Shakespeare's Macbeth

Composed by Shakespeare in the times of King James I, Macbeth is a tragedy about a man whose greed and hunger for power is ultimately his downfall. Shakespeare might have wanted a villainous character in these times as James I profoundly believed in the Divine Right of Kings which has no importance to Macbeth who fits many archetypes of a tragic hero in the sense he never backs down and is strong until the end. Although influenced; Macbeth may not be as innocent as he seems.

Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as a warrior in the first scenes of the battle. His captain calls him “Brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)”. This highlights that he is a great man, someone who is brave, courageous, a warrior, as his captain says he is too. He also describes Macbeth killing the traitor and helping them to win the war, “[with] his brandished steel / Which smoked with bloody execution”. The imagery created here is gruesome and livid. The word ‘execution’ underscores that he is on the right side of the law as it sounds formal and more of a term used to sentence someone for doing wrong. The violence here was more acceptable at the time as it was in the war and so would not give a bad impression of Macbeth to the Jacobean audience. King Duncan describes Macbeth as a seed he has “begun to plant [thee], and will labour / To make [thee] full of growing...” This emphasises he is a virtuous person as he is close to the monarchy and, as a result, God. He has already given him the title of the Thane of Cawdor a prominent position. This only secures the audience’s views that he is a respectable person as he is trusted and adored by an honourable person. Shakespeare is trying to achieve a good impression of Macbeth from the audience. This is important a...

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...d; whereas at first he was a great man, greed for power and authority fuel him to become easily manipulated and influenced by his wife and the witches. Nonetheless, it is him who commits grave acts of murder, already implanted in his mind, which prove his fatal flaw, a desperation for power and overwhelming hubris, has led him to become nothing but a brutal villain as he continues killing people. However, slight signs of humanity he shows cause me to believe he isn’t purely a brutal villain, as maybe if he hadn’t seen the witches in the first place he wouldn’t have killed Duncan, suggesting the whole play is governed by witchcraft and, perhaps if he hadn’t killed Duncan, the effects it had on him, i.e. doubting and killing those close to him, would be non-existent. Hence, I think Shakespeare has successfully created a tragic hero who is to a pitiful brutal villain.