In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, Macbeth has to cope with the strong feelings of envy, and hatred to fulfill his ambitions of being King. Macbeth started off as a loyal and trusting person that has triumphed in battle, therefore he is granted the title of, “The Thane of Cawdor,” from King Duncan. Soon after, Lady Macbeth receives good news saying that Duncan will be staying with them for some time. Lady Macbeth then manipulates Macbeth into killing Duncan. Although Macbeth desires to be King he still has his doubts about the murder.
In the exposition of the play, the witches told Macbeth that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. They also warn him about what to look out for. Macbeth is characterized as a brave soldier and a powerful man who is rather easily tempted and convinced. After hearing about these wonderful things from the witches, Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, who lusts for power and position, manipulates Macbeth to achieve the prophecy and let nothing stand in his way. The first step was to kill King Duncan, who was the current King of Scotland.
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.
He devised a plan to murder the current king, King Duncan. His strong will to have what he wants has taken over his good habits and good willed heart and turned him into an ambitious man who wants everything. Once the murder has been committed and some days have passed the guilty trip sets in hard. Macbeth tries to coop with the stress but his guilty conscience makes his mind spin. Macbeth begins to kill more to acquire the throne of Cawdor.
Shakespeare strongly emphasizes the way time in itself, affects Macbeth. In the beginning of the play Macbeth was a sympathetic character, and as a human he felt guilt and shame amongst things of negative nature, until his hungry ambition drove him too far. The more time consumed, the more ambition Macbeth is building up, and in his case it is ambition to the throne of Scotland. Over a short period of time, Macbeth had gained this negative force and pull to become King of Scotland by any means necessary, which means with the push of Lady Macbeth, the murder of King Duncan is on the way. Although Macbeth is to be blamed for his own wrong doings, such as killing King Duncan, the three witches have played a major roll in this deed as well.
He knows how to motivate someone, which is a sign of a good leader. He feels that he has a right to the crown, being the rightful heir to King Duncan. Malcolm wants revenge for Macbeth killing his father, and Macduff helps Malcolm by turning his rage into controlled motivation. Immediately after King Duncan’s death, Malcolm forgets all his moral values, and becomes more like Macbeth than Malcolm wants. When Macduff gets news of his family being killed Malcolm tells him to “dispute it like a man”.
However, Macbeth has the ultimate decision in whether or not to commit the assassinations, but he loves Lady Macbeth and wishes to please her. After Macbeth kills Duncan, he fairly disappointed in himself for doing it. After killing Duncan, murdering others appears to be the only solution to continue to cover up his terrible actions or lose all that he has driven for. Lady Macbeth is force on Macbeth that unleashes the wicked part of him. She has a forceful impact on him and is another key character to blame for his developing desire of killing others to get away with her master plan.
When Macbeth talks to the murderers and even a bit before he says, “It is concluded: Banquo thy sol’s flight, / If it find heaven, must find it out tonight.” (3.1.141-142). In this statement Macbeth is talking to the murderers and is saying that Banquo must die and he must die as soon as possible. Macbeth says this right after he states, “ They hailed him father to a line of kings.” (3.1.60). These two statements clearly show that the only reason why Macbeth wants
Macbeth One of the best tragic hero plays, "Macbeth", by William Shakespeare, explains a whole variety of interesting and breathe taking events. Macbeth is shown as the main character of the novel. The change of events from the time before and after Banquo's death is huge. Macbeth's characteristics as a brave, loyal and bloodthirsty are only some examples of his traits. Macbeth's fortune begins from killing Duncan and becoming a king to an ending where his head is cut off.
It is evident that Macbeth was once good, or rather, more compassionate towards the beginning of the book. The way he talks to the King of Scotland (Duncan) in such a high honor and respect (“the service and the loyalty I owe, in doing it, pays itself” (Shakespeare 1.5.46)) is a fine example of this. However, Macbeth, easily seduced by women and the supernatural, was so overtaken by the witches’ prophecy about him becoming king and his wife’s impulse that he would have to kill to become king, becomes unable to think straight and instead becomes overwhelmed. In this state, Macbeth is taken advantage of by his wife, Lady Macbeth, who convinces him by questioning his manhood: “it is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness” (Macbeth 1.5.50). Ultimately, it is Macbeth’s wife, symbolic of temptation and evil, that is responsible for pulling out the monster of Macbeth.