Character Profile Of Macbeth Essay

We hear about Macbeth first in the opening scene with the witches. They speak of Macbeth, which suggests that he is linked to evil through these witches. However, we quickly see that this is far from the truth and see that he is quite the opposite. Shakespeare portrays him as a courageous fighter through a bleeding captain speaking of Macbeth, who is at this point fighting for his country. â€Å"For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)† â€Å"Cannons overcharged with double cracks† The delaying of Macbeth’s entrance by Shakespeare is a clever technique used to get the audience thinking all sorts of things about him. Macbeth, a courageous, physically strong, good general is rewarded for his deeds by being named Thane of Cawdor. Just before Macbeth is pronounced Thane of Cawdor, he meets the witches with Banquo. The revolting creatures tell Macbeth that he will be Thane of Glamis, Cawdor and then King. He doesn’t realise that they are only telling him the good parts of the prophecy. He is taken back by the predictions and, naturally, wants to know more. He is single minded and wants to believe them. Macbeth thinks of the witches as a reliable source of information, even though he has only met them once, Banquo however has other ideas, describing them as ‘Devils’. â€Å"If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me without my stir† At this point we are under the impression that Macbeth is going to wait for chance to crown him, he goes on to make a speech and says, â€Å"With things forgotten†. This largely suggests that he has thought of murdering the King before, which shocks his brave, soldier image, he then, to our surprise, starts to plot in his mind the route to the throne. In these thoughts he realises that the Prince of Cumberland, the Kings own son Malcolm, is in the way between him and the King Duncan. He hopes his evil thoughts to be King are not found out and we see this when he says, â€Å"Let not light see my block and deep desires†. We see Lady Macbeth reading a letter from Macbeth, this shows the couples intimacy and proves the strength of their relationship. From the minute she reads the letter she is plotting for Macbeth to become King, although she fears he is too weak. â€Å"Too full o’th’ milk of human kindness† Lady Macbeth’s invisible will starts to grow and she cannot wait for her husband. They talk about murdering Duncan, with lady Macbeth trying to convince her husband to kill the King. â€Å"Look like th’innocent flower† This is Lady Macbeth ordering her partner to behave normally at the banquet, as he is planning to murder Duncan that night and his nerves are starting to get to him. As soon as Duncan enters Shakespeare builds up sympathy for him, â€Å"This castle hath a pleasant seat† Duncan thinks it is very nice, but Macbeth’s heart is certainly not ‘pleasant’. He is now nearly convinced to kill Duncan, but turns slightly into a moral coward. He fears the consequences and can’t act if he allows himself time to think it all through. He believes that if he does something bad then something bad will happen to him; which it sure does! Macbeth also respects the fact that the King is his guest and to be killed by the host is not very fair to say the least, Duncan is highly regarded by everybody and Macbeth’s fear of the crime getting out is too much. As well as all of these reasons not to do it, he hasn’t really got the gut determination and inner strength to kill his King. â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business† He gives in to fear and tells Lady Macbeth ‘no’. She is annoyed and scared her predictions of her husband were true. â€Å"Was the hope drunk?† She suggests that the original hope to be King was a fake and tries to win him around. Soon Macbeth is talked into killing Duncan and realises he will have to put on a face. â€Å"False face must hide what the false face doth know† Macbeth is extremely nervous and has a vision, in which he sees a dagger in front of him, almost as if to say ‘go and kill Duncan while the chance is still there’. â€Å"The handle toward my hand† He is very unstable and already feeling the nerves of a murder digging in. Knowing that Macbeth may fail Lady Macbeth takes the initiative and says, â€Å"Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done it† This line puts it across to Macbeth that he is a coward. I think that the idea of killing your guest, friend and at most your King is appalling and that Macbeth is repulsive. He nervously kills Duncan but makes a mess of it, bringing the daggers back with him. Lady Macbeth shows huge strength in calming him down, and then returns the daggers. Macbeth is a wreck of nerves, he still cares what people think of him and fears getting caught immensely. He is now wrapped up in superstition believing anything that the witches say. After the body is found the nobles close to Macbeth realise that he is behaving very strangely, in a particular occasion the suspicion of Macbeth gets so great that his wife faints as a distraction. This shows the great strength of his wife and her ability to help him become King. Banquo is certainly Macbeth, his own friend, killed Duncan and tries to convince everyone, causing Malcolm and Donalbain to flee for England. â€Å"There’s daggers in men’s smiles† Nobody knows who to trust and as Macbeth is crowned King peoples suspicions grow, as do his nerves. â€Å"I fear thou play’st most foully for’t† Banquo fears the worst from his so called ‘best-friend’ and confirms Macbeth’s fears by not showing at a banquet. There is a clear difference in the two main characters, Macbeth and Banquo. Banquo is a loyal and noble character, who is not swayed into decisions, he was patient for Fleance to become King, not really bothered about the witches’ predictions. Whereas Macbeth was totally obsessed with the predictions and blasted his way to the throne, we can now see how the two characters are totally opposite. Banquo is an annoyance and worry to Macbeth, this is because he is way too suspicious and Macbeth’s trust in the witches predictions that Banquo’s son would be King. I think that Macbeth feels threatened by Banquo and eventually he decides to murder him, and most importantly his son Fleance. â€Å"Whose being I do fear† – Referring to Banquo, â€Å"Whose absence is no less material to me† – Referring to Fleance. Macbeth’s motive for the murder of Banquo and Fleance was also that he needed piece of mind, he can’t relax if people are suspicious. We now see Macbeth being more self-motivated and doesn’t need Lady Macbeth as much any more. In the beginning he shared everything with her and initially valued her guidance, as well as being dramatically influenced by her. But since Duncan’s murder there is a clear breakdown in the relationship. Macbeth has another encounter with the witches and they predict he will be King until Great Birham Wood moves to Dunsinane! This creates a feeling of invincibility for Macbeth, as the thought of a wood moving seems impossible. From now on he decides to do everything without thinking about the consequences, a very different Macbeth than what we saw at the start of the play. â€Å"Be it a thought and done† All sympathy is lost for Macbeth when he murders Madcuff’s wife and child, a totally disgusting measure and the shear horror is unimaginable as well as being extremely sick. He is definitely not how Lady Macbeth described him earlier, â€Å"The milk of human kindness†. There is now a deterioration of character in Macbeth. The Macbeth, the leader, was good and honest, but now the Macbeth who consults with murderers is a traitor and disliked King. This is proven by many people in England discussing their views on Macbeth; â€Å"It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash is added to her wounds† This is Malcolm describing Scotland under Macbeth. â€Å"Not in the legions of horrid hell can come a devil more damned in evil to top Macbeth†. This shows the pure hatred of Macbeth, Madcuff then goes on to say, â€Å"It cannot be called our mother, but our grave†. They are decided to go and overturn Macbeth, â€Å"Macbeth is ripe for shaking†. Back in Scotland we see Macbeth experiencing an element of remorse, which is needed if he were to be a ‘tragic’ character. For example he has no feelings for his crying wife! This is due to his involvement in so many murders, he wishes he had these lost feelings. â€Å"I am sick of heart† Macbeth then shows little, if any, sympathy for his wife who committed suicide. This is somewhat typical of Shakespeare (to kill off the lead characters wife via suicide), for example in ‘Julius Caesar’ when Portia (his wife) kills herself. After this Macbeth’s worst nightmare comes true, when a messenger comes to him to say that he saw Burham Wood move. He acquires a very unsteady mind and tries to grasp some of our sympathy. â€Å"I have supped full of horrors† Macbeth knows a rebellion is on its way and says he shall fight till the end, â€Å"They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, but bear like I must fight the course† Madcuff kills Macbeth and gives the crown to Malcolm, who pledges a better reign to Scotland. I think that Scotland would be good under Malcolm as there is a sign of Duncan (rewarding friends for good deeds) and Scotland has a sense of freedom as Macbeth has finally gone.