Shakespeare manipulates the device of contrast very well on Macbeth to reveal his hubris, a flaw in his character, in which results in his catastrophe as the tragic hero. In the beginning of the play, a soldier introduces Macbeth as a noble warrior who has slain the head of the traitor, won the war for his country of Scotland, and remains loyal to his King. At first the war is not going well for Scotland, until “brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name-/ Disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel,/ which smoked with bloody execution,/ Like valour’s minion carved out his passage/Till he faced the slave;/ Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,/ Till he unseam’d him from the nave to the chaps,/ And fix’d his head upon our battlements.” (1.2.18-25).
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There is also an incite given that Macbeth is very conscientious near the beginning of the play because he is given prophecies of him being the Thane of Cawdor and then being the King of Scotland, yet he still contemplates on the mischievous deeds he has to commit in order to obtain those positions. Macbeth delivers this incite through conversation with his wife, “First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,…/ Duncan /Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been/ So clear in his great office, that his virtues/ Will please like angels” (1.713-19), “We will proceed no further in this business” (1.7.33). Towards the end of the play, Macbeth is revealed to be an arrogant tyrant who kills anyone that stands in his way, even King Duncan whom he was once loyal to and Banquo as well as his son; a friend of his own. As the witches announce Macbeth’s prophecies, Banquo remains present to witness and later re-evaluate; making him a threat to Macbeth’s
There is also an incite given that Macbeth is very conscientious near the beginning of the play because he is given prophecies of him being the Thane of Cawdor and then being the King of Scotland, yet he still contemplates on the mischievous deeds he has to commit in order to obtain those positions. Macbeth delivers this incite through conversation with his wife, “First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,…/ Duncan /Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been/ So clear in his great office, that his virtues/ Will please like angels” (1.713-19), “We will proceed no further in this business” (1.7.33). Towards the end of the play, Macbeth is revealed to be an arrogant tyrant who kills anyone that stands in his way, even King Duncan whom he was once loyal to and Banquo as well as his son; a friend of his own. As the witches announce Macbeth’s prophecies, Banquo remains present to witness and later re-evaluate; making him a threat to Macbeth’s