him to take the life of Duncan’s three guards, which ultimately leads Macduff to become suspicious of Macbeth.

One real world example of Macbeth’s tragedy would be the rise and downfall of Osama Bin Laden. The main factor which makes these two men similar, are their abilities to manipulate others to do their dirty work. This can be seen in Macbeth, through the three murders that he hires to kill Banquo, and Macduff's family. “Do you find your patience so predominant in your nature that you can let this go? Are you so gospelled to pray for this good man and for his issue, whos heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave, and beggard you forever?”(Macbeth 3.1.96). This quote reveals that Macbeth used the financial status of the murders to his advantage to manipulate them into committing several acts of violence. This quote also sheds light in Macbeth's descent into madness, and reveals that the manipulative and cunning qualities which initially belonged to Lady Macbeth, was passed down to him. Although Macbeth didn’t personally kill Banquo, or Macduff's family, he is still responsible for their deaths. Bin Laden, on the other hand, used religion to his advantage. The emergence of the Islamic terrorist group known as Al Qaeda, was formed to uproot terror among Christian and Jewish religious groups, as a way to avenge previous crimes, committed towards Muslims. Multiple tactics were used to inflict terror upon Americans, which was dominated by Christians. After the attacks of 9/11, Osama Bin Laden, just like Macbeth became a target to Americans, or in the perspective of the play Macduff.

This play provides enough evidence to support that there is a time to kill, and there is such thing as honorable violence. Although Macbeth’s character can be considered the main protagonist, it is his many weaknesses, and his obsession for power which transforms him into the primary antagonist of his own tragedy. The many uses of dishonorable violence throughout the play can all be connected to the Edgar Allan Poe classic The Tell-Tale Heart, and the rise and downfall of Osama Bin Laden, which distinguishes the use of dishonorable and honorable violence in Macbeth even further. Despite having a lack of honorable deaths, Macbeth's murder remains one of the most honorable acts of violence in the play.

































WORKS CITED




  • Dunn, Joeming W., et al. The Tell-Tale Heart. Magic Wagon, 2010.



  • The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Al-Qaeda.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 Oct. 2016, www.britannica.com/topic/al-Qaeda.

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