Grace Hess

Grace Hess

Mrs. Wood

English 11 5th Block

February 19 2016

The Fall of MacBeth

The story of MacBeth is one of great adventure and tragedy. It describes the great hardships a man of character went through due to his mistaken actions. Although, MacBeth portrayed himself as an honorable man of distinction at the beginning of the play, it is clear that through his poisonous thoughts, words, and deeds, he dissolves into a ruthless, diabolical, murderer.

It is easily seen that in the beginning of the play MacBeth is a great man, that stands as a true hero. He is fair and knows what his mission to perform is, not to mention a very successful warrior. It is expressed early in the play by the Captain, in Act 1:ii 16-18 “For brave MacBeth- well he deserves that name- Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel.” As you can see, early in the play MacBeth was bragged about for his wonderful attitude.  He holds himself as a loyal soldier of the king and would do nothing to hurt him. He describes these feelings in Act 1:iv, 22-27 “The service and loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself. Your highness’ part Is to receive our duties: and our duties Are to your throne and state children and servants; Which do but what they should, by doing everything Safe toward your love and honor.” This passage explains MacBeth’s overall love, support, and trust to the king. It seemed at the time that his loyalty would be forever. However, it is clear that throughout time he is able to hide the face that shows his true desires. His very great personality sooned changed as he saw the futures that were available to him.

As MacBeth’s story continues, he turns more and more into a very diabolical man. It is easy to see that the face that he couldn't hide, he is slowly learning how to hide it. Lady MacBeth even tells about how his face is changing in Act 1:iv 60-64 “Your face, my thane, is as a book where men May read strange matters. To beguile the time,o Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, your tongue: look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t.”. This is only the beginning to MacBeth’s changing to a demonic soul. This describes how Lady MacBeth wanted MacBeth to hide his true feelings and he slowly learned how to do so. This only made things worse and worse as soon his action became unthinkable. After MacBeth completes his first mission of murdering the king he acts out his hiding of the face by saying things completely out of the ordinary. He wanted to make it seem like he did not do it, so in Act 2:iii, 102-112 he says, “Who can be wise, amazed, temp’rate and furious, Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man. The expedition o of my violent love Outrun the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan, His silver skin laced with his golden blood, And his gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature For ruin’s wasteful entrance: there, the murderers, Steeped in the colors of their trade, their daggers Unmannerly breeched with gore.o Who could refrain,o That had a heart to love, and in that heart Courage to make ’s love known?” Continuing on with MacBeth’s new way of life he really showed his true colors during one of the last scenes of Act 3. During this time, MacBeth decides to kill his best friend and his family. This is one of the senseless acts that MacBeth has performed throughout this play. During this scene MacBeth’s irony is seen when he asks the murderers if they are as cowardly as when Lady MacBeth had first asked him. He says this in Act 3:i, 93-95 “As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs, Shoughs, water-rugso and demi-wolves, are clepto All by the name of dogs: the valued fileo Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle, The housekeeper, the hunter, every one According to the gift which bounteous nature Hath in him closed,o whereby he does receive Particular addition, from the billo That writes them all alike: and so of men.” In this passage MacBeth describes the men as being dogs and very much degrades them to have them want to become men. These following events concluded MacBeth into the evil man that he became.

During the last part of the play, all things seem to have gone to havoc. MacBeth’s life is dark and gloomy. He has completely taken on the role of being a terrorist murderer. His emotions are completely gone, and now anything that he was feeling on the inside he has become a master at hiding it. During one of the last acts he describes his feelings perfectly, when talking to Lady MacBeth. in Act 3:ii, 37 “o full of scorpions is my mind dear wife!” This short line is very powerful because it expresses MacBeth’s utter pain and misfortune for the future that has come. It shows how MacBeth has seemed to lose his mind, and nothing no longer matters to him. He is fully evil and nothing can help him now, the way he was at the beginning of the play is completely gone. He also shows his evilness, in Act 5:iv, 17 after he finds out the tragedy that his wife died he shows no remorse towards her. He says, “She shouldo have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word.” This is one of the most traumatic lines in the play because it describes his feelings of not caring about anything. He only wishes to be the man that fights to his death and wants nothing more than that. A line that describes his emotions of depression, that he finally exhibits happens right after line 17. It is one of the most famous passages but he says in Act 5:iv, 18-28 “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” This powerful line expresses MacBeth’s final struggle and the finishing of the play. His way of life has changed drastically and the character man he was known for is no longer.

MacBeth’s lack of compassion and triumph soon showed the consequences as he took on the role of a tyrannical king. As you can see from the following information, MacBeth’s kind soul turned dark quickly. he was a treacherous man, and through his lack of character he died after a miserable life.

Ray Ivens Essay

Ray Ivens

19 February 2015

5th Block

Macbeth Characterization Essay

       I think that Macbeth in the beginning of this book was a very noble, brave , and loyal person who wants to be king sometime in the future. But then lady Macbeth manipulated and corrupted him to kill the king because the witches told him that he will be king in the future. During the book he gradually got more and more evil, He even killed his best friend just because the witches told him that he will be king and his kids will be king too. He fits into the tragic hero figure because he was a great hero before he got corrupted by lady Macbeth. Although macbeth was a great heroic brave leader, he got corrupted just because of greed and trying to be king he did unspeakable and very evil things just for his own sake.

In the beginning of the play Macbeth was a brave, fierce, noble leader. He was a very well known soldier. For example, in 1:2 16-18 “For brave Macbeth, well he deserves that name, Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel. This shows that they really respected him. Another example is 1:3 128-142. This is when Macbeth is actually well minded and not planning anything.

Around the 2nd Act Lady Macbeth tries to make Macbeth kill the king Duncan because the witches have said that Macbeth's kids will be king so he needs to be king. He gets corrupted and his thoughts generally keep going darker and darker. For example, 1:5 13-38 he says that the 3 weird witches told me what my future is and I should do what it takes to make it come true. He does a lot of unspeakable things to the people that was in his life, for example, in 3:1 1-10 Banquo says that he is worried that Macbeth is getting corrupted and not feeling the same as he was before he was king and he thinks that he killed the king. Macbeth tells his servant to kill Banquo and his sons so that they can not be king one day but one gets away.  

Macbeth was once a loyal, brave, and heroic leader and was very loyal to the king. But when the three witches told Macbeth about his future it corrupted him and his mind to do unspeakable things. He did these things for his own greed and for power. He should've just waited until Duncan had died some other way to be king and not have killed him.  If you are in a situation for an opportunity for more money or power you should ask yourself how far you would go to get that money or power.  

 

Alee Grantham

                                                                                                                           Macbeth

                                                                                                                           5th block Wood

     Although Macbeth seems evil and malicious, he is really just a muddled and weak minded man. Macbeth doesn’t have a strong sense of self, which leads him to his own demise.

1; iv, 22- “ The service and the loyalty I owe, in doing it, pays itself. Your highness’ part is to receive our duties, and our duties are to your throne and state children and servants, which do but what they should, by doing everything safe toward your love and honor.”

        Macbeth is so desperate for approval, he is willing to lay his life down for the king. Macbeth is like a jock in high school, he doesn’t know himself so he tries really hard to make everyone else happy. In this case, he is willing to bleed for the king.

1; iv, 48- “ The prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o’erleap…”

 Because Macbeth has the idea he could become king, he is now willing to dispose of the prince and the king, he is willing to bite the hand that feeds him. He is thinking about doing horrific things just because it would make him seem magnificent.

2; ii, 44- “ Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.”

Macbeth has become so tainted by his wife’s influence, he is even considering killing his best friend. He is going to kill his absolute best friend because he sees him as a threat to the throne. It’s developed from “how will I be accepted” to “ I will kill anyone that stands in my way”

3; ii, 41 “ O, full of scorpions is my mind dear wife!”

Macbeth’s once good intentions have bore, leaving him to petrify in his morbid delusions.

5; v, 22- “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…”

Macbeth is now so depressed because he killed off some people he loved very much. The king is like Macbeth's father and he killed him, all because of Lady Macbeth. Now, Macbeth sees no point in living.

5; viii, 32- “ I will not yield, to kiss the ground before young malcolm's feet…”

Macbeth now welcomes death, he will fight for life but he knows this is the end. Inside, he’s glad that he can be at peace.

    In conclusion, Macbeth has no personality or sense of self. Because of this, he is easily influenced by other people. King Duncan and Lady Macbeth were the most important people to influence Macbeth. Macbeth wants to serve the king, be his right hand man, be as loyal as can be. And then Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to kill the king for the money and the glory. If Macbeth knew himself, he wouldn't have done all of those horrible things. Macbeth is not evil, he just does not know himself.

Kyler Uminn

Mrs.Wood

English 11A

18 February 2016

Macbeth

Although Macbeth is a very kind person and loyal to the king lady macbeth turns the kind and innocent Macbeth into doing something horrible for lady Macbeth's own personal greed but he also had a slight though of doing this himself but Macbeth and lady Macbeth simply couldn't live with killing the king this ends up leading to his demise.

“if good why do i yield to that suggestion” which shows that Macbeth has much good in him but lady macbeth is trying to persuade him to kill the king so Macbeth can become the new king.Macbeth isn't very capable of handling this guilt quit as well as lady Macbeth does this is not entirely Macbeth's fault but he does have a hint of evil in him because he does think of doing this a little in his head but never had enough encouragement to actually go through with doing it until lady Macbeth and banquo had twisted his thoughts into killing the king which brought out who Macbeth really was “my hands are of your color but i shame to wear a heart so white”

Jordan Bohn

Mrs. Wood

English 11A

Febuary 21, 2016

Macbeth Goes From Hero to Tragedy

Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth is a story about a tragic hero named Macbeth and the things he is willing to do to gain power. At the start of the story he is confronted by three witches who prophesize that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor and then from there the King. He is unsure of the prediction but once his wife, Lady Macbeth hears of this she is determined to make her husband King, for her own selfish reasons, whether he really wants to or not. Between his wife and his inner desire for wealth and power, Macbeth sees to the witches prediction coming true. Although Macbeth was known as a highly respected and moral person by many at the beginning of the book, his lust for power and his guilt led to destruction of his mental state and a transition from hero to something much less than that.

Macbeth was greatly respected. He was considered to be brave, courageous, and loyal by his community. Even all of the royalty respected him. In the tragedy, the Thane of Cawdor, Macdonalwald was treasonous to Scotland. Due to this action, King Duncan had him executed leaving him looking for the next Thane of Cawdor. The Captain suggested Macbeth be the replacement; “For brave Macbeth well he deserves that name, Disdain Fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution” (2:1 16-18). It can be seen that Macbeth was obviously a prominent member of the kingdom at this point in time, and seemed fitting for the job by many. King Duncan made the decision to give Macbeth the position fairly easily; “Would thou hadst less deserved, that the proportion both of thanks and payment might have been mine! Only I have left to say, more is thy due than more than all can pay” (1:4 18-21). King Duncan’s decision and the things he had to say prove Macbeth’s hero like status at the beginning of the story. This was before his community realized what he (and his wife) were really capable of doing for what they wanted.

Although seemingly kind and honorable to most, in reality Macbeth was selfish and greedy. Once Macbeth was given the title of Thane of Cawdor a realization came to him that this was part one of the prophecy. He immediately fell to wishing that what the witches said would come true; “For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires: The eye wink at the hand;yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is done, to see” (1:4 51-54). Macbeth’s words to himself give readers the insight to how he really feels. This also foreshadows that he would be doing things that he may regret and that may not be very ethical. Now that Macbeth had become Thane of Cawdor, he saw that he was only two steps away from King. His eyes were on the prize and when Duncan names his son Malcolm, Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth saw that he was a blockade between him and his prophesied position; “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o'erleap” (4:1 48-49). Macbeth seemed to have had intentions of doing whatever it took to get his spot as King. Eventually the greed and influence of his equally greedy spouse got the best of him and he did what he needed he killed King Duncan. When Duncan’s sons fled, Macbeth assumed his position as King.

At this point in the tragedy Macbeth is consumed by himself. Macbeth took on his wife’s personality and the two of them together would go to any extent to keep their power and avoid Macbeth’s crime being discovered. He had lost so much of his moral compass at this point he had his best friend, Banquo killed along with his son, Fleance, all because the witches’ prophecy said that Banquo would “have kings”. Macbeth had to convince the murderers to kill Banquo and his son, he almost guilted them into doing it; “Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men; as hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs, shoughs, water-rugs and demi-wolves, are clept, all by the name of dogs” (3:1 93-95). His harsh words, were something that no honorable, kind hearted, hero, that everyone knew him to be at the beginning of the story would say. Now Macbeth had become someone he along with everyone else would not have pinned him to be. Once he really stepped back and assessed the situation he had himself in he became nearly consumed by guilt. Seeing “ghosts”, not sleeping, and having mental breakdowns, he saw karma coming back at him; “ O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!” (3:2 36). Macbeth had now started to acknowledge what he had become. Although he had gotten what he had desired, his royal title was a constant reminder of the wrongdoings he committed. Eventually the guilt was too much for Lady Macbeth to handle, leading to her death. When Macbeth received the news he seemed kind of numb to all of it, rather than a shocked or sad reaction he should’ve had. At this point in his life he had fallen into a deep depression of guilt and sadness, with no energy left to care too much about anything;

“She should have died hereafter, there would have been time for such a word. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day. To the last syllable of recorded time; and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” (5:5 17-28)

From this excerpt one could come to that conclusion that Macbeth had more or less given up. Macbeth had reached rock bottom, where the reader can really see that he is not a hero anymore, he is tragedy himself.

In The Tragedy of Macbeth as the story moves along, Macbeth shifts dramatically from hero to a sad mess. Shakespeare shows that greed can turn people down the road for the worst. Macbeth lets his desire for power justify his actions that would have been unthinkable to the man he was before the witches came along to predict his future. Started as a man of power and honor, one that could be considered a hero, his inability to think for himself and be influenced by his wife and his greed turn him into the furthest thing from a hero and eventually cost him his life.

Lady Macbeth Characterization Essay

Nadia Escandon

English 11A

Mrs. Wood - 1st Block

February 22 2016

Lady Macbeth Character Development

    In The Tragedy of Macbeth William Shakespeare begins the play with a scene involving three witches. They seek out the main character, Macbeth, telling him their prediction that he will one day be king. Of course, none of this could happen without help from his wife, Lady Macbeth. She is insistent that without the proper adjustments, Macbeth could never be king. The two then go on to plan the steps they must follow to bring down King Duncan and his successors so that they may gain power and finally seize the crown. Although Lady Macbeth appeared to be strong and persistently immoral when carrying out the evil deeds necessary to become queen, she was actually the more honorable of the two as she eventually felt the weight of guilt on her shoulders while her corrupt husband rose to power.

    Lady Macbeth is far more ambitious and persistent to carry out their immoral tasks so as not to be suspected by anyone before they take the thrown. Her excitement to begin their murderous plans is expressed when being told that King Duncan would be staying at their castle. She exclaims, "Thou'rt mad to say it" (I: v, 29) when realizing that murdering the king will be far easier than they imagined. She is now more persistent than ever to make sure that their plans take place that night and without falter. She is confident, although, Macbeth is doubtful and hesitates about the plans, "If we should fail?” (I: vii, 59), but Lady Macbeth’s urgency to follow through persuades him otherwise: “We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking-place and we'll not fail" (I: vii, 60-61). It is this persistence that actually gets the couple to where the witches predicted they would end up. After they murder the king Lady Macbeth keeps her eyes on what is important and scolds her husband for not thinking clearly and bringing hard evidence back from the scene. He carried with him the daggers used to murder Duncan and instead of feeling horrified at the sight of the murder weapons, Lady Macbeth instantly thinks to frame the king’s servants whom she had gotten drunk beforehand. This thoughtfulness of the plan was thanks to Lady Macbeth and her ambition to do a job and do it right.

When Macbeth and his wife carry out their first evil feat, Lady Macbeth maintains her strength and composure while her husband cannot even think of anything but the guilt of murdering the king. He addresses Lady Macbeth on this matter and says to her, “False face must hide what the false heart doth know” (Shakespeare I: vii, 82). With this, Macbeth encourages her to go on and pretend that everything is normal even now that they have made up their minds to kill the king. Lady Macbeth is strong and has no problem fooling anyone that everything is normal even after committing the crime. She even goes on to tell her husband that, “These deeds must not be thought after these ways. So, it will make us mad” (II: ii, 34-35), insisting that he must stop letting the situation get to him because she is able to do so without any trouble. It is clear that Lady Macbeth is very strong in keeping hidden the things she does not want others to discover and hopes that Macbeth will figure out how to do the same, telling him, “what's done, is done” (III: ii, 10-12) and to stop dwelling on the past. This is exactly what Lady Macbeth herself does to keep sane until Macbeth actually becomes king.

After days of putting up false masks, Lady Macbeth actually begins to feel the torment of their wrongdoings and slowly begins to fall apart. One night while sleepwalking it is revealed that Lady Macbeth too sees the blood on her hands just as Macbeth had right after the murder of the king, “Out, damned spot; out, I say. One, two,—why, then ’tis time to do’t” (V: i, 30-34). In her sleeping state Lady Macbeth is frantically scrubbing her hands, unable to get the blood out. The secrets coming out of Lady Macbeth do not stop there, though; in her dreamlike state she also reveals to the two bystanders more details about the nights following Banquo’s death. As if she were talking to Macbeth the night it happened she says, “Wash your hands. Put on your nightgown. Look not so pale.—I tell you yet again, Banquo’s buried; he cannot come out on ’s grave” (V: i, 43-45). Lady Macbeth continues to go mad with the blood on her hands all while her husband is going mad with power consuming him. Up until now Lady Macbeth has been the one pushing for power, but now the tables have turned and Lady Macbeth is the virtuous one who can not bear the guilt any longer. Lady Macbeth dies offstage while the corrupt Macbeth is far from upset about this.

The Tragedy of Macbeth truly did turn out to have a tragic ending as Macbeth died a power-hungry king under false circumstances. Lady Macbeth died with madness after she so tirelessly fought for her and Macbeth to become king and queen. She was truly an ambitious and strong wife to do such things for her husband even when he proved to be much weaker. During the restless moments after the murders, she could be counted on to remain composed while there is no saying what Macbeth would have done if his wife was not covering for him. Despite this behavior, it was always Lady Macbeth who was the more righteous of the two. When they finally inherited the throne, Lady Macbeth saw that what they had done was wrong when Macbeth had finally gotten over it. From the start of the play most would believe that Lady Macbeth had greater evils within than her vulnerable husband. Although, in the end it is clear that Macbeth is the one who is truly evil because in the play, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (I: i, 12).

Beauti Flynn - Macbeth

Beauti Flynn

Mrs. Wood

English 11A

Characterization Essay: Macbeth/ Outline

Thesis: Although Macbeth was a devoted and respected man, his own and others' ambition led him to discover his maliciously greedy nature beneath the noble exterior causing his undoing.

Paragraph 1: ( Macbeth was a devoted and respected man.. )
Paragraph 2: ( discover his maliciously greedy nature.. )
Paragraph 3: ( Causing his undoing.. )

In the beginning of The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth was loyal to King Duncan and others. Macbeth and his best friend, Banquo met 3 witches that eventually changed Macbeth's whole life. The witches told Macbeth that he'd be king, replacing Duncan. Macbeth described that information as fair and foul which led the witches to say, "fair is foul and foul is fair."

After a while, Macbeth kind of wanted to be king and started to think a lot more about becoming king ever since the witches told him, that would happen. Wanting to be king led Macbeth into thinking thoughts that he shouldn't have. Macbeth was thinking of killing his way to the throne even though he thought it'd be wrong. "Stars hide your fires, let not lights see my black and deep desires."

Eventually, Lady Macbeth has talked Macbeth into doing the wrong deed to lead him to the throne. The last time anyone saw him alive was when Duncan was at Macbeth's castle for the final time. That same night he was murdered by Macbeth. The next day, Macbeth was pronounced King. Macbeth was feeling very guilty and kind of scared that others suspected him of his wrongdoing. Macbeth met up with the witches throughout the play again giving Macbeth visions. After they met, Macbeth felt powerful because he knew he couldn't be killed by anyone since everyone was born of woman, according to one of his misleading visions.

Nate McCormick Rough Draft

Nate McCormick

Mrs.Wood

English 11 A-5th hour

19 February 2016

Characterization Essay of Macbeth

At the beginning of the story Macbeth presented himself as a very brave and loyal man to King Duncan. Macbeth changes drastically throughout the whole story and it is very apparent to some of the characters. Macbeth really starts to change when the witches tell him that he will be the king. Although Macbeth seems to be a loyal man at the beginning of the story he dies a bloodthirsty and corrupt monster.

At the beginning of the story Macbeth is a brave, loyal, and respected man. Macbeth is very loyal to the king and can't imagine himself killing the king. After the witches tell Macbeth that he will be king I think it kind of excites him and also confuses him. Macbeth doesn't know what to think about this new information. Macbeth wants to stay loyal to the king and says his services are enough and pays itself. Macbeth seems to be a loyal and respectable man but then Lady Macbeth starts to get into his head.

Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth to do things he isn't comfortable doing. Macbeth was to kind of a man and Lady Macbeth even says “It is too full o'th milk..great” (1:v, 13-25). Lady Macbeth knows he is too kind so she pushes him until he starts having thoughts of actually killing the king. Macbeth starts having thoughts and says “Let not light see... desires” (1:iv 48-53). Macbeth even starts to have hallucinations on the night of the murder and says “Is this a dagger..still” (2:i, 33-35). Lady Macbeth then finally gets Macbeth to kill the king and this is when Macbeth's personality really starts to change.

Once Macbeth claims the throne he becomes very violent and paranoid. Banquo then starts to suspect that Macbeth may have played fouly to become king and says “Thou play’dst most foully for it” (3:i, 3). Macbeth then plans to kill Banquo and Fleance and tells his murders “Ay, in the catalogue ye...dogs” (3:i, 92-95) which is very similar to what Lady Macbeth was saying to Macbeth to kill the king. Macbeth really starts to go crazy now  and says “O, full of scorpions my mind” (3:i, 37-38) and suspects Macduff knows he killed the king and Macbeth has Macduff's family killed. Macbeth really starts to only care about himself and becomes bloodthirsty, violent, and ruthless.

Macbeth really starts to loose his mind and becomes very unstable. Macduff then finally convinces the king's son to go back and claim his throne. Macduff and the rest of the forest starts to creep up the hill and Macbeth knows his fate is near. At this point Macbeth has gone crazy and seems depressed. Macbeth loses this battle and is killed by Macduff. Macbeth started out this story as a kind and respectable man but then after just one act of violence leads to many more and he dies a corrupt monster.

Dominic Kares MacBeth Charactarization Essay

Dominic Kares

Mrs. Wood

ELA 11A

22 February 2016

Who was Macbeth?

Macbeth is a dynamic character, as toward the beginning he was very loyal and obedient, and toward the end he still was very one-pathed, he put it upon himself to devise ways to get these things done himself. In many ways he has a core personality of an obedient soldier, but he has learned from Lady M. how to be a devilish, conniving, and oppressive overlord who would kill even his best friend to make sure that he gets his way. He is really kind at heart, but when pushed far enough, or gone insane, he is an absolute nightmare, even if the goals he wants to reach are still set by others. He might have been misunderstood that he was an engenius warlord by the end of the play, but really he always had a quest sent by someone else, someone always told him what to do, and when he didn’t know what to do next, he went and asked someone what to do next. He is a tragic hero due to that he starts a hero but falls into an endless abyss of madness and only gets slain after doing major damage to his kingdom and living long enough to see all that he holds dear to crumble to rubble. Although Macbeth rose to power for his legitimate characteristics of loyalty and kindness, his sudden descent from power arose from an easily malleable personality.

At the start of the play, Macbeth was a very loyal soldier and thane to King Duncan, and would do anything for the king without question or argument. In the beginning of the play it is mentioned that Macbeth will go out and put down rebellions against the king and would cut people in half if they were enemies of the king. This must have made him a favorite of Duncan and the other members of the court during the play, as he was given two places to be thane of, Glamis and Cawdor. He leaves nothing to be implied, saying Macbeth: “The service and the loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself. Your highness’ part Is to receive our duties: and our duties Are to your throne and state children and servants; Which do but what they should, by doing everything Safe toward your love and honor.” (1:iv, 22-27) This explicitly tells us that before Lady M. guilted him into killing the king, he was perfectly content life as a loyal servant to the king and didn’t want anything bad to happen to his beloved king. And even when he got convinced into killing the king, once he thought about it by himself for a while he got to thinking that this is a really bad decision, and it would go against all of his morals only to be king faster. He says:

Macbeth: He’s here in double trust:

First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,

Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,

Who should against his murderer shut the door,

Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan

Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been

So clear in his great office, that his virtues

Will plead like angels trumpet-tongued against

The deep damnation of his taking-off;

And pity, like a naked newborn babe,

Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubin horsed

Upon the sightless couriers of the air,

Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,

That tears shall drown the wind. (1:vii, 12-25)

He is saying that Duncan has been such a good ruler, that if they kill him the entire world will drown in a sea of tears and sadness. He is really respecting the king at this point, and now refuses to kill Duncan.

He felt he had his heart set on this through and through, and wouldn’t change it for anything. That is, until Lady M. says a few insults to his honor, hurting his feelings and then he says this: Macbeth: “I am settled, and bend up Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. Away, and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth know.” (1:vii, 79-82) This once again changed his mind in a matter of minutes, showing that he is a very malleable person, capable of changing in a blink of an eye. He also changes when he remembers his ‘best friend’ Banquo’s side of the prophecy the witches gave them. He knows that Banquo’s descendants will be kings, and he sees this as a threat, convincing murderers to kill him because of Banquo’s ‘traitorous nature’, talking about Banquo when he says Macbeth: “So is he mine [enemy], and in such bloody distance That every minute of his being thrusts Against my near’st of life:” (3:i,116-118) He sends people to go kill his best friend and his son, and because his descendants would be kings and that would be a threat to his great kingdom, he will kill even those closest to him to ensure his longevity and rule.

In the short time he has ruled, Macbeth hasn’t really done anything other than murder people and make his kingdom unhappy overall. However, even with all that he has done, he commands the witches to tell him more of his future, to which they show him visions. These visions include an armed head that tells him to beware MacDuff, a bloody child that tells him no man born of woman will hurt him, and a crowned child with a tree in his hand tells him he has nothing to fear unless the Birnam Wood reaches the castle. When he hears these things, he sends murderers to go and kill MacDuff and his family. However, it is clear when he starts losing control  when MacDuff starts a rebellion consuming his existence, making him less and less certain of his happy future. He thinks back to his visions, and thinks he has nothing to worry about once MacDuff gets killed, but then an unfortunate messenger tells him Messenger: “I looked toward Birnam, and anon, methought, The wood began to move.” (5:v, 34-35) This outrages and frightens MacBeth beyond his already broken sanity and sends the messenger to be executed. He even doesn’t care when his wife dies. He thinks he still might have everything under control, because he still has not encountered a man not born of woman, until MacDuff tells him this: MacDuff: “Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb” (5:viii, 13-16). Apparently being birthed from a c-section doesn’t count as being born from woman, so MacDuff can, and most likely will, in fact kill MacBeth. This doesn’t end well for MacBeth, he was presumed killed because MacDuff returned to his comrades.

Although MacBeth had gained the favor of his comrades from his heroic characteristics of  loyalty and honor, he fell from the throne due to his malleable personality. Throughout the play, MacBeth was constantly changing, but for the most part he had been drifting toward a meaner, less feeling monster who, in the end, cared about nothing and lost the will to continue living. He started out as a trustworthy, honest soldier, but he had been pushed by both a prophecy and Lady M. to do things he would never normally do, and eventually this pushed him over the edge of madness. After falling over this edge, he cared about almost nothing, and even became philosophical at one point, thinking about how all of it was worth nothing. This all lead to his betrayal and downfall at the hands of MacDuff, who started a rebellion against him to reclaim the throne. They did sucseed, and the great MacBeth was no more.

Macbeth Rough Draft

The character of Macbeth, as presented in Shakespeare's play, is a progressive one. As the plot proceeds his few good qualities disappear, while the evil becomes more and more developed. He goes from good to bad, and from bad to worse. Although Macbeth starts out as a brave and loyal man in the beginning of the play, he ends up being corrupted throughout the play by his wife’s need for power.

In the beginning of the play Macbeth starts out being brave and loyal. His fighting in Duncan's service is magnificent and courageous. Others can see his bravery throughout the battle as well. "For brave Macbeth — well he deserves that name —

disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like valour's minion carved out his passage till he faced the slave." (1.2. 16-20). Throughout this passage, the captain describes Macbeth’s exceptional bravery and loyalty. Macbeth says,  "The service and the loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself" (1.4.22-23) this passage shows that Macbeth is loyal to the king.

Soon after Macbeth converses with the witches and realizing that he will eventually be king one day. He tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, and her want for power corrupts Macbeth. Lady Macbeth slowly put ideas into his head throughout the play. Macbeth begins to question how it could be possible that he could be king one day since King Duncan has chosen his son Malcolm to be heir to the throne. Macbeth says, “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o’er leap, for in my way it lies...when it is done, to see” (1.4.48-53). Lady Macbeth would like Macbeth to kill the king. She says, “look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” (1.5.60-64) with that being said, Lady Macbeth knows how weak her husband is and she plans she can manipulate him easily and have him turn on the king.

After being told by Lady Macbeth that he is a coward, Macbeth makes up his mind and performs the deed as his evil thoughts are occurring more frequently, he has murdered King Duncan. After committing acts of murder, the original character traits of Macbeth fade away and evil and insane thoughts evolve in his mind. “All full of scorpions is my mind” (3.2.36). As the two discuss the danger Banquo and Fleance pose. Macbeth hints that he has sent assassins to kill them. The good Macbeth was completely lost by the end of the play. The passage, “I have almost forgot the taste of tears” (5.4.9) shows Macbeth admitting that he has lost all of the good he once had and his good intentions.

Unfortunately Macbeth ends up being killed by Macduff, a man who was removed from his mother’s womb. With Macbeth dead, the kingdom is restored to its former glory. Macbeth starts as a brave and loyal man but turns evil. He had evil thoughts placed in his mind with the help of his wife. He was easily convinced by Lady Macbeth to do the evil deeds he did. Although Macbeth starts out as a brave and loyal man in the beginning of the play, he ends up being corrupted throughout the play by his wife’s need for power.

  

      At the beginning of the play Macbeth seems to be brave and strong, but in the end he gets overwhelmed and corrupted by his fears of the future. He betrays his friends and allies to protect himself from his own future. The constant fear starts to drive him to madness. In the end he is alone without the friends or family he had once had before all of the fighting had happened.

      Macbeth is shown to be strong and brave at the start when the battle is occurring. It is also not just Macbeth who believes it either the others who witnessed the battle new his great strength. Impressing a captain in King Duncan's army telling the king all the “ But all’s too weak,For brave Macbeth”(1.2.14-15), and this impresses the king enough to make him the thane of Cawdor “And with his former title greet Macbeth”(1.2.66). This all sets up Macbeth as a trusted friend to his cousin the king.

      The first major problem Macbeth faces is the predictions of his and Banquo's future chance to become royalty. After being told this he begins to fear what he will do to become king. It is immediately obvious that he does not like the prophecy because the current king would have to die for him to become king. He then becomes distrustful of his own mind fearing it will make him kill the king so that he will get the throne from him. Even after being convinced that he could kill the king, Macbeth was scared  “if we should fail”(1.7.58). Then later in the play after the king is dead Macbeth begins to fear the prophecy that Banquo’s children will be kings “Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo”(4.1.117).

       Macbeth after getting this new fear he allows himself to be consumed by it, and let it take over his life. After following his fear, and killing the king the guilt after following his instincts “Glamis hath murdered sleep”(2.2.44). It can be seen when he see the witch sisters and says “Deny me this, and an eternal curse fall on you”(4.1.109-110). Then Macbeth follows the witches advice to protect himself from Banquo's descendants. Killing not only Banquo, but also Macduff’s family in hopes to kill him as well. The amount he has been corrupted can be seen when Lady Macbeth dies, and Macbeth does not seem to care very much.

       Anyone can see how Macbeth fear of the future effects all the future choices Macbeth makes even when it forces him to abandon himself in the process. Giving up on those he loved before the prophecy. After betraying all his friends he was left alone with everything falling apart around him. Until the death of the shell that was left of him.