Macbeth is an extremly complicated character to portray. His personality changes throughout the play beginning as an honurable war-hero and being praised highly by the King; making him Thane of Cawdor even though he was already Thane of Glamis. He then becomes a hesitant murderer, constantly distressed about his situiation ‘I am afraid to think what I have done’ to actively planning the murder of Banquo and showing little contrition for the death of his wife, Lady Macbeth ‘She should have died hereafter’ and becoming responsible for the massacre of Macduff’s wife and children.it is imperative that the actor playing Macbeth understands the intricacy of his character. He must also be able to show the contrast between Macbeth’s character in Act 2 Scene 1 and Act 5 Scene 5, in order to portray Macbeth, the actor must contemplate the mood and tone of what he is saying, his gestures and actions to match a certain phrase or speech. Also his facial expressions are very important.
Act 3:2 shows the guilt of both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth as they yet have to kill Banquo, who he suspects the duo have killed Duncan. Their lines earlier in the scene show a mood full of tension and anxiety. However, due to each other’s presence they become stronger, braver and darker. The scene starts with Lady Macbeth who is now Queen Macbeth due to the death of Duncan and the crowning of Macbeth. She states after the servant leaves: ‘tis safer to be that we destroy, than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy’ (7-8).
Lady Macbeth calls on the spirits of darkness and evil to replace her nurturing and feminine qualities with remorseless cruelty. Macbeth is appalled of the thought of killing his king and can think of many reasons for not going ahead with the murder. So Lady Macbeth manipulates him by accusing him of being a coward and unmanly, until he agrees to proceed with the murder. Lady Macbeth presents her plan that when Duncanâs servants are asleep, he will enter Duncanâs chamber and kill him. Macbeth carries out this murder so the third prophecies will be fulfilled.
When faced with the decision to kill Duncan the King, the audience can see Macbeth's indecisive nature as he battles with his mentality, taking up several scenes before finally deciding with the help of Lady Macbeth. The audience is shown that Macbeth is easily persuaded by Lady Macbeth who is very level headed and power driven, a contrast to Macbeth. The fact that it took Macbeth so long to finally act upon his decision proves that he did not start out as a villain, rather, he was nurtured into one. Compared to "The Laboratory" which talks of a woman making
When faced with the decision to kill Duncan the King, the audience can see Macbeth's indecisive nature as he battles with his mentality, taking up several scenes before finally deciding with the help of Lady Macbeth. The audience is shown that Macbeth is easily persuaded by Lady Macbeth who is very level headed and power driven, a contrast to Macbeth. The fact that it took Macbeth so long to finally act upon his decision proves that he did not start out as a villain, rather, he was nurtured into one. Compared to "The Laboratory" which talks of a woman making
Macbeth desires to be king but keeps on telling himself that it is wrong because Duncan has been good to him. This demonstrates Macbeth’s indecisiveness and also the fact that he is too scared to kill Duncan. This serves as a weakness for Lady Macbeth to exploit. When Lady Macbeth enters the scene, she initially speaks using very short sentences and questions which make her character seem demanding and frustrated with Macbeth and you could even go as far to say, paranoid. This is displayed perfectly in lines 35-38 (‘Was the hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself?
In Macbeth, guilt is an important theme because it is what eventually drives Macbeth and his wife mad. Shakespeare uses the image of blood as a symbol of guilt and wrongdoing, and it appears, mostly in their minds, when the characters are experiencing feelings of remorse or guilt. After Duncan’s murder, Lady Macbeth seems sure that ‘A little water clears us of this deed’. However, she sees blood on her hands, symbolic of guilt, throughout the rest of the play that she cannot clean off, no matter how much water she uses. Macbeth is visited by the ghost of Banquo, who he murdered to protect his secret.
Emotions Overpowering Affect Why is it that humans let out emotions get the better of us and basically restrict our free will? In his play, Macbeth, Shakespeare writes about a character, Macbeth, coming to power through the vile act of murder enticed to him by his wife. Sinful actions have been connected with being overwhelmed emotionally several times throughout the play. There comes a point when a free willed decision can cause certain consequences whether bad or good and one can be judged on how they deal with the result. Some may try to fix the problem and put it behind them while others get too caught up and cannot stop their actions anymore for it is needed to keep them safe.
As the play progresses, it is evident that Macbeth is tempted by the witches and has become evil by the catalyst of their powers. The reader recognizes the mental weakness Macbeth really has even though he has power in ambition. The varying points of view of a play give the author more power for audience to become involved with the actions on stage. For example, Macbeth in one of his soliloquies says whole heartedly, "I am his kinsman and his subject," about the thoughts of killing Duncan only to be later plauged by vision of "thy blade and dudgeons gouts of blood." This first person point of view allows the audience to know Macbeth's thoughts that no other character in the play can.
After Lady Macbeth read Macbeth’s letter about his fortune that was foretold by the 3 witches, she conducted a deadly plan to kill King Duncan and persuaded Macbeth into following her plan so that Macbeth will become King. Macbeth fell seduced into Lady Macbeth’s plan because of his ambition to become King. Macbeth’s ambition to be King was the greatest factor of his deterioration. Macbeth’s ambition alone was not a strong enough motive to kill Duncan, but with the other two key factors: the 3 witches’ prophecy and Lady Macbeth’s manipulation this aroused his ambition. Without Macbeth’s ambition his tragic flaw could not come into place.