Macbeth Delayed Introduction

Macbeth Delayed Introduction

There are many different methods for a story to successfully attain a deep impression on a person. May it be simply through the characters personal quality or the storyline itself, these elements assists to make each story exceptionally different. In literature, authors often write stories in a certain way that help people become aware of specific elements. In the play Macbeth, the play writer, William Shakespeare chooses to delay Macbeth’s introduction for a few reasons that create different effects in order to help establish his character’s persona. These reasons are to create suspense in addition to emphasize certain personal qualities as well as to establish Macbeth’s place in society.

Building tension and creating suspense are one of the few elements that helps form a character’s persona. In the first scene of Act 1, under thunder and lightning where the three witches gather, they converse about where they shall meet again. The second witch decides for them to meet “upon the heat” (Shakespeare 1) which, the third witch responds with, “There to meet with Macbeth” (Shakespeare 1). By mentioning Macbeth without actually knowing who he actually is yet creates suspense which allows curiosity to quickly grow. Growing curiosity leads to questions like, “Who is Macbeth?” and “Why would they want to meet with him?” that inevitably comes to mind after just one mention of his name. The thought of the character and the current suspense have become far too intriguing to set free, therefore developing high expectations over the character that naturally establishes its persona.

Another reason is to emphasize a certain personal quality more effectively which, in this case is Macbeth’s heroic characteristics and bravery because doing this will naturally shape his character’s persona. People do not usually reveal their own importance by themselves. Doing this establishes a negative effect on the other party which lets them think that what they say is false. Instead, the words other people say about a person tend to be more powerful and effective in informing the truth than the person themselves. In the second scene of Act 1, Ross reports how happy the king is to hear their success thanks to Macbeth. However, he’s also in a state of shock hearing that Macbeth isn’t the least bit afraid of death. Ross continues to say, “Thy praises in his kingdom’s great defense, / And poured them down before him” (Shakespeare 8). The people endlessly continue to deliver news of Macbeth’s bravery to the king with boundless praises of his victories which in a way, is an indirect way to establish Macbeth’s heroic trait and attribute without saying it himself. Thus, establishing Macbeth’s heroic characteristics forms his persona effectively.

Lastly, establishing a character’s place in society completes his whole persona. In the second scene of Act 1, Ross informs the King of the Thane of Cawdor’s betrayal and Macbeth’s appearance in the battlefield that leads to the victory of the kingdom. Ross refers to Macbeth as “Bellona’s bridegroom” (Shakespeare 3). Bellona is a Roman goddess of war, having Ross refers to Macbeth as Bellona’s husband signifies him as a brave warrior and implies his great importance to the military. Macbeth is also in line for the throne of the King. This is evidence that Macbeth is a person of great influence and of importance politically. Macbeth’s social position in society completes his character as a whole.

In conclusion, through William Shakespeare’s Macbeth it is clear that the creations of different effects help establish a character’s persona by delaying Macbeth’s introduction. By creating suspense, curiosity is able to grow resulting in to a hypothetical creation of a character. Furthermore, emphasizing personal qualities forms a character’s persona more effectively. Lastly, determining the place in society of a character completes it as a whole. All of these elements together create a completely persona which effectively creates an intriguing story.