Changes in Macbeth

A detailed Summary of Changes in Macbeth

In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, several characters had undergone great changes over the course of the story, but none had changed so much as Macbeth himself had. At first, Macbeth was a very honorable and noble man, both on and off the battlefield. Macbeth however, was a very ambitious man as well, and this was part of the reason for his change in character and downfall. Pushed by the idea that he could be king, his growing ambition and misplaced confidence in the prophecies and Lady Macbeth, Macbeth begins to become an evil, murderous tyrant lacking any sense of mind.

As the play begins, Macbeth is seen as a man with great honor and nobility. On the battlefield he fought very courageously and bravely for his country, as told by the captain. He had showed great loyalty to not only himself, but mainly to Scotland and King Duncan, unlike the previous Thane of Cawdor who had deceived Scotland. It can also be seen that Macbeth carried a high set of morals. He had been a very conscientious man who cared very much for the well being of his fellow friends as well as for himself. Before killing King Duncan, Macbeth had gone through a big ordeal of whether or not he should do the deed. His conscience played a huge

Very near the beginning of the play however, Macbeth's character starts to change, and not for the better. This is due to his striving ambition and misplaced confidence. When the three witches tell Macbeth that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland, Macbeth doesn't really believe them. But when Macbeth is told that he has been named the Thane of Cawdor, he has great confidence that he will become king. Lady Macbeth also is part of the reason for Macbeth's change in character, because she pushed him very much to try and become king. She too was very ambitious and wanted to be Queen of Scotland. Macbeth's love for his wife led him to act as Lady Macbeth had instructed him to when she doubts his manhood. This means that Macbeth will have to kill King Duncan because he has led himself to believe this is the course of action to take due to his aspiration of being king and Lady Macbeth's determination as well. His determined ambition leads him to do anything he can to become king. After he is crowned king, Macbeth changes for the worse even more. He becomes too obsessed with ideas that would overthrow him as king or how the future will give his family nothing and leave Banquo's sons to become kings. His misplaced confidence in the prophecies led him to become weaker as a man. Macbeth relied too much on the witches' prophecies and this would lead to his destruction. Macbeth's strong ambition to become king and stay king led to a change in his character that would bring great evil within himself.

role, for he knew that killing King Duncan would not be the right thing to do. Even though, Macbeth does

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Approximate Word count = 1105
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English