Macbeth by Shakespeare – Tragedy of Political Ambition.
Perhaps one of the most famous tragedies in all of English literature, Macbeth is full of murder, guilt, and foreshadowing. It’s also a play that serves as an allegory for the corruption of power and ambition. The titular character is spurred to kill King Duncan by his wife after hearing three prophecies that he will become king himself. Together they plan Duncan’s death and it’s carried out by two hired assassins. The story features some gruesome murders including those by Macbeth himself: Duncan, Banquo, Macduff’s family as well as Lennox and Seyton who are both loyal to the king.”…
1. Early Life
He was born in Scotland at a very early age and in the play, he is referred to as a “handsome” child. His father was Macduff and his mother was Glamis. Conan, Duncan’s son, is his half-brother. He lived in a household where he led a fairly sheltered life and was known as a kind man. By all accounts, Macbeth seemed content with his life and did not exhibit any signs of evil or natural tendencies towards killing people, however, he did have sinister tendencies from childhood that can be seen throughout the play.
2. Becoming Thane of Cawdor
After the killing of Duncan and the downfall of his family, Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor. This can be seen by the fact that he no longer has any reason to worry about holding on to this title. However, his title is taken away from him when he is informed that it was Duncan’s dying wish that Macbeth would become king after him. The title is not restored until he becomes king, which has symbolic meaning in that he receives the title from the people of Scotland.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is an earl and has recently become the Thane of Cawdor under Duncan. He is a loyal subject, though he does not like kings in general, so he does not wish to be king himself. He is a kind and friendly man, but also very ambitious. He seems to have most of the qualities of a good ruler except for wanting to rule. Macbeth is aspirational but also doesn’t want to be King at all due to his ambition being completely satisfied with his current position as Thane/Earl
3. First King of Scotland
The play begins on the battlefield where Macbeth and Lennox lead an army against Macdonwald and his forces. After they have taken back Dunsinane, Macbeth becomes the first king of Scotland by killing Duncan and succeeding him as ruler after it was revealed that he was Duncan’s dying wish. The play begins with the preparation for war as three armies prepare to face each other.
Macbeth, Lennox, and Seyton are all loyal to Duncan, however, Cawdor is loyal to Macbeth and he expresses his concerns about Macbeth’s intentions. After the war has ended, it’s revealed that Macbeth is now king of Scotland. However it was not something he had planned on doing and he did not want to be king, though now that he is there is no reason for him to worry about losing it.
4. Character
Macbeth has many characteristics that make up his persona in the play as well as traits that set him apart from other characters. Macbeth is someone who is easily influenced by others and often makes decisions based on what others are saying such as when he kills Duncan based on what his wife tells him about prophecies and how he will become king after Duncan’s death. Macbeth is also a very loyal person but it’s more so to his moral code than to his country as he proved when he killed Duncan.
He is a complex character because he is influenced by the people around him and essentially the story that the witches told him. He has many characteristics that make him a complex character, some of which were already mentioned in this article, but here are some other characteristics that can be seen in Macbeth: He is not naturally evil and does not exhibit signs of being evil until late in the play. At the beginning of the play, he believes himself to be above others and better than others based on what others tell him.
5. Appearance
Macbeth is described in the play as being a handsome, young man. He is also described as being strong and tall. He has a long sword and he wears battle armor. Macbeth is described as looking average in appearance, though his age and height were not mentioned in the play. Macbeth would be considered an average-looking character because of his normal-sized build and height.
He is an average person based on the people around him. He is not described as being ugly or having any major flaws. Macbeth seems to be a very normal-looking person in terms of his body. He is normal in all aspects of his appearance except for perhaps his height, but even so, he does not tower over everyone and is of average height just like everyone else in the play. The only distinguishing trait that Macbeth has is his ambition, which is something that all characters in the play have.
6. Gloomy
Macbeth does not seem to exhibit any signs of being gloomy or evil during the play. He is a simple man who lives a sheltered life and does not seem to have any natural tendencies toward killing people. For example, he is described as having no bad temper and killing Duncan without feeling remorse or remorse for deceiving him. Macbeth doesn’t show any signs of being evil until later on in the play after he kills Duncan and becomes king with no real reason to worry about losing this title just like all the rest of the characters in the play do.
The only reason he killed Duncan and became king was that the witches said for him to do so. Even though Macbeth may not seem to be gloomy, or evil, he is so because of the actions that he performed due to the lies that some people told him. Macbeth isn’t gloomy based on what goes on in his life. He has a normal life, despite being a warrior and having many people killed during the battle. However, it seems as if he doesn’t like royalty which makes sense because of his ambition and desire for power
7. Loyal
Macbeth is very loyal to the people around him. Even though he is Duncan’s subject and an evil person tricks him into killing Duncan, he remains very loyal to Duncan by killing him as requested of him. He also remains loyal to his wife in the play when she tells him that she is pregnant and even after her death, despite her being so far gone with sleep and depression that it was unlikely that she even knew what she was saying. Macbeth seems to be a very loyal character because he killed Duncan for no reason other than what his wife had said about prophecies.
Loyalty is a trait that all other characters in the play have as well. When they were children they were taught to be loyal and that was when the king said something to do so. However, it is revealed in the play that all of the characters are not loyal at all and are fickle when they want something. They want what they desire more than anything else and are willing to do anything to get it.
Macbeth is a very complex character because he can kill several people in battle, including the King, and also have a wife who he loves so much that he couldn’t conceive of killing her. He was influenced by the prophecies of the three witches and by his wife’s wishes to become king. He killed Duncan which was a very foolish decision because he could have ruled over Scotland peacefully with Duncan as long as they both stayed alive.
