Change In Macbeth

Throughout the play, Macbeth’s character gradually progressed through the involvement of death and murder. Beginning from Duncan’s murder and ending with Macduff’s family’s murder, Macbeth gradually lost his humanity. The murders throughout the play in fact play a large role in Macbeth’s character development, as he became more brutal after each murder.Before Duncan’s murder, Macbeth thought through the consequences and was hesitant to commit murder. As the play carried on, Macbeth gradually became more comfortable with murder, allowing him to hesitate less. However, each murder left him with great guilt, leading to the loss of his sanity.

Starting with Duncan’s murder, Macbeth personality was greatly changed, as it acted as a gateway to

the other murders. Blinded by his desire for power, Macbeth creates a plan to kill Duncan in order to gain his status. Although could not truly see the negative attributes to his plan, he was still able to think through the some of the consequences and questioned his actions. Before Duncan’s murder, Lady Macbeth needed to motivate Macbeth to kill Duncan because he was too afraid to act upon his desires. In order to push Macbeth to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth must ask, “Art thou afeard/to be the same in thine own act and valour/as thou art in desire?”(I.viii). Macbeth’s hesitation towards Duncan’s murder displays his innocence at the start of the play. Macbeth asks, “If we should fail?”(I.viii) in fear of the consequences and the guilt that he is already beginning to feel. Later, after Duncan is dead, Macbeth begins to hallucinate and question reality; asking, “Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible/To feeling as to sight? or art thou but/A dagger of the mind, a false creation,”(II.i). After Duncan’s murder, Macbeth hallucinates and sees the dagger which he killed Duncan with, as a result of his guilt. Although Macbeth knows that the dagger is just a hallucination, he still questions it. As Duncan was Macbeth’s first murder, he thought through the act and was swarmed with guilt. Duncan’s murder acted as a gateway to the rest of the murders, leading him to become a ruthless ruler and murderer.
Although Macbeth realized that he changed after Duncan’s death, he quickly disregarded the influence it had on him and later killed Banquo, leading to his downfall of becoming a ruthless king.

Later in the play, Macbeth realizes that killing Duncan was only for Banquo’s family, as the witches, “They hail'd him father to a line of kings:/Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,”(III.i). Macbeth decides to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, as a way to continue a line of royal blood. When Lady Macbeth asks about the plan to murder Banquo and Fleance, Macbeth quickly replies, “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,”(III.ii). Leaving Lady Macbeth out of his plan to murder helps support the idea that Macbeth becomes more independent as the play continues. During Duncan’s murder, Macbeth relied on Lady Macbeth in order to be able to push himself to be able to commit murder. However, now Macbeth is able to push himself without the help of Lady Macbeth. During the banquet scene after Banquo’s death, Macbeth begins to hallucinate again and see a ghost of Banquo. However, unlike the dagger scene, Macbeth really believes that it is Banquo. He questions all his guest, “Which of you have done this,”(III.iv) like he was set up. However, no one else can see Banquo and as Lady Macbeth tells him that she does not see anything, Macbeth does not listen, as his attention was drawn by the ghost. The guilt of both Duncan’s and Banquo’s murders overthrow his sanity and ability to tell

what is wrong and right. Macbeth continues to gradually become a brutal King, as each murder numbs his fear of the consequences.
Until the very last murder, Macbeth quickly lost his humanity after each one and is finally able to reach an understanding of his development as he is finally faced by his own death.

While Macbeth decides to send murderers to kill Macduff’s family, he explains that, “To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done:/The castle of Macduff I will surprise,” (IV.i). Macbeth chooses not to think about anything and just carry out his acts. Rather than hesitating and second guessing himself, Macbeth carried out his plan to kill Macduff’s family as quickly as possible in order to lessen the guilt he feels. The quick decision making and the selfish mindset, are common attributes in a cruel king. In one of his famous soliloquies, Macbeth states, “it is a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing,” (V.v) as a realization that all the work and murders he did to become King was for nothing. At this point in the play, Macbeth knows he is going to lose and die. Throughout the entire play, Macbeth never realized he influence each of the murders had until he finally understands that all the killing was for nothing and his goals did not truly fulfill his

desires.
After each murder that Macbeth took part in, he hesitated less and less, supporting the idea that throughout the play, Macbeth loses his humanity. Although Macbeth does not truly believe that he cares about the murders, he in fact does, which is supported by all of the hallucinations that occurred after each murder. Macbeth did not understand the impact the murders had on him, until the very end, when he finally realizes that all the hard work he did was not going to benefit him in any way, as he was going to die soon.