A Comparison Of Macbeth's Original Thoughts And Feelings

Macbeth’s Original Thoughts and Feelings In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is a tragic hero who lusts over power. In acts 2-5, he does everything he possibly can to take the throne for himself. But why is it that, in the previous scenes, he seems so selfless and valiant? During act one, Macbeth shows extreme loyalty to the king, surprise when he hears the news of his new, powerful title, and reluctance when the time came to kill the king, even after he heard the prophecies. Because of these reasons, it is evident that Macbeth never aspired to be king before he met the witches.
First of all, Macbeth was completely devoted to the king and served him well as captain of the army. The king trusted Macbeth, as

He shows this when he first hears the prophecy of the witches and says, “But how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives.” (1. Iii. 73.). In this line, he expresses his bewilderment. He genuinely believes that he does not deserve the position of Thane of Cawdor; the original Thane should have it, not him. Of course, he doesn’t know that the Thane committed treason. This line also shows that he was not as prideful during this part of the play. He knows that it’s okay for other people to have higher positions than him. Later, he expresses this modesty again as he’s speaking to Banquo and says, “Your children shall be kings” (1. iii. 86.). Before this line, Banquo points out that the witches said that Macbeth would be king. But Macbeth doesn’t dwell on that. He just points out that Banquo’s descendants are destined to be king, almost as if he is happy for him. Macbeth doesn’t act jealous of Banquo, as he does later in the play. Despite all of this evidence, it is still reasonable to think that Macbeth was expecting a higher position because of the high position he had previously. He must have been aiming higher, right? That may be true, but he most likely wasn’t aiming for such a lofty title as king. That is, until he really started to think about the witches’

Macbeth certainly wanted to be king, but he was willing to wait for the title. The guilt would be too much for him if he killed the king. He shows this as he prepares to kill Duncan under Lady Macbeth’s instruction. When he gets a moment away from her, he says, “I have no spur/ to prick the sides of my intent, but only/ vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself/ and falls on th' other.” (1. vii. 25-28.). This shows that, despite his wife’s persistence, he can’t face the risks of killing Duncan. Nevertheless, with enough persuasion from Lady Macbeth, he is pushed over the edge and is able to commit the crime. It may seem that Macbeth wanted to kill Duncan, he was just afraid of the consequences. Yes, he was most certainly afraid of being caught, but he seemed to be more afraid of betraying Duncan’s trust. So, once again, Macbeth’s loyalty to the king stood in the way of Macbeth wanting the