Preview

How Does Macbeth’s Character Change from Act 2 Scene 2 to Act 5 Scenes 3 and 5?

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1630 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Does Macbeth’s Character Change from Act 2 Scene 2 to Act 5 Scenes 3 and 5?
How does Macbeth’s character change from Act 2 Scene 2 to Act 5 Scenes 3 and 5?

The tragic masterpiece “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, starts with the evil curse of three witches. Act 1 Scene 1 introduces the audience to the witches, showing them what malevolence they are capable of, and how then plan to deceive Macbeth, in fact the scene is the crafting of the trick they plot for him. Once the witches decide when they shall meet and when the act finishes with a chorused three lines, creating mystery before exiting the stage. Making a statement, Lady Macbeth enters with the next act boldly; her manner shows her obvious confidence in the plot (to murder Duncan) she developed, perhaps mistakably. She describes the night in which the Act is set as “Which gives the stern’st good-night” she is clearly exhilarated at the reality of the royalty which she presumes is hers.

Troubled Macbeth enters the scene, panicked and alarmed from the horror of his own actions. Having just killed Duncan- who was not only king of Scotland but a good man, a guest in their home and a family relative; Macbeth is understandably feeling culpable and in deep regret when he slithers back to his wife. Captions and phases such as “I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?” show that he is clearly admitting to the crime his wife tasked him but yet still nervous. It is then when Shakespeare proceeds to use rushed and panicked sentences such as;
“Lady Macbeth: I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry.
Did you not speak?
Macbeth: When?
Lady Macbeth: Now.
Macbeth: As I descended?
Lady Macbeth: Ay.”
As this quote shows, the use of short and ‘on edge’ sentences does successfully reveal the couples fraught state of mind, bringing a dimension of trepidation and suspense to the audience.
But it is Macbeth’s rambling which confirms that he is starting to suffer with a terrible scandal and this is where his signs of paranoia begin to arise. An example of this is;

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The play "Macbeth" shows how the character Macbeth changes through the choices he makes. Throughout the play, it describes how Macbeth changes into a tyrant after hearing his prophecy.…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lady Macbeth enters the play in Act 1, scene 5 were she is perceived as a powerful, controlling and an independent women. She is ruthless and tries to make sure Macbeth becomes king by planning the deed, and also getting her own hands dirty. While Macbeth feels guilty about the blood on his hands, she says, "My hands are of your colour, but I shame / To wear a heart so white,” (2.2.64-65). However, Lady Macbeth makes a complete 180 turns in Act 5 when guilt and repentance come to haunt her. She is sleepwalking and muttering about the horrible act of killing Duncan. The paranoid…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This act commences with the murder of King Duncan. It is in this act that the reader is first convinced of Macbeth's weakness, as contrasted by Lady Macbeth's strength. Whereas Macbeth feels remorse for his actions, and wishes that his king could once more wake, Lady Macbeth contemplates on how to place the guilt on someone else. The scenes portray the true feelings and intentions of the characters.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "This dead butcher and his fiend like queen", is the way in which Malcolm describes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Describe the way in which these two characters changed during the course of the play.…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lady Macbeth’s change from a seemingly perfect woman to a ill, guilty, suicidal woman and Macbeth’s change from a strong loyal man whom other men aspired to be to a nearly emotionless, sleepless shell of the great man he once…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” which is considered one of his darkest and most powerful tragedies, Lady Macbeth, a very important character, changed dramatically throughout the play. At first she appeared confident, assertive and the dominant partner. She was cold blooded and cruel but then she became nervous, scared and suicidal. Soon Macbeth and Lady Macbeths relationship starts to falter. She is the one who influenced and hurried Macbeth to kill Duncan so to have more power, so Macbeth could become king and they could be very wealthy and have a lot of power.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Change In Macbeth

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Next, Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor, and Lady Macbeth is plotting to kill King Duncan so she can become the queen. “Great Glamis, Worthy Cawdor, Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter,/Thy Letters have transported me beyond/This Ignorant Present, and I feel now/The future in the instant (1.5. 45-49) After the this the story outcome changes. No longer is Macbeth just a Thane but has chance to become king one day. Also this leads to Macbeth meeting the 3 Witches. When Macbeth meets the Witches that is what changed the outcome dramatically. The witchs mess with humans lives for fun, and Macbeth is no…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    At the beginning of Act 1 scene 5, Lady Macbeth appears on stage for the first time, alone, reading a letter that she had received from her ‘Valiant’ husband, where he is informing her of his encountering with the three witches, so called ‘weird sisters’. In Macbeth’s letter, he says ‘greatness is promised thee’. This shows us how passionate they are about each other. By Macbeth saying this to her, this suggests that she will be queen and together they will rule Scotland. After reading the letter, Lady Macbeth’s first statement shows her support to her husband and throughout her soliloquy, we see that she instantly has murder on her mind. Lady Macbeth says ‘To catch the nearest way’. This implies that she is unscrupulous and will do anything to get what she wants.…

    • 245 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macbeth Banquo's Murder

    • 1795 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In this third stage, Macbeth is driven by power and getting more nervous by the second, and vows to kill as much as necessary to keep the throne saftly. After Banquo's kill, Lady Macbeth starts having second thoughts and begins to RECEDE from center stage and Macbeth takes her place as the most COMPELLING character in the play. Macbeth's newly confident ambition and lack of sympathy is shown in his conversation with Lennox about the troublesome night of Banquo's murder. In this conversation, Lennox is upset and talks about Banquo's death and the BAD weather of the previous night, to which Macbeth can say nothing but, yes, " Twas a rough night" (act 2. Sc. 3. Ln. 57) . Because of Macbeths newfound confidence, he fails to notice right away that MacDuff is casting suspician on him. Then later, at the banquet, which ends up being the beginning of his DOWNFALL- Macbeth finds that Banquo has been killed, he sees his ghost sitting at the table, showing that his paranoia has been taken to a new level; hallucinations. At this point, he starts to backtrack and get nervous, admitting that he may have to kill more to keep the throne.Macbeth realizes that he can no longer go back, knowing that he is "in blood, stepped in so far that, (he) should wade no more" (Act 3. Sc. 4 Ln 135-136). Macbeths confidence is boosted once again when the witches tell him that no man born of a woman can harm him.…

    • 1795 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is crystal clear that Lady Macbeth was influential in Macbeth’s horrendous act of killing the King. She feared that Macbeth was “full of th’ milk of human kindness”. Knowing her husband is ambitious but lacking ruthlessness, she had begged the spirits to “unsex her here and fill her from the crown to the toe with direst cruelty” so she wouldn’t feel guilty for the crime she was persuading her husband to commit.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Macbeth,” by William Shakespeare is a caper about a man’s ambition that drives him crazy to the extent of murdering, and the man is Macbeth. Throughout the play the audience is introduced to many incidents and themes; some were brutal and some were not. This enactment of Act 3 scene 4 will be revealing the brutal change of Macbeth’s ambition. Ambition appears throughout the play and manipulates the parts in the same way ambition manipulates reality. Mankind’s biggest weakness is ambition, but ambition is also a strong point. William Shakespeare uses imagery, theme, phrasing, and symbolism in this transit, which establishes the characters look more evil than guilty.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Name: Nicholas Olguin Macbeth Modified novel review 1. Fill in the chart for major characters, most important characters first (add rows as necessary): Character Role in the story Significance of character to the work Two adjectives describing him/her Macbeth The Main character who learns his fate and kills King Duncan to become King.…

    • 1662 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the play, Macbeth is faced with various situations and his reactions to those are influenced by other characters in the play. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is presented as…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Act 1 Scene 5 is an incredibly important part of Shakespeare’s infamous play Macbeth, and begins to establish the main themes of ambition, violence and the supernatural. Firstly, it introduces the strong willed and influential character of Lady Macbeth, and it also establishes the close and interesting relationship between Macbeth and his wife. Super natural forces are re-introduced and the association of masculinity and violence is evident. Furthermore, Shakespeare reveals a private and surprisingly softer side to Macbeth, which contrasts with the courageous, bloodthirsty and fierce character the audience were originally shown.…

    • 1247 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reception Dinner Macbeth

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Macbeth becomes more isolated over the course of Acts Three and Four because he has crumbled. After Duncan’s murder Macbeth pulled himself away from many people or became distant, including Banquo and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth begins to resent Banquo because his children are seen to be Kings one day. Macbeth feels threatened by Banquo because he is paranoid that Banquo is the only one who knows about the witches and their prophecies. Macbeth decides the best way to take care of this is to have Banquo killed. “Know Banquo was your enemy.” This shows how Macbeth’s new enemy is Banquo. As the play goes on Macbeth becomes more isolated because of the guilt and paranoia of the murders. His isolation towards Lady Macbeth causes her pain. “How now, my lord, why do you keep alone.” This shows how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are slowly separating. The murders Macbeth are responsible for pushes his sanity over the edge. Due to his guilt Macbeth starts to see things that are not real. At his reception dinner Macbeth was asked to sit at a table and he says “The tables full.” Macbeth thinks the table is full because he sees the ghost of Banquo. This causes him to have a scene in front of his company. They all don’t know why because he is the only one who can see the ghost. Everyone leaves the party which causes him to be more isolated. Also MacDuff did not attend the party. Macbeths crumble causes him to become isolated by everyone who once loved him.…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics