Factors Contributing to Macbeth's Transformation in Shakespeare's Macbeth
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In the play Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth transforms from a gallant war hero to a tyrannical murderer. As soon as Macbeth enters this life filled with tyranny his fate is doomed to a tragic downfall. Throughout the play, Shakespeare makes Macbeth responsible for his actions but Shakespeare also uses other characters as influences upon him which gives the character of Macbeth only partial responsibility for what he has done.
In the scenes which lead up to the murder of Duncan, Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth as an unnatural being with a strong influence on Macbeth who drives Macbeth to his fatal flaw which is similar to the witches in the beginning of the play. In order to gain control over Macbeth, Lady Macbeth questions his masculinity in Act 5 Scene 1. Within it, she expresses her worry that Macbeth’s kindness will hold him back, and so she calls upon ‘spirits that tend on mortal thoughts’ to unsex her and fill her with the ‘direst cruelty’. The supernatural which Lady Macbeth is calling upon will aid the hardening of her heart which then makes it possible for her to carry out her wicked plan. This rejection of femininity refers back to when Banquo and Macbeth first met the witches and commented on their ‘beards’ and their unfeminine appearance. This all revolves around the idea of the unnatural influencing Macbeth and causes much of the tragedy within the play to occur.
Lady Macbeth wishes to throw out her morality for the sake of gaining a title. With the help of invisible sprits, she wants to make herself able to commit a terrible act of murder to make her dreams of the royal life come true, without having reservations or remorse. She approaches Macbeth with her intent to kill King Duncan. Macbeth, although wanting th...
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...s insanity and madness which he has brought upon himself from the witches prophecy, his ambition was so overpowering that it took control of his mind and focused only on success and power which eventually led him to insanity. Shakespeare has done this to create sympathy for Macbeth as the blame for his actions have know shifted to his fatal flaw, compared to either himself or Lady Macbeth, this now shows Macbeth as not entirely responsible for his evil actions.
In conclusion, William Shakespeare has given Macbeth a gradual yet definitive flaw which highlights his transformation from war hero to murderer. The second soliloquy is used as a no return point for Macbeth as he has made his moral decision and also disregarded his one chance of escaping his tragic fate which has been used by Shakespeare to show that Macbeth has completed his irreversible transformation.