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

Ever since Macbeth’s ambition blinds him, Macbeth becomes easily to fooled and manipulated. For instance, the witch, Hecate says: ”He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear” “His hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace, and fear” (3.5.30-31). This shows that Hecate thinks of Macbeth as a spoiled brat who is easy to fool. Macbeth believes that even fate cannot tame him, which makes him feel like he is superior to everybody. He also believes the witches when they tell him that he will become the King by saying “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cowder” “All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter” (1.3.52-53). In addition to the witches, Macbeth gets easily persuaded and manipulated by Lady Macbeth. For example, Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan. Macbeth then acts the way Lady Macbeth wants him to act like and kills Duncan. Because of his ambition, Macbeth loses his judgement and acts upon the silly prophecies of the witches and the immoral advice of Lady Macbeth.

Personality is a thing that all humans have that is really difficult to change. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth was a victim of this as he could not change his personality for the good. Although in the text Macbeth was perceived as an evil person, he was actually an inherently good person who was unable to overcome the influences and this lead to his downfall. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth is a good person who is influenced to make bad choices, demonstrating that his easily manipulated personality is the true cause of his downfall. This is supported by the fact that Macbeth was a noble and a thane before he made all the wrong choices, Macbeth was influenced by others to make wrong choices, and the ultimate fact that Macbeth has an easily manipulated personality; as proven in the text.

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.

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 the opening of the well known tragedy Macbeth, the captain says, “And Fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, Show'd like a rebel's whore” (Shakespeare 1.2. 16-20). The captain refers to Macbeth escaping his death, but implies that fate will seize him in the end. The concept of fate being inescapable is presented in Macbeth just as it is presented in many naturalist texts. One naturalist who captures this concept comprehensively is Frank Norris. In Norris’ tragic novel McTeague, those who defy fate are met with chaos and destruction while those who accept their fate can avoid fate’s wrath.

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.

Given the power and influence that Macbeth has as a tragic hero, there are many aspects to this character that Shakespeare created. Throughout The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth goes through an evolution in a variety of different manners. These changes include: his relationship with other characters, his physical state, and his emotional state. Throughout each act, and sometimes more than once, there is a change or evolution in the character of Macbeth.

In written literature, a tragedy is considered as a story that narrates the journey of a glorious individual with a fatal flaw in their character which leads to their undoing. In order to execute a well written tragedy, the author’s work must invoke an abreaction from the audience in response to the storyline that revolves around the suffering of a human character. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare demonstrates his skill of writing a tragedy by creating a character, named Macbeth, who struggles with balancing his moralities. In Act Ⅰ, the play begins to unravel and reveal this glorified Scottish general’s fatal flaw which invokes the audience to shift lenses on how they view him as he battled his internal struggles. William E. Cain stated, “One of the unnerving fascinations of Macbeth is that ... we are sympathetically connected to its protagonist”. Regarding to Act Ⅰ in Macbeth, Cain’s statement becomes evident because Shakespeare has written the play in such a way that modern day audiences are able to distinguish a character's intentions promptly, especially those from the female characters Macbeth encounter with.