Macbeth behaves in a wary way when he hears the witches’ prophesy. The witches' make three predictions. ‘All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail Macbeth hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail Macbeth that shalt be King hear after!’ Macbeth is a fool to believe what the witches’ say. He partly believes the predictions because he wanted to believe them. ‘The instruments of darkness tell us truths; win us with honest trifles, to betrays in deepest consequence.’ This shows he is gullible and it could suggest him to be a villain as he follows his ambition.
At the end of Act One, Macbeth is thinking of being King, ‘I dare do all that may become a man, who dares do more is none.’ This quote illustrates that Macbeth is already starting to change; he is turning into a villain because of what the witches’ prophesy. He begins to think evil thoughts as seen in Scene Three, ‘If good, why do I yield to that suggestion.’ Macbeth is talking to himself about the idea of murdering King Duncan. He is wondering why he is thinking such bad thoughts and tempted by them.
When Lady Macbeth is reading the letter from Macbeth, it is obvious that she is a stronger character than Macbeth. Lady Macbeth immediately thinks of killing King Duncan without a guilty conscience. The fact that Macbeth wrote the letter so quickly shows that he is a villain and quickly decided that he would be King. In her first soliloquy, Lady Macbeth tells the audience a different side of Macbeth’s character. ‘Yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’ the milk of kindness’. This suggests that Macbeth has a conscience and he is not a villain. Lady Macbeth fears that her husband is too kind to take the easy way out. The audience knows that the easiest way to become King is to kill King Duncan, so we know that this is Lady Macbeth’s thoughts. ‘wouldst not play false’ suggests he is hypocritical. This speech shows that she is a very scheming character who feels that she has to persuade Macbeth to commit murder. Lady Macbeth is completely sure of murdering the King after the letter and when she hears that Duncan is coming to the castle, she can immediately seize the opportunity to kill him. However, Macbeth is still unsure, which shows his weaker character compared to Lady Macbeth. He says ‘We will speak further’, because he is unsure. This illustrates that Macbeth is not completely cold hearted and there is still some good in him at this point, therefore, it shows him as a villain and a hero because he cannot decide. Macbeth still doubts whether he should kill King Duncan and wants more time to think about it but Lady Macbeth is eager. ‘That mine keen knife see not the wound it makes.’ Lady Macbeth is so eager that she is thinking of murdering the King herself.
The starting of Macbeth becoming a villain is the end of Act One. ‘False face must has hide what the false heart doth know.’ Macbeth has changed his mind at this point and is saying that the murder must be very secretive and he must make sure nobody suspects him. This illustrates Macbeth’s decisions are a villain’s and eventually it is Lady Macbeth who persuades him, ‘When you durst do it, then you were a man’. This shows Lady Macbeth to be controlling and more of a man than Macbeth. In Act Two, Scene One, Macbeth shows he is feeling troubled and guilty by what he is about to do, ‘That summons thee to heaven, or to hell.’ Macbeth knows that what he is about to do is immoral and he has a guilty conscience.
Before Macbeth kills Duncan, he is feeling terrified and tormented. ‘Who’s there? What ho!’ Macbeth is hearing every little noise and afraid of the sounds he hears. This shows that Macbeth is in a tormented state of mind because he imagines he sees a dagger. ‘I go, and it is done.’ This suggests that Macbeth wants to get it over and done with and it also shows he is feeling guilty about killing Duncan. Macbeth regrets killing Duncan right away, he forgets to smear the grooms with the daggers, as he was so horrified about murdering the King. The fact that he forgets to incriminate the grooms shows that he is still troubled. ‘Methought I heard a voice cry sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep’, Macbeth is imagining things and is feeling guilty about murdering Duncan. Macbeth knows he could not be King without murdering Duncan. His actions illustrate he is a villain even though he feels guilty after. Macbeth’s reason for killing Duncan is ‘Whiles I threat, he lives: words to the heat of deeds is too cold breath gives.’ This shows that Macbeth wants to be King and thinks this is right way of going about it. Macbeth also promised his wife he would murder Duncan.
After killing Duncan, Macbeth immediately feels guilty and regretful. He says ‘I’ll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done.’ Macbeth had refused to take back the daggers because he could not cope with the guilt any more but he shows he is a villain because he does the deed. Macbeth cannot wash the blood from his hands and feels he wants to sleep. He is obsessed by the blood. Macbeth at once kills the grooms, which could make people apprehensive, ‘God’s benison go with you, and those that would make good of bad, and friends of foes.’ Even though he is a villain for murdering Duncan, a villain would have no regrets or conscience, so it could be said that he is still a hero. Lady Macbeth reacts after the murder of Duncan, when she faints. It is not clear whether she felt tormented or in shock, or if she was just acting. Macbeth feels threatened and arranges for hit men to murder Banquo and his son. He goes alone, ‘Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and his royalty of nature reigns that would be feared’. Macbeth is worried that Banquo is suspicious of him, he is also worried because the witches predicted a line of Banquo’s sons would be Kings. Macbeth does not want this to happen and is willing to do whatever it takes to get him out of the way. Therefore, Banquo must be killed. We know that Macbeth is not sleeping and thinking about the murder, ‘Alack, I am afraid they have awakened, and tis done.’ This illustrates once again that Macbeth is not completely cold hearted as he feels guilty of the murder. Therefore he is still a hero even though he killed Banquo.
Lady Macbeth’s attitude to the murder is ‘What’s done is done.’ She tries to make him appear calm, ‘Sleek o’er your rugged looks’. The ghost of Banquo appears only to Macbeth and he really does feel guilty. This is where Macbeth becomes more evil and he is a villain, ‘I am blood stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, returning were so tedious as o’er’. Macbeth is saying he has done so many bad things, he cannot go back. Macbeth had sparked his evil side and no longer needs his wife. His character has completely fallen from the beginning as he keeps the murder from his wife so nothing gets out. Macbeth has become such a villain, that he does not need his wife’s evil ideas. At the beginning of Act Four, Scene One, there are ‘dread exploits’. This means terrible plans, which are terrible plans because Macbeth hires someone to kill Macduff’s children and wife.
Macbeth recognises he is evil by his visit to the witches. He visits them because he wants to know he is safe. The witches’ second apparition tells him ‘none of women born shall harm Macbeth’, so he feels safe. He tried to make sure he was safe when he organised the murder of Lady Macduff and her children, they are innocent and cannot defend themselves. Macbeth kills them out of spite because Macduff has fled to England. The murder of Lady Macduff and her children shows Macbeth to be a real villain. It is described by Ross when he informs Macduff of the terrible news. ‘Your castle is supris’d; your wife and babes savagely slaughtered’. Lady Macbeth’s sleep walking shows she is not in control anymore of her thoughts. The murder does affect Lady Macbeth unexpectedly; she has to have a light by her all the time. ‘The heart is sorely charged’. She relives the murder of King Duncan and Lady Macduff, ‘Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?’ Until now, Lady Macbeth has been in control. She tried to calm Macbeth when he sees Banquo’s ghost, this scene shows she has not been sleeping and is obsessed by the killing of the King. Macbeth prepares for battle with Malcolm and he is very confident it will go well for him because he can only be killed by a woman not born a woman. Macbeth demonstrates he is a villain by his behaviour by him not making good orders. This leads to his downfall and he thinks he is safe, ‘The spirits that know all mortal consequences have pronounced me thus.’ Macbeth thinks that the witches’ apparitions mean he is safe and this is what he wants to believe. Near the end of the battle, Macbeth’s villainy increases. He starts to panic and is impolite to the soldier, ‘sick at heart. I have lived long enough now’.
After Macbeth’s wife’s death, he still goes on to fight as brave soldier and fights to the end, rather than killing himself, ‘I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked’. We can see Macbeth’s bravery here. Macbeth shows little emotion at his wife’s death which could suggest that he is too wrapped up in his own problems. Even though he know he is going to be killed, he still fights Macduff. ‘I will not yield, to kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet, and to be hated with the rabble’s curse.’
On the basis of the action and evidence in the play, Macbeth begins as a hero and becomes a villain by the murder of the King and by arranging the murders of his best friend, Banquo and Lady Macduff and her children. Macbeth begins as a hero who would protect his King and country against traitors. When he progresses into a villain, he becomes more detached from Lady Macbeth and can make his own decisions without her. However, Lady Macbeth did have a great influence to Macbeth. She influences him to kill Duncan and also blackmails him. The witches’ play an immense part because they prophesy the future to Macbeth and it is a decision for Macbeth to accept or not accept their predictions, but he decides to accept them because the predictions come true and also because they are tempting, as Macbeth wanted to become King. Macbeth’s short reign is seen as ‘watchful tyranny’ and Lady Macbeth is described as his ‘fiend like queen’. At the end of the play, Malcolm describes Macbeth as ‘this dead butcher.’ Although he is evil, he still goes to fight Macduff like the brave soldier he was at the beginning, even though he knows that the witches have tricked him. Therefore he is a hero as he fought bravely at the end.
