Macbeth Help.?

Question

"Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them." -- William Shakespeare

What relation does this quote have on the play Macbeth?

Thank YOU!

Answer 1

How DOESN'T this relate to Macbeth.  You need to explain which characters each of these is talking about.  It really is an opinion, but I'll tell you what I think.

I believe that Banquo is one that was born great.  To me he just seems like very brave and worthy of power.  One of the witches says "Lesser than Macbeth, and greater, " speaking of Banquo.  This shows that Banquo would never rise as high as Macbeth, but he would still always be a better person.

Macduff I think "achieves greatness."  I just really like the character of Macduff.  He tries to stop Macbeth.  He is this really noble man, but he is still human and wants to get Macbeth back for killing his family.

"Greatness thrust upon them"  I think pertains to Macbeth.  He was considered this great king when he took the throne.  But he never deserved it.  He was manipulated by the witches and his wife.  He is very weak of mind and is power hungry.  It is very easy to tell him what to do.  When I really think about it, sometimes I feel sorry for him.

Answer 2

Macbeth was a man who always wanted to be king and then in trying to achieve being king ruined his life: he killed the reigning king. With repercussions of those events, killed his family.

"Be not afraid..." that could mean being jealous, which is what Macbeth was.

You can not be jealous of greatness. Greatness is uncontrollable.

Pretty much around those lines.

Answer 3

All you have to do is explain what characters are born great and why, what characters achieve greatness and why, and what characters are made great by accident and why.