Characterization Essay - Taylor Gripentrog

Taylor Gripentrog

Mrs. Wood

English 11A

26 February 2016

Characterization of Macbeth

Although Macbeth was loyal, brave, and triumphant in the beginning of the play, as the plot progresses, his eagerness to seize a more substantial aggregate of power led to a corruption in his character involving greed, self indulgence, and barbarity. Therefore, Macbeth is often described as a very complex character, as he patently changed from the beginning to the end of the play.  For instance, he was admired by other individuals due to his brave and loyal acts that he carried out near the start of the play. Although, as the plot advances, readers can clearly discern that his character was altered and corrupted due to the fact that some of his characteristics included being avaricious, hedonistic, and bestial. Not only that, but readers can remark that he transformed into an extremely power hungry character, as he carried out a series of acts in order to acquire more power than he originally had.

Near the beginning of the play, Macbeth is epitomized as a valiant, faithful, and successful individual. Readers can recognize these favorable qualities not only through Macbeth’s treatment towards King Duncan, which involved carrying out acts of loyalty and reverence, but also through his acts of bravery in combat. As said by Captain, “for Brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name…” (1: ii, line 16-18), readers can infer that Macbeth is an extremely brave character and deserves the title that he has among the individuals that he rules over. Furthermore, it also demonstrates his heroism by describing the fight against Macdonwald and Sweno and the success that Macbeth obtained from the battle. Readers can clearly catch sight Macbeth’s outstanding character by showing that he was able to carry out multifarious actions that not many other individuals could through Macbeth himself declaring "I dare do all that may become a man, Who dares do more is none" (1: vii, lines 47-48). Here, Macbeth is stating that his bravery is unique and that there is simply nobody else that can do what he does. Additionally, an example of Macbeth encompassing such characteristics towards the king can be understood through a line spoken by Macbeth in which he states “We will proceed no further in this business…” (1, vii, lines 31-34). Here, Macbeth has come to the realization that he will not carry out the murder of King Duncan, as he is proud of the opinions that people have of him; this shows a positive characteristic at this time in the play as a result of Macbeth deciding to salvage King Duncan’s life.

As the plot progresses, Macbeth’s character altered from possessing exceedingly superior qualities to a character whose intentions were solely based off of retaining more power. As the plot progresses, Macbeth longed for more power and with the persuasion of his wife, Lady Macbeth, he eventually carried out an uncivilized act involving the murder of King Duncan in order to gain more power than he originally had. Although, it was clear that Macbeth had suffered a debate within himself, and constantly questioned whether or not removing the king from the throne was worth losing his positive opinions from people.  Said by Macbeth, “Thou sure and firm-set earth, Hear not my steps, which way they walk…” ( 2, ii, line 56), this soliloquy shows that Macbeth perturbed over the act that he about to commit, yet he still could not forbear from doing so. Lady Macbeth is also a key role in King Duncan’s death, as she constantly urged Macbeth to stop considering not killing the king because she wanted to be in a higher position of power as well. According to Lady Macbeth, she stated that “there's comfort yet; they are assailable...”  (3: ii, lines 40-44). In these lines, Lady Macbeth tries to reassure Macbeth and calm him by saying that Banquo and Fleance will not be able to live forever and that they will eventually reach their goal.

Not only did Macbeth transform into a power hungry character, but into a greedy, self indulgent and barbaric individual as well. Macbeth’s urge to contain more power led to such qualities, as he had carried out many horrendous actions in order to acquire the throne. For instance, he murdered King Duncan by inflicting multiple stab wounds with a dagger, all for the sake of gaining the title as king. More so, there were the killings of the king's two guards, Banquo, Lady Macduff and her family, and Young Siward. The purpose of these other killings were all for the same reason: for Macbeth to simply be king. The reason as to why these events are barbaric is because Macbeth carried out these actions in a violent manner, by using daggers to stab others and hiring murderers to do the bloody job as well.  In act five, Macbeth stated, “I have almost forgotten the taste of fears” (5: i, line 9). Here, it is clear that Macbeth is now a depraved character, full of evil and corrupted qualities due to the actions that he carried out. Macbeth can also be described as self indulgent and greedy due to his lack of appreciation for those around him and his yearning for a more substantial amount power. For example, Banquo treated Macbeth with a large quantity of respect and loyalty and Macbeth tried killing him in return, even though they were close, all for the sake of being king. This shows that Macbeth does not value his relationships with others when it comes to gaining the position of king, how he is greedy for power, and how he is unappreciative of the good things that he already has, such as close relationships with others. As said by Macbeth, “o full of scorpions is my mind” (ii, line 36), Macbeth is trying to tell Lady Macbeth that he cannot enjoy his position as king due to the fact that his mind is unsettled. Just as a scorpion sting would hurt and make a person feel pain, so too do Macbeth's thoughts.

Overall, Macbeth is a highly complex character who evidently changes personalities as the plot progresses. For instance, Macbeth started out as a loyal, brave, and triumphant hero who had good opinions coming from those surrounding him. Although, once his yearning for more power came into effect, his character changed from good to bad. This is all due to the fact he carried out multitudinous acts which led to a corruption in his character involving greed, self indulgence, and barbarity. Perhaps Macbeth suffered from self confidence issues and felt as if more power would simply improve the way in which he felt about himself. Or even more, maybe Macbeth was worried about ruining his relationship with Lady Macbeth and did everything that she requested of him in order to maintain her happiness and their relationship healthy. It is not certain that Macbeth carried out these acts because he was power hungry, but readers can clearly see that Macbeth had many other issues in his life that may have played a role in his type of character at the end of play. After all, people nowadays tend to have reasons for the actions that they carry out.