Macbeth's humanity throughout the play
‘What is so tragic is the spectacle of a man who could have been a great human being but who loses most of his humanity and greatness by the end of the play.’ Write about the way this theme is developed in Macbeth.
The tragedy seen in this play is the loss of the man that Macbeth could have been, hadn’t he given in to fulfilling his ambition. Shakespeare leads us to see the deterioration in both Macbeth’s character and his morality. Macbeth, being the tragic hero of the play, undergoes some great changes throughout the acts. Macbeth cannot resist his ambition, and this leads him to his downfall. After a lot of deliberating within himself he decides to act on the witches’ prophecies. He freely decides to believe in what the witches tell him and he comes to the conclusion of fulfilling his vaulting ambition. In the early scenes of the play we see the better side of Macbeth. Here we can tell that he is a good man. In the beginning of the play Macbeth is described as ‘brave Macbeth’, ‘worthy gentleman’, by King Duncan and the Captain after a battle. This shows us that Macbeth was a great and brave warrior who fought gallantly for his country and King. He was considered as a Noble man and enjoyed the love and respect of his King and his fellow noblemen. He is described as ‘Bellona’s Bridegroom’, the goddess of war. Macbeth, being a great warrior was able to kill heartlessly in battle from the descriptions given by the other nobleman we are able to see a violent side of Macbeth. When Macbeth encounters the three witches we are made aware of his tragic flaw, his great ambition that will later lead him to his downfall. Macbeth is both horrified and excited by the idea of regicide;
‘Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair,
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs
Against the use of nature?’
His ambition also brings with it a weakness in his character which Lady Macbeth is able to see, ‘Yet do I fear thy nature.
It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness
The tragedy seen in this play is the loss of the man that Macbeth could have been, hadn’t he given in to fulfilling his ambition. Shakespeare leads us to see the deterioration in both Macbeth’s character and his morality. Macbeth, being the tragic hero of the play, undergoes some great changes throughout the acts. Macbeth cannot resist his ambition, and this leads him to his downfall. After a lot of deliberating within himself he decides to act on the witches’ prophecies. He freely decides to believe in what the witches tell him and he comes to the conclusion of fulfilling his vaulting ambition. In the early scenes of the play we see the better side of Macbeth. Here we can tell that he is a good man. In the beginning of the play Macbeth is described as ‘brave Macbeth’, ‘worthy gentleman’, by King Duncan and the Captain after a battle. This shows us that Macbeth was a great and brave warrior who fought gallantly for his country and King. He was considered as a Noble man and enjoyed the love and respect of his King and his fellow noblemen. He is described as ‘Bellona’s Bridegroom’, the goddess of war. Macbeth, being a great warrior was able to kill heartlessly in battle from the descriptions given by the other nobleman we are able to see a violent side of Macbeth. When Macbeth encounters the three witches we are made aware of his tragic flaw, his great ambition that will later lead him to his downfall. Macbeth is both horrified and excited by the idea of regicide;
‘Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair,
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs
Against the use of nature?’
His ambition also brings with it a weakness in his character which Lady Macbeth is able to see, ‘Yet do I fear thy nature.
It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness