The authors portray them in two different manners, Macbeth as the main character and Kurtz as a sort of demi-god that is only learned about by word of mouth rather than first hand events. Through studying both of these characters, we can learn who is the greater of the two evils. Macbeth started out in Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis, fighting in battle for his homeland, Scotland. At the very beginning of the play, the reader gets a very positively lit view of Macbeth. He has become victorious in battle and is going to be rewarded with a promotion by King Duncan.
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.
The sergeant has just returned from the battle, he was fighting alongside Macbeth and praises him towards the king. This sets an image or expectation for us before we meet Macbeth that he is a brave warrior. We believe the sergeants words, as he is a witness to Macbeth’s bravery. * Further down in the scene King Duncan is convinced that Macbeth deserves the tittle and position of ‘thane of Cawdor’ after the Sergeant describes how he slew the traitorous Macdonwald, then when the sergeant leaves the thane of Ross delivers news that the traitorous thane of
Macbeth is portrayed as a "good being" because he fought for his country and for his king. Shakespeare also describes Macbeth in such quotes as "for brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name" (pg. 38, line 16), and "What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won."(pg. 40 line 67). However As the play progresses, Macbeth's personality and actions become more deceitful leading to his destruction.
Receiving praise from a king is of such honour and prestige that few are worthy, and yet Macbeth is one of the select few who have the honour. It is learnt that Macbeth single-handedly defeated the invading enemy; Macbeth ‘confronted him with self-comparisons, point against point...the victory fell on us!’ as described by Ross, a fellow soldier. This shows that Macbeth is a man of great courage, passion and that he has the audacity to face the enemy without fear, armed only with a sword and his love for his king and country. So it is that before Macbeth appears on stage, the audience anticipates a man of exceptional stature, a soldier of heroic proportion. His words, ‘so foul a fair a day I have not seen’ announce his presence and entrance with powerful simplicity.
Dangers of Absolute Power According to Aristotle, a tragic hero should experience a rising action due to his exceptional characteristics; and suffer a falling action due to his fatal flaw, which eventually results in his death. However, he should still be able to gain sympathy and pity from the audience. The story of Macbeth truly represents elements of a tragic hero, a brave loyal knight whose fatal flaw is his ambition for power which leads him to betray his friends and king and finally killed by his other fatal flaw, overconfidence. In William Shakespeare, the play The Tragedy of Macbeth, the author uses Macbeth’s ambitious characteristic, evoking pity for Macbeth and finally the danger of absolute power to show Macbeth’s tragic story.
Fear is an emotion that motivates us to do many things no matter if they are right or wrong. In the play of Macbeth, it was fear that was the main motivating factor which creates more fear and finally influenced the outcome of the play. Macbeth, the character is a man living in fear who cannot escape the continuous cycle without creating more and more fear as he deepens himself even further into a situation from which he cannot possibly escape. However, Macbeth is desperate to become King and thinks that by being totally loyal to Duncan, he will achieve this objective. And when the time Duncan announces that his son Malcolm will be his successor as king of Scotland, Macbeth is angry and yet fears of not being king.
At he beginning of the play Macbeth is initially portrayed as a great, noble and brave hero. Our first impressions of him are reports back to King Duncan of his virtuosity in battle fighting for Scotland and the King against Norwegian forces and how his valor helps to turn the battle in the King’s favour. “For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name” {Act 1, Scene 2 line 19} In this way we can see therefore that at the outset of the play the evidence to support the heroic nature of Shakespeare’s central character seems obvious. However as I will show, by the play’s end we see Macbeth’s character disintegrate and the title of hero becomes extremely difficult to justify. As I have stated one of the fundamental elements dictating whether we should look at Macbeth as a tyrant or tragic hero is based around the role played by the witches.
Who causes the Downfall of Macbeth? Macbeth's downfall is attributed to a sense of over-confidence and unchecked ambition, and the impact of the witch's prophecy all three seal Macbeth's fate and his destruction At the start of the play, Macbeth is a loyal, courageous servant of the King of Scotland, but he is a man who harbors a hidden ambition for power. He is both noble and brave in his defense of the King in battle, he is rewarded for his actions. Macbeth has an encounter with a trio of witches and his life is changed. Once the witches show him his future, he becomes obsessed with speeding up the anticipated coming into power.
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.