At the start of Act I, Macbeth is seen as a hero and extremely brave, but towards the end of Act III, his whole personality changes and begins to show the different side of Macbeth. ‘We’ve scotched the snake, but not killed it’ shows that although they have injured Banquo, he will heal over time and will come fighting back, causing more problems for Macbeth to deal with. Could this be the reason why Macbeth hired two murderers to kill Banquo, so he would have no reason to be guilty of anything? After the killing of Banquo, Macbeth is seen to be more independent and more ‘hands-on’ with his actions and does not keep Lady Macbeth informed of his whereabouts. On the other hand though, Macbeth hired two murderers to do ‘his dirty work’, so he could be seen as being cowardly because he did not kill Banquo himself. At Act I, Macbeth is told to kill by others to be a hero. ‘His brandished steel, which smoked his bloody execution’ shows the violence in Macbeth’s personality, and that when he talks about violence, he gets straight to the point. ‘Unseamed from the nave to the chops’ could show that Macbeth is willing to kill others, and this gives a visual image of someone carving down their enemy. I believe that Shakespeare used words such as unseamed and smoked to give a visual impression to the audience, and to allow the audience to feel like they are in the same position as Macbeth, and could have the same feelings and expressions. By Act II and Act III, Macbeth is finally able to make his own decisions and decides that he wants to kill. Although he makes his own decisions, he never informs Lady Macbeth on any of his whereabouts, so Lady Macbeth begins to wonder and become suspicious. However, he thinks he is ready to continue on his ‘murdering spree’, he struggles to convince Lady Macbeth that he is fine, because the guilt tears him apart inside and this becomes visible to others.
In Act I, Macbeth is seen as weak and is easily influenced by the women in his life, i.e. the witches and his wife. Macbeth is given imperative demands by Lady Macbeth, meaning she is more in control than her husband is. Though by the end of Act I, we experience that Lady Macbeth is wanting not to live without a real man in her life. ‘But screw your courage to the sticking place’ could show Lady Macbeth is wanting her husband to become a real man and be strong and enthusiastic. In other words, she wants him to man-up! Macbeth’s character completely changes at Act III, as Macbeth only really thinks about himself, than others. He hired two murders to kill Banquo for him, so he could keep himself out of the public eye and to ensure that no one knew what he was involved in. Macbeth however, believes that by burying your head under the sand and turning your head from all the problems you have got yourself into, will cover guilt, but in my opinion, I think Shakespeare was trying to tell us that once you have got yourself into a situation, there can be no turning back.
When Macbeth is crippled with guilt in Act I, he visualises a dagger appearing before him, and I think that this convinced him to continue to kill, as this could be seen as a sign from God, telling him that this is the way his life should be lead; by killing for a living. Macbeth’s feelings of guilt become misinterpreted as a specimen of fear. This could be why he continued with the killing of Duncan, because he had so many different negative thoughts raging round him. ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me, Come let me clutch thee’ shows that Macbeth can visualise the dagger, and wants it in his hands, to be able to use it on others. Although he has visualised the dagger, this never stopped Macbeth from killing Banquo. But, by the start of Act III, he needed to kill Banquo, as Banquo was acting suspiciously, showing that he may have known too much that he shouldn’t of known in the first place. This is why Macbeth had to take care of him. ‘The fit is momentary, upon a thought he will again be well’ shows that Lady Macbeth is trying to convince their guests that Macbeth is ok at the banquet, when in fact he can see the ghost of Banquo and this is playing with his mind, causing distress. Why should Banquo be haunting him, when Banquo would not know who killed him because he is dead, so this shows that Macbeth is seeing things when guilt takes over. By killing others, Macbeth is being given the thoughts and visualisations of a murderer, and by everyone having a conscience, this makes us feel guilty of anything and everything. Though, you should feel naturally guilty for murdering because by killing King Duncan, Macbeth should not be allowed to become King by killing others, as this goes against the divine right of kings, allowing family members to become Kings and Queens in the monarchy. By Macbeth talking to himself, this also shows that Macbeth is trying to convince himself, let alone others, that he isn’t guilty of anything. These points can suggest that in some ways that Macbeth does not deserve to be King, because of the way that he earned the title. It can also show that guilt plays a very big part in the whole play, as guilt can change emotions and feeling of people which would change their whole personality.
When Macbeth stumbles across the witches in Act I, he is told that he is soon to become Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis and to become King. ‘There to meet with Macbeth’ shows that because Macbeth wanted to be seen by the witches, this could show that Macbeth is under the influence of women from the start of the play. Women seem to have a large influence on Macbeth all throughout the play, with major decisions being left to be decided by women. The supernatural plays a huge part within this play, as the witches predict the storyline for the audience before the play progresses. ‘Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis and King hereafter’ shows that the witches predict the rest of the story out to the audience, before anything had happened in the storyline. But by the end of Act IV, the witches have come back to influence Macbeth’s decisions even more with their future predictions. They predict that Macduff will be Macbeth’s next issue to deal with. This shows that the witches are influencing more murder to be committed by Macbeth. ‘There the grown serpent lies; the worm that’s fled, Hath nature that in time will venom breed, No teeth for the present’ shows that Macbeth knows that he must deal with Fleance when Macduff dies, and before Fleance gets older, because he will willingly kill Macbeth to become King. ‘...venom breed...’ could show that when Fleance has children, these children will cause more of a problem to Macbeth than Macduff ever did. The above shows that the witches are always having an involvement in the activities and whereabouts of Macbeth, and can see into the future, allowing the audience to be able to know what is about to happen before it happens.
Throughout the play, Macbeth is constantly told what to do by his wife, Lady Macbeth. She is always inputting her ideas and thoughts into Macbeth’s mind, which I believe that Shakespeare was trying to tell us that women influence men’s decisions, even in society today. Though it is thought that by having a female influence around someone, would make things go wrong, rather than having a male influence. However by Act III, Macbeth’s attitude towards his wife completely changes, as he begins to commit murders without her knowledge. Lady Macbeth is not always convinced by her husband’s body language around her, as he becomes very paranoid and insecure around others. This leads her to believe that not everything is normal, so becomes suspicious of her husband’s activities. ‘...that I may pour my spirits in thine ears’ could show that Lady Macbeth has the power to kill inside her, but because she is a female, she wouldn’t be able to kill someone physically. By using the words ‘pour my spirits’, Shakespeare is trying to pour Lady Macbeth’s evil spirits into Macbeth. This is why she tries to pass on her power to Macbeth to kill, and maybe kill on behalf of her, for her own means.
I now conclude that Macbeth’s whole personality in Act I is completely different to how he behaves, acts and his whole stage appearance in Act III. Overall, Macbeth is described a dynamic character, whose whole appearance changes throughout the play. Macbeth had trust in the witches and their information, and he gained confidence on his own. He becomes very reliant on women, for information and guidance in the right direction. However, Macbeth whole behaviour and character changes from Act I to Act III, because guilt becomes noticeable and takes over, causing guilt to play a big part in Act III throughout.
