Macbeth's Character Changes
How does the character of Macbeth change throughout the play?
Throughout the play, Macbeth is presented as an unstable character who is driven by ambition and his lust for power.
The first way, in which Macbeth changes, is through his courageousness and bravery. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is presented as a heroic and courageous warrior. He is described by others as “valiant” and compared to “Bellona’s bridegroom”, this quote shows Macbeth being referred to as Mars, the god of war. By comparing him to the god of war, it emphasises his strength, bravery and skill in battle.
As the play progresses, and Macbeth becomes king, he is no longer portrayed as this “valiant” warrior he once was, instead, he’s conveyed as weak. This is shown
when Macbeth murders Duncan asleep. After “the deed is done” he cries, “Macbeth does murder sleep”, this quote emphasises how defenceless Duncan was and the cowardliness of Macbeth, who does not have the bravery to kill him face to face. It also shows how he feels ashamed to murder the one who trusts him most. As all Macbeth’s guilt builds up inside him, he no longer has the courage to kill those he feels threatened by, instead, he gets murderers to do it for him, this also reflects how weak he is.
Nearing the end of the play, after hearing of his wife’s death, he realises that all he’s done has been for nothing. As he prepares for battle, he says “life’s but a walking shadow” suggesting that he’s not evil, and still has a human side to him. When he comes face to face with Macduff, he refuses to back down, this is reminiscent of his courageousness during act 1 of the book.
Another way in which Macbeth is shown to have changed, is through his trust. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as one of Duncan’s most trustworthy friends. Duncan says, “Brave Macbeth, well he deserves that name”, this emphasises the admiration that the king has of Macbeth. He then goes onto saying how it’s difficult to know who to trust, referring to previous Thane of Cawdor who just betrayed him. This is ironic as Macbeth cold heartedly murders him with the intentions of succeeding his role as king.
Having become king, Macbeth feels threatened and does not trust anyone. He goes as far as killing one his greatest friends to secure his role as king. In this act, he orders two murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance, however, there is a third murderer who shows up to murder the other two. Shakespeare may have done this to highlight Macbeth’s anxiety, and show how untrusting he is. There are hints that Shakespeare was perhaps referring to Macbeth as the third murderer.
This is also shown through Macbeth’s trust in the witches. After hearing all these prophecies of him becoming king, Macbeth puts all his trust into the witches who were slyly equivocating. This trust leads him to murder his closest friends, and also leads to his downfall.
In conclusion, Shakespeare uses Macbeth’s courageous, bravery and trustfulness at the beginning of the play to compare to his cowardly and distrusting character later on. This comparison may have been to emphasise how ambition and lust for power can corrupt.
Throughout the play, Macbeth is presented as an unstable character who is driven by ambition and his lust for power.
The first way, in which Macbeth changes, is through his courageousness and bravery. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is presented as a heroic and courageous warrior. He is described by others as “valiant” and compared to “Bellona’s bridegroom”, this quote shows Macbeth being referred to as Mars, the god of war. By comparing him to the god of war, it emphasises his strength, bravery and skill in battle.
As the play progresses, and Macbeth becomes king, he is no longer portrayed as this “valiant” warrior he once was, instead, he’s conveyed as weak. This is shown
when Macbeth murders Duncan asleep. After “the deed is done” he cries, “Macbeth does murder sleep”, this quote emphasises how defenceless Duncan was and the cowardliness of Macbeth, who does not have the bravery to kill him face to face. It also shows how he feels ashamed to murder the one who trusts him most. As all Macbeth’s guilt builds up inside him, he no longer has the courage to kill those he feels threatened by, instead, he gets murderers to do it for him, this also reflects how weak he is.
Nearing the end of the play, after hearing of his wife’s death, he realises that all he’s done has been for nothing. As he prepares for battle, he says “life’s but a walking shadow” suggesting that he’s not evil, and still has a human side to him. When he comes face to face with Macduff, he refuses to back down, this is reminiscent of his courageousness during act 1 of the book.
Another way in which Macbeth is shown to have changed, is through his trust. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as one of Duncan’s most trustworthy friends. Duncan says, “Brave Macbeth, well he deserves that name”, this emphasises the admiration that the king has of Macbeth. He then goes onto saying how it’s difficult to know who to trust, referring to previous Thane of Cawdor who just betrayed him. This is ironic as Macbeth cold heartedly murders him with the intentions of succeeding his role as king.
Having become king, Macbeth feels threatened and does not trust anyone. He goes as far as killing one his greatest friends to secure his role as king. In this act, he orders two murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance, however, there is a third murderer who shows up to murder the other two. Shakespeare may have done this to highlight Macbeth’s anxiety, and show how untrusting he is. There are hints that Shakespeare was perhaps referring to Macbeth as the third murderer.
This is also shown through Macbeth’s trust in the witches. After hearing all these prophecies of him becoming king, Macbeth puts all his trust into the witches who were slyly equivocating. This trust leads him to murder his closest friends, and also leads to his downfall.
In conclusion, Shakespeare uses Macbeth’s courageous, bravery and trustfulness at the beginning of the play to compare to his cowardly and distrusting character later on. This comparison may have been to emphasise how ambition and lust for power can corrupt.