“Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair,
And make my seated heart knock at my rib.”
This speech shows Macbeth is a hero. His one fatal floor is ambition, which is to become King. Other good points are that he is worried and is feeling uneasy, this show the he does care deep down.
The letter that Macbeth writes to Lady Macbeth shows that their relationship is very strong and that they love one another very much. Lady Macbeth tries to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan but Macbeth realises that Duncan is a good and well-liked king, also that his death will create horror and shock to the people who love him.
“So clear in his great office, that virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued against.”
Macbeth also believes no one deserves to be killed for his own ambitions to be fulfilled. This proves that he is a hero.
Lady Macbeth, with a lot of difficulty persuades Macbeth to murder Duncan. To do this she uses his weak point, ambition, and forces him to agree and murder Duncan. She also uses emotional blackmail and insults his manhood.
“Such I account thy love…
Art though afeard, As though art in desire?”
Macbeth is influenced and dominated by his wife. This could be one of the reasons why Macbeth commits such a bad deeds.
After Macbeth has killed Duncan he cannot go back and put the used weapons in the guards hands. Macbeth is amazed by his behaviour and suffers from shock.
“I am afraid to think what I have done;
Look on’t again I dare not.”
Macbeth is a disastrous hero as he has killed Duncan but Macbeth is disgusted by his behaviour and cannot replace the used weapons in the guard’s hands. This shows he has feelings and did not want to Duncan.
Macbeth convinces three murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance (Banquos’s son).
Macbeth feels threatened by Banquo’s and does not want to his children to become King. After the killing Macbeth holds a banquet where he see Banquo’s ghost. “It will have blood, they say, blood will have blood.”
This shows that Macbeth was a hero, but a tragic one, because he had killed Banquo, who was his best friend. His actions show his conscience is playing up on him and that he is feeling guilty for what he has done.
Macbeth is so deeply involved that he cannot risk getting out.
Toward the end of the play Macbeth is very disturbed and upset. He cannot sleep peacefully at night. Macbeth continually feels that his role as king is under threat; also he feels very insecure and wants stability.
“O full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife…
In affliction of these terrible dreams
That shake us nightly.”
Macbeth is a hero because he is feeling guilty for every thing that he has done. Macbeth seems very concerned and cannot forget the past. If he was not concerned he would be proud and feeling happy of his deed.
Macbeth’s mind is very disturbed which led him to make hasty decisions. Those decisions came to the result of fatal consequences. Macbeth wanted Macduff’s family killed although they were not a threat to him in any way.
“The castle of Macduff I will surprise
Seize upon Fife, give to the edge
O’ the sword.”
Macbeth had no reason at all to kill Macduff’s family so therefore he is a villain, but his mind is also very disturbed which in a way shows he was a hero.
Macbeth at the very end of the play realises what he has done as well as realising that the state of “his” country is very bad. He also realises how lonely his life is very lonely, he describes life as being very meaningless and having no true friends who love and care for him.
“And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.”
Once again this shows that Macbeth is feeling guilty and realising how tired and lonely he has been throughout life.
CONCLUSION
After reading through the book and watching some of the film I have come to the conclusion of thinking Macbeth was not actually a villain, but a tragic, very tragic hero. The reason why Macbeth killed Duncan in my opinion is because people, for example Lady Macbeth she used all sorts of methods as I said above to persuade and led Macbeth to killing Duncan, persuaded him. Also there was no way out for Macbeth, after one murder was committed he had to commit another one to protect himself, this led him to murdering one person after the other. I think that Macbeth was actually a good-hearted man deep down, but some how got persuaded by other people to commit a terrible crime.
I also think that if the three weird sisters did not tell their prophecies to Macbeth none of this would have happened so in a way you could blame the three weird sisters.
