Macbeth's Transformation

People can change in either a good way or a bad way by the influence of someone or something. In William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, the main character transitions from being one person in the beginning to a completely different person at the end. Macbeth is introduced as a war hero who is beloved by his king and country. Although he was a war hero, he begins to change throughout the play and by the end; he becomes an evil villain who thinks of nothing but his own ambition. His strong desire to achieve his goals makes him an evil villain since he achieves his goals by committing wrong acts. Macbeth turns from a war hero to an evil murderer because of the influence of the witches, his pride, and his wife, Lady Macbeth.
The witches are the
When Macbeth hears the news that he is thane of Cawdor; he is taken aback since one of the predictions of the witches came true. So now he thinks the prediction that he will be king will come true too: “Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor:/The greatest is behind.” (1.3.116-117) Now that Macbeth thinks he will be king, he will start having thoughts on what to do to achieve it. This is the beginning of his way to becoming an evil villain.
The witches play with Macbeth’s mind which leads him to commit evil acts. He is the puppet and they are the ones manipulating him. The witches get together with their boss, Hecate, and Hecate says how Macbeth will become overconfident and how it is man’s greatest enemy:
He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear
His hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace, and fear.
And you all know, security
Is mortals’ chiefest enemy. (3.6.30-33)
The witches know what they are doing, and they are fooling Macbeth for their own entertainment. Also, Hecate scolds the witches for telling Macbeth his future since Macbeth took advantage of it by doing evil deeds. Hecate decides to take matters into his own hands which lead Macbeth to become even more of an evil villain: Upon the corner of the moon There hangs a vap’rous drop profound;
Correia 3
I’ll catch it ere it come to ground; And that distill’d by magic
Pride is a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements. In this case, Macbeth is now king and he is somewhat satisfied since all of the witch’s predictions came true. Since he has so much pride, this causes him to be more demanding. When he meets up with the witches again, he is not scared and he demands that they tell him what he wants to know: “I conjure you by that which you profess,/Howe’ver you come to know it, answer me.” (4.1.49-50) In the beginning when he first encounters the witches, he is afraid: “Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear/Things that do sound so fair?” Macbeth was startled and afraid of the witches and what they said whereas towards the end he is not and becomes more demanding of