Macbeth Character Analysis

The first impression of Macbeth portrays him as a war hero who, ironically, has a strong distaste in traitors and disloyalty in the dialogue spoken by Captain “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name – disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like a valour’s minion carved out his passage till he faced the slave, which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, till he unseamed him from the navel to th’chaps and fixed his head upon our battlements.” His violent and graphic actions which shows his allegiance to the king, ironically, also shows the readers that he is merciless and bloodthirsty when he is ambitious. This reveals a latent murderous aspect to his personality.

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

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.

Macbeth is a self-made man, and he is noble and honorable. He is a warrior, a Thane, and is respected. However this is not what makes a man a hero. A hero is a person who puts others needs before him or herself. On the other hand, a tragic hero is a person who desires what he or she wants, not what is best for others. For Macbeth, it was easy fighting for the king, commanding his friends and beloved

'Macbeth', by William Shakespeare is a tragedy which tells the story of a noble named Macbeth, and his subsequent rise and downfall which results from a prophecy given by a group of witches, and leads to Macbeth giving in to his fatal flaw of hubris, which ultimately leads to the tragic hero's descent into madness and eventual downfall. A main catalyst for this rise to, and fall from, power is the conflict raging between not only Macbeth and his manipulative wife, but the titular character and his own mind. In the exposition of the Shakespearean tragedy 'Macbeth', the titular character is introduced to the audience as a strong man who has served his country and people well in battle amongst other things, as shown by the word choice of: "Brave

At the beginning of the play, it is shown that Macbeth is a heroic person. He is respected by the whole of Scotland and even the King takes notice of him. His patriotic deeds had led to King Duncan being quite fond of him, as he develops a respect for his fighting skills. Duncan exclaims “O valiant cousin! Worthy Gentleman!” (1.2.24) when he hears of Macbeth’s success in battle against the rebels fighting the King’s army. His loyal fighting for the Royal side is rewarded, as King Duncan soon gives him the title: Thane of Cawdor. This reward shows the high standing Macbeth has. He is a nobleman, with a noble cause at this point in the play, and is not only highly respected by his peers but evidently by his higher ups. Shakespeare makes this known by having the most powerful person in the country reveal his love and

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.

Macbeth is the general of the army, and he is very good at it. He is very important because he fights who he has to, and kills who he is told to for the sake of protecting king Duncan. One passage that describes Macbeth’s character are lines 16-20, when the Captain says, "For brave Macbeth — well he deserves that name — Disdaining Fortune, with his brandish'd steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, Like valour's minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave" (Page 9). Here the Captain is saying that he suits the name Macbeth because he is brave and fearless. The Captain also says that Macbeth is the type of man who faces his his challenges, and

The character of Macbeth was initially one exalted by honour and bravery. This is shown in the beginning of the play, in the wounded captain’s eulogy of Macbeth’s actions: “For

Macbeth is a very courageous warrior and after the battle, the Captain describes how well Macbeth did and it makes him feel like he has done his best and is going to do even better in the future. At the start of the play, Macbeth sounds like the super soldier in the battle against the enemy. The captain reports that Macbeth carved through enemy soldiers until he reached the traitor Macdonwald and cut him open. This makes Macbeth seem like he is a very noble and courageous warrior. Also, when the Captain says, “For brave Macbeth -