Character Analysis Of Macbeth

His ambition does not become overbearing until it is fueled by Lady Macbeth's own ambition. Macbeth's ambition is in sharp contrast to Banquo. Banquo comes across as much more hesitant to accept the witches prophesy. This contrast was created for a specific reason - to highlight Macbeth's tragic flaw. "One critical perspective views Banquo's function as essentially symbolic: he is portrayed as a man who, like Macbeth, has the capacity for both God's grace and sin; but unlike the protagonist, he puts little stock in the Weird Sisters, prophecies and does not succumb to their temptations. Banquo's reluctance to dwell on the witchs' predictions therefore underscores, by contrast, the nature of Macbeth's descent into evil." (Scott; 238) Banquo does not have the same overbearing ambition as Macbeth and therefor is able to reason with the situation. Banquo's logic is most prevalently seen in the following quote:

Banquo's declaration of allegiance also allows for proof towards his unchanging ideals, whereas immorality and blind ambition poison Macbeth?s thoughts. Macbeth describes his fear of Banquo shrewdly in that they ?stick deep, and his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared. ?Tis much he dares he hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor to act in safety? (III.i). Macbeth concludes his friend has remained his pure self and therefore is his moral antithesis. Banquo continues to hold a much clearer grip on life and real quality as a man in comparison to Macbeth, hence, Macbeth is forced to kill him if he is to follow through with his plan and go down a dark road.

Soon after King Duncan is killed, Banquo starts thinking how things can only get better for him, “ Thou hast it now--King, Cawdor, Glamis, all as the Weird Women promised, and I fear thou played'st most foully for't: yet it was said it should not stand in thy posterity, but that myself should be the root and father of many kings. If there come truth from them-- as upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine-- why, by the verities on thee made good, may they not be my oracles as well, and set me up in hope? But hush, no more.” (3.1.1-10). Banquo thinks that he is going to be related to the next king, which the prophecies say will be one of his sons because he has always been noble to King Duncan. Because the three witches told Banquo that his kids would inherit the throne after Duncan, he tries to outshine Macbeth at any chance he gets to try to keep the witches prophecy true. “That, trusted home, Might yet enkindle you unto the crown, Besides the thane of Cawdor. But ‘tis strange: and oftentimes, to win us to harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s In deepest consequence. Cousins, a word, I pray you.” (1.3.120-127). Banquo talks about how trying to be king can tempt people to do evil things. In this particular scene, Banquo shows slight foreshadowing to what may happen later in the play. Macbeth knows that Banquo is his biggest threat to him, so throughout the first couple scenes of the play, Macbeth plans to kill his friend Banquo. Banquo serves his function in the play being the one that poses a threat to Macbeth's expectation of being the next

He realizes that if he want to start his own dynasty, then he will have to have control of all the variables. Then Macbeth began to think, “For Banquo’s issues have I filed my mind;/ For them the gracious Duncan I have murdered” (Shakespeare 85). He realizes that he has set himself up to fail. He is cleared a path to the crown for Banquo’s kin. Macbeth goes on to state, “He chid the sisters/ When first they put the name of king upon me” (Shakespeare 85). This give the readers the thought that Banquo is jealous of the king. Macbeth, not wanting to risk his crown, calls for some outside murderers. As I stated earlier, Macbeth knew he must get rid of Banquo and his sons. He succeeds in having Banquo killed, but Banquo’s son, Fleance (the one person Macbeth needed to kill), escapes.

It is fascinating that Macbeth is referred to as a “wicked thing” then calling him by his name or by his status.

In the play, Macbeth was a man who had shown very little mercy to friends let alone his foes. After killing Duncan to become King, he had hired assassins to go and kill Banquo and his son so that he could secure his reign. Banquo was a close friend of Macbeth, they had gone to war together, lived together, fought together and without a second thought, Macbeth has put a death warrant on Banquo and his son’s head. Here Macbeth shows his newly developed uncompassionate character as he does not care about Banquo and their friendship. “ Rather than so, come fate into the list, And champion me that’ utterance.” Here we can see Macbeth speak about the prophecy and how he realises he let go of his morality but for “ Banquo’s seeds” Macbeth not only showed a lack of compassion towards his best friend but also to other characters such as

Audience becomes aware of Macbeth’s corruption when he plans to kill his ‘friend’, Banquo. He describes him as “dispatched” (3.4.15), and later as “safe” (3.4.25). This positions the audience to feel as though Macbeth is somewhat desperate to convince himself that he has acted appropriately despite using corrupt power. Using this stylistic device of language further demonstrates that Macbeth has now been corrupted to the extent that he longer feels compassion for his former companions. This ultimately establishes the representation that Macbeth’s illegitimate power has directly resulted in his destructive nature.

After everyone has found out that the king is dead Banquo suspects Macbeth of doing something to make the witches predictions that they ways saying to become true. At that time Macbeth is king so he turns on his best friend Banquo and has him and all of his family including Fleance killed because he was the only person there when the predictions of Macbeth becoming king and also the witches said that Banquos son Fleance would become king too. So this shows that that Macbeth is getting over protective of his crown to the throne so he will do anything to stop people becoming king. So he will kill he’s best friend and his family only because the three withes said that predictions of Macbeth becoming king. So Macbeth is going into a downward spiral towards great darkness and becoming ever more evil from every action he makes and does to protect the crown.

Throughout the play we see the character of Macbeth change, not only from the way he thinks and speaks, but from his actions as well. Killing Banquo and having Lady Macduff and her children murdered show the insecurity that is present in Macbeth’s character.  After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth becomes paranoid.  This paranoia leads to his killing the guards to help secure the place that he has found for himself.  Macbeth is also very superstitious, which becomes evident when he allows the witches’ prophecy to convince him that Banquo’s offspring would become Kings.

Macbeth’s character has developed significantly up to the second act. We are first introduced to Macbeth character in a way that we view him as powerful and Nobel. We get this idea from the quote “oh valiant cousin, worthy gentleman” which is what he is described as by Duncan, who at the time is the king. From this quote Macbeth is portrayed as a loyal and heroic figure who has done much for many, however as we know this was not a smart move for Duncan to make as it makes him come across and weak and seems like Duncan should be giving Macbeth a higher title, which is what the witches had told him before. In addition, this idea of the king complementing Macbeth about all the good that he has done seems to trigger the belief that Macbeth has the ability to be king, even in the eyes of Duncan who is so ecstatic what he has done for the county.

In the play “Macbeth” the author furthers the ideas of ambition, manhood and violence throughout the play using a gender lens, mainly for masculinity in men. In the play “Macbeth” ambition plays a big role in the man characters life; Macbeth. In Act 1 scene 3, lines 125-129, “And oftentimes, to win us to our harm; The instruments of darkness tell us truth.” (Shakespeare 1.3.125-129). This quote stated by Banquo foreshadows Macbeth further into the play. Macbeth ends up killing King Duncan because he wants to be in power over the kingdom. When Banquo questions Macbeth about the killing of King Duncan, Macbeth’s ambition to kill Banquo skyrocketed. Macbeth didn’t want anybody to think or know that he ended up killing King Duncan for power. This started a cycle of death for Macbeth’s ambition to kill to stay in power. This example of ambition from “Macbeth” has a very similar motif from the movie called “The Mask You Live In”. In the movie, George Orwell states, “He wears a mask and his face grows to fit it.” The idea of the mask he wear fits his face helps us further the reason for men’s ambitions. Men’s ambitions are driven by power and dominance over people and prized possessions. For men to be able to gain power, they need to prove how masculine they are to society. In doing so they are dehumanizing their biological thoughts and feelings and turning them into artificial ones in order to be seen more powerful or dominate to the public.

He mentions how as king he is very powerful, but he would be even more powerful without Banquo to worry about stating “Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown” (Shakespeare 114). Here Macbeth refers to the three witches who prophesied Banquo would father an heir to the throne. Macbeth interprets this prophecy as he will not have an heir because Banquo’s sons will take the throne directly after him. He is not happy about this occurring because it would remove his power as well as his purpose for ruining his characteristics. In order to stop this from occurring, Macbeth decides to have Banquo and his sons assassinated. To do this, Macbeth uses his power and influence as king to convince three murderers to terminate Banquo and his son Fleance. In doing this Macbeth continues to corrupt his power and character only for the gain of more

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, after a courtly dinner with the king, now begin to plot his (the king) death. “I go, and it is done: the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven, or to hell.” (62-64) Right after Macbeth has done the deed, he has an instant, sharp pain of remorse and regret. This is a prominent example of internal conflict in the story. After the fact, Lady Macbeth takes the action with grace, and adapts to the situation. Macbeth’s mentality is whiter than that of hers. Lady Macbeth had been the accomplice while Macbeth had been the murderer. Soon a great guilt will strike them both. As events start to unfold, you start to see big changes in the characters behavior and motives. Macbeth is crowned king due to Duncan’s murder, and Macbeth is now looking to stabilize his spot. He sends hitmen to kill Banquo, a noblemen solely loyal to Duncan. Macbeth knows Banquo suspects something, so he has him killed without a second thought. Later on that same night Banquo is killed, Macbeth has a banquet with all noblemen, associates, lords, etc. Sitting at the table, he sees a spirited Banquo and freaks out in front of everyone. This shows that his guilt has gotten the best of

After Macbeth and Banquo receive prophecies, the foil characters start to diverge as Banquo’s takes the moral path of goodness while Macbeth takes the immoral path towards his ultimate decline. Banquo and Macbeth have the opportunity to pursue the same path, but because of his unchecked ambition, Macbeth deviates from Banquo's path of good morals. Immediately after the witches tell their prophecies, Banquo’s mindset is wary and rational. He warns Macbeth that, “oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths...” (1.3.125-126). Banquo is not obsessed with the prophecies and the idea that one day his ancestors will be kings. On the other hand, Macbeth speculates, “Two truths are told, / as happy prologues to the swelling act / of the imperial theme.” (1.3.130-132) Because two of the three prophecies have come true, Macbeth is blinded by his ambition and seems to fantasize about the idea of being king. These contrasting reactions show that Macbeth takes a

Murdering Duncan was the only true action enticed by Lady Macbeth. Macbeth’s desire to get rid of Banquo demonstrates that he truly is malevolent. Macbeth demands that “his death were perfect” when hiring murderers to remove Banquo and his son from his path (3.1.108). The king's determination to be the only one in power has caused him to lose the ethical characteristic that is seen in the first act. Banquo was the only person to ever secretly doubt and aside from this, the prophecies created panic for Macbeth. While speaking to the hired murderers, Macbeth agrees with them by saying “So is he mine” claiming that Banquo is an enemy to all, including the king (3.2.116). The slander spoken by Macbeth ruins the image of loyalty and