Do you believe that a respected hero can become a hated villain, or that anyone can become desensitised to murder in cold blood? Macbeth showcases the transformation of a brave and loyal soldier to a murderous tyrant whose sanity is completely lost. At first he is unsure whether to follow his desires of becoming king and is conflicted about murder for personal gain, but later he, or rather his hired murderers, kill just to ease the doubts and worries bothering his own mind. In Macbeth these numerous acts of murder demonstrates that even the bravest heroes are not immune to the temptation of causing death if they can benefit from it, and once they are exposed to it, they will change in nature until they are unrecognizable to their former self.
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Macbeth began as an honored and heroic soldier and Lady Macbeth began as a caring and hospitable housewife on the surface, however this changes through their interactions with the witches. The exposure to the thoughts of murdering an innocent to benefit one’s self reveals that Macbeth is credulous and easily manipulated, whereas Lady Macbeth is found to be deeply conflicted with her femininity and almost psychopathic in nature as demonstrated in her quote, “How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluck 'd my nipple from his boneless gums, And dash 'd the brains out”(1.7.63-66). These character flaws will be the catalyst that leads Macbeth to commit his series of murders and eventually lead to his demise as a hopeless and villainous …show more content…
As similar to the death of Banquo, Macbeth did not perform this brutal act himself but instead hired murderers to kill his targets for him. The cowardliness in Macbeth is palpable in this decision as he has so little to gain for such a horrendous act; he orders this only because the apparitions told him to beware Macduff and therefore Macbeth seeks to spite him. This puts finality on Macbeth’s lack of morality; he can no longer comprehend the value of a human life as he has many ended without a second thought. The pure senselessness of the act coupled with the little understanding Macbeth has of the bond with one’s own children as stated by Macduff, ”He has no children.” (4.3.255), is what adds fuel to Macduff’s burning hatred of Macbeth. This waste of life represents the completed transformation of Macbeth. Where as before he would need to at least have justifications to kill Macduff’s family, he now kills for entertainment as he knows that Macduff will suffer greatly for this
Macbeth began as an honored and heroic soldier and Lady Macbeth began as a caring and hospitable housewife on the surface, however this changes through their interactions with the witches. The exposure to the thoughts of murdering an innocent to benefit one’s self reveals that Macbeth is credulous and easily manipulated, whereas Lady Macbeth is found to be deeply conflicted with her femininity and almost psychopathic in nature as demonstrated in her quote, “How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluck 'd my nipple from his boneless gums, And dash 'd the brains out”(1.7.63-66). These character flaws will be the catalyst that leads Macbeth to commit his series of murders and eventually lead to his demise as a hopeless and villainous …show more content…
As similar to the death of Banquo, Macbeth did not perform this brutal act himself but instead hired murderers to kill his targets for him. The cowardliness in Macbeth is palpable in this decision as he has so little to gain for such a horrendous act; he orders this only because the apparitions told him to beware Macduff and therefore Macbeth seeks to spite him. This puts finality on Macbeth’s lack of morality; he can no longer comprehend the value of a human life as he has many ended without a second thought. The pure senselessness of the act coupled with the little understanding Macbeth has of the bond with one’s own children as stated by Macduff, ”He has no children.” (4.3.255), is what adds fuel to Macduff’s burning hatred of Macbeth. This waste of life represents the completed transformation of Macbeth. Where as before he would need to at least have justifications to kill Macduff’s family, he now kills for entertainment as he knows that Macduff will suffer greatly for this