However, our opinion of him quickly changes in Act I Scene III when his true ambitions are revealed after an encounter with three witches and he soon learns that he himself will become king one day. During this key scene we see a seed planted into Macbeth’s mind which leads him into taking a murderous path. Through analysis and evaluation of these key scenes and in particular the characterisation of Macbeth, I will show how our view of him significantly changes throughout the entire play. In Act I Scene II we are led to believe that Macbeth’s character is a noble and loyal servant to his king as we hear of his courageous action on the battlefield: “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name…” This is the first time we get a true in site into Macbeth’s character and we are told of his courageousness in battle. Shakespeare’s use of the word “brave” is used to give us a false impression of Macbeth’s true self.
In the opening of the play, a loyal Macbeth is approached by three witches who entice him with their claim that “[he] shalt be king thereafter.” (1-3-50). This information stimulates his hidden thirst for power and willingness to keep the throne for himself. He plots to murder the king and takes the liberty of killing Banquo, and anyone else who poses a threat to his reign to aid his own insecurity. Macbeth begins to lose trust in those around him and becomes unstable. Shakespeare shows through Duncan, who carries a legitimate power, that only direct threats to the kingdom are punished accordingly.
“Then yield thee, coward,” Macduff began in the final fight scene. “...And live to show...here may you see the tyrant”, The new protagonist remarkably gives Macbeth a chance to live, but due to the king’s twisted envision of honor, his stubbornness refuses to allow him to bow to anyone. The once bold and noble Thane, now a beheaded selfish
One of the main messages he is trying to deliver to us is to always weigh what you achieve to what the consequences will be. This especially holds true for Macbeth, as when first contemplating if he should kill Duncan, not once did he think of how he could be punished. Also, when Macbeth first hears the witch’s prophecy of him being a king, he jumps directly to the idea of murder. This kind of thinking is exhibited in Macbeth’s monologue in scene 5 act 5, where he discus’s the uselessness of living, and this attitude towards life made him go mad. This also points to how unintelligent Macbeth really was.
He has resolved himself not only to kill the king, but to also remove Malcolm. The king is Macbeth's cousin, and has recently given him much honor. Macbeth should be protecting the king with his own life, but despite all these things, he kills the king. MacBeth then becomes self-centered. He refuses to take any more reports.
Duncan tries to praise the people around him and honor them for the good that they instill. The two characters are symbols of lightness and darkness. Scotland is like Heaven (lightness), when Duncan is ruling and Hell (darkness), when Macbeth is trying to be the ruler. As the play opens Duncan, the former king of Scotland, is being told of the good men that conquered a battle, Macbeth and Banquo. Duncan is dismayed by their deed.
We learn of his heroic actions in defence of the kingdom. We see Macbeth change from the valour character to an sinister blood thirsty murderer. Although, some might argue that Macbeth did not have evil intentions. In the play, when Macbeth has his first encounter with the Witches, he is with his good friend Banquo. At first Macbeth is taken back by the Witches’ appearances but when they finish their apparition, Macbeth yearns to know more about his future.
Macbeth's fortune begins from killing Duncan and becoming a king to an ending where his head is cut off. Lastly, Lady Macbeth's character trait starts from being evil and ambitious to an endless life of fearfulness (of course dies in the end of the play). Macbeth begins as a brave and loyal person in the play, but after the murder of Banquo, his character trait becomes
Kingship is developed in Macbeth through the presentation of three men. These men are Duncan, Malcolm and Macbeth. Each of these three characters demonstrates three different types of kingship, which evidently adds to the play Macbeth. In short, Duncan is presented as a saintly king and too trusting, Macbeth’s only way to rule is to deceive and manipulate others for personal gain and Malcolm’s character emerges as a good man and a good king. Even before the point of Duncan’s downfall, we see that Duncan is a good man but an incompetent king.
Once the witches show him his future, he becomes obsessed with speeding up the anticipated coming into power. He is told he will be King of Scotland, so Macbeth makes it happen by killing the King, which casts a shadow of doubt on his two sons, thereby allowing Macbeth to ascend to the throne. Once Macbeth seizes power through violence and murder, his life is darkened with the crime of regicide, he has killed a rightful, good and much loved king. His life begins to fall apart after this because he develops a serious case of paranoia over having the crown stolen from him. He becomes a slash and burn murderer and he loses sight of his humanity, he has no morality governing his actions.