Character Changes in Macbeth - Book Report/Review Example

He kills his friend Banquo, his wife and son fearing that Banquo's son would one day be king. He thirsts for the blood of Macduff and Duncan's sons. He literally wades through blood until his inevitable fall in the hands of Macduff. The play opens with Macbeth's victory and ends with his defeat, death and dishonor. Our initial impression of Macbeth is of a brave and capable warrior- basically a good man with loyalty to the king. Even the king addresses him as 'brave.worthy gentleman" to whom Macbeth pledges loyalty "by doing every thing.

Safe toward your love and honor"(1.4.29-30). Three Witches set Macbeth upon his murderous path. They tell Macbeth that he will be Lord of Cawdor and later the King. Banquo, his friend, realizes that there must be a trick hidden in the witches' prophecies somewhere but Macbeth refuses to accept this because their prediction that he will be king brings him joy. Three attributes-bravery, ambition, and self-doubt-become the main weaknesses of Macbeth. His ambition makes murder itself seem to be less evil than failure to achieve the crown.

From a position of fear, doubt and distrust he turns a despot. Before he kills Duncan, Macbeth is hesitant and decides to stop the crime. It takes Lady Macbeth's strong sense of purpose to push him into the deed. Lacking strength of character, he repeatedly draws strength from his wife as she is easily able to influence him. . But after the murder her powerful personality begins to weaken whereas Macbeth's personality gains foolish strength- he plots a series of murders to keep the throne due to his "vaulting ambition".

He himself quotes "Let not light see my black and deep desires" (1.4.57-58). He's almost like a madman on a bloody rampage. The man at the end of play is one we would barely recognize from the loyal Macbeth we meet at the beginning. "I have almost forgot the taste of fears;(5.5.10)" He has a conscience and occasional moments of guilt throughout the entire play as is seen by the hallucinations of the dagger and the ghost of Banquo. His vivid imagination and his constant worry also provokes him.

"Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall sleep no more; Macbeth shall sleep no more.'(2.2.54-55) Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most famous and frightening female characters. When we first see her, she is already plotting Duncan's murder, and she is stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her husband. "And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood;(1.5.46-47)". At one point, she wishes that she were not a woman so that she could commit murder herself.

Her husband implies that she is "my dearest partner of greatness". Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband using kind words of confidence to calm Macbeth down and prevent him going insane. Lady Macbeth even jokes with Macbeth about forgetting the incident as "These deeds must not be thought after these ways: so, it will make us mad". Almost like a prediction, she later begins to slowly turn mad and by the close of the play, she is seen sleepwalking through the castle, desperately trying to wash away an invisible bloodstain.

She finally runs out of energy to supress her conscience and kills herself. Over the course of the play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth greatly change with respect to their characters and their personalities. Although Macbeth was weak at first it was the strong Lady Macbeth who helped him