Due to this unrestrained burst of ambition, Macbeth turns to darkness and he begins to act on his thoughts even though when Banquo asks if he ever thinks about the witches’ prophecy, he denies it all. Although the prophecy the witches foresee in Macbeth’s future is news to him, he is shocked and astonished because he has already thought of becoming a king in the past. As the play progresses, Macbeth’s duplicity in character comes through; he is indecisive, guilty and he becomes the worst type of traitor because he goes against God by murdering King Duncan. Macbeth is a character who undergoes a transformation; he leaves his cocoon and morphs into a butterfly, an evil butterfly for that matter. Banquo, Macbeth’s character foil, is one great character.
Macbeth is an extremly complicated character to portray. His personality changes throughout the play beginning as an honurable war-hero and being praised highly by the King; making him Thane of Cawdor even though he was already Thane of Glamis. He then becomes a hesitant murderer, constantly distressed about his situiation ‘I am afraid to think what I have done’ to actively planning the murder of Banquo and showing little contrition for the death of his wife, Lady Macbeth ‘She should have died hereafter’ and becoming responsible for the massacre of Macduff’s wife and children.it is imperative that the actor playing Macbeth understands the intricacy of his character. He must also be able to show the contrast between Macbeth’s character in Act 2 Scene 1 and Act 5 Scene 5, in order to portray Macbeth, the actor must contemplate the mood and tone of what he is saying, his gestures and actions to match a certain phrase or speech. Also his facial expressions are very important.
Macbeth says, “If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me/Without my stir.” (1.3.143).This is significant because Macbeth still has a sense of right and wrong. These bad thoughts eventually come back when King Duncan states that Malcolm will be the next king. Scared that his second prophecy would not come true, fear leads him to make rash decisions. As Lady Macbeth pressures Macbeth to kill King Duncan, paranoia takes over Macbeth. When people find out that the king is murdered they accuse the guards.
Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! THIRD WITCH: All hail, Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter! (I.iii.49-51). This quote shows that the witches have control over Macbeth, since he is thrown into their world and pushed on to verify their predictions. This plays a major role in Macbeth s greed.
His decisions are, however, to some extent, made under the influence of Lady Macbeth, who manipulates him in every way to guide him to success. The witches and their prophecies play a significant role in Macbeth’s downfall. Throughout the play, the witches deceive and fool Macbeth by giving equivocal prophecies, evoking his inner desire for power and swaying him to take evil action. They exploit his ambition from the very beginning, telling Macbeth he will be “Thane of Cawdor” and “King of Scotland” without specifying when or how. This, along with the proven credibility of their first prophecy – Thane of Cawdor – awakens Macbeth’s hidden ambition and triggers his desire to fulfill the last prophecy – King of Scotland, giving him the thought of killing Duncan, “Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair” (Macbeth, I,III, 45) and thus, providing the first stepping stone towards his demise.
4, after Duncan announces that Malcolm is his successor, Macbeth says, "Stars, hide your fires! / Let not light see my black and deep desires." This suggests that he has thoughts of killing Duncan, but he is pushing those thoughts to back of his mind and doesn't want them brought out into the light. In contrast to that attitude is Lady Macbeth's attitude in Act 1, sc. 5, when she gets Macbeth's letter telling her of the witches' prophecies and of his becoming the Thane of Cawdor, she immediately fills her head with dark thoughts.
In the beginning of the scenes Macbeth goes from noble, to guilt-ridden. He is pushed by his wife Lady Macbeth into killing king Duncan. His head is filled with thoughts of becoming king ,and that this little task is all that is needed for him to rule the throne and gain power. He knows that it is the wrong thing to do, yet the thought of becoming king overwhelms him
They are very mischievous and play upon the weaknesses and ambitions of Macbeth. The witches prophecies spark Macbeth’s ambitions, just as the witches knew they would. They make Macbeth question Banquo when they prophesies that Banquo’s offspring will be king. “Lesser than Macbeth, and greater./ Not so happy, yet much happier./Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:/So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!.” This leads Macbeth into ordering the murders of Banquo and Fleance. The witches then manipulate him to believe he is immortal by telling him “laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (Act 4, scene 1 lines 86-88).
In Act Four, during Macbeth’s last encounter with the witches, the reader witnesses how Macbeth demands the witches and their apparitions to “answer [him]/To what [he asks them]” (IV.i.60-61) and arrogantly only takes the apparitions’ messages literally so that their messages favor what he wants to believe. When compared to how Macbeth reacts when the witches first approach him, their prophecy leaving him speechless and analyzing whether or not/how that prophecy will come to fruition, Shakespeare clearly conveys how much Macbeth’s power has gone to his head. The immorality of Macbeth’s character is deepened in the very next act when he sends for Macduff’s defenseless wife and child to be killed only for the purpose of furthering the safety of his own power. His corrupt character even shows through while preparing for battle and on the battlefield. His wickedness is first portrayed in Act Five when he mocks a fearful servant giving him news of the enemy approach as a “lily-liver’d boy” (V.iii.15) and when he demands the doctor cure his wife of her mental illness although the doctor explains that he can do nothing for her.
"Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown and put a barren scepter in my grip, thence to be wrenched with an unlineal hand, no son of mine succeeding." Macbeth prophesized that he would be king from the witches, but they also said that Banquo would possess the throne as well. His jealousy seduced him to kill Banquo. 7. Narrative Point of View - Shakespeare put the play in a 3rd person point of view.