Macbeth believes that there is no amount of water that can cleanse his sin. Macbeth has disobeyed the rules of a soldier by not only murdering the King which makes him a traitor, yet he has also killed a defenseless man as Duncan was asleep. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth is unfazed by Macbeth murdering King Duncan. For instance, Lady Macbeth believes that the deceased are only asleep. Lady Macbeth states that “The sleeping and the dead/ Are but as pictures” (2.2.56, 57).
Macbeth’s decadence then led to his marriage to slowly fall apart. At first, him and Lady Macbeth really do love each other, and show affection for one another. Though, Lady Macbeth becomes less important to her husband, Macbeth, after the murder of Duncan and he allows the witches to take her place. The witches pretty much have him brain-washed toward the end of the play by making him believe that no man could ever bring harm to him. With him believing such nonsense, he just becomes his monster who is completely
In the play written by William Shakespeare entitled Macbeth, one character in particular named Duncan is indeed an interesting fellow. He first appears in Act One, Scene Two, and praises Macbeth for defeating Macdownwald. There are many ways to describe him, as he seems to be a good but foolish person, a good king, and a poor judge of other people’s character. These characteristics are painfully obvious throughout the play until Duncan is murdered by Macbeth. Duncan plays an important role in the play, as he shows how power-hungry Macbeth is throughout the tragedy.
However as the events unfold, they become allies more than lovers in their quest to claim the throne, and Macbeth is manipulated and encouraged to do wrong. His determination is questioned by his wife as she states that “[he] live a coward in [his] own esteem.” (1-7-42) This corrupts Macbeth’s mind even further and their relationship is destroyed completely by the
The previous Thane was a king absent of honor and hollowed by lust. His lack of honor did not end with his subjects, but with his distrust in them. After feeling doubt towards Banquo's loyalty to the crown, Macbeth was haunted by the memory of his past friend's ghost. “Avaunt! and quit my sight...Which thou dost glare with!”, a quote that displays Macbeth running in an endless stream of self-doubt and conflict over the death of Banquo.
Lady Macbeth doubts Macbeth’s ambition which ultimately leads her to manipulate him into assassinating King Duncan. She exclaims her doubt in Macbeth’s ambition due to his morals in saying they “. . . are too full of the milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way.” [1.5.13] Her masculinity overshadows Macbeth’s when she asserts her power without contemplation and plans King Duncan’s murder.
The Macbeth we first encounter is an important and valued member of his society and the favorite of his king. His bravery and loyalty are celebrated and, though fierce in battle, we are led to believe that his is a fundamentally good and virtuous nature. By the plays end, however, he has 'supped full of horrors' and is regarded as a 'hell-hound' by his peers. In my opinion, key to this tragic downfall is Macbeth's relationship with his wife, Lady Macbeth, and the influence they exert upon each other. Within this relationship there is rarely true equality - one partner almost always has undue power or influence over the other.
Where there is a positive figure there will always be a negative mocking the good. During the act, Macbeth, Shakespeare uses contrasting images of lightness and darkness to express the differences of powers used amongst two different characters. The character Macbeth is a very important aspect of the play because his is referred to as the tyrant: a dark, evil and violent dictator that does nothing, but tries and destroys other around him. Duncan on the behalf is a loyal king to the people of Scotland. Duncan tries to praise the people around him and honor them for the good that they instill.
However, in a chain of events that status is quickly removed. As the play progresses Macbeth goes from a loyal character to a dangerous on because of his rising ambition for power, and his wife’s influence on his actions. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is seen much differently than he is by the end of the play. His social status is high because he is the Thane of Glamis and Cowder, and people like him because he is trustworthy and proven in battle. The King of Scotland says, “What be hath lost, noble Macbeth hat won” (1.2.
In my opinion, these lines reflect Macbeth’s hopelessness and indirectly reflect much thinking of Shakespeare. Macbeth speaks these lines after listening to his wife’s death. At this time, life to Macbeth is meaningless and the death is not very important and worthy being painful at all. When uttering this saying, Macbeth may think about his real life in which he made “a lot of noise”, he wrote a story, he fought many battles, he tried to become a king, he kept the throne; however, after death they all seem to become nothing. In Macbeth’s as well as Shakespeare’s thinking, all people in this life are just bad, stupid actors- shouting and running about and generally making a lot of noise and fuss but not much sense, and then they die anyway and become completely meaningless.