How Does Macbeth's Character Change Throughout the Play - Essay Example

How Does Macbeth’s Character Change Throughout the Play? Essay

Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare, one of the most celebrated writers. As the title suggests, the main character is Macbeth. The author brings themes such as treachery, power, and betrayal in the drama using the Macbeths and the witches. From one act to the other, the reader can see how the main character changes. Throughout the drama, Macbeth’s ambitions end up doing him more harm and bringing evil. How does Macbeth’s character change throughout the play? essay.

The author presents Macbeth as a brave nobleman. At (Act 1 Scene 1) Macbeth is presented as a man that is adored and admired by many people, including the King. According to the author, he is also a strong man. Besides, he is loyal to the throne and King Duncan. The demonstration of these characters is seen in the way he fights for his country fearlessly. The King is impressed with his bravely and loyalty and rewards him with a thaneship of Cawdor.

Macbeth has several friends. Shakespeare presents Banquo as Macbeth’s best friend. According to the author, the two even fought together. In (Act 1 Scene 3), Banquo goes to the extent of advising his friend not to trust what the witches prophesied. He opines that the witches may end up betraying him at the end. This demonstrates that Banquo was a true friend and was ready to do anything to save his friend.

Macbeth is not just popular among his friends. He is also demonstrated as an affectionate husband. In the play, Lady Macbeth is presented as his “dearest love.” Macbeth demonstrates his love for his wife by even writing her letters even when in a battle. In Act 1, Macbeth is presented as a prosperous, admired soldier. He was also a good friend. Unfortunately, all of this changes as the story progresses.

At the beginning of the drama, the reader can notice Macbeth’s weakness when he sees the witches for the first time. The author says that he was afraid and got consumed in his own thoughts. He became very superstitious and morally frail. When the witches shared their prediction, he did not believe them at first. However, he became obsessed with becoming the King upon learning that he had been rewarded with the thaneship of Cawdor. He becomes confused and is unsure whether he should murder the King to succeed him. Evil begins to take center stage. Regrettably, Lady Macbeth’s simple emotional blackmail convinces him to do the worst.

In Act 1 Scene 6, Macbeth’s weakness and his inability to hide his emotions also come into play. Although he is supposed to meet Duncan at the gate, only Lady Macbeth gets on time. The delay is attributed to the fact that Macbeth is unsure of whether he should murder the King or not. Surprisingly, Lady Macbeth can act innocently as she already knows what is disturbing his husband. Macbeth’s push to commit the crime can be attributed to the push by his wife and even his own character.

After the crime is done, the blame is placed upon the grooms. Macbeth’s weakness is again displayed when he becomes remorseful for his actions. It is clear that he knew whatever he did was immoral. His Christianity background worsens the situation as he is unable to say “Amen” after the “deed was done.” He admits that he could not sleep and wished that the King would wake up after a simple knocking. Unfortunately, death could not be undone.

The writer is also able to show that Macbeth is also repentant. Macbeth terms “a sorry sight,” his blood-stained hands. He felt very insecure and feared that someone had heard him. He is so terrified that he is unable to return the dagger after leaving the crime scene with it. Macbeths are determined to do everything possible to conceal any evidence that may show that they are responsible for the murder of the King.

The body of King Duncan is discovered the following day. Due to his guilty feelings, Macbeth proceeds and kills the grooms. However, although he had hoped that the killing would help in hiding his responsibility, it does not. The speech that he gives defending himself creates suspicion.

Macbeth does everything possible to cover up his crime. Act 2 shows how Macbeth’s character begins to change gradually. The first victims of this attempt were Malcolm and Donalbain. Although he was remorseful for killing the King, Lady Macbeth is to blame for the act. Macbeth blames the two grooms for the murder of Duncan, yet they were not in the capacity to know what transpired the previous night. The killing of the two innocent grooms who had fled from Scotland makes it clear to the reader that Macbeth may engage in more killings to anyone he feared posed a threat to his throne.

Although he succeeded in becoming the emperor, Macbeth is unable to enjoy the benefits associated with the new status. The King trusted him, but he betrayed him at the end. Therefore, he learned that he could not trust anybody. He became an isolated man, as he was afraid that his friends, family, and even his wife could betray him. Consequently, he started avoiding them by deceiving them. His only “friends” at this time were the witches.

The killing of Duncan also saw Macbeth lose his admirable characters. In the beginning, he was a brave and honorable soldier. However, his character changed, and he became a despot and a coward. His personality changed completely and turned to two “low life” murderers who he relied on to silence his perceived enemy. Anger and jealousy became synonymous with Macbeth.

Macbeth could not even trust his close friend, Banquo. He was jealous of him because he had a son, and he did not have one. He brainwashed the two murderers into believing that his best friend was responsible for their poverty. He convinced himself that whatever he was doing was right. His loss of trust is also demonstrated when he sends another murderer to spy on the two killers he had sent. The spy succeeds in killing the two murders.

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is presented as a noble person. However, the erosion of this character is seen in Act 3. He became more insecure and suspected anyone around him. He was living a lonely life after cutting himself off from anyone he associated with previously. Killing innocent people for no reason became common as he engaged in a “killing spree.” After killing Duncan, he became more impulsive and engaged even in irrational dictatorial acts.

At the beginning of Act 3, Macbeth is shown to possess some guilt and ethics but not as strong as he was at the start of the play. In Scene 4, he proceeds and prepares a feast while he is aware that his friend Banquo is no more. However, Banquo’s ghosts terrorize him. It is at this point that he loses his sense of righteousness. Evil takes over. He never feels guilty about anything that he does. Despite committing more crimes, he does not reflect on his action anymore. He even goes ahead and plans the murder of more innocent people, including Macduff and his entire family.

After some time, it becomes clear to Macbeth that he cannot hide the fact that he was responsible for the murder of the King. After engaging in these activities, it is clear that Lady Macbeth had concealed her feelings. She says everything that her husband had done while in her sleep as the doctor and the nurse listens. It becomes clear to the doctor that Macbeths were responsible for the murder of the King. Interestingly, Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, were not surprised at all.

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is said to be an affectionate husband. He loved Lady Macbeth very much and trusted her. However, after the murder of Duncan, things began to turn south for the Macbeths. Lady Macbeth becomes depressed, and the doctor admits that he can’t treat her. The regrets and depression that she experiences become unbearable. In Act 5, Lady Macbeth commits suicide. The remorse and guilt that she had were not bearable.

To make matters worse, Macbeth is not saddened by the death of his wife. Therefore, it is clear that at this point, Macbeth has become a different person. He is no longer affectionate, whatever existed between him, and his wife is no more. Macbeths are not the same people at this stage. The husband has lost the natural human feelings he possessed at the start of the play. He sees no evil and feels no evil.

Despite becoming the emperor and becoming capable of doing anything he wished, Macbeth’s life does not become easy. At one time, he becomes tired of life. When he remembers the kind of evil acts he has engaged in, he feels depressed. It becomes even worse for him after realizing that he has lost the honor, love, and friendship he enjoyed before killing Duncan.

It takes a long time for Macbeth to know that the witches were not on his side. However, despite engaging in so much evil, he did not surrender and fought to the last minute. Just as he is introduced as a brave soldier at the beginning of the play, he faces thousands of soldiers in an honorable fight. At this time, he knew there was nothing that he could do. He had no friends to turn to, and it was already too late to change. He made a mistake of believing the witches, and his life is done now.

Macbeth is a play that highlights the evil in society by showing how lust, dictatorship, and betrayal, among others, destroyed the Macbeths.

Macbeth’s character changes throughout the story. The story shows how temptations can change a very good person into one of the worst individuals in a community. After being engaged in the heinous act of killing King Duncan, he began to do even worse things that changed him completely. Whereas Macbeths lived a perfect life full of love and affection, they lost all that after the murder of the King. The change in Macbeth’s character can also be blamed on his evil conscience.