Commentary on Macbeth Essay

Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a play in which the eponymous hero changes from a good to a bad character at the turning point in the play. This is a result of the king being murdered by Macbeth and lady Macbeth. It is the consequences of the murder by the two protagonists that the play is based on and not the murder itself, which is why the murder is not staged. the last scene where lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to murder king Duncan is a very important scene, and this is where the turning point in the play occurs. This scene determines the future course of the play and has a great effect on the development of their characters.

At the beginning of the act Macbeth appears as a brave and noble character. The reader sees this when his captain says:

for brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name.

Macbeth has just defeated the rebellion of highlanders and islanders, led by Macdonald. The captain refers to Macbeth as brave in the second scene which makes it clear to the reader straight away that Macbeth is, at this point in the play, an eponymous hero. As the scenes in this act progress the reader begins to see a change in his character.

so foul and fair a day I have not seen.

This quotation correlates with what the witches say in the first scene of the play, which shows to the reader that Macbeth is in some way involved with evil. It also creates an image in the readers head of him, which is not the same as first perceived in the previous quotation. This is a build up to the turning point in the play, which shows that Macbeth has an element of evil about him, and that it was not just lady Macbeth and the witches influence which drove him to kill king Duncan.

After Macbeths meeting with the witches, the reader sees his thoughts through Shakespeares use of soliloquy. We see his usage in the following quotation:

why do I yield to that suggestion, whose

horrid image doth unfix my hair.

Macbeth is wondering why he is considering the thought of killing king Duncan when it makes the hairs on the back of his neck rise. This reinforces the previous quotation, showing that there is definitely an element of evil about him.

By the end of scene seven we see Macbeth as unsure and venerable. Macbeth has returned home the day before Duncan arrives at the castle, and lady Macbeth is trying to convince him to kill Duncan. She knows of Macbeths venerable state, as he has a driving ambition to become king. She takes advantage of this but for a while Macbeth is uncertain of murdering king Duncan as he knows the consequences of regicide. The reader sees this when he says we will speak further, which shows his uncertainty.

As the act continues we see Macbeths attitude change towards the murder of king Duncan. This is due to Lady Macbeth attacking his manhood, making him feel as if he has to murder the king to prove his masculinity. The reader can clearly see this when Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth:

I have given suck, and know how tender tis to

love the babe that milks me- I would while it was

smiling in my face have plucked my nipple from his

boneless gums, and dashed the brains out, had I sworn

as you have done to this.

Lady Macbeth tells her husband that she has had a child with her first husband, and she would kill it if she swore she would. She says this because Macbeth swore he would kill king Duncan but now he is uncertain. This shows how strong Lady Macbeths character is,saying she would sacrifice her own child if she swore she would. The graphic description of how she would do this also adds to the masculine role she has taken, making Macbeth feel as if he has to retain this manly role by murdering king Duncan.