Springer 1 Emily Springer Mrs.

Dellinger English 11-2 30 October 2013 Change in Macbeth Macbeth, a seemingly great guy, turns out to be the opposite of what he first started out to be, surprising the audience. In this play, many events occur that changes the way Macbeth thinks and acts. In Macbeth by Shakespeare, Macbeth starts out brave and loyal to his king and country, but then progressively turns malicious and uncaring by the end of the play. In the beginning, Macbeth is brave and loyal. A sergeant said, For brave Macbeth well he deserves that name (Shakespeare 180). The sergeant says this about Macbeth because Macbeth does show bravery while battling. The brave man killed Macdonwald, who betrayed the country. Not only did Macbeth win the battle and rid of the traitor, but he proved it by putting Macdonwalds head on his sword. Not only is Macbeth brave, but he is also loyal. Macbeth says to King Duncan, The service and the loyalty I owe, in doing it, pays itself. Your Highness part is to receive our duties. And our duties are to your throne and state children and servants, which do but what they should, by doing everything safe toward your love and honor (Shakespeare 188). In saying this to the king, Macbeth is expressing his devotion and loyalty to Duncan. He is saying that he will do anything that needs to be done for his king. Shortly after starting the play, the reader sees that Macbeth is starting to waiver with his ways. This is expressed when Macbeth says to Banquo, Do you not hope your children shall be kinds, when those that gave the Thane of Cawdor to me promise no less to them? (Shakespeare 186). Instead of blowing off the witches as liars like he should have, Macbeth starts to wonder if

Springer 2 what they say is true. His greed is starting to come out. Not only is he starting to believe, he is curious as to why Banquo does not believe the witches after Macbeth became Thane of Cawdor like the witches said. At first, Macbeth is like Banquo and does not believe the Witches, but after receiving the title Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth says My dull brain was wrought with things forgotten (Shakespeare 187). Macbeth first blew off what the witches said, but after obtaining the new title, he remembers what was said and starts to get curious about what else they said. It is the spark of his big change in characteristics. Lastly, in the end, Macbeth goes mad. To start, he loves his wife and cares deeply about her but after Seyton tells him his wife is dead, Macbeth only replies with, She would have died hereafter (244). Him saying this shows that he no longer cares about her. He says she would have died anyway, so it does not matter. Not only does Macbeth not care about his wife, but he only cares about himself and tries to fight till the end, but must admit defeat. Macbeth says to Macduff, Accursed be that tongue that tells me so, for it hath cowed my better part of man! (Shakespeare 247). Macbeth says he can only be beat by someone who is not born of woman, thinking Macduff was born of woman. Surprisingly, Macduff is not. Macbeth then knows that he is done for. He tries everything he can to remain king, but cannot prevail. Seen throughout the play, Macbeth goes from kind, loyal, and brave, to swaying off the right path, to downright evil. This change is driven by the power of greed and the quest for royalty. He wants nothing more than the witches to be right, so he makes all the prophecies come true by his own power. Shakespeare shows how greed can corrupt a person by portraying it through Macbeth.

Springer 3 Works Cited Shakespeare, William, Macbeth. Adventures in English Literature. Athena Ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1996. Print.