MacBeth - Attitude Changes
MacBeth - Attitude ChangesIn the tragic drama Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare in
1606 during the English Renaissance, the hero, Macbeth, constantly
declines in his level of morality until his death at the end of the
play. Because of his change of character from good to evil, Macbeth's
attitude towards other characters, specifically Duncan, Banquo, Lady
Macbeth, and the witches, is significantly affected.
The first of the four characters is Duncan. Since Macbeth
interacts with Duncan only a minimal amount before Duncan's death,
Macbeth's attitude towards him changes very rapidly. Before Macbeth
hears the witches' first prophecy, he is very close to Duncan, and
would never even think of doing something against him. When the
thought of murdering Duncan crosses his mind immediately after he
finds that he has just been named Thane of Cawdor, he cannot believe
he "yield[s] to that suggestion / Whose horrid image doth unfix my
hair / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs" (I, iii, 133-35). In
scene 5 of act 1, however, his "vaulting ambition" is starting to take
over, but partly because of his wife's persuasion. He agrees that they
must "catch the nearest way" (17), and kill Duncan that night. On the
other hand, as the time for murder comes nearer, he begins
giving himself reasons not to murder Duncan:
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself.
(I, vii, 13-16)
When Lady Macbeth enters, though, she uses her cunning rhetoric
and pursuasion techniques to convince Macbeth that this is, beyond the
shadow of a doubt, the right thing to do. He then tells her that "I am
settled." (79). He is firmly seated in his beliefs that killing Duncan
is the right thing to do-until he performs the murder. He is so
horrified by this act that for a moment he forgets where he is or whom
he is with. We learn from this murder that Macbeth truly had faith in
the king and was very loyal, but under the forces of his wife's
persuasion and his own vaulting ambition, he is put in the evil frame
of mind for just long enough to kill Duncan. This murder does
permanently alter him from his moral state of mind, however, and he
soon does not feel much remorse for murdering Duncan.
The Second of the four characters towards whom Macbeth's
attitude changes is Banquo. Before he murders Duncan, Macbeth is a
very close friend to Banquo, and they are almost always together....
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