Macbeth

Character Analysis

I. Macbeth

A. Foremost, Macbeth is a brave and courageous man; he is one of Duncan's most glorious generals, and it is because of his extraordinary courage that we know how terrified he is to kill Duncan and, afterward, how he fears to accept the real and also the supernatural consequences of his actions.

1. Early in the play, Shakespeare concentrates on Macbeth's courage so that he can contrast it later on with the terror and panic of Macbeth's psychological anguish.

a. In Act I, Scene 2, for example,

i. both the sergeant and Duncan praise Macbeth for his physical and mental bravery,

a) stressing that he "carv'd out his passage" until he was face to face with the enemy general.

ii. Lady Macbeth is certainly aware of her husband's fame as a fearless soldier, and she uses dazzling psychology to tempt her husband to kill Duncan; she "dares" him to do "all that may become a man."

a) Macbeth accepts her challenge; no one calls him a coward. Yet in spite of this failing, Macbeth is a decent man.

· He does not immediately kill Duncan himself.

· In Act II, Scene 3, he thinks that perhaps "chance" may crown him king; his better instincts tell him to delay making any decision that will force him to commit murder.

B. In addition to these qualities, Macbeth is a gentle man.

1. He and his wife cannot readily be characterized as a couple of conspiratorial villains.

a. In Act I, Scene 5, Macbeth's genuine eagerness to share the good news about his future is clearly evident.

b. He and his wife are a devoted team; he calls her "his dearest partner of greatness," showing his love for her and his appreciation for all that she has done for him.

i. Perhaps Lady Macbeth knows better than anyone else the goodness and decency that her general-husband hides, for she says that she fears that Macbeth is "too full o' the milk of human kindness" to take the necessary drastic action that will place them on the throne of Scotland.

a) In fact, Macbeth himself reveals this quality when he argues in Act I, Scene 7, that "Duncan/ Hath borne his faculties meek"; he says, in effect, that Duncan is not a tyrant; he has been a good and humble king and, in the same speech, Macbeth cites Duncan's "great virtues"; he knows that if he were to murder Duncan, some one else would, in turn, try to murder him. There is no other reason to murder the king other than to satisfy his own selfish, unbridled ambition.

C. After Macbeth has, in fact, killed Duncan, he tries to avoid killing anyone else.

1. In Act IV, Scene 1, he seems reassured by the Second Apparition when he says, "Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee?"

2. And, later he says of Macduff in Act V, Scene 8, "of all men else I have avoided thee." He has tried to spare Macduff's life; there is compassion and kindness in these words.

3. Among the various components that make up Macbeth's character, one should note that a deep imaginative vein cuts through all of his words and deeds.

a. Macbeth does not entirely trust the witches, for he identifies them with evil, but he plans to consult them further after their prophecies begin to prove true.

b. And as he ponders their prophecies, his imagination conjures resplendent, if fearful, consequences. I-

i. Even Banquo senses Macbeth's ill-concealed emotions, asking him in Act I, Scene 3, "Why do you start, and seem to fear/ Things that do sound so fair?"

ii. The answer is revealed to us a few lines later when Macbeth tries to reassure himself that "this supernatural soliciting/ Cannot be ill."

a) Then he confesses that he fears that "horrid image" which "doth unfix my hair." In other words, for the first time, Macbeth sees Duncan's murder as the quickest way to reach his goal.

· The "horrid image" is that of himself killing Duncan. He has such a horror of this act that, momentarily, he forgets where he is or whom he is with.

b) Later on, Macbeth's imagination terrifies him even further when he asks if he sees a dagger hanging in mid-air before him, dripping blood-blood for which he is responsible, making "the seas incarnadine,/ Making the green one red."

D. Going hand-in-hand with Macbeth's vivid imagination is his rashness and impetuosity.

1. We hear in Act I, Scene 2 that he is brave because of his "disdaining Fortune."

2. After Duncan has been murdered, Macbeth briefly repents his violence and tries to justify his rashness, asking who "can be wise . . . furious . . . and neutral, in a moment?"

a. Later we again recognize his rashness as he commands the witches to answer his questions.

i. He is determined, despite everything and everybody, to hear what they forecast for his fate.

a) It is this rashness which obliterates Macbeth's one-time nobility.

E. Part of Macbeth's actions, of course, can be traced to envy.

1. Early in the play when Macbeth hears the witches' prophecies, he envies Banquo's having heirs, as much as he fears, later, those same heirs as rivals for the throne.

a. Being childless, Macbeth's greatness must lie within himself.

i. Thus he murders Duncan.

a) But before he slaughters his cousin, the king, and afterward, Macbeth is plagued by constant fear.

b) Alone, he ponders what would happen if he fails; he also discusses this possibility with his wife.

c) Alone, he battles fear itself, as he also does in the presence of Lady Macbeth.

· Shakespeare creates within his hero a growing fear of both the physical and moral consequences of the murder.

· Macbeth is torn with guilt and remorse.

à In addition, he fears Banquo, for Banquo, besides being his brave and courageous friend, is an honorable man; Banquo will avenge the king's murder.

à Macbeth's guilty pangs of conscience are coupled with a fear of Banquo's retribution.

à As a consequence, these mental tortures interfere with Macbeth's normal eating and sleeping habits.

à He is threatened by Banquo and Macduff in Scotland, Malcolm in England, and Donalbain in Ireland.

à Stark terror and "horrible shadows" drive Macbeth to near distraction until at last he is overcome.

· Yet it is not simple fear itself; rather, it is fear born of hopelessness rather than an awe of Macduff that causes him to finally say, "

à Accursed be that tongue . . . I'll not fight thee" (V,viii, 17-22). This hopelessness began to engulf Macbeth earlier when he moaned that he was "sick at heart" and when he asked for a doctor to determine the cause of his troubles; he realized that his lords had almost to a man deserted him.

ii. Perhaps he echoed his resignation the most clearly after he was told of his wife's death.

a) His speech beginning "She should have died hereafter" and ending with his realization that life is "a tale . . . signifying nothing" evidences, besides fear and resignation, deep guilt, disappointment, and despair.

b) "This dead butcher," as Malcolm excessively labels Macbeth, is thoroughly defeated when the play ends.

c) A courageous man on the battlefield, Macbeth was too ambitious and too impatient for chance to crown him king. He committed murder and then found he had to cower from Banquo, Macduff, and the phantoms of his own conscience. As the action unraveled, we witnessed the rapid deterioration of one of Duncan's most trusted nobles. We feel pity, ultimately, for Macbeth, not hatred and revulsion. This is the key to the tragedy: Macbeth's grand suffering is a result of his extinguishing the possibilities and promise within himself, compromising his finer qualities in an attempt to claim a throne that was not his.

II. Lady Macbeth

A. Her character is not as multi-faceted as her husband's, but it is a rich and fascinating combination of qualities.

1. She is not a monster without feeling; her husband adores her and calls her his "dearest partner" and his "dearest chuck."

a. She is horrified by blood and during her sleepwalking soliloquy, she refers to her "little hand," suggesting a delicate nature and stature.

2. All this, however, does little to soften her true nature.

a. She is sly and artful as she urges Macbeth to kill Duncan, and she is particularly wily when she continually urges him to shake off his torments.

b. Seemingly, she suffers no pangs of conscience.

i. It is easy for her to be "bright" and "merry" and it seems second nature for her to play at being the most gracious of hostesses.

a) Duncan is completely deceived by her "thoughtfulness."

b) Note, too, that in the midst of her chaotic dinner party, she retains her composure and saves her husband from added embarrassment.

· In today's vernacular, she might accurately be characterized as being an "iron butterfly"-delicate but invincible.

à She is impatient and absolute when her husband cannot carry out the details of their assassination plot.

à Although it is Macbeth who commits the actual deed of murder, it is Lady Macbeth who returns to Duncan's chamber and smears the blood upon the grooms.

à Her self-control is superhuman; in fact, Macbeth is terrified of it and her unfailing resourcefulness.

à Single-mindedly, she fastens her husband's attention on the throne of Scotland.

à It is she who "sees to the details" of the crime, and it is she who gives the prearranged signal that all is ready.

à It is she who is more concerned that Macbeth has failed to kill Duncan than the possibility that their plans have been exposed.

à It is she, rather than Macbeth, who says, "Go get some water . . . smear/ The sleepy grooms with blood." She immediately perceives that the blood and daggers are incriminating.

c) Throughout the play, her courage and her practicality go hand-in-hand. It is only in private that Lady Macbeth shows her weariness.

· Almost naively, she urges Macbeth to sleep and, here, her faith in sleep is deeply ironical. Only after she has suffered a mental breakdown do we realize how deeply her crimes have haunted her.

III. Banquo

A. Like Macbeth, Banquo is courageous.

1. The sergeant who reports to Duncan regards Banquo as being Macbeth's equal in physical bravery.

a. But unlike Macbeth, Banquo's instincts and nature prevent his taking the witches and their prophecies seriously.

i. He even cautions Macbeth about believing too strongly in them, for he confesses that although their prophecies are pleasing, he prays for strength to overcome the temptations that such thoughts inspire.

a) Later, he is pressed, regarding Macbeth's claim to the throne, and admits that Macbeth may sometime be a lawful candidate, but he maintains absolute loyalty to Duncan and to Duncan's appointed successors.

B. Most critics regard Banquo as just that: staunchly loyal, able to stifle his own ambitions.

1. History has made him an ancestor of King James and, as a dramatic foil, he must contrast with Macbeth.

a. Macbeth describes his friend as loyal, daring, prudent, and valorous.

i. There is no reason to suppose that Macbeth is insincere.

a) In fact, it is because of his recognition of Banquo's virtues that he fears and grows to dislike the man.

b) Like most brave and generous-minded people, Banquo has no suspicion of the dangers hovering around him as he rides up to Macbeth's castle.

c) He dies innocent, a victim of Macbeth's blind ambition.

IV. Macduff

A. "Good Macduff" is how one usually remembers this man who is responsible for killing Macbeth.

1. He is Scotland's hero, its hope and its salvation. He is committed to Scotland's fate and, for that reason, he leaves his family undefended in order to seek out Malcolm and prepare a defense against Macbeth.

a. In Act IV, Scene 3, Malcolm is wary of Macduffs true nature, and he feigns a fierceness that would rival Macbeth's in order to see if Macduffs heroism is genuine.

b. He realizes quickly that Macduffs patriotism is neither greedy nor self-serving.

i. When Macduff is told that his wife and children are victims of Macbeth's madness, Macduffs determination is doubled.

a) He has no fear of Macbeth's claims to supernatural power. His revenge-for Scotland and for his own personal honor-will overthrow the tyrant.