Macbeth - villain or victim?

Macbeth-villain or victim?:

For English I have been assigned to produce a piece of coursework to do with Macbeth which was written by Shakespeare in medieval times. The coursework is called “Macbeth-Victim or villain”. In this coursework I have to decide weather or not Macbeth is a villain or victim by using evidence from the book and the film. First of all I will look at Macbeth as being a victim.

Macbeth as a victim:

Macbeth as we all should know was influenced by witchcraft in a big way. He believed in prophecies. In the film and book he was lead by a dagger to King Duncan’s room. As act 2 scene 1 quotes “Is this a dagger see before me. Thou marshallist me the way that I was going and such an instrument I was going to use”.

This part of the play makes the audience feel sympathetic for Macbeth, it makes us feel sorry that Macbeth is being controlled by witch craft. In the play the witches also appear to be toying with Macbeths mind and conscience. We can believe that as Act 3 Scene 5 quotes,” As by strength of their illusion shall draw him onto his confussion, he shall spurn fate, scourn death and bear his hopes above his wisdom, grace and fear, and you could know security morals chiefest enemy”

This tells us that Macbeth is an innocent person who is being controlled by witchcraft through his mind and conscience. Macbeth is a victim once again, his wife plays a key role in the play by persuading him and pressurising him into killing King Duncan. She believes that she has the power to influence him as act 1 Scene 5 quotes “Hie thee Hitler, that I may pour my spirits in their ear, and chastise with the valour of my tongue”.

Through out Act 1 scenes 5 and 7 we also see her influence on his decisions. Macbeth ...

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Through out Act 1 scenes 5 and 7 we also see her influence on his decisions. Macbeth was also abandoned by all his supporters through out the play. This makes us sympathize for him, it also makes us feel for him in various ways such as being sorry and sad for him. Throughout the play Macbeth’s courage and bravery allowed me to admire him and sympathize for him at the same time.

Macbeth as a Villain:

Through out the play we learn that Macbeth is interested in one thing, and that thing is ambition. He not only wants to be ambitious himself but also wants his descendants to be ambitious as we have read from Act 1 Scene 3 “The greatest is behind”,” that is a step on which I must fall down or leap”.

We also learn he is ambitious from other various scenes such as Act 1 Scene 7, “I have no spur to pitch the sides of my intent, but only, vaulting ambition, which orleaps itself, and falls on th’other”.

We learnt hat Macbeth has many attributes of his personality, we discover that another one of them is ruthlessness. One key scene sticks out and it tells us that as well as murdering banquo he wants to kill his son aswell.Act 3 Scene 1 states “Fleance his son that keeps him company whose absence is no less”.

Macbeth is deceitful, through out the story he deceives banquo (his best friend) and Duncan (his King).When talking about the witches to Banquo he says “I think not of them” (Act 2 Scene 1).He also says this to his King, Duncan to affirm his loyalty even though we know he is considering murder as Act 1 Scene 4 states “The service and the loyalty have, in doing it, pays itself”.

Macbeth is associated with witches, which tells us he is evil. The witches mention dark imagery and poner.Act 1 Scene 1 “There to meet with Macbeth”

This tells us that the witches will meet with Macbeth, so this indicates Macbeth ahs agreed to meet them, which situates him with evil. Macbeth says some evil things through out the play such as “Fair is foul and foul is fair, so foul and fair a day I have not seen” he is saying in other words” good is evil and evil is good, so good and evil a day I have not seen”. This means he likes to be evil and thinks evilness is a good thing.

In Act 1 Scene 3 Macbeth says” Stars hide your fire! Let your light see my black and deep desires” This means that “Behind my looks, there is evil! Let your mind see my evil wishes”. This tells us that Macbeth wants us to see the real truth behind his character and to make us think that he is evil.

Conclusion:

Now that I have read the book in detail, I can say what I think of Macbeth as a person. I find him as a victim yet I also find him as a villain. After picking out key points in the story indicating what Macbeth was like I have summed all the points up. In the end I personally think that Macbeth was a victim and a villain. I think this because he was an innocent, loyal brave man at the start of the film and witchcraft took over his mind but he also carried out murders at his own will and wanted himself to be in the spotlight, he was ambitious in a ruthless and blood thirsty way. At the end of this coursework I have a split opinion, I think Macbeth was both, a villain and a victim.

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