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Bowen Zhu
Ms. Lipovetzky
ENG 1D8-A
May 27, 2016

Macbeth Character Essay


Macbeth is portrayed as a tragic hero whose character gradually darkens as his ambitions
become uncontrollable and his conscience clouded. At first, Macbeth is regarded to be a loyal
and respected general; he is presented to be a strong and honourable man but his character
changes greatly through three major choices that he makes. The first turning point is Macbeths
decision to murder King Duncan in order to claim the throne an act driven by his large
ambitions and the influence of the witches. Once Macbeth had claimed the throne, he continued
to resort to murderous ways in order to maintain power; this leads to the appointed murder of
Banquo and Fleance. The final act that drives the downfall of Macbeths character is his decision
to murder the family of Macduff. Throughout the play, Macbeth is filled with uncontrollable
ambitions and clouded thoughts which eventually overtakes his morals, changing his honorable
image to a vicious one.

Macbeth was introduced as a noble hero and was also kindly regarded by the King.
Although he did not originally have intentions to take the throne, the influence of the witches and
Lady Macbeth gave his ambition fuel to ignite. Macbeth hesitates at the thought of killing King
Duncan at first, as his loyalty wavers: 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
(1.7.13-16). Before the murder, it is apparent that Macbeth has a sense of justice and is not

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purely controlled by his ambitions. However, the act of murder was still done as his sense of
justice faltered to the urge to become king. Shortly afterwards, Macbeths guilty conscience
begins to take over him as he begins to feel the consequences of his actions: Or art thou but a
dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? (2.1.37-39). The
first act of murder has a great impact on Macbeths state of mind; hallucinations begin to cloud
his mind. Macbeth sees an imaginary dagger which haunts him for his sin a sin that cannot be
ignored. The rash decision of murdering King Duncan is the start of several further absentminded decisions as each act takes a toll on Macbeths conscience.

Once Macbeth had become the king, he continued to use violence as a means to secure
his position. His desire to protect the throne leads to dealing with any and all threats that he
perceives one of which is his former ally, Banquo. Macbeth is concerned as Banquo becomes
suspicious and his family line is prophesied to take the throne. As a result, Macbeth makes a
concrete decision to appoint the murder of a former ally and close friend for the sake of his own
safety. Macbeth himself begins to accept his foul actions, as he acknowledges the evil yet
reasons that it is necessary for him to succeed: Things bad begun, make strong themselves by
ill. So prithee, go with me (3.2.55-56). His decisions become based solely on his desires;
Macbeth puts aside justice and ethics in order to maintain his stolen crown to the extent of
killing his own comrade. Each act of murder places a large burden on Macbeths mind; in this
case, the ghost of Banquo returns to haunt Macbeths mind. Macbeths conscience begins to pay
a price after the murder: Avaunt and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee! Thy bones are
marrowless, thy blood is cold (3.4.93-94). The appearance of the ghost startles Macbeth, yet he
attempts to ignore the consequences for his cruel actions. Instead of feelings of guilt and
remorse, he deals with his guilty conscience by dehumanizing himself an attempt to conceal

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the guilt consuming his mind. Through murder, Macbeth begins to ignore the value of life,
leading his change into a selfish tyrant.

After the murder of Banquo, Macbeth sets his sights onto another threat Macduff.
Macbeth becomes cautious of Macduff and plans to deal with him accordingly. However, upon
discovering that Macduff has fled to England, Macbeth instead decides to raid Macduffs castle
and to kill anyone related to him, resulting in the murder of Macduffs wife, child, and servants.
His character becomes vicious and his decision making is unreasonable as he comes to the
decision that: From this moment, the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my
hand (4.2.145-47). Macbeth starts to act on impulse rather than reasoning; he decides to kill
Macduffs family simply because of their relationship to Macduff. By this point, Macbeths
conscience is completely clouded and his lack of reasoning and morals lead to the mass murder
of innocent beings. Towards the end of the play, Macbeth is filled with an empty tone: Lifes but
a walking shadow...It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing (5.5.2327). After all three acts of murder have been done; Macbeth seems to have become an
emotionless shell. In order to maintain his sanity through several acts of murder, he began to
ignore the value of life to focus on his own desires. Macbeth states that [Life] is a tale told by
an idiot...signifying nothing, displaying an empty and hopeless tone. The final act of appointing
the mass murder of innocent beings is a clear display of Macbeths cruelty and inhumane
character.

Throughout the play, Macbeths character evidently changes for the worse. The three acts
of murder that Macbeth commits each took a toll on his conscience, which eventually led to his

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downfall as a demon. His sense of justice and morals faltered as his desires clouded his state of
mind and decisions. The murder of King Duncan marked the beginning of Macbeths rampage
driven by ambition. The subsequent murder of Banquo showed the loss of humanity and emotion
in Macbeth. The final murder of Macduffs family displayed the heartless and cruel nature of a
completely changed Macbeth. Macbeth a noble and highly regarded general turns into a
vicious tyrant through acts of murder driven by wild ambitions. Macbeth was not an inherently
evil character but several rash and cruel choices made by him led to his change into an
emotionless tyrant and his eventually downfall.

Word Count: 1044

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