ipl-logo

Macbeth Character Analysis

976 Words4 Pages
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth, in many cases, is portrayed as being evil. However, his character is not truly the evil force driving the actions of the play. His wife, Lady Macbeth, as well as the witches and their misleading prophecies, are the real driving forces of Macbeth’s unspeakable actions. Macbeth is driven mad by the evil around him, causing him to turn to the violent behavior displayed throughout the many murders of the play. On his own, Macbeth had no intent of harming others for his own gain, or anyone else’s. With the influence of evil around him, his personality shifted to the murderous Macbeth we see as the play goes on. The first murder that Macbeth commits is that of King Duncan. Before being named the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth runs into the witches for the first time with Banquo. They tell him that he will soon be named Thane of Cawdor, and will eventually become king. Macbeth does not believe this prophecy, until King Duncan names him the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth writes a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her about his encounter with the witches. It is in reading this letter that Lady Macbeth begin to think up a plan to murder the king. When Lady Macbeth presents her plan to Macbeth, he reacts reluctantly. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth, “We will proceed no further in this business. He hath honored me of late,”(Act I, pg 25). It is after this statement that Lady Macbeth begins to scold Macbeth,

More about Macbeth Character Analysis

Open Document