Macbeth - Warlord of King Duncan

AS91101: Formal essay The main character who undergoes a significant change in a text is Macbeth, a character in Shakespeare’s play. He changes from being known as “noble Macbeth” at the start of the play, to being viewed as a “tyrant” at the end. This is an important change because it shows a once noble man who would do anything for king and country, to becoming corrupt in his ways. All because of his blinded ambition and desire to become the King of Scotland.

Techniques that are used to show these changes are the use of asides and soliloquies, stage directions, figurative language and other character’s opinions.

In the beginning of the play Macbeth is seen as a very brave and noble man. This is shown in Act 1 scene 2 when he is praised by the king” O valiant cousin” and the captain “ brave Macbeth”, and is made out to be believed that he is the main reason for Scotland winning the battle.

Macbeth is given hyperbolic and lavish praise for his military skills, such as “they were/as cannons overcharged with double cracks”, a simile which compares the speed and efficiency of Macbeths killing; to a cannon firing shots at once.

However this all begins to change in Act 1 scene 3, when Macbeth has his first encounter with the three witches. You start to realise that Macbeth seems quite open to new and exciting ventures. You see this when Macbeth and Banquo are talking to the witches and they tell Macbeth his prophecies.

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Banquo tells us Macbeth jumps” why do you start”, which suggests he already has the ambition to be a King. Although Macbeth knows the witches might be evil, he is seduced by the last prophecy” that shalt be king thereafter”.

This shows the audience that Macbeth is already changing, for the fact that he is already thinking of murder. In Act 1 scene 4, Duncan’s announcement that Malcolm is his heir; shatters Macbeth’s hopes of becoming King. In front of Duncan, Macbeth seems very happy. But to the side he describes Malcolm as” a step/on which I must fall down, or else o’er leap” (this is an example of an aside). This describes Malcolm as an obstacle to the throne, which Macbeth must overcome. This shows that nothing will stand in his way and his ambition is far too great.

After this scene, his fate is set and Macbeth knows that he must do what ever is necessary to become king, even if it means resulting in murder. This is mentioned in Act 1 scene 3, when in a aside, Macbeth says to himself “my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”, which shows he is having thoughts of murder even though the witches had never mentioned it. This means that his state of mind is changing from good to evil, all because of his raging ambition to become King. However, Macbeth did know deep inside that murdering Duncan was wrong and at one point had came to the decision not to do it at all.

This soliloqy occurred in Act 1 scene 7, while being outside the dinner room Macbeth ponders over wether he should murder Duncan or not. It is shown in lines 12-28 “he’s here in double trust…and falls on th’other”. This describes all the reasons he shouldn’t kill Duncan, throughout this entire soliloquy, he only comes up with one reason why he should, his driving ambition to become king. By the time Lady Macbeth finds him (the one thing pushing Macbeth into killing Duncan) he has changed his mind. However Lady Macbeth accuses him of cowardice and that he doesn’t love her (Act 1 scene 7, lines 35-45).

She then moves on to tell him the plan and he is very impressed by her plan and attitude. This shows he has changed in a way that he can no longer make his own decisions and can be manipulated into doing anything if the right things are said. Later in the play you finally see that Macbeth has changed from being “noble Macbeth” to a “tyrant”. You see this when Banquo thinks how all the witches prophecies for Macbeth have become true and wonders if they might for him to, “and set me up in hope”. This reveals Banquo’s hope to be “the root and father of many kings”.

It shows Shakespeare flattering James I, who believed he was a descendant of Banquo). However he becomes suspicious of Macbeth and his involvement in Duncan’s death,” I fear though play’dst most foully for’t”. The use of the word “foully” reminds us of the witches in Act 1 “fair is foul and foul is fair” this links into the theme of appearance and reality and the fact it shows the tragedy that is Macbeth. “The downfall of man has begun”. The fact he has changed from “noble Macbeth” to a “tyrant” is finally realised in Act 3 scene 1, lines 48-73; when Macbeth talks about his fears in Banquo..

In these lines he talks about how Banquo is a better man and because of this he feels inferior. He worries about the witch’s prophecy for Banquo: Banquo’s descendants will be Kings. (Macbeth has no children),” they hailed him father…sceptre in my gripe”. Because of all of this, he decides to murder his best friend and his son Fleance. All so his line can remain as King. This is the ultimate sign of betrayal and lets you see what exactly his and everybody else’s ambition can drive them to do. It also shows exactly what he will do to remain as King. Even if it means killing everybody he once loved.

All of the changes that occur throughout the play are important because it shows Macbeth changing at the beginning of the play from a man of pure heart. To becoming something of absolute evil, all the way up to his well-deserved death. This is all caused by Macbeth’s insane ambition to become the King of Scotland. Ambition has serious consequences in the play: Macbeth is slain as a tyrant and Lady Macbeth commits suicide. Shakespeare does not give either character the opportunity to enjoy what they have achieved – perhaps suggesting that it is more satisfying to achieve your goals fairly than to achieve them through corruption.

In testing Macduff’s loyalty, Malcolm outlines the difference between ambition and morality by pretending to be greedy and power hungry. He wants to see if Macduff believes these are good qualities for a King to posses. Macduff does not and therefore demonstrates that a moral code is more important in positions of power than blind ambition. At the end of the play, Malcolm is the victorious King and Macbeth’s burning ambition has been extinguished. But is this really the end to over-reaching ambition in the kingdom?

The audience is left to wonder if Banquo’s heir will eventually become king as prophesized by the witches. Will he act on his own ambition or will fate play a part in realizing the prophecy? Or were the witches’ predictions wrong? So to conclude, Macbeth goes through a significant change from being a hero into a scoundrel. This all occurs because of his thriving ambition to have something that was never rightfully his. The throne of Scotland. This is and always will be the tragedy of the play: the tragedy of Macbeth.