Character Analysis Of William Shakespeare's Macbeth

As a thane of Scotland, Macbeth loves and serves King Duncan even if it means his own death. The king and his army recognize Macbeth’s bravery. After Macbeth has killed traitors, a captain reports to the King: ¨For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name-- / Disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution, / Like valour’s minion carved out his passage / Till he faced the slave¨ (1.2.16-20). Even though Macbeth and the other soldiers were surrounded by enemies, Macbeth does not stop fighting until he finds Macdonwald, the traitor, and kills him. However, shortly after, Macbeth changes from brave to cowardly because Macbeth has decided to hand over his everlasting soul to the devil that he fears which is Banquo. This quote from Act 3, Scene 1 shows how macbeth has turned cowardly: ¨To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings! / Rather than so, come fate into the list, / And champion me to th’ utterance. Who’s there? / Now go to the door and stay there till we call. / Was it not yesterday we spoke together? / It was, so please your highness. / Well then, now / Have you considered of my speeches? Know / That it was he, in the times past. Which held you / So under fortune, which you thought had been / Our innocent self. This I made good to you / In our last conference, passes in probation with you / How you were borne in hand, how crossed, the instruments, / Who wrought with them, and all things else that might / To half a soul and to a notion crazed / Say, ¨Thus did Banquo”. (3.1.70-84). This quote shows that Macbeth turns cowardly because he says that he’s handed over his soul to the

the witch's words. In a way Macbeth is acting as if he has known the

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

As works of literature mature, the line between good and bad begins to become unclear. With Shakespeare’s works especially, things are usually not what they initially seem; a character may reveal to be the protagonist, antagonist, or even an anti-hero. A character may take actions that border on the antagonistic side, but still be the protagonist in which the audience is emotionally, though not always ethically, invested in. An anti-hero can be viewed simply as a protagonist who lies somewhere on the spectrum of villain and hero; never quite touching each end. In his play, Macbeth, Shakespeare makes it clear that Macbeth is really an anti-hero through his changing public appearance, his encounters with the witches, and his feelings concerning his own actions.

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.

Whilst the character of Macbeth is initially portrayed as a noble kinsman, his ambition and motivation, directly influenced by the witches and Lady Macbeth, ultimately transforms him into a corrupt and ruthless tyrant. William Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy “Macbeth” clearly depicts this notion of change, illustrated through Shakespeare's utilisation of literary techniques. The tragic downfall of Macbeth is mainly attributed to Macbeth’s own greed and hubris.

Making poor choices and treating others with disrespect can affect you in the long run and can easily contribute to a downfall. Macbeth was fully aware of the choices he made with the inhumane torture and disrespect he had on the citizens of Scotland. Being a tragic hero is when one experiences an immense tragedy which leads to a downfall, but Macbeth never had a tragedy because his death originated from the choices he made and reactions he had while he had authority as king. Macbeth being selfish and only caring about himself creates an undeserving and improper image as king which brought chaos into the land of Scotland. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth does not fit the formula for a tragic hero because he is not a moral

Macbeth is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. Having its setting in Scotland and England, the drama depicts the life of an ambitious Scottish solider named Macbeth. Derived by different motives, Macbeth finds himself in different situations which resulted in his unstable personality. Macbeth is seen transforming from being a well celebrated and valiant general to be a wicked tyrant king of Scotland. He earns his first rise in rank to be the Thane of Cawdor for heroically fighting in the Scottish Norwegian war. Deceived by the witches’ prophecy, Macbeth is involved in a series of murder events to seize the throne. As the play progresses, Macbeth is swept by bravery, arrogance, fear, and guilt.

Throughout the play “The Tragedy of Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, Macbeth sheds light on himself as a man who evolves to the worse when power and greed are at play. Macbeth’s change into this aggressive monster shows why literature has classified him as a dynamic character and how he progresses from a “thinker” to a “doer”. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth represents a noble yet gullible husband and warrior, however, his alternation throughout the books describes the theme of the play and its development, “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”

Shakespeare Tragic Hero Literary Analysis William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” is about how the character Macbeth tries to deceive his fate by sacrificing his good character and following the dark paths of evil. Macbeth regains his character by coming terms and accepting his fate in the end. Shakespeare expresses this by using character, dialogues and the plot to help the audience understand how Macbeth’s mindset.

It is out of the ordinary for a woman to set up a murder for her husbands gain. Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” is know to be a very mean and cruel character that just isn’t scared of anything by the readers. But as we get further towards the end of the play we see that she starts to show her true colors and state of mind.

In spite of Macbeth was influenced by outside sources, he was motivated by his ambition and has a desire to become King

Authors often use different literary elements to create the tragic hero in their writings in a way to appeal to readers. In “Macbeth”, William Shakespeare introduces Macbeth, who conflicts with himself and other characters to gain more power. He introduces Macbeth as a man with high hopes who’s willing to sacrifice everything and kill due to his high ambition of control. Once told by wicked witches of his fate, he puts it into action and begins to murder victims to make it come true. In his play, Shakespeare uses the different literary element to develop the subject of Macbeth being a tragic hero.

As a thane of Scotland, Macbeth loves and serves King Duncan even if it means his own death. The king and his army recognize Macbeth’s bravery. After Macbeth has killed traitors, a captain reports to the King: ¨For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name-- / Disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution, / Like valour’s minion carved out his passage / Till he faced the slave¨ (1.2.16-20). Even though Macbeth and the other soldiers were surrounded by enemies, Macbeth does not stop fighting until he finds Macdonwald, the traitor, and kills him. However, shortly after, Macbeth changes from brave to cowardly because Macbeth has decided to hand over his everlasting soul to the devil that he fears which is Banquo. This quote from Act 3, Scene 1 shows how Macbeth has turned cowardly: ¨To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings! / Rather than so, come fate into the list, / And champion me to th’ utterance. Who’s there? / Now go to the door and stay there till we call. / Was it not yesterday we spoke together? / It was, so please your highness. / Well then, now / Have you considered of my speeches? Know / That it was he, in the times past. Which held you / So under fortune, which you thought had been / Our innocent self. This I made good to you / In our last conference, passes in probation with you / How you were borne in hand, how crossed, the instruments, / Who wrought with them, and all things else that might / To half a soul and to a notion crazed / Say, ¨Thus did Banquo” (3.1.70-84). This quote shows that Macbeth turns cowardly because he says that he’s handed over his soul to the devil