Macbeth

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Macbeth is ambitious but easily led astray

Macbeth is a strong warrior who fights bravely in battle

He's ambitious - wants to become King of Scotland and will do anything to make this happen, even commit murder

However, he's got a conscience and often doubts whether he's doing the right thing

Spends a lot of time feeling guilty

He's easily influenced by others, which means he can be weak

Language

Macbeth's speech reflects his state of mind

Asks lots of questions when he's feeling uncertain or guilty: "Whence is that knocking?/How is't with me , when every noise appals me?"

At the start and end of the play, his language is more certain and confident: "Stars, hide your fires", "I will not yield"

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He's a brave hero...

At the start of the play, Macbeth is described as a "valiant" warrior

Rosse compares him to "Bellona's bridegroom" - saying that Macbeth is like Mars, the god of war

Macbeth's brave actions impress the King, who names him Thane of Cawdor

This title shows that the King recognises Macbeth's "personal venture" and loyalty

Macbeth seems most comfortable on the battlefield

When he's fighting, he doesn't have to worry about his guilty conscience and the morality of his actions

Macbeth dies in battle too - he fights "bear-like" to the end, even though he's doomed

He's determined to "try the last" and says that he "will not yield"

Writer's Technique - Structure

By the end of the play, Macbeth's come full circle - returned being the brave soldier he was in Act 1

Contrasts with the middle of the play, where he seems weak and uncertain

...and a brutal murderer

Macbeth's brave but also a cold and calculating killer

Murders Duncan because he wants to be King

Also has Macduff's family and Banquo killed because he's worried about losing his position

Macbeth is influenced by people around him

Lets LM persuade him to kill Duncan because he wants to become King - his ambition is stronger than his morality

At the end of the play, Macduff calls Macbeth a "hell-hound" and Young Siward calls him "abhorred tyrant"

Macbeth's violent ambition has ruined all his noble characteristics

Theme - Fate and Free Will

When Macbeth says, "I am settled and bend up/Each corporal agent to this terrible feat" - sounds like he's making a deliberate decision to kill Duncan

Later, he says that he didn't have control over his actions because he's just a "poor player" who's controlled by fate

However, he could also be trying to make himself feel less guilty about his crimes

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Struggles with his conscience

Macbeth has a strong sense of right and wrong

Worries about the consequences of his actions because there's "judgement" on earth and "deep damnation" after death - makes his actions more shocking

He's reluctant to kill Duncan, who has "honoured" him, and says "We will proceed no further in this business"

Sounds confident as if he's made up his mind - Macbeth recognises that Duncan trusts him as "his kinsman" and that as Duncan's "host" he has a duty to protect him

Once he's killed Duncan, Macbeth swings between killing anyone who threatens his position as King and moments of despair when he struggles with terrible guilt

His guilty conscience makes him imagine things:

Immediately after killing Duncan he hears a voice saying "Macbeth does murder sleep"

After arranging for Banquo to be murdered, he sees Banquo's ghost at the feast and almost gives himself away

Lady Macbeth thinks he's hallucinating

By the end of the play, Macbeth seems world-weary and cynical

No longer seems to feel guilty, because he think that a person's actions don't matter and that life means "nothing"

Theme - Kingship

Macbeth knows that Duncan is a good king - "clear in his great office"

And killing him would damage Scotland

Macbeth places his own desires above his love of Scotland - hints that he'll be a bad king

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He's easily influenced

Lady Macbeth greatly influences Macbeth

He wouldn't kill Duncan if it wasn't for her

Macbeth acts because he doesn't want to be seen as unmanly or a "coward"

Lady Macbeth's influence over Macbeth declines after Duncan's murder

Once he's murdered Duncan, the other murders seem to come easily to Macbeth, so he acts alone

He's also influenced by the supernatural:

First time he meets the Witches, he trusts them straightaway

Saying "Two truths are told"

However Banquo is suspicious of them and thinks they want to "win us to our harm"

He sees a dagger that leads him to Duncan's room

As the Witches' prophecies start to come true, Macbeth's belief in them increases

Begins to rely more heavily on what they say, and panics when their prophecies are fulfilled unexpectedly

Writer's Techniques - Symbolism

Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan by suggesting that he'll be "more the man"

Throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth link masculinity with strength and courage