2) Macbeth is portrayed as a hero in the play because he showed tremendous amounts of braveness by fighting Malcolm even when he knew he was going to die by Malcolm’s hand.
Macbeth: “I will not yield, to kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet
And to be baited with the rabbles curse…”
Even at the beginning Macbeth showed himself to be a hero by the way he fought for King Duncan. And Duncan himself also called Macbeth brave which was a great honour because he was a king.
3) Macbeth is portrayed as a villain in the play because he tried to murder some people who got in the way of his ambitions, and succeeded in most cases. King Duncan also trusted Macbeth but Macbeth killed him both for his own benefit. He also murdered Banquo who was his trusty and loyal friend and tried to murder Fleance because the witches’ prophesised that he would be the future king.
Macbeth: “Your children shall be kings”
Malcolm’s family were also murdered for no fault of their own because Macbeth was angry that Malcolm had travelled to England to bring back the rightful air of the thrown.
4) Macbeth’s conscience is shown from the way he argues with Lady Macbeth about not wanting to kill King Duncan.
Macbeth: “We will not proceed no further in this business”
His guilt is shown twice, after murdering Banquo and King Duncan. After King Duncan is dead he tells Lady Macbeth that he will never be able to pray or sleep again because of what he did. And after murdering Banquo he sees Banquo’s ghost at the banquet. Which makes us question, could he have regretted what he did?
5) The witches started the whole murder sequence off by planting the ideas in Macbeths head. They work on Macbeth by equivocation, that is, by vague promises of his improved state and position. After seeing the witches Macbeth receives news that he is going to be Thane of Cawdor, he then started acting on the other witches prophecies to make them come true.
However, the witches do not tell him what to do in order to achieve what they prophesise. They say nothing about killing Duncan or anyone else. So in that sense, they cannot be the instigators of the idea of the murder. They may be appealing to that idea but they do not create it.
6) In the beginning of the play Macbeth was encouraged to kill King Duncan and the guards by Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth knows that her husband's kindness makes him weak and susceptible to guilt that might prevent the murder of King Duncan. Therefore, she plans the murder herself.
Lady Macbeth: “Leave all the rest to me”
But towards the middle of the play Macbeth does not consult Lady Macbeth but takes matters into his own hands, this shows he has become more independent and ruthless towards the end of the play.
7) The Shakespearean audiences would have reacted differently towards Macbeth compared to the modern audiences because they believed that kings were chosen by God so it would have been a great shock if a king was killed because it would be like attacking God. Unlike the modern audiences would have just passed it off as another murder caused by human ambition or greed. People today are also not as superstitious as in the past and especially about the idea that witches exist.
8) I think Macbeth is portrayed more as a villain than a hero. He didn’t need to listen to the witches or launch his bloody career by murdering Duncan. He could have just stayed at the high social position he occupied and kept the honoured status he already had acquired among his peers. Macbeth knows even before he does the deed that he will have to pay the cost but he still goes through with it.
Banquo too is tempted by the witches and shows that he would like to talk further about what the witch’s prophesised. Firstly however, that if he should try to act to bring about that favourable event, he will compromise his honour. Therefore, it would appear that the royal line of descendants does not grip Banquo's imagination as it does to Macbeth who cannot put from his mind so easily the vision of himself as king. He freely chooses to kill Duncan in response to his own deepest desires. Neither his wife nor the witches compel him to do what he does, and he is free at any time to refuse to carry out the murder. Or, after having carried it out seek out different courses of action.
Finally, when he does goes out to commit the murder, he is hallucinating that there is a dagger leading him towards the deed and he is filled with a sense of horror at what he is about to do. He is it seems in the grip of his imagination and not following some conscious rational decision. In the very act of letting his imagination lead him on, he is aware that what he is doing is wrong and this is villainies.
