Macbeth Character Analysis

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

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

Role in Plot: He is another person that Macbeth has to fight in order to secure the thrown.

Macbeth’s character develops consistently throughout the play. The key to his character development is his unchecked ambition, which is powered by the three witches and his strong desire to become the King of Scotland. Macbeth ends up achieving his goal but ultimately, it leads him to a downfall such as the suicide of Lady Macbeth. Macbeth’s ambition has played a significant role in the play ever since the three witches tell him that he would become the King of Scotland. His ambition has led Macbeth to become gullible. He is easily manipulated and convinced to take immoral actions. Moreover, Macbeth also becomes selfish as he only thinks about himself and not the citizens of Scotland. He fails at his job as a King in making Scotland a better place to live. Lastly, due to his unchecked ambition, Macbeth starts acting violently by murdering his closest allies and friends. Therefore, Macbeth’s ambition has driven him to become manipulative, selfish and violent; and thus, ambition is Macbeth’s greatest weakness.

As human beings, there are occasions where we choose between right or wrong. Certainly, It can materialize into effect on how other people judge you based on their glimpse of moral senses. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare displayed a dark and erroneous side of humankind. The three preeminent characters accordingly demonstrate identical attributes of greediness. For instance, Banquo who appears to be noble fails to resist his desires, and in relation to Lady Macbeth, she overrules herself with greed to a fate of anguish, and thus, Macbeth becomes engulfed with greed that leads to horrendous deeds. In general, Shakespeare emphasizes that ambition for power and wealth can invalidate morality in human nature.

Many people act without thinking or let their pride get in the way. Many want to be the hero, or that guy, this can mess up the end goal or alter life decisions. Throughout the play Macbeth characters act on impulse and this leads to their demise for the most part. Men and women in Macbeth show strength and aggression in a time where women were portrayed as more prim and proper. Lady Macbeth seems more fierce than Macbeth in most situations challenging his manhood to make him do as she wanted. Challenging the manhood of men happened throughout the play. The misconception of masculinity and the way it drives people to act on impulse. This is the main topic or idea, being a man was standing up for yourself, getting what you want and not being afraid of anything. This play showed perfectly how pride and someone's manhood affects their lives.

Nature changes from day to day, and when nature starts to get dark then one knows when a bad storm or a hurricane is going to happen. Some storms can stay and can ruin people’s lives. During the tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare relates nature to Macbeth morality in order to show that Macbeth starts off as a man on the edge, and then get worse as the play goes on. So Macbeth has been bad from the start, and he's not sympathetic. The repetition of nature in the play shows that he had evil within him throughout the whole play. Some examples of where nature shows is when, when Macbeth becomes the Thane of Cawdor, when the horses are eating each other, and when the forest moves.

Every female, or perhaps a male, knows a guy who thinks he’s the strongest, toughest dude on the planet Earth. However, most of these “tough” men are not mentally nor emotionally stable. This is proven also by the article 7 Signs You’re Not Mentally Strong, You’re Just Acting Tough, “While acting tough may meet your needs in the short-term by artificially boosting your ego or by getting other people to back off, it’s not a good long-term strategy,” (Amy Morin). She means that acting macho and being a jerk can ruin a lot of things for you, and that it does not make you manly by doing so. Just like the article about how being tough doesn’t make you mentally strong, in the play Macbeth, there is a huge theme of manhood placed throughout.

In the beginning of the play, Macbeth’s actions can be described as cautiously calculated as he only does what he believes to be necessary in the achievement of his goal to be king, and thus his mental state remains stable during this time. Macbeth’s decision to take the witches’ prophecies seriously demonstrates the fact that he is willing to do and believe anything needed to be King, regardless of the possible repercussions. As Macbeth was contemplating the prophecies he thinks to himself, “The Prince of Cumberland! that is a step/ On which I must fall down, or else o’er-leap,/ For in my way it lies” (Shakespeare 1.4.55-57). Macbeth chooses to internalize what the witches tell him, regardless of the fact that it seems preposterous. He

Unmanly. Cowardly. Full of the milk of human kindness. Throughout the events of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the protagonist’s wife is seen regularly attempting to compel Macbeth to unlawfully take and keep the throne of Scotland through insults and attempts at logic and reasoning. Her extreme ambition towards the throne is notable, most remarkably when she performs her famous soliloquy asking murderous spirits to “unsex [her] here” (1-5) so that she could be less like a woman and have a personality belonging to a man to commit murder. Consequently, some may think Lady Macbeth possesses the true determination behind the play due to her desire to place her husband on the throne. Nevertheless, it is clear when looking at how Shakespeare arranges the events of the play that the character holding the most ambition that drives the play forward is Macbeth himself.

William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, categorizes not as a tragedy because of the bloodshed or death; rather the tragic element becomes evident through the protagonist’s suffering, destruction, and distress. Even though Macbeth’s gruesome death at the end gives the audience a sense of catharsis, the mental suffering and moral weakening of Macbeth represents the play’s hamartia. Macbeth’s honor, ambition, and guilt lead to this downfall and eventually his death.

William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, does not categorize as a tragedy because of the protagonist’s death; rather the tragic element becomes evident through Macbeth’s suffering and destruction. Even though Macbeth’s gruesome death at the end gives the audience a sense of catharsis, the mental suffering and moral weakening of Macbeth represents the play’s hamartia. Macbeth’s honor, ambition, and guilt lead to this downfall and eventually his death.

Macbeth is arguably one of Shakespeare’s most known plays. Its themes of ambition gone awry, fate vs. free will, and abuse of power still resound with audiences in today’s society. One subject of interest is the hallucinations Macbeth endures while traveling down his dark path. The bleeding dagger, the accusing voice, and the appearance of Banquo’s specter are all experiences that reveal Macbeth’s inner identity. They provide an image of Macbeth’s mental state that wasn’t seen in his words and actions. Without these hallucinations Macbeth’s motive for murdering Duncan would seem spontaneous and unfounded; they are evidence of the greedy ambition already hidden in his nature.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a prime example of a depiction of a morally ambiguous protagonist. Being a work that contains such a complex main character, Macbeth can be seen as a very polarizing play, as there are varying opinions regarding its titular protagonist. One of the main controversies surrounding Macbeth’s morals is whether he is truly at fault for the actions he carries out in the play. Shakespeare’s intricate depiction of emotional manipulation and indecision surrounding Macbeth, contrasted with the horrifying acts he commits throughout the play, divides audiences into seeing him as either a villain or a victim. The following critical response will analyze evidence in the play that both supports and causes these two points of view.