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

Would you kill someone if that’s the only way you can get what you really want? From the time the witches told Macbeth that he will be the king of the Scotland, Macbeth becomes greedy and started making plan on how he can be a king. Later he kills King Duncan with the help of Lady Macbeth (Macbeth’s wife) and afterward he keeps on killing people. He even kill his friend Banquo because he thought Banquo was suspicious of him. But at the end of the play, Macduff kills Macbeth. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare incorporates the elements of hamartia, peripeteia, and anagnorisis to demonstrate Macbeth’s fall from hero to tyrant.

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

Macbeth is portrayed to be a very evil character throughout the play of Macbeth. The most back stabbing scene in the play is when Macbeth murders King Duncan, But the real evil genius behind the murder is Lady Macbeth, who forced Macbeth to kill King Duncan, which brings up the argument, whos responsible for the murder of King Duncan? A Lot of people also ask, who’s more evil? Macbeth, or Lady Macbeth?

Throughout life, people make wrong decisions by performing actions without thinking about the consequences. The character that executes these actions is a tragic hero according to Aristotle. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is a tragic hero since he is the protagonist in the play which ends in a tragedy. Macbeth makes decisions which determine his fate. Lady Macbeth and the prophecies of the three witches lead Macbeth to his downfall thus making him a tragic hero. Greed, ambition, dishonesty and being hungry for power are all fatal flaws that make a tragic hero, Macbeth's character slowly built into these characteristics. +2 sentences

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

Willful as a person’s actions may appear, they are governed not from within, but from without; an instrument to the musician who plays the tune. When pressured by these forces, an individual can be induced to cross the delicate line between good and evil. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the sinful actions of the title character can be attributed to several outside factors which alter his moral sensibilities, leading to fatal consequences. The stimulating presence of Lady Macbeth, the existence of a hierarchical society and the great chain of being, and the impact of supernatural prophecies all play a role in setting the right situation for him to commit treason and murder. Indeed, the choices Macbeth has made are directly influenced by external pressures that lead him onto the path of tyranny and cruelty in his aim to become king of Scotland.

In Macbeth, the overall theme is that the ones who call you their friend, are really your enemy. The character Macbeth shows us this by killing two important people who at first he didn’t have a problem with. The predictions from the witches caused Macbeth to act the way he is. Let’s start with Duncan who was the king before Macbeth had killed him cause of jealously (Macbeth wanted to be king). As Macbeth and Banquo are having a conversation with the king in the king’s palace at Forres Macbeth says to the king “[…] Your Highness’ part is to receive our duties, and our duties are to your throne and state children and servants, which do but what they do should by doing everything safe toward your love and honor.” Macbeth is basically saying

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, women, his downfall, tempt the title character into going against his own nature. No matter how many times Macbeth talks himself out of doing something he will regret, he falls victim to the witches and Lady Macbeth. The way they manipulate him causes him to commit acts that he normally would not do, eventually leading to Macbeth’s mental break down.

A story is only as good as the characters within them, and in the case of William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, countless individuals are used to progress the tragedy of the disaster that is Macbeth. Lady Macbeth assists in her husband’s inevitable demise by initially providing the reprehensible plan to murder Duncan, and by lowering her husband’s confidence with criticism.

A wise man by the name of Aristotle once said, “A tragedy is that moment where the hero comes face to face with his true identity.” In a tragedy, the hero is often presented as a righteous, but flawed character, whose downfall is brought upon by his or her flaws and the circumstances outside of his or her control. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth manifests the undeniable power of unbridled ambition, and its consequences, after Macbeth becomes influenced by his sinister desires and those around him. In the beginning, Macbeth is looked at with high regard for his heroic actions at the battlefield. However, he becomes overpowered by evil after receiving a prophecy from three witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. Overall, there is a vivid and grotesque depiction of a man who is thrust into evil and malice, as he assumes the role of the tyrannical ruler of Scotland. However, despite his involvement in sin, he is not solely responsible for the murder of Duncan, and the consequential events that transpire. Macbeth’s unequivocal downfall is a result of the malign guidance of Lady Macbeth, falling prey to the deception of witches, and his ambitious mind under the influence of evil.

“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it” (A. Einstein). Evil is a destruction that causes people to commit unnatural actions of harm. The play is centered on the coexistence of good and evil. The evil of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is so great that it ultimately destroys both of them. The human soul cannot endure such evil; it destroys the soul. It is incompatible with humanity. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth was presented with three prophecies, one being that he would become king. This specific prophecy was the first thought Macbeth had to kill. However, Macbeth is known for lacking character and ambition. He knows right from wrong, and he isn’t comfortable with his role as a criminal. At this point, it is where we see Macbeth’s conscience start to override his ambition, but his wife, Lady Macbeth, convinces him into killing King Duncan. She summons evil spirits and persuades him into doing so. She has a deep ambition and lust for power. Throughout the play, she seems to link masculinity to ambition and violence. Lady Macbeth is more evil and more responsible for the murder of king Duncan due to the fact that he came up with the idea to kill him, she manipulates her husband, and she persuades him to perform terrible deeds.

Good and evil are fluid concepts due to skewed perspective. No person is inherently good or evil. ‘Good’ people tend to have a lack of self-centredness, whereas ‘evil’ people are unable to empathise with others. Where people lie on the spectrum of good and evil depends on the perspective of a person placing them on the spectrum. Perspective is what makes the difference in how people judge other’s nature. In Macbeth by Shakespeare, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seem to change in nature, however the audience changes their perspective of the characters, while their nature remains the same.