Macbeth Character Analysis Essay

Throughout the course of Shakespeare’s Scottish tragedy, “Macbeth”, the eponymous hero develops from a highly respected warrior and loyal thane; to a “dead butcher”, executed for his crimes against Scotland, and condemned by all. By making the fatal error of disregarding his conscience and committing regicide in order to gain the crown of Scotland, he seals his own eternal fate and that of Scotland, making her the “grave” of her people.

Macbeth is very faithful and honorable general in the beginning of the play. However, once he rebels to king due to three witches plot, his character and personality changes completely. He becomes an atrocious and tyrannical ruler. Furthermore, his understanding of kingly rule is exposed in his words in act 4 scene 1: “Time, thou anticipatest my dread exploits: / The flighty purpose never is o'ertook / Unless the deed go with it; from this moment / The very firstlings of my heart shall be / The firstlings of my hand.” (Shakespeare 4.1.162-166). His evil character, which changed after becoming a king, matches with his understanding of kingly rule – he believes that king can do anything even though it is a dread exploit.

of King Duncan's army. His personal powers and strength as a general won him the

An important character in ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare was Macbeth. Macbeth is shown as the protagonist of the play and is the person who drives the plot of the drama. Macbeth changes dramatically throughout the play as in the start he is portrayed as the tragic hero who would do anything for his King and country. As the plays continue he becomes ambitious and, encouraged by a prophecy. After that, he ends up killing a lot of people/becoming a tyrant.

“Macbeth” a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, portrays, how the main character Macbeth, transforms from a war hero, to a murdering villain. Macbeth starts out as the thane of Glamis and steadily rises to become King of Scotland. The higher Macbeth rose on his road of power the more corrupt and evil he became. The character change of Macbeth ignites the whole theme of the play.

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.

Throughout the book, as Macbeth continues to progress in power, it seems as though his morals fade away while dark and destructive ideas spread through him quickly. While Macbeth contemplates his first evil deed of killing Duncan, he often talk’s himself into doing it, or gets outside persuasion to gain the courage that he is lacking. After talking to Lady Macbeth about how he has to murder Duncan, he exclaims, “I am settled and bend up / Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. / Away and mock the time with the fairest show. / False face must hide what the false heart doth / know” (1.7.92-96). Later in the novel we learn that Macbeth thinks that Banquo has become a threat to his power. Macbeth then takes this problem into his own hands and assigns murderers to kill Banquo. Macbeth then says, “So is he mine; and in such bloody distance / That every minute of his being thrusts/ Against my nearest of life. And though I could / With barefaced power sweep him from my sight/ And bid my will avouch it, yet I must not, / For certain friends that are both his and mine, / Whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall who I myself struck down. And thence it is, that I to your assistance do make love, masking the business from the common eye for sundry weighty reasons” (3.1.132-142). Macbeth is saying that if he absolutely has to do this terrible deed he will, it doesn’t mean he wants to, but he is going to do it anyways. Macbeth uses the motif of appearance versus reality when he

Lady Macbeth can be said to be one of Shakespeare's most famous and frightening female characters. She fulfills her role among the nobility and is well respected, like Macbeth. She is loving, yet very determined that her husband will be king. At the beginning of the play, when she is first seen, she is already plotting the murder of Duncan, showing more strength, ruthlessness, and ambition than Macbeth. She lusts after power and position and then pressures her husband into killing Duncan. Upon receiving the letter with the witches' prophecies from her husband, she begins to think and knowing that Macbeth lacks the courage for something like this, she calls upon the forces of evil to help her do what must be

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

In contrast to the typical standards of Elizabethan times, Macbeth appears to be submissive and obedient compared to Lady Macbeth’s dominant, manipulative personality. When the couple discusses their plot to kill the king, Macbeth is initially hesitant and attempts to do away with the morbid plan several times. However, when he voices his thoughts to Lady Macbeth, she is quick to use the account of her own love to guilt him into carrying out the murder. Not only does she threaten to cease her love for him (1.7.39), but she also insults his character by saying that he “live a coward in thine own esteem” (1.7.43). Lady Macbeth reveals an ultimate distaste for cowardice and weakened virtue, and she uses this, as well as her irrefutable bond with Macbeth, to

     In the tragedy Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, many character traits are portrayed through the various characters throughout the play. Macbeth was one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. It was completed in 1606 and was most likely first performed before King James I and his royal family at Hampton Court. King James I is believed to be a direct descendent of the character Banquo. Probably the most potent character trait expressed in Macbeth would be integrity or the lack there of. Integrity could be defined as doing the right thing at all costs no matter what the consequences or what would be in the persons best interest. In this play the person that displays the most

The story of Macbeth is no doubt an interesting one, but would it still be if some minor characters were taken out? Although the three witches are not main characters, they have a large role in the play Macbeth. The witches advance the plot of Macbeth by telling Macbeth his fate, by telling Banquo his fate, and by showing Macbeth the three apparitions.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, malicious characters are portrayed as obviously evil and influential. Macbeth, however, is one character that is not represented in this way, in fact he is quite the opposite. The new king is seen as a victim of his foul wife’s influences and the witches prophecies but is really only supported by them and these ideas, leading him to make decisions based on evil ambition and a wicked desire for power. Readers are pushed to believe that Macbeth deserves sympathy, but as all humans do, Macbeth has free will allowing him to make his own decisions which means that if he were a victim, he would only be this due to his depraved actions.