Macbeth Is the Most Interesting Character in the Play Macbeth
“The most interesting character in Macbeth is Macbeth himself.” Do you agree? Why?
Macbeth is a complex and well developed character, while there are several interesting characters in the play, Macbeth is by far the most interesting. He is a tragic hero who experiences a slow and painful mental decline which is expressed in such a way that the audience is mesmerised.
The most interesting aspect of Macbeth’s character is that it is flawed. The audience can identify with his human frailties. Despite the fact that Macbeth commits evil and is drawn to the successes he thinks evil can provide him, one can tell he has goodness in him. Shakespeare reveals Macbeth’s moral development through the use of symbolism in the soliloquys which portray how Macbeth feels yet would not be able to admit to others; “The prince of Cumberland! That is a step in which I must fall down, or o’erleap for in my way it lies. Stars hide your fires; let light not see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hand yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is done to see.” This soliloquy demonstrates his inner human feelings of desire for the position of king. His conscience cannot even let his eyes see the deed his hands commit. This demonstrates how unfit he is to commit such a wicked deed. Macbeth’s soliloquys are able to help the audience understand Macbeth better and relate to him well. The audience doesn’t view Macbeth as an evil villain because the audience sees his guilt through the soliloquy. “If the assassination could trammel up the consequence, and catch with his surcease success; that but this blow would be-all and end-all here...” Macbeth conveys that he wants the success of being king without dealing with the consequence of the deed which proves he is not equipped to deal with the psychic consequences of crime. Macbeth clearly understands how wrong the deed is shown through the soliloquy; “First, he is my kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his
Macbeth is a complex and well developed character, while there are several interesting characters in the play, Macbeth is by far the most interesting. He is a tragic hero who experiences a slow and painful mental decline which is expressed in such a way that the audience is mesmerised.
The most interesting aspect of Macbeth’s character is that it is flawed. The audience can identify with his human frailties. Despite the fact that Macbeth commits evil and is drawn to the successes he thinks evil can provide him, one can tell he has goodness in him. Shakespeare reveals Macbeth’s moral development through the use of symbolism in the soliloquys which portray how Macbeth feels yet would not be able to admit to others; “The prince of Cumberland! That is a step in which I must fall down, or o’erleap for in my way it lies. Stars hide your fires; let light not see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hand yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is done to see.” This soliloquy demonstrates his inner human feelings of desire for the position of king. His conscience cannot even let his eyes see the deed his hands commit. This demonstrates how unfit he is to commit such a wicked deed. Macbeth’s soliloquys are able to help the audience understand Macbeth better and relate to him well. The audience doesn’t view Macbeth as an evil villain because the audience sees his guilt through the soliloquy. “If the assassination could trammel up the consequence, and catch with his surcease success; that but this blow would be-all and end-all here...” Macbeth conveys that he wants the success of being king without dealing with the consequence of the deed which proves he is not equipped to deal with the psychic consequences of crime. Macbeth clearly understands how wrong the deed is shown through the soliloquy; “First, he is my kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his