He fears that the devil would seek to win his trust, by telling him trifling truths and then bring about his downfall. Macbeth shows his weakness by ignoring Banquo and believing the witches. Banquo’s caution highlights how easily Macbeth is led into bringing about his own downfall.
When Lady Macbeth first hears of the witches’ predictions and that Macbeth is now the Thane of Cawdor, her first thought is of murdering Duncan. She analyses her husband’s character. She describes Macbeth as ‘too full o’th’milk of human kindness’. She knows that Macbeth would like to be great, but ‘wouldst not play false’. She concludes by saying ‘That I may pour my spirits in thine ear’. This shows us that she expects to and is prepared to persuade Macbeth into murdering Duncan. She appears to have little doubt that he will yield to her plan. This shows him to be easily led, but also shows that although Macbeth had thought about killing Duncan, without Lady Macbeth’s persuading him, he wouldn’t have gone through with it. This is also illustrated in act 1,scene 7, line 31;
“We will proceed no further in this business.”
Macbeth has decided that they aren’t going to murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth then taunts him with not being a man and being too much of a coward. She does not have to go on long in this manner before Macbeth yields and consents to her plan. This shows him to be weak.
The fact that he murdered Duncan, is a sign that Macbeth is no longer as weak as he started out. Murder is an evil deed and it proves itself to be so later on.
Now that he is king, Macbeth realises that as the witches predictions have come true for him, that Banquo’s children might be kings. If this is true then he has killed Duncan for nothing. He decides that the only way is to murder Banquo and his son Fleance.
In Act 3, Scene 1, we see Macbeth meet with murderers, who he reminds of an earlier conversation when he told them that Banquo was their enemy. Macbeth arranges a place far away from the castle, where they can murder Banquo and his son. Macbeth convinces them that Banquo is to blame for all their problems and that he is helping them, rather than himself.
This scene shows Macbeth to be a manipulative and devious man. It also shows that he no longer has to commit murder himself, he can get other people to do it for him. Murder has solved his problems once, so he will use it again. This is a sign of his changing character, at the start he was reluctant to murder at all.
Although Macbeth is with every line, proving himself to be evil, in the banqueting scene when Banquo’s ghost is present, Macbeth goes weak with fear and starts talking of guilt and how nobody can accuse him of murder. As the ghost is going for the first time Lady Macbeth says;
“What, quite unmanned in folly?”
(Act 3, Sc. 4, L 73)
This is a sign that at this point, she is strong and Macbeth is weak. Here he appears to be an evil person but weak and unmanned with fear and guilt. We know that Macbeth ‘keeps a servant feed’ in every castle. This shows that he isn’t feeling secure as a king and is becoming a tyrant. It is also another sign of his increasing evilness. Macbeth has also come to realise that after killing Duncan, they will have keep on killing people to cover their tracks;
“I am in blood
Stepped in so far that should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”
(Act 3, Sc. 4, L 136-138)
Macbeth seems resigned to killing more people and becoming even more evil.
Macbeth goes to the witches to know his future and they tell him ‘to beware the Thane of Fife’. As well as this they tell him that ‘ none of woman born shall harm Macbeth’. This reassures him but he still resolves to kill Macduff just in case;
“But yet I’ll make assurance doubly sure”
(Act 4, Sc. 1, L 82)
This makes the planned murder of Macduff even more evil.
Macduff has already fled to England, when the murders turn up at his castle so they kill his wife, children and servants. Before, the murderers come a messenger arrives to warn lady Macduff to escape with her children. She doesn’t take his advice because she can’t see why anyone would want to murder her, ‘I have done no harm’. This innocence adds to the wickedness of their murder. Macbeth ordered all of their deaths. By now, Macbeth has got about as evil as it is possible to be. From here he just carries on as he has been, rather than getting any worse.
More proof that Macbeth’s rule of Scotland had turned to evil tyranny can be found in Act 5, Scene 3, Line 37;
“Hang those that talk of fear”.
Macbeth declares himself to ‘have almost forgot the taste of fears’ because he has ‘supped full of horrors’. This is a realistic view of his life since Duncan’s death – full of fear, death and guilt.
By the time he dies, Macbeth has been through a character reversal, starting out weak and easily led and ending up a bloody tyrant. Although it happens slowly and progressively, I feel that the murder of Macduff’s innocent family is a turning point in the play in as much as it marks Macbeth’s entry into wickedness.
