The Character of Macbeth

  • Regarded as a brave and capable warrior at the start of the play (refs made to his courage in battle at the start of the play).
  • His encounter with the witches reveals his ambition and starts to raise doubts in the minds of the audience: “Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor: the greatest is behind”.
  • His thoughts then begin to turn to murder (Act I sc3 lines 133-137).
  • At the end of Act I Macbeth is wrestling with his conscience. He recognises that killing Duncan would be a terrible crime and sin against God. Consequently, he manages to convince himself that he will “proceed no further in this business” (Act I sc7).
  • Lady Macbeth does not share her husband’s concerns and appears at this point in the play to be the stronger of the two. Macbeth finds it difficult to defend himself against her accusations that he is a coward, a traitor to his word and lacking in manliness. She does not let his conscience win and he is too weak to resist the temptation to gain his ambition.
  • After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is horrified to think about what he has done. In contrast, Lady Macbeth is confident and thinks only about destroying the evidence. She does not think about or understand the consequences of Macbeth’s actions.
  • Macbeth is now consumed by a strong sense of guilt which remains with throughout the rest of the play.
  • The first murder was clearly carried out with some difficulty. The second was paid for out of fear regarding the prophecy for Banquo. The third was done out of fear and blood-thirsty revenge. He has become a fear-stricken tyrant, more concerned with being found out than committing murder. His instinct for self-preservation becomes the reason for his unwarranted bloodshed. His murder of Macduff’s innocent family is the epitome of evil.
  • His achievements bring no happiness, but much suffering.
  • He never experiences the benefits of happiness in being king.
  • He is unable to sleep; he loses friends and his wife; he destroys Scotland; he loses the loyalty of his soldiers and is labelled as a tyrant.
  • By the end of the play he is a despot, bordering on madness, incapable of feeling anything when he learns of the death of his wife.
  • He meets a deserved end.
  • His early career promised so much: titles, respect, prestige etc…
  • Ambition, moral weakness and imagination enabled him to take what was not lawfully his.
  • Turning Point – When he hired murderers to kill Banquo. Prior to this murder Macbeth had been manipulated/provoked into carrying out Duncan’s murder. In addition, it is clear he feels guilty after carrying out the dreadful deed. However, after Banquo’s death he seems to disregard his conscience.

The Tragedy of “Macbeth”

The two main characters have some noble characteristics (physical bravery, strong-mindedness and qualities worthy of respect) but they are ruined by an excess of some qualities and selfish application of others.

Themes

  • Ambition
  • Guilt
  • Appearance and Reality