TASK I :CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF A PLAY(20%)

The character that has changed throughout the play, Macbeth by Shakespeare is

Macbeth himself. In the play, Macbeth’s character seems to change in order to get what he

dreamed.

In the beginning, Macbeth is a kind person. His wife , Lady Macbeth also knows that

he was too kind. “You are too full of the milk of human kindness” (page 11 line15-16). It can

also be seen when Lady Macbeth urged Macbeth to kill Duncan as to fill his desire to be

king. At first, Macbeth still hesitates with his wife’s plan on killing King Duncan because the

king is too kind to him. He refuses to betray the king. The evidence can be seen when

Macbeth tells this to his wife, “Please, stop! I dare to do only what is proper for a man to do.

He who dares to do more is not a man at all” (page 15,line 15-17) when Lady Macbeth

persuades him to follow after her plan. This situation shows that Macbeth is a kind person

and loyal to his lord, King Duncan.

Macbeth’s kindness just shows up for a moment. Macbeth is too weak to go against

the chance that come after him. He wants to be the king badly after hearing the prophecies

that have been told by the three witches. At first, he does not believe the prophecies but

then after he gets the title of the Thane of Glamis and the Thane of Cawdor which are also

witches ’s prophecies, he become out of control to fulfil his desire, to be the king. At the

same time, Macbeth also feels dissatisfied because, Malcolm , King Duncan’s son is

inaugurated as prince of Cumberland. Macbeth feels that his desire to take over Duncan’s

title will be destroyed because Malcolm is in his way. At that time, Macbeth’s conscience

was influenced by the witches ’s prophecies which is they told that Macbeth will be the future

king. That is why Macbeth becomes out of control to be the king because he thinks that he

the prophecies are true.

As Macbeth is an ambitious person, he is willing to do anything to achieve his goal.

He starts the first step by following his wife’s first plan, killing king Duncan. Macbeth and
Lady Macbeth together plan in killing King Duncan while he is sleeping. When everyone is in

horrifying situation when the incident happened, Macbeth cruelly takes the chance by killing

the servants and tells everybody that he cannot think rationally when he sees Duncan

splattered with blood. Macbeth erases the proof by doing so and pretends that he feels sorry

for what has happened to King Duncan in that situation. “ And yet I still regret the anger that

drove me to kill them,” (page 25, line19-20).

Then, after killing king Duncan, Macbeth still cannot stand still with his title as a king

of Scotland because he is worried that Banquo knows everything that happened is under his

evil plans. Thus, Banquo tells Macbeth, “And I suspect you to win these titles”(page 28 ,

line25-26) and it makes Macbeth feels more scared about that because Banquo is also with

him when the witches tell them the prophecies. As he is too paranoid, afraid that Banquo will

reveal the truth, he asks the murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. Unfortunately to

Macbeth, the murderers just succeed in murdering Banquo only because Fleance

successfully escapes during the murder. Again, that puts Macbeth in uneasy situation.

The tyrant of character in Macbeth outbursts when he kills Macduff’s family even

though they do not do any mistakes. This is because he thinks that Macduff is a traitor that

betrays him. So that, he wants everyone that related to Macduff to be killed too to make sure

that they do not stand in the line for Macduff’s inheritance.

Even though Macbeth is strong enough, he forgets that he cannot go against the

fate. His cruelty made Lady Macbeth feel guilty. She thinks that she is the one that turns

Macbeth into a tyrant and cruel and lastly she turns to commit suicide. His cruelty can be

seen when Angus tell this to Menteith , “ Now, rebel armies punish him every minute for his

treachery,”(page 63 ,line 7-8).

Last but not least, Macbeth is too determined about his life. After meeting with the

witches once again, he knows that Birnam Wood will march to fight him at Dunsinane hill

and somebody that does not come from a woman’s womb can defeat him but he still do not
believe it. He only believes all those prophecies are never exist and he is determined about

it. Macbeth’s reign could finally be finished after Macduff kills him and give back the country

to the right person, Malcolm. Later on, the kingdom under Malcolm’s reign is merely free

from tyranny.

In conclusion, Macbeth has changed from a kind person to a tyrant just because of

power. He seems almost to be free from the imprisonment of his own evil just after he died.
Refrences:

(2017). Drama in English TSL1064 module Malaysia.

No fear shakespeare-macbeth. (n.d.). Sparknotes.

Macbeth (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2017, from

https://www.enotes.com/topics/macbeth/critical-essays/critical-evaluation

Macbeth. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2017, from

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/macbeth/character-analysis/macbeth

The Progressive Character of Macbeth - Bravery, Ambition, Tyranny, Imagination. (n.d.).

Retrieved February 23, 2017, from http://www.shakespeare-

online.com/plays/macbeth/sketchofmacbeth.html

Berger,H. (1980). The Early Scenes of Macbeth:Preface to a New Interpretation. Elh,47(1), 1

. doi:10.2307/2872436