How Macbeth's Character Changes

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.

Macduff heard about the death of his entire castle and became committed to revenge. “But gentle heavens, cut short al intermission: front to front bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself; within my sword’s length set him; if he ‘scape, heaven forgive him too!” (Shakespeare IV.iii.66) Macbeth received a second set of prophecies that gave him a very large and false confidence. “What’s the boy Malcolm? Was he not born of woman? The spirits that know all mortal consequences have pronounced me thus: `fear not, Macbeth; no man that’s born of woman shall e’er have upon thee.’ Then fly, false thanes, and mingle with the

When Macbeth meets the witches for the second time they give him three prophecies that he demands for. The first of which is a prophecy about Macduff. " Macbeth! Macbeth!Macbeth! Beware Macduff; beware the thane of Fife." (4.1 76-79).

One of the main causes of his distress on the throne is the delusion he has been experiencing. One of the deaths he is responsible for was the murder of a formally dear friend of his Banqou. Macbeth feels particularly guilty about Banqou murder to the point that Banqou’s spirits haunts him. Macbeth is tormented by the ghost of his former friend that roams around his halls and his seen by only him. The spirit is a constant reminder of the inhuman deeds that Macbeth has committed.

Macbeth’s sense of self seems to diminish as he comes to reality with what he has done and who he has hurt. This leads to him to not being able to sleep because he has “murdered and therefore/Cawdor/Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more” (2.2.55-57). By him not sleeping it shows that he is going crazy, and is not ok with what has happened. Losing his sense of self is also slowly killing his mental state. His conscience is guilty which makes him think less of himself. When Banquo’s ghost appears it makes Macbeth feel as if he were dead. Wanting Banquo to “Take any shape but that,” because he wants him to “be alive again/And dare [him] to the desert with thy sword” (3.4.124-126). When Macbeth’s fears are confirmed about the line of kings all in the image of Banquo his future is shaken. Once being trusted friends this also helps to twist his mental state; and not for the good. Also by him not being stable Macbeth starts hallucinating and feels tempted to grasp what he sees and use it. These visions are a

In the play, written by Shakespeare, Macbeth has received prophecies about him becoming the thane of Glamis, the thane of Cawdor, as well as the future king. While he was already the thane of Glamis, it soon came true to him being crowned the thane of Cawdor so naturally he assumed that the second prediction would come true, but decided to rush the process instead of waiting for it to come his way. While Lady Macbeth, his wife, and the witches certainly play a significant role in Macbeth’s corruption and downfall, it is ultimately he himself to blame for his easy acceptance of his fate by the Witches, his vulnerability to his wife's manipulations, and his tragic flaw bringing him to his demise. “All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis… Thane of Cawdor… that shalt be king hereafter” (Act 1 Scene 3 46-48) would be the words that would spark the fire under Macbeth.

== = As soon as Macbeth is alone he imagines he sees daggers before him. In other words he is hallucinating Macbeth: “In this a dagger which I see before me,

As well as seeing the ghost of his murdered friend Banquo at the diner table, he also develops insomnia, and goes so far on as to suggest that he is jealous of Duncan because he can sleep forever whereas he cannot sleep at all. He also loses his appetite and can no longer eat well; this shows that his insides are turning with the memory that he himself had killed a King who had been so good to him and to Scotland. After getting Banquo killed, Macbeth sees his ghost at the banquet with twelve bloody gashes in his head; this makes Macbeth completely insane in an instant. He is not only scared by seeing the ghost of Banquo, but also by the thought that he had done these horrible things, and that his soul would be haunted by his murdered friends ghost for ever. It is through the main characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth that this theme of guilt and conscience is so vividly portrayed.

Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff, beware the thane of fife, Laugh and scorn at other men's power, for no one born from a woman shall ever harm Macbeth. Pay no attention to those who hate you, resent you or conspire against you. Macbeth will never be defeated until birnam wood marches to fight you at dunsinane hill.”

When Macbeth’s plan fails and only Banquo is killed after his son Fleance escapes, he gets worried his position is not secure. This greed shows how Macbeth’s character shifts from wanting to be loyal and honest to being ruthless and selfish. Macbeth had to be persuaded to commit the first murder; he committed the second murder without Lady Macbeth even knowing about it beforehand. After killing Banquo, someone whom he was once close with, he is deeply haunted and has extreme hallucinates. Macbeth sees a bloody ghost of Banquo.

By the end of the play Macbeth had become to cocky about his skills and what the apparitions told him. When he meets Macduff at the end of the play, instead of running away like he should have he taunts Macduff about the fact that he can not kill him. That is until Macduff says this:

The Play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare is shaped by supernatural forces with the use of the weird witches, the apparition of the ghost, and the floating dagger. These forces lead Macbeth to act in the way he did and add suspense to the play. The play opens with the three witches, and later on Macbeth and Banquo encounter them. They prophesized that Macbeth will be promoted to Thane of Cawdor, and then become King of Scotland. In addition to that, Banquo was told that his sons shall be kings, but never himself. Macbeth was skeptical about the prophesies, but until some of King Duncan’s men came to inform Macbeth that that he was to be named Thane of Cawdor due to the betrayal of the previous and condemned to death. Then Lady Macbeth

So he kills many more people who he believes suspect him of murder. He becomes suspicious and insecure. He is scared of what he has done and fearful of deeds to follow. One of the main pieces of evidence that portrays a breakdown within the person is Macbeth's inability to sleep. This comes forward in Act two Scene 2 "I heard a voice cry `Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep'" (lines 33-34). Sleep was seen as the natural end to the day and it was unnatural to not be able to sleep. Macbeth lost the ability to restore himself within his mind and his body, therefore becoming abnormal. The fact that Banquo's ghost appeared to him at the banquet shows his troubled conscience - his murderous deeds are playing on his mind. The vision of the ghost also represents the fact that after Macbeth killed Banquo, he entered into the world of the supernatural at a level that he had never stooped to before. All the evidence above portrays a steadily growing breakdown within the person - within Macbeth.

Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff! Beware the Than of Fife!…Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Be bloody, bold and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth…Be lion-mettled, proud and take no care who chafes, who frets or where conspirers are. Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.

Those doubts and fears lead Macbeth back to the witches and toward still more evil deeds. Having dispatched Banquo to prevent one prophecy from coming true, he is later warned about Macduff and then seemingly reassured that no harm can befall him unless miraculous conditions occur—the marching of a wood, the appearance of a man not born by woman. These things, of course, do take place, making Macbeth a victim of his own understanding. Macbeth reaches tragic heights in the soliloquy on the meaninglessness of life that he speaks after learning of Lady Macbeth's death. But even after it is plain that the prophecies of the witches are working toward his destruction, Macbeth displays his mettle. In their final encounter, Macbeth tells Macduff that "The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear / Shall never sag with doubt, nor shake with fear" (V.iii.9-10). He is then told by Macduff that his adversary is not "of woman born." Yet even after the last prop has fallen, Macbeth tells Macduff