Macbeth Villain Analysis

‘Macbeth’ is a tragic play written by Shakespeare that dramatizes tragic flaw of ambition and murderous intent in Macbeth, which is manipulated by his equally ambitious wife and the inherently evil witches. This leads him to murder King Duncan.

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

Macbeth, the play about corruption, murder, and the quest for power reflects upon the nature of greed and ambition. Set in Scotland, the play is based upon the character Macbeth; a noble who receives a prophecy from some witches about him becoming the king of Scotland. He then, strives to rule Scotland and fulfill the prophecy he has heard. However, Macbeth’s ambition for power ends up corrupting him, swaying him from the path of good and ultimately causes his death.

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

Macbeth is a Scottish play by William Shakespeare. It is a classic, tragic play of power, ambition, loyalty, honor, greed, murders, and guilt. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a loyal and honorable soldier to king Duncan of Scotland. Later in the play, Macbeth is led by the ambition of power after the predictions of three witches him being the king. Macbeth is also influenced by his wife, lady Macbeth’s ambition and greed of power to make the predictions come true. To make the predictions come true Macbeth turns evil and tyrant from a loyal and honorable soldier, committing murders for his greed of power. Macbeth commits all the murders although he had second thoughts of not doing all this and felt guilty, but his greed of power has

In the play, “Macbeth”, the author William Shakespeare tells of a man named Macbeth who rises to power through treachery and deceit. Macbeth holds up the role as a tragic hero by letting his ambition and lust for power get the best of him, and letting it ultimately lead to his demise. Leading up to the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth takes time to think about his choices and eventually himself. King Duncan has been nothing but supportive to Macbeth almost like a father figure, but yet Macbeth continues to contemplate whether or not to kill him and take the throne for himself. After thinking about his situation for some time, Macbeth gets honest with himself and says that, “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other” (Act I, Scene VII, Lines 25-28).

“Macbeth” is a drama written by William Shakespeare back in 1606. Macbeth is a story about a scottish general who becomes king from killing the king and slowly descends into madness. The theme of the play is how over ambition causes the downfall of great people. Macbeth is consumed by greed and power which causes him to lose touch with his own humanity. Blood is spilled to feed Macbeth’s madness and is the major imagery throughout the play. People begin to turn on each other and slowly thirst for blood, showing the cruelty in humanity. Fate blinds many with riches and power.

Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare in 1696, is about a noble soldier named Macbeth. He receives a prophecy from the wëird sisters that he will be the king of Scotland one day. Overcome with ambition, he decides to take matters into his own hands. It is the story of how Macbeth goes from being a brave and loyal subject to a cruel tyrant. A king is believed to be chosen as God’s deputy on earth. He is divine and Holy, loyal and honest, noble and honorable . King Duncan was the embodiment of a good and true monarch, whilst Macbeth was quite the opposite. Duncan typifies a strong leader because he is gracious, selfless and remorseful.

Macbeth is a Greek tragedy written by William Shakespeare based in Scotland in the 13th century. It was written in the reign of King James I. Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth to please the king as he knew that the king was interested in wizardry and witchcraft. The climax of the play is that a protagonist named Macbeth loses everything because of his false ambition of wanting to become king. We are first introduced to Macbeth as an honorable trustworthy man but his character develops into an evil murderer after he meets the witches who predict that he will become king. Macbeth abuses the king’s trust and murders the king to gain power. One of the main themes in the play is the theme of guilt. Macbeth exploits the king’s trust and commits murder so he could replace Duncan (king). We see pure evil in Macbeth when he murders his best friend and attempts to kill his son so he could secure his position as king.

In the play “Macbeth” we strongly agree about the statement “The most effective villain is one who attracts and repels.” Our essay includes or talks about the most effective villain which is Macbeth due to his crimes that he has committed and how he has changed throughout in the play. A theme that most supports this statement is “Appearance vs Reality,” of Macbeth. We will also include examples of the different appearances of Macbeth in different situations. To back up our statement there will be quotes which express the appearance of emotions on Macbeth’s face at time or situation and connect it with reality. “Did he really mean what he said or did?” The essay will also discuss about the different language features which are used in the quotes like, repetition.

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most amazing tragedies, where both the ambitious and conscientious feelings of the characters greatly impact the outcome of the play. Macbeth is heavily affected through his ambitious feeling of him wanting to be king, but in the end his conscious wins the internal battle. This is shown through his inner thoughts, his soliloquy and him telling Lady Macbeth that they are not to go through with the killing. Now this may seem puzzling as Macbeth committed a terrible crime, but he was not driven by ambition at the time, but rather by his ambitious wife. When the witches informed him of his future, which stated that he was to be a king, the first thought that came to mind was the murdering of Duncan.

MacBeth by William Shakespeare is a play which shows the uprise of MacBeth, the treachery and his eventual downfall. Witchcraft plays a major part in MacBeth's actions and his weak character is easily manipulated. Although being an honest and brave man earlier, his ambition clouds his judgement. His life is tragic and through some terrible deeds ends in catastrophe.