At the start, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are kind hostess, but by the end they are this dead butcher and his fiend

At the start, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are kind hostess, but by the end they are this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen Essay Malcolms description is justified only to an extent because Macbeth and Lady Macbeth followed the path the witches engineered for them to follow, and the witches ensured that the seeds of evil within them grew. However, it was Lady Macbeths insistence on Duncans death that started Macbeths corruption and led to him being a tyrant because alone Macbeth would not have acted as he harboured too many doubts. The influence of the witches is shown right at the beginning of the play, where the witches immediately plant the influence of evil and supernatural into the play. To meet with Macbeth adds the association of evil with Macbeths name as soon as possible, suggestion that the hero depicted in the next scene might not really be a hero. In the beginning, Macbeth is a good soldier, an ability that stays with him to the end. He is loyal to the king and respected by the captain, who refers to him as brave Macbeth and admires Macbeths courage and skill on the battlefield Macbeth has also reached the rank of captain, a high rank in the military, Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo? This is highly praised at the time; military being considered a good career. Therefore, Macbeth would be a rich and influential man. Duncan, the king, also praises Macbeth valiant cousin, worthy gentleman. It is a great honour to be praised by Duncan and Macbeth would obviously deserve it. The king respects him and is proud of Macbeth being his relation. All that remains of this by the end is Macbeths military skill, the respect for him having been shattered by his actions. He is still brave at the end, yet I will try the last. When Macbeth meets the witches, their prophecies affect him deeply. He is first addressed as Thane of Glamis, a title he has, Thane of Cawdor, a title which Macbeth does not yet know he has and that shalt be king hereafter. Macbeth is affected so deeply that is visible to Banquo, why do you start. Macbeth is shocked, perhaps because he had contemplated being king before. The witches had seen the possibility for evil within Macbeth and have given him something sufficient to ensure that he sets his feet on the path of evil they had given him the idea, the ambition was already there. This is an influence that stays with him throughout the play, on which he becomes more and more dependent. Some time later, Macbeth is addressed as Thane of Cawdor by Ross, who bears the news of Macbeths new title from the king. Macbeth is very surprised as he did not expect the witches to be correct although he wanted to know more from them, Why do you dress me / In borrowed robes? It seems too good to be true, making him wonder if the third prophecy will come true, Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor, / The greatest is behind. Macbeth realises that the witches probably do not wish him well, but he thinks that they do not wish to harm him, cannot be ill, cannot be good. He is aware of the fact that the witches are supernatural, but ignores Banquos warning that the witches should not be trusted. He thinks that they are telling the future as it is going to happen, and ironically enough they are Macbeth is going usurp the throne. However, he considers the prophecies deeply, and this leads him to consider murdering Duncan for the first time. He is still a fundamentally good character, and is horrified at the very thoughts, calling them horrible imaginings. At the time, he concludes the line of thought with the decision chance / may crown me, as he realises that if he acted to ensure that he got the crown it would be dishonourable and he will condemn himself, it would be morally wrong. The witches have already influenced Macbeth he has already considered murder once. Macbeths inward evil had started to move to the surface once it had been contaminated by inherent evil, the witches. Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth telling her of the witches prophecies. This does not have any important plot meaning as Macbeth could have easily told her about it when he arrived home. Rather, it shows the closeness of Macbeth and Lady Macbeths relationship. The gesture is important as it shows Macbeths urge to share the news with his wife, although the letter would probably only arrive a few hours before him. The closeness of their relationship is further shown by Macbeths entrance and their way of address, Macbeth addresses Lady Macbeth as my dearest love. They waste very little time on greetings, and Lady Macbeth dominates the conversation with her much longer speeches. She is very commanding towards Macbeth: you shall put / This nights great business into my dispatch, something that would have been very unlikely in Shakespearian times. This close relationship changes as Macbeth slides into evil. In Macbeths first major soliloquy he expresses the doubts he has about Duncans murder he realises that the only thing driving him is ambition. The Modern Caribbean - Literature EssayWhile having agonised over Duncans death, now he is so soon after the first murder he is ordering the murder of his best friend. He does not need Lady Macbeth anymore, and had acquired some finesse: now he is paying others to commit murders for him. Macbeth and Lady Macbeths relationship has suffered after Duncans murder and Lady Macbeth is very disconnected from what Macbeth is now doing she has to ask information from a servant, Is Banquo gone from court? , Macbeth has been avoiding her and does not share everything with her anymore, Why do you keep alone? , she needs to ask him, and then he does not give proper answers, keeping much to himself, including Banquos upcoming murder Be innocent of the knowledge. Macbeth takes very little notice of Lady Macbeth while talking about how he envies the dead Duncan and his speeches are full of omens of evil full of scorpions is my mind and black Hecates summons Macbeth is now fully connected with evil which has come to the fore-front of his character. Lady Macbeth has lost her status as a dominant speaker and Macbeths speeches lead the conversation, taking little or no notice of what his wife says. Also, Lady Macbeth is not the dearest partner in greatness anymore shown by Macbeth ordering her to come with him, prithee go with me. The next scene of importance is Macbeths seeing of Banquos ghost at the Banquet. This shows the immense sense of guilt, since the ghost is unseen to other guests and Macbeth has hallucinated. This is what finally drives Lady Macbeth over the edge her last waking and sane words are at the end of the scene. Macbeth is again influenced by the supernatural following a decision to see the witches again. He demands to know what will happen in the future and is unafraid of what may be revealed. He is willing to sacrifice everything for the knowledge, even natures order, castles topple on their warders heads, trees blown down. Macbeth takes each of the prophecies deeply to heart and considers each for a long time but yet Ill make assurance double sure. He interprets only the seeming literal sense of the prophecies, unaware that these are to trick him and are in fact saying how he will fall, not why he will survive. He takes confidence from the prophecies and they are what leads him to ordering the deaths of Macduffs family, a massacre he would have been unlikely to commit without something helping him to reach that conclusion. That murder is perhaps the most terrible since Macbeth is murdering not the person he wants removed, but people associated with Macduff. This deed I will do before purpose cool shows that this is spur of the moment action, highly likely to be influenced by what he had just seen. He wants it done immediately, since he seems afraid that if he thinks it through properly he will realise that this is not a good thing to do. Macbeth has abruptly become much more ruthless, but he is not a true tyrant because somewhere he knows that what he is doing is wrong. Lady Macbeth has gone insane from guilt, and is sleepwalking. All her desires have been inverted where she wanted darkness on the night of Duncans murder, she now has light by her constantly. Her sentences are very disconnected and she finally realises that she had sent herself to hell, Hell is murky. She feels guilty even for the murders Macbeth committed on his own because she set him on that path by convincing him to kill Duncan, Thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now? She is entirely eaten up in guilt and reliving all her experiences on the night of the murder over and over again, A soldier, and afeard? . She also gives a suggestion that Macbeth is also feeling extremely guilty and that he cannot sleep either, I tell you yet again Banquos buried; he cannot come out ons grave. Malcolms description of Macbeth is justified Macbeth has indeed become a dead butcher, murdering ruthlessly, having steadily descended into evil, from first Duncans murder, then Banquos, massacre of Macduffs family being the worst. He does retain some humanity, as he feels guilty until the end. However, the description of Lady Macbeth as a fiend-like queen is only justified if her actions at the beginning are taken into account. Later, she has no influence over Macbeths actions and wants him to stop his way of bloodshed, going insane and committing suicide at the end. However, it is her actions at the beginning to convince Macbeth to start murdering are what led to his fall and reign of evil and death.