Macbeth: Shakespeare's Tragic Villain
Macbeth: Shakespeare's Tragic ViLLain
From nobLe hero to dead butcher', we witness the destruction of a man's character.
How did the destruction come about?
What was actually destroyed was Macbeth's mind. He lost his conscience, his morality, and any connection with goodness. What he achieved by his overwhelming ambition wasn't exactly what he had intended to achieve. And so, he became more determined while his ambitions grew stronger. He couldn't digest the fact that he was winning yet actually losing. He had become king but he didn't receive the respect, honour and love that Duncan had had. He wanted to prove to himself, to his wife, to the witches, to everyone that he was capable of and rightful in being king. But he knew that nobody was encouraging him, except for his wife and the witches. And having only them encouraging him, the spectator knows that Macbeth is bound to be as evil as them because we know that Lady Macbeth and the weird sisters are evil, so what can we expect when only evil people are helping him fulfil his ambition? We have a sense of foreboding that Macbeth is going towards his downfall and is walking down the wrong path, and of course also becoming more evil as he further walks down it. If he had good people on his side, (which would be impossible because of the terrible murder he committed), then maybe Macbeth would have been successful. But no, Macbeth knew he had to carry on, even if it was by himself. He couldn't bear being rejected. This is how his destruction came about. First the witches, then his wife, then his conscience itself he didn't allow himself to vacillate any longer, for his fear of losing.
Why did it happen?
It happened because of Macbeth himself. Most people would blame Lady Macbeth and the witches, but it was actually Macbeth's fault. If he hadn't believed the witches in the first place, then he wouldn't have got into this mess. Banquo was also there with him when the witches told them
From nobLe hero to dead butcher', we witness the destruction of a man's character.
How did the destruction come about?
What was actually destroyed was Macbeth's mind. He lost his conscience, his morality, and any connection with goodness. What he achieved by his overwhelming ambition wasn't exactly what he had intended to achieve. And so, he became more determined while his ambitions grew stronger. He couldn't digest the fact that he was winning yet actually losing. He had become king but he didn't receive the respect, honour and love that Duncan had had. He wanted to prove to himself, to his wife, to the witches, to everyone that he was capable of and rightful in being king. But he knew that nobody was encouraging him, except for his wife and the witches. And having only them encouraging him, the spectator knows that Macbeth is bound to be as evil as them because we know that Lady Macbeth and the weird sisters are evil, so what can we expect when only evil people are helping him fulfil his ambition? We have a sense of foreboding that Macbeth is going towards his downfall and is walking down the wrong path, and of course also becoming more evil as he further walks down it. If he had good people on his side, (which would be impossible because of the terrible murder he committed), then maybe Macbeth would have been successful. But no, Macbeth knew he had to carry on, even if it was by himself. He couldn't bear being rejected. This is how his destruction came about. First the witches, then his wife, then his conscience itself he didn't allow himself to vacillate any longer, for his fear of losing.
Why did it happen?
It happened because of Macbeth himself. Most people would blame Lady Macbeth and the witches, but it was actually Macbeth's fault. If he hadn't believed the witches in the first place, then he wouldn't have got into this mess. Banquo was also there with him when the witches told them