Sunday, November 28, 2010

What are three situations in which Macbeth faces dissonance in Macbeth?

Macbeth faces a dissonance when he murders Duncan.  He
knows that murdering the king is wrong, yet he convinces himself (with some persuasion
by Lady Macbeth) that going through with the murder is the only way that he will become
king.  The disconnect between Macbeth's morals and his actions cause him to feel extreme
guilt immediately following the murder.  Macbeth again faces dissonance when he tells
all the thanes to "fly" once he learns that many of them have left his side to fight for
the English army.  Macbeth does not want to be abandoned and he wants the love of his
men, but his actions are proud and do not reveal his inner thoughts.  Finally, Macbeth
falsely assumes that no one can hurt him because he misinterprets the witches'
prophecy.  The witches tell him that he needs to use caution--especially around Macduff,
but Macbeth disregards all caution when entering into combat with Macduff at the end of
the play.

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