William Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’ has many characters. Some characters have main roles while others have minor roles. Some of the characters are flat with very little information revealed about them. Other characters are round with a lot of given information about their personality. There are also static characters that don’t experience change throughout the play while there are dynamic characters that experience plenty of change and a possible change in personality. Macbeth is a character who is not only round, but dynamic as well. He is multi-faceted and experiences personality changes during the play. There are several other characters that are both round and dynamic, but perhaps Macbeth is the character who experiences the most drastic changes.
Macbeth starts out in the beginning of the play as a loyal nobleman of Duncan, the King of Scotland. But by the time the play is finished, Macbeth had turned on the very people who sung his praises after the war, murdered two of his closest allies, and ultimately died at the hands of another former ally. Many factors led to the demise of Macbeth, most self-inflicted, but it all began as he and Banquo, another Scottish nobleman were walking back to meet Duncan after they had defeated the Norwegians in battle.
As Macbeth and Banquo were walking across the field, they encountered the three witches, or “weird sisters”, and they told Macbeth of future events that would impact him. They told him he would become Thane of Cawdor, "All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor" (Shakespeare, I, iii, 47), which King Duncan had already announced after hearing how Macbeth fought off the attacks. They also told him that he would become king, "All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter" (I...
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...man, he chooses to fight to the bitter end opposed to running like a coward. He fought Macduff, but Macduff finally defeated him, killed him, and cut off his head. So even though Macbeth had changed in some his personality traits and had become a self-indulging maniac, he was still a fighter. He earned great accolades for fighting and he died fighting. Even though he lost all his respect from other people, he was always a fighter. We witnessed one man's fall from a position of power to a man with nothing more than enemies and a corrupted soul. Macbeth went from being admired and well liked to being hated by most everybody. Greed, power, and self-gratification were behind the tragic fall of this once loyal nobleman.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth Oxford School Shakesphere. Ed. Roma Gill, M.A. Cantab, and B. Litt. Oxon. New York: Oxford, UP, 2009. Print.
In the story of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is one of the main characters. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is very loyal and honorable. By the end of the play Macbeth is insane and has no remorse for the sin he commits against the king.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Element of Literature, Sixth Course. Austin: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, 1997. 300-382. Print.
William Shakespeare's Macbeth In Act I, King Duncan is at the top of the chart of power, because he has the most power being the king of Scotland, he is good and kind. king, which holds legitimate and referent power. In Act I, Scene 2, he. announces his eldest son, Malcolm, as heir to the throne, after the throne.
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press New Folger Edition, 1992
Macbeth is the story of a man who falls from his noble state. In the beginning, Macbeth was a courageous fighter for Scotland's King Duncan. Macbeth is soon overcome with greed for power, so he kills the king and crowns himself. He becomes worried of losing his newly gained power causing him to kill more people. In the end the lords and nobles join forces with the king's son, Malcolm, to destroy Macbeth. In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the character Macbeth was persuaded by the three witches to commit evil, leading to his tragic downfall.
Laurence Sterne once wrote, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” This passage embodies one of the over arching themes of Macbeth. The character Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, could easily identify with this passage due to the fact that he is pulled in opposite directions by both his desire to do what is right and his desire for power.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square, 1992. Print. The New Folger Library Shakespeare.
Macbeth is obviously gullible as he believes the witches after a while and relies on their prophecies constantly. When returning from battle, Macbeth and his best friend Banquo come across three witches who tell them three prophecies. The three witches tell them of Macbeth's new title, Thane of Cawdor. They then surprise Macbeth by saying: "All hail, Macbeth that shalt be King hereafter!
What if none of the evil decisions made in the play Macbeth, are actually Macbeth’s fault? There are also many other forces at work, meddling with Macbeth and influencing him to change into a cold and cruel man who kills without a second thought. Would characters such as Banquo and Duncan have been murdered if perhaps fate did not direct their destinies, or if Lady Macbeth had not manipulated Macbeth, or even if the three witches had not shown Macbeth their prophecies and apparitions? Macbeth is valiant, noble, and a truly decent person whose destiny is unfortunately set in stone and whose life is a tumultuous road with an impending doom. His cold and calculating wife controls Macbeth through manipulations and evil ideas. Additionally, Macbeth encounters three weird sisters who ambiguously give Macbeth false hopes and cloak the whole truth, leading to his over confidence and greed. In Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Macbeth, Macbeth is doomed by the influence and manipulation of external forces as opposed to internal forces, consequently leading him to make atrocious/dastardly decisions and causing his ultimate demise as seen through the inevitable forces of fate, Lady Macbeth, and the witches.
In William Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, many characters moods change throughout. However, the one character whose mood changes most throughout the play is Lady Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is the one that drives Macbeth into the killing of the king Duncan. She seems confident and determined in the beginning of the play until she is overwhelmed by guilt. Along with this, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s relationship change after the many murders they have performed. Finally, after all the deaths that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth performed, she finally can’t sleep knowing what she finished.
account I think the witches did play a big part in the murder of king
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.
According to the classical view, tragedy should arouse feelings of pity and fear in the audience. Does macbeth do this?