Macbeth Character Analysis

In Macbeth by William Shakespeare a man gets to the throne of king through power and murder, Duncan is the first king of Scotland, then Macbeth finds out that he is in line to be king next, so he is pressured by his wife Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan. Macbeth later feels guilty about what he did to Duncan, and this leads to speculation if Macbeth is truly a bad guy or not; however, Macbeth shows that he’s hard to control.

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

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 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.

Macbeth disregards the dangers despite the dangers, revealing the simplicity of human ambition, as we choose to ignore risks in favour of pursuing greatness, even if the future is uncertain. The evil within Macbeth’s goals is unveiled when he is confronted with murdering his current king, Duncan, to become king, saying “Is this a dagger which I see before me. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” The “dagger” serves as a metaphor, manifesting Macbeth’s will to replace Duncan. Macbeth, although he has not yet claimed the title of king, his ambition propels him to grasp it violently.

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

Soon after, Macbeth gave in to ambition and is also encouraged by a prophecy and Lady Macbeth, which he murders the King to take his throne. Macbeth’s betrayal throws himself into a bad state of being guilty and full of fear. Now that he is guilty and fearful, he murders again and again to satisfy his phobia. Macbeth has now became a very evil tyrant and will rightfully kill for his crimes over and over again. "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." (1.2. 16-20).

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.

At the start of the play, we see Macbeth as one of the strongest and most loyal generals of the king who was later named the Thane of Cawdor. Shortly after, Macbeth meets the 3 witches and is told the prophecy of him becoming king at one point in the future by the third witch. This is what sparks Macbeth´s monstrous thoughts that he has throughout the rest of the play. His lack of patience and his ambition to gain power leads to him wanting to speed up the prophecy he was told and seize the throne. To do this, Macbeth plans to murder the king in his sleep and he does

In final analysis Macbeth ends as a tragedy because he couldn’t set aside his wants and needs. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth the pivotal protagonist who is overcome with a tragic flaw, ambition. Macbeth went from a loyal Thane to a mass murdering King quickly owing to the fact that his ambition inclined throughout the

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.

From the sinister acts of killing the innocent, to betraying loved ones and best friends, who is to blame for all the constant chaos caused by these despicable acts? The story of Macbeth is about a man whos naive faith in prophecies leads him to selfishness. Not only this, but due to this trait of his, it causes mass destruction and deaths of many. Although there is many people to point fingers to, who is most responsible for determining the course of events throughout Macbeth? Even though Macbeth was the killer, did he alone create his own destiny? While Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were a factor of Macbeth’s downfall, the We’ird sisters take most of the responsibility for the murders.

After this previously described battle, Macbeth is approached by the witches and they chant, “All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!” (Shakespeare 1.3.51-70). At first, Macbeth is confused but, since the witches are telling him that he will soon obtain these titles, he becomes curious. Sure enough, he becomes Thane of Cawdor after the previous one is executed. Literary critic, Anthony Dimatteo, explains the notion that the witches are not capable of changing the future or expressing future events as fact by stating, “Witches are only capable of seeing what is likely to happen...Macbeth's moral downfall begins when he forgets this boundary and begins seeing the witches as having the power to define life's course” (DiMatteo). Macbeth begins to see the witches as beings who outline his life’s actual path and realizes that he will become king. This is when he takes matters into his own hands and kills the current king, Duncan, in order to secure his place on the throne. After committing this first atrocity, Macbeth is placed on a road of increasing violence and goes on a rampage, killing all who stand in his path to glory and ultimate

Were the words the witches used to praise Macbeth, yet were the beginning of Macbeth’s ambitious goal of reaching to the top. Throughout The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s character is shown in different characteristics throughout the play. Furthermore, there are multiple different viewpoints on who Macbeth is as a person. In the beginning of the play he is viewed as a strong and courageous soldier, who bravely protects his country. However, as the tale begins to unfold Macbeth is slowly being viewed as an unsympathetic person who murders without purpose. Despite this, Macbeth’s persona is too complicated to identify only one specific viewpoint. Therefore, Macbeth shows character traits from both the Brave Macbeth and the Butcher Macbeth. However, Macbeth is a complex character to characterize him as either Brave or a Butcher Macbeth in Shakespeare's classic play, The Tragedy of Macbeth.

Every individual faces choices that can impact or change their lives depending on what they choose, the good choices one makes brings success or joy to their lives but the unfortunate choices one makes can lead to a tragic downfall. Most people have the ability to tell which choices are right or wrong, they can differentiate between the right choices or the choices that can lead to self-destruction suffering from the consequences given. In the play Macbeth, he makes sacrifices for power and loses sanity, his love for Lady Macbeth and his loyalty towards King Duncan. His selfish choices and decisions for power sacrifice his integrity, nobility and his own conscience. Macbeth knows not to commit sinful deeds because he knows every action has a consequence that will set a Following the King’s Murder, Macbeth struggles with his own conscience thinking he burden, yet he continues with murder wanting Duncan’s high reputation and nobility. will be immune if he keeps killing. Therefore, his thoughts force him to be alarmed by Banquo, because he witnessed Macbeth’s prophecies with the witches and may not compromise if he finds out what Macbeth has committed. Last, Macbeth knows Macduff went to help Malcolm build an army in England he knows Macduff’s loyalty has vanished, that makes Macbeth upset hence he sends murderers to kill Macduff’s family for revenge. Macbeth’s poor and tasteful choices combined with his vaulting ambition and lack of character have very tragic consequences and