Is Macbeth A Villain
Throughout Macbeth by William Shakespeare we see the transformation of the main character, Macbeth. This basically means that Macbeth changes from a courageous warrior to a serial killer! Macbeth is a hero who turns into a said sorry a villain.
The story of Macbeth takes place in the 11th century in Scotland. It is one of Shakespeare’s tragic plays about how Macbeth (a nobleman) plans the death of King Duncan in order to become King himself. No good story ever goes according to plan and that it is why Macbeth is another captivating play written by one of the greatest playwrights, William Shakespeare.
“All is too weak for brave Macbeth” (1.2.15) is said by the Captain near the beginning. At the opening of the play Macbeth demonstrates …show more content…
a great deal of heroism. He is conveyed as a hero. His enemy’s are all too weak to defeat him. He fought heroically and remained loyal to the king. But it is Macbeth’s distinct characteristic; a characteristic that craves power which leads to Macbeth’s ultimate downfall. By the end of the play Macbeth goes from a high and noble status to a man who can be considered worse than a villain; he can be considered a monster.
The down fall of Macbeth is greatly influenced by Lady Macbeth and the 3 witches. The witches first greet him as the thane of Glamis "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis" (1.3.48). Then as the thane of Cawdor "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor" (1.3.49). Right after the witches leave Macbeth is made aware that he had been given the honourable position as the thane of Cawdor. Next, the witches greet Macbeth as a King "All hail, Macbeth! That shall be King” (1.3.50). Now Macbeth thinks to himself if the witches had been right about him becoming the thane of Cawdor, then he will also be the king of Scotland sooner or later. This is the point in where Macbeth has his radical shift in thinking and it is in which he starts to think like a villain.
When the witches plant the idea that Macbeth will become king, he starts to think really hard. He thinks about all the reasons why he shouldn’t do it but Lady Macbeth is the one who convinces him to do so with her forceful behaviour and speech. Macbeth had a great deal of pride before he killed King Duncan. When he killed Duncan Macbeth went insane as he realised what he has done and how it did not benefit him at all. Macbeth’s down fall is planned by the 3 witches. Macbeth is a character who is free-willing. He is open to ideas but he will still go through the ideas and think about the negatives of each one. It is when someone who plays a very important role in his life such as Lady Macbeth forces that idea upon him; he doesn’t make such wise choices. Macbeth leads himself to his own defeat in a way. While king Macbeth is very much insane. He would see things no one else would see. He would see ghosts and Lady Macbeth would try to cover him up when they are dining with noble guests. This carries on for a bit until Macbeth realizes he needs to kill Banquo in order to remain king. But this time he hires assassinators to murder Banquo and his son. They fail to murder Fliance (Banquo’s son) but manage to kill Banquo. Now Macbeth must kill Macduff who threatens Macbeth’s chances of staying king. So, can a hero who has committed such deeds for his benefit still be considered a hero? I believe not. At this point I believe that Macbeth has turned himself into a killing monster.
“I am in blood.
Steeped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er.” (3.5.137) Macbeth realizes that he has gained nothing from all the killings. He says that I have murdered so many people already that to go back would be as hard as to go forward so why should I head backwards? This is the villainous side of Macbeth. He is now thinking like a villain as well. He hires even more assassinators to kill Macduff and his family. If Macbeth was a true hero he would not be killing people for his own benefit. Macbeth’s ambition for power leads him to continuously kill people so that he remains in the highest power in the country. This honour that he holds is not noble and he is not worth of this position. As all tragic Shakespeare plays. We will see the killing of Macbeth. But before that Lady Macbeth hangs herself because she can no longer handle Macbeth’s rampage even though she is the one who provoked it. Macbeth is now completely insane and has no way to return back to where he started. “Once a paper is crumpled; it can no longer be perfect”. Macduff hears that Macbeth plans to murder him. So he along with Malcolm (Duncan’s son who fled) prepares an army to defeat Macbeth. Macbeth thinks he is safe because the second apparition says that Macbeth’s killer must be of woman born. But Macduff was born of caesarean section. The third apparition says that Macbeth shall not be defeated until Great Birnam wood comes to high hill. Macbeth thinks to himself a forest cannot move so I am safe. But Macduff’s army hide behind the tree and bring patches along to hide within. When Macbeth learns of this he knows that he is now defeated. He is killed by Macduff. The play ends with Malcolm being the
king.
Over the course of the play, due to Macbeth’s free-will, his decision to go against his own morals and the influence of his wife and the 3 witches; Macbeth experiences his own downfall from being a nobleman of great respect to a serial killer who is killed and over taken. So, how can a “hero” still be considered a hero even after he kills people for his own selfishness?
The story of Macbeth takes place in the 11th century in Scotland. It is one of Shakespeare’s tragic plays about how Macbeth (a nobleman) plans the death of King Duncan in order to become King himself. No good story ever goes according to plan and that it is why Macbeth is another captivating play written by one of the greatest playwrights, William Shakespeare.
“All is too weak for brave Macbeth” (1.2.15) is said by the Captain near the beginning. At the opening of the play Macbeth demonstrates …show more content…
a great deal of heroism. He is conveyed as a hero. His enemy’s are all too weak to defeat him. He fought heroically and remained loyal to the king. But it is Macbeth’s distinct characteristic; a characteristic that craves power which leads to Macbeth’s ultimate downfall. By the end of the play Macbeth goes from a high and noble status to a man who can be considered worse than a villain; he can be considered a monster.
The down fall of Macbeth is greatly influenced by Lady Macbeth and the 3 witches. The witches first greet him as the thane of Glamis "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis" (1.3.48). Then as the thane of Cawdor "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor" (1.3.49). Right after the witches leave Macbeth is made aware that he had been given the honourable position as the thane of Cawdor. Next, the witches greet Macbeth as a King "All hail, Macbeth! That shall be King” (1.3.50). Now Macbeth thinks to himself if the witches had been right about him becoming the thane of Cawdor, then he will also be the king of Scotland sooner or later. This is the point in where Macbeth has his radical shift in thinking and it is in which he starts to think like a villain.
When the witches plant the idea that Macbeth will become king, he starts to think really hard. He thinks about all the reasons why he shouldn’t do it but Lady Macbeth is the one who convinces him to do so with her forceful behaviour and speech. Macbeth had a great deal of pride before he killed King Duncan. When he killed Duncan Macbeth went insane as he realised what he has done and how it did not benefit him at all. Macbeth’s down fall is planned by the 3 witches. Macbeth is a character who is free-willing. He is open to ideas but he will still go through the ideas and think about the negatives of each one. It is when someone who plays a very important role in his life such as Lady Macbeth forces that idea upon him; he doesn’t make such wise choices. Macbeth leads himself to his own defeat in a way. While king Macbeth is very much insane. He would see things no one else would see. He would see ghosts and Lady Macbeth would try to cover him up when they are dining with noble guests. This carries on for a bit until Macbeth realizes he needs to kill Banquo in order to remain king. But this time he hires assassinators to murder Banquo and his son. They fail to murder Fliance (Banquo’s son) but manage to kill Banquo. Now Macbeth must kill Macduff who threatens Macbeth’s chances of staying king. So, can a hero who has committed such deeds for his benefit still be considered a hero? I believe not. At this point I believe that Macbeth has turned himself into a killing monster.
“I am in blood.
Steeped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er.” (3.5.137) Macbeth realizes that he has gained nothing from all the killings. He says that I have murdered so many people already that to go back would be as hard as to go forward so why should I head backwards? This is the villainous side of Macbeth. He is now thinking like a villain as well. He hires even more assassinators to kill Macduff and his family. If Macbeth was a true hero he would not be killing people for his own benefit. Macbeth’s ambition for power leads him to continuously kill people so that he remains in the highest power in the country. This honour that he holds is not noble and he is not worth of this position. As all tragic Shakespeare plays. We will see the killing of Macbeth. But before that Lady Macbeth hangs herself because she can no longer handle Macbeth’s rampage even though she is the one who provoked it. Macbeth is now completely insane and has no way to return back to where he started. “Once a paper is crumpled; it can no longer be perfect”. Macduff hears that Macbeth plans to murder him. So he along with Malcolm (Duncan’s son who fled) prepares an army to defeat Macbeth. Macbeth thinks he is safe because the second apparition says that Macbeth’s killer must be of woman born. But Macduff was born of caesarean section. The third apparition says that Macbeth shall not be defeated until Great Birnam wood comes to high hill. Macbeth thinks to himself a forest cannot move so I am safe. But Macduff’s army hide behind the tree and bring patches along to hide within. When Macbeth learns of this he knows that he is now defeated. He is killed by Macduff. The play ends with Malcolm being the
king.
Over the course of the play, due to Macbeth’s free-will, his decision to go against his own morals and the influence of his wife and the 3 witches; Macbeth experiences his own downfall from being a nobleman of great respect to a serial killer who is killed and over taken. So, how can a “hero” still be considered a hero even after he kills people for his own selfishness?