Macbeth: The True Nature of Man :: essays research papers

In the shirk Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the author tries to show the true nature of man by using the plays main character, Macbeth, as an example. He is excessively ambitious, courageous, and self-doubting. Throughout the play, Shakespeare displays these characteristics to the audience through Macbeth to show the true nature of man. At the end of the play, these characteristics ultimately lead to Macbeths down coin. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is set forth as being valiant. He is a skilled warrior, who is doglike to his king and his country. Almost single-handedly, he wins the war for Scotland. He defeats many of the opposite soldiers, including a traitor, all in the name of his king. But, when three witches encounter Macbeth and his title-holder Banquo, Macbeths ambition begins to grow. They tell Macbeth that he will be Thane of Cawdor and King. briefly after, Macbeth meets with King Duncan. He informs Macbeth that he is the new Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is ast onished, and from then on he is obsessed with being king. His ambition begins to become ruthless when Duncan proclaims that his son Malcolm is the Prince of Cumberland, and therefore, the heritor to the throne The Prince of Cumberland That is a step/On which I must fall down, or else oerleap, /For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires/Let not light see my black and deep desires/The eye wink at the hand yet let that be/Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. (I,iv,48-53) At this moment, Macbeth, realizing that they hold in the way of the witches prophecies, decides that both Duncan and Malcolm need to die for him to be king. As soon as Macbeth kills Duncan, he enters into a world of evil. Later in the play, Macbeths ambition becomes increasingly ruthless. He kills his best friend Banquo, and more or less kills Banquos son, Fleance, because he believes they would stand in the way of his reign. The witches told Banquo Thou shall bum about kings, though thou be none. (I,ii i,67) This means that Banquo himself would not be a king, but that his successors would be. Macbeth tries to prevent this by killing Banquo and his son Fleance. Even though Macbeth can be called a tyrant and a murderer, he is nonetheless, actually courageous. In the beginning of the play, he fights very bravely for his king and country.