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.

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, trust is an important topic throughout the play and is displayed through the character Macbeth as he rises and falls from power. Shakespeare conveys the idea of trust though Macbeth. In the play, Macbeth may seem loyal and trustworthy, but he actually is a fraud and has evil intentions. He trustworthiness to other characters directly corresponds to the amount of power he has in the play. When Macbeth is talking to King about Macbeth’s amazing service to the King, he claims that, “The service and the loyalty I owe in doing it pays itself,” (Shakespeare, 1.4 25-26) Here, Macbeth claims that serving King Duncan in itself is a gift. This quote displays exemplary loyalty from Mr Loyal himself, Macbeth, as he is enthusiastic about serving the King. In this part of the play, Macbeth is trusted enough to gain power and move up the ranks, as he is trusted by all and doesn’t seem to be hiding anything.

Destiny is controlled half by supernatural force and half by your own action, because sometimes people can make their decisions and that will affect their destiny. In “Sports Genes”, “Into the Wild”, and “Macbeth”, the main characters all made their own choice but there were still outside forces that effected their decisions. In “Macbeth” although he made his own decisions of doing all the bad things he is doing, but the witches are the ones who affected his decisions and made him do all the things. In “Sports Genes” Thomas is naturally much more talented than other athletes, so his destiny is already set before he does any decision. Chris in “Into the Wild” is completely different from the other two characters, he did what he wanted to do

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.

All humans can be manipulated or changed by inside and outside affects, some that are good while others are bad. This can all be related through books/plays and the characters change throughout them. In the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare, the title character has a major conquest to become king. Throughout his process, he is affected by both internal and external forces. These affects really come in to play as the play progresses and several terrible things happen. In the end, Macbeths demise can ultimately be said from the causes of Lady Macbeth’s controlling actions, his murderous ways, and the witches’ trickery.

Lady Macbeth is a crucial figure in the play that motivates and manipulates Macbeth into committing sins in the name of gaining status and power. She provides the additional degree to which Macbeth is able to undertake the corrupt actions that come to define him. Primarily, Lady Macbeth has been shown to attack his manhood and courage in the face of Macbeth’s hesitance toward committing murder. After the banquet, Macbeth establishes that he will no longer go ahead with the plan to kill Duncan, citing that “Who dares do more” (1.7.46) is no longer a man. However, Lady Macbeth counters this with, “Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem” (1.7. 39-43). By criticizing Macbeth’s indecisiveness to put into action his immoral desires, she effectively spurs him on to prove her wrong and thereby taking the crown by force. The idea of masculinity equating to violence also comes into play. When she says, “When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man” (1.7.49-51) it implies that if Macbeth were to kill Duncan it would make him manlier in her eyes, ironically contrasting with Macbeth’s initial belief that he would lose his humanity. This reversal of power dynamics, in

Macbeth is a man facing an internal struggle between right and wrong, and whose reign started and ended with death. Throughout the play there are many places where imagery pertaining to clothing is used. I believe that these images are used to show the kind of character and man that Macbeth is. These images throughout the play show the transition from a good, honest, trustworthy Macbeth, into a corrupt, power hungry beast who murders anyone in his way. I believe that Macbeth is a good man turned bad through the witches and his wife which ultimately led to his rise to the throne by persuading him murder the king. Fear led to the end of his reign and to his death. Fear of people knowing that it was him that murdered king Duncan. It’s Lady Macbeth and the witches that guide him towards evil at the beginning of the play, but at the end of the play it’s his fear that leads him to murder anyone he sees as a threat.

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.

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is an incredibly complex play that is interpretable in vastly different ways. While transferring the play from its written form to a theatrical production, directors must make the decision whether to portray the ghost of Banquo physically or as an illusion of Macbeth's during Act III, scene four. Banquo’s ghost not being represented physically adds the most depth to the play, allowing the audience to further develop an understanding of Macbeth’s character. The absence of Banquo’s ghost shows Macbeth’s growing hostility and isolation from the other characters. There is also the motif of appearance versus reality where Macbeth has difficulty recognizing the difference between the two. Lastly, the loss of sympathy that the audience feels for Macbeth further establishing him as a tragic hero. The absence of an actor in place of Macbeth’s ghost assists the audience in characterizing Macbeth as the person he is becoming.

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.

Throughout the play, there is no doubt that Macbeth commits some ‘evil’ acts. One would say he is evil simply for trying to justify his hellish sins and performing “bloody business”. However, Lady Macbeth, both manipulative and sly, can also be perceived as evil due to her mind of “direst cruelty” and lack of moral conscience.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare portrays a tragic hero whose drastic decisions causes a major downfall in his life. Many try to understand why Macbeth spirals out of control so quickly, but the psychology behind it explains it all. Exploring the Mind of Man explains how the brain blames any catastrophe in his/her life on an object outside of themselves, when in reality their downfall is their own fault. By researching and learning how the brain works, it becomes very evident that Macbeth doesn’t take responsibility for his actions, rather he manifests them through other characters. Shakespeare utilizes multiple characters such as Banquo, Lady Macbeth, and the witches to hide Macbeth’s true feelings and thoughts. This portrays how Macbeth