Character Changes In Macbeth In Shakespeare's Play

How Macbeth Changed Throughout the Shakespeare play Macbeth, the main character changes over the course of five acts. In the beginning, Macbeth could be considered a hero, following his duty as a soldier and killing people for the sake of his king. Yet after meeting the three witches, whose prophecies would eventually lead him to murder King Duncan, he changes. Throughout each act, Macbeth 's character gets darker and darker, going from someone who only killed when it was required of him to someone who killed to get what he wanted. At first, he is totally against the idea of murdering his king, thinking it as something blasphemous and, in an aside, he rebuts himself for even considering it. His wife, though, convinces him it is a good idea, and by the end of the second act, King Duncan is dead and Macbeth is being crowned the new king of Scotland. By act …show more content…
In scene one, lines 47 and 48, he says that his position is worthless if it is not safely secured, in which he later brings murderers in (lines 75-83). He gives them the task to kill Banquo, convincing them that he was the cause for all of their misfortune, and then he sends them out to kill him, adding in Fleance as someone else that they should murder if he is happened upon. In scene two, lines 16-22, Macbeth states that "he would rather have the world fall apart than to be afflicted with nightmares". He also has yet to inform Lady Macbeth of his plans to kill Banquo, which would lead readers to assume that he is not telling her, because he does not want to deal with her insults of calling him a coward for killing someone like Banquo for no apparent reason. In scene four, lines 135-140, it is said that Macbeth will do anything to protect himself, which goes against what was to be thought of his character in the beginning of the play. Along with that being stated, he says that, in lines 142-144, he needs more practice in the art of