The Tragedy of Macbeth

“Macbeth,” written by William Shakespeare initially described the main character, Macbeth, as an honorable, brave, loyal hero. He was a Scottish General and thane of Glamis. Macbeth fought for his country and supported the king. Macbeth was looked up to and admired for being so courageous and brave. He understood the difference between right and wrong. Macbeth was a man who seemed to have everything, including a loving wife! So what happened to this great man? How did he change from a hero to a villain in a very short time? Macbeth had a very bad character flaw. He was a powerful man, but he was not virtuous; thus, he allowed many outside influences to invade his thoughts and he acted on them! He was immoral.

The first outside influence that allowed Macbeth to begin showing his true colors was the three witches. The witches addressed Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland (1.3.49-51). Initially Macbeth is stunned by the way they addressed him and he had many questions. He was confused and, yet a bit excited. His best friend, Banquo, was with him and both of them began asking questions. Banquo was told that he would father a line of kings (1.3.68). While Macbeth and Banquo were still talking with the witches and asking them questions, they disappeared. Two of the king’s men arrived and told Macbeth that King Duncan had sent them to thank him for defending the country and that King Duncan wanted to see Macbeth to give him good news. They told Macbeth that King Duncan told them to call him thane of Cawdor (1.3.107). When the witches’ first prediction came true, Macbeth began to think that he might become King of Scotland. In doing so, he immediately began to think about murdering King Duncan (1.3.135-141). This is the first sign of the evil that lies within Macbeth!

Macbeth sent a letter to Lady Macbeth to tell her of the witches’ predictions and how the first prediction came true. While reading the letter, Lady Macbeth, thinking about her husband’s nature as she knew it for many years, felt that he had ambition but that he did not have a mean streak that would allow him to kill King Duncan (1.5.15-19).