Macbeth in context Essay

Macbeth is a five act tragic play, which was written by William Shakespeare for King James I in1607. It took the world by storm and today it is one of the best known tragedies available. Since it is so worthy of praise, in this essay, I am going to do a character analysis of Macbeth, the protagonist in this play. I will be evaluating how Macbeth’s ambition and determination to be king, eventually drags him to his downfall. Despite, he is the hero the main character; Macbeth is not introduced in the first two scenes. As William Shakespeare uses this as a theatrical device to create suspense and arouse curiosity in the audience. He does this by introducing other characters in these two scenes always speak about Macbeth. For example, one of the witches says, ‘There to meet with Macbeth’. This makes the audience curious about what they are going to do to him. Furthermore they make the King and bleeding sergeant speak of his bravery and skill, making him liked already. The dramatist Shakespeare additionally uses mythological language to glorify Macbeth. For instance the Bleeding Sergeant describes Macbeth by calling him ‘Valour’s minion’ and ‘Bellona’s bride groom’. Since Bellona is the Roman Goddess of war, Shakespeare is saying that Macbeth is a lover of war and is therefore a good soldier. Valour is courage and by calling him ‘Valour’s minion’ he shows that he is fearless and courageous. The hero, Macbeth, was a victim of circumstance. He is firstly influenced by the three witches in act one scene three. They convince Macbeth that he has the right traits to become a king. This is exceedingly significant as this sets the path for Macbeth’s downfall. Another main influence on Macbeth is none other than his dearly love Lady Macbeth. She does this by questioning his manhood in act one scene seven, ‘and lives a coward in thine own esteem’. Moreover when Macbeth asks her to do it, she convinces him to murder King Duncan by saying why she cannot do it as he reminds her of her own father. During times that the play Macbeth was written, the king was considered a delegate of God. The point that Shakespeare uses King Duncan as a theatrical device is worthy of note. King Duncan description of Macbeth, before his introduction, as, ‘worthy gentleman’ and ‘valiant cousin’, shows that even God is on his side. Getting praise from a demi-god shows the importance of Macbeth in that society and he may even be a role model for people at that time. One main character in the play that shows Macbeth’s real personality is Lady Macbeth. The first time in the play that she does this is when she receives his letter, ‘Tis too full of the milk of human kindnesses. By doing this she shows that under all the heroic traits he is also kind and gentle. So, the audience feel even more amazed at him. Being his closest person, she always knows how to instigate him to do something. She shows this when she convinces him to kill King Duncan. Although this may seem to some people like she is the vamp in play, she is in fact only thinking for the betterment of her husband. This shows she is a loyal wife and thus shows how worthy Macbeth would have to be to get such a devoted partner. As every tragic hero, Macbeth has one human flaw, which in his case is his vaulting ambition. This shows that every person has a flaw, even a hero. For, if it was not for his ambition to be king, then none of the tragedies would have occurred. This gives the audience the moral lesson, which is that too much ambition can in turn harm a person rather than benefit them, but the right amount is good as was shown before when Macbeth was considered good. Even though Macbeth is considered a villain by the audience towards the end of the play, he redeems his honour and pride when he goes to fight, He still dies a hero. His redemption starts when he calls for his armour and says, ‘At least we shall die with our harness on our backs’. The point that even when all odds are against him, he still acts like a true soldier by trying to fight of the army, which is obviously worthy of praise. It is also worthy to note that at this point in time, when he is near his death, he begins to repent for all he has done, and this means that the audience now feels sorry for him and this is how he regained their respect. To conclude, my analysis, I would to praise William Shakespeare for his fine use of descriptive language and theatrical devices, which are expertly thought out to please the audience at the time, and also to glorify his hero, even on his death.