The Audience's Attitude Towards The Savage Man In Macbeth

As one reads or watches Macbeth for the first time one’s attitude tends to shift. You go from seeing a heroic man of good reputation to a savage man of murder. The change in the man is quick and stems from a single choice and a deep lust for power. This paper will explore this change and the change in the audience’s attitude toward the man of Macbeth. Let us begin with the first act and how the audience initially views Macbeth as a man. In scene one the eerie effect of the witches speaking of Macbeth leaves the audience with a feeling of impending doom, almost giving a sense of the tragedy with the dark presence of the weird sisters. However, this feeling is again turned around as Duncan enters with the messenger and they speak of all the

We see Lady Macbeth shrink from the killing and Macbeth go through with it. We, as the audience, begin to dislike Macbeth for caving to the will of his wife and giving in to the murder of a benevolent king. After this we see Macbeth take the throne because Duncan’s sons flee the country for fear of their lives. Our dislike for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth only grows stronger. Macbeth for what he continues to do and Lady Macbeth for what she caused. The audience sits in awe as Macbeth descends into madness. First He kills his friend and confidant because he is afraid of his sons. Banquo had been faithful to Macbeth through it all and was practically Macbeth’s brother, and yet Macbeth sees him as a threat and disposes of him. By now the audience hates Macbeth. However, we begin to have a slight sympathy for Lady Macbeth. She can no longer sleep, her dreams are haunted by the death of Duncan and of Banquo. She complains of the blood on her hands knowing it will never leave. In the meanwhile, Macbeth meets once again with the witches and demands his fate of them. They begrudgingly give him the prophecy telling him to beware Macduff and the trees of Birnam