Gather round my brothers, a call to arms. I am Malcolm, the son of King Duncan. Before we embark on

Act 1 Scene 4 King Duncan receives Macbeth and Banquo with appreciation for their achievements towards the success if the battle. King Duncan announces that his eldest son Malcolm would inherit the throne from him and be called King of Scotland after him ‘Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter

Macbeth is of a brave and capable warrior initially the first time that we see him. However, once we see Macbeth and the three witches together, we begin to realize that his physical courage is joined by a consuming mind boggling ambition and a tendency to self-doubt. The crusade’s mission is to place the rightful king, Malcolm, on the throne, but Macduff also desires vengeance for Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s wife and young son. Macbeth is easily tempted into murder to fulfill his ambitions to the throne. Once he commits his first crime and is crowned King of Scotland. When Macduff finds out that Macbeth killed Duncan he plans to kill Macbeth and take his head to Malcolm. Banquo helped Duncan to claim victory over Norway and to become the Thane of Cawdor. They all are loyal to Duncan at some point, although Macduff and Banquo are doing the right things for Duncan, Macbeth is thinking of himself and is doing things so he will be the new King of Scotland. Macbeth is the play’s villain because he is betraying Duncan and trying to hide everything so he will be king.

Many people who have read William Shakespeare’s Macbeth know that Macbeth is the tragic hero in the play, but there another character stands out as a much greater protagonist. Macbeth is the type of character who turned from a loyal warrior to the king into a violent, tyrannical, and conflicted person as he progressively commits crimes inside the kingdom without anyone’s notice, except for one person, who is Macduff. Macduff doesn’t have any flaws and remains sinless and heroic throughout the play. As Macbeth progressively gains power and prestige in exchange for the lives of his king, his friends, and his countrymen, Macduff meanwhile goes through great personal loss in his attempts to stop Macbeth’s tyrannical ruling and to restore justice and freedom to Scotland. It is ironic how Macduff acts so much more nobly than his king. Throughout the tragic events that have occurred in the play, Macduff serves as a heroic figure through his demonstrations of intelligence, loyalty, and righteousness.

During Macbeth’s run in with power, instead of getting the glory, joy, throne, and the power that comes with being king, MacBeth only set himself up for

When Macbeth is slain, Malcolm sees it as a fresh start to the country. All the people who had to flee may now return. He intends to reward everyone who stood by him. "We shall not spend a large expense of time before we reckon with your several loves." Throughout the play Malcolm has shown himself to be loyal and fair and shows the qualities of a good king.

Macbeth, a highly revered Thane, was a huge war hero and feels that this is who he is meant to be. Upon returning from war, he meets 3 witches who start his prey drive towards the other members of the kingdom. Our witches reveal that Macbeth will become Thane of a second region, but will not just stop at being a Thane. He will one day be king. Macbeth reveals this to his wife, who quickly becomes the force behind the madness. She insists that the only way for Macbeth to become king is to murder the current king who just so happens to be coming to stay with the Macbeth’s that very night. It is here that Macbeth turns himself into a force of direct suffering.

Macbeth, an ironic tragedy of the 17th century, is perhaps one of the most appraised works by renowned playwright William Shakespeare. Such fame, though, can be justified through the play’s effective utilization of themes and their evocative subtext; however, Shakespeare particularly focusses on the theme of power and has done so with intent. Macbeth visualises power in two forms, being that of divine and supernatural. The play forms a representation that, alike with the socio-cultural beliefs of the Elizabethan era, divine power should not be tampered with. Otherwise, the consequences can be detrimental, as demonstrated by the painful ends of characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Both individuals use the process of illegitimate power to

Stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires.” This shows that Macbeth is more determined to kill King Duncan after he hears that Malcolm is named the Prince of Cumberland. He is determined as Macbeth believes that he should be the King as the witches told him that he would be.

In killing Duncan, Macbeth goes against the great chain of being. He attacks God through killing Duncan; he undermines God’s authority on earth, which will lead to God being very angry, and eternal damnation for Macbeth. By losing the rightful King, Scotland can only become a worse place, and this is what happens – “Poor country; It cannot be call’d our mother, but out grave” (Act four, scene three, line 164). Duncan was a great King, and for a king of his power and greatness to be sacrificed to the ambition of someone like Macbeth shows the magnitude of the murder.

After Macbeth died, I, Malcom, became king and had to deal with the collateral damage that was caused by Macbeth's greed and want for power. The losses of Duncan and Banquo were devastating. We shall find these three witches and punish them for what they have caused to happen to all. I, Malcom, vow to be a trust worthy king and have no foul play towards my people and friends. I shall make an effort to comfort and console the families of the ones whose lives were stolen from the world. I also move to outlaw all witches that do ill fate and foul play towards people. These events will be strongly fought against in my rule.

Macbeth's terrible murder of the King in order to obtain the crown causes absolute chaos and disturbs the Natural Order, or balance of the universe, and so he is punished for this. By murdering the king, Macbeth causes Duncan's sons to flee Scotland, allowing Macbeth to obtain the throne. This disturbs the Natural Order, as the rightful heir isn't on the throne, and slowly Macbeth pays for his evil deeds through his descent into evil. Macbeth is soon punished for all his cruel and wicked deeds, and his punishment is death by Macduff. Afterwards, the Natural Order is re-established as Duncan's son Malcolm rightfully obtains the throne, but many lives have been lost along the way. For example, after Duncan's murder, his sons fear for their own lives, and flee to other countries. "Let's not consort with them… I'll to England" (2, 3, 131-133). "To Ireland, I. Our separate fortune | Shall keep us both the safer. Where we are, | There's daggers in men's smiles; the nea'er in blood, | The nearer bloody" (2, 3, 134-137). Shakespeare uses a metaphor here ("daggers in men's smiles") to show the fear and distrust felt by Duncan's sons- fear for their lives, distrusting all those around them. Their flight leaves the throne free for Macbeth, who is given the title without question. "The

"Oh, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! / Thou mayest revenge"(III.iii.18-19). "Avaunt! And quit my sight!Let the earth hide thee! / Thy bone are marrowless, thy blood is cold; / thou hass no speculation in those eyes"(III.iv.93-96). Banquo's ghost haunts Macbeth, and Macbeth is unable to face it. Macbeth's evil ambition usually leaves Macbeth feeling at peace or safe, but now his ambition has left him with a painful vision of his dead friend. "What, you egg! / Young fry of treachery! / He has killed me"(IV.ii.79-82). Macbeth has sent his men to catch and kill Macduff, and instead Macbeth's men kill Macduff's innocent son and later his wife. Macbeth is now giving orders to kill woman and children; he has become a complete tyrant.

Although William Shakespeare created the play, Macbeth, to be a tragedy, the tragic hero can hardly be considered to be one. For the entirety of one of Shakespeare’s most magnificent works, Macbeth is controlled and manipulated into committing atrocious acts that the witches and his wife desire. He is powerless to their tricks and through their sorcery/cunning words and his own morals (or lack thereof) “sustain[s] the central paradox–the heroic murderer” (Cusick). Despite the fact that he laments the loss of his king, Duncan, he still continues down his path of evil that only has one ending: his death. Although Macbeth gains a few insights on his inner self, his lack of ability to resist manipulation, willingness to kill, combined with his

the throne by evil means, and not by divine right so he should not be

The night was dark and the sky stormed as if it were a fragment of hell itself. Cold rain cut through any layers of warmth that remained in Macduff. Behind him, Macbeth’s castle cast light on the horizon. “I don’t believe in spirits much, but a night like this could bring out the foulest of creatures.” Macduff thought to himself. The storm spooked his horse, but they trudged along. Macduff had fought harder battles against real enemies, no storm, no matter how harsh, was going to stop his progress. There were rumors whispered in eager ears, suspicions, that Macbeth had murdered men, including Duncan, to claim the throne.