Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Macbeth

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, we discover that Macbeth is a tragic hero. There are many factors, which contribute to the degeneration of Macbeth. Macbeth is very ambitious and courageous, and is later portrayed as a moral coward. All of these qualities lead to his tragic death at the end of the play. There are three major points, which contribute greatly to Macbeth's degeneration. The first was the prophecies, which were told to him by the witches. The second factor was when Lady Macbeth influenced and manipulated Macbeth's judgment. The final factor was Macbeth's long time ambition, which drove his desire to be king. Macbeth's character degenerates from a nobleman to a violent individual.

At the beginning of the play, Shakespeare describes Macbeth as a definite hero. Macbeth's defense of Scotland is significant in the opening scene, because it portrays him as a great hero. The witches predictions to Macbeth after the opening scene influence Macbeth greatly. Despite Macbeth's rank he is still very superstitious and listens to the predictions of the witches very carefully. If it had not been for the witches telling him that he was to be Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and King of Scotland, Macbeth would still be his ordinary self. Because of the prophecies, Macbeth's curiosity was aroused as to how he could be King of Scotland. As the play progresses, Macbeth slowly relies on the witches prophecies to decide his course of action. Shakespeare uses the witches as a remedy for Macbeth's curiosity, which corrupts his character. At the beginning of the play, he was very loyal to the king. The King rewarded his service to Scotland with gifts, titles, and gracious praises. For a time, it appeared that Macbeth was going to remain loyal. Macbeth's quote in act one "Why, if fate will have me king, why, chance may crown me King," made it seem as if Macbeth would remain loyal.

However, this would soon change due to the influence of Macbeth's wife. Lady Macbeth's character at the beginning reveals that she is very ambitious. Her character also shows that she loves power and wealth. Lady Macbeth soon realizes the witches predictions, and decides to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth was ready to kill King Duncan herself, but she backed out because he reminded her of her father. Lady Macbeth plays an important role in this play, because she provided the scheme, which caused Macbeth to assassinate King Duncan. When Duncan arrived at Inverness, Macbeth controlled his ambition for the time being and did not kill Duncan. The failing of his decision was soon reflected by Lady Macbeth who called him a coward. However, Shakespeare provokes a sense of pity by making Macbeth regret his wrong doing shortly after the murder. It is after this scene of the play, that the audience can note the change in Macbeth's character. Macbeth's first murder was a trying experience for him; however, after the first murder killing seemed to be the only solution to maintain his reign of the people of Scotland. Therefore, Lady Macbeth introduced the evil concept of murder to Macbeth. Yet increasingly his ambition and desire defeated his good nature.

From then on, after the murder of Duncan, Macbeth entered a life of evil and destruction. After the first murder he realized that Banquo would one day threaten Macbeth's ruling line. Macbeth knew this because of the witches' predictions earlier in the story. He wanted to protect his ambition, so he hired men to kill Banquo and his