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.