Macbeth Paper

Sympathy for Macbeth Judging from actions alone, Macbeth is an evil man. Over the course of the play named after him he turns from a loyal soldier to a traitorous usurper, inspired only by the words of three mysterious witches. Despite his treacherous plotting and murderous conduct, Shakespeare managed to salvage some respect for Macbeth's character. Through his feelings early on and his actions at the end, Macbeth garners sympathy where it might not otherwise exist. At the start of the play, Macbeth fights nobly and staunchly to defend Scotland and her king from the invading Norwegians. His valiant battlefield exploits are the main reason why the Scots defeat the Norwegians, leading routs and slaughtering all foes within arm's reach. King Duncan ironically names Macbeth, his future murderer, the Thane of Cawdor to replace the previous Thane of Cawdor who was a turncoat who helped the invaders. Macbeth learns this from three witches, who also prophesy that he will become king. When he does finally meet Duncan again, the king lavishes praise upon Macbeth and fellow war hero Banquo. Macbeth replies, "The service and the loyalty I owe, in doing it [fighting] pays itself. Your Highness' part is to receive out duties…" (I, iv, 25-27), indicating that it was his pleasure to fight for the king when he is already contemplating how he might make the witches' prophecies come true. Even while he receives the acclaim and expressions of love from the king, Macbeth is contemplating usurping the throne. Through at first the heavy prodding from his wife and later by his own design, Macbeth commits atrocity after atrocity that all solidify him as an evil man. At the urging of Lady Macbeth, he does kill Duncan and the guards that he framed with the crime and

allows the rest of the high-ranking Scots to think that the murder was some sort of plot formulated by the king's sons Malcolm and Donalbain. Macbeth hires murderers to kill his friend Banquo and Banquo's son Fleance, though Fleance escapes death where his father does not. Macbeth directs that murder without consulting his wife, showing that an inner transformation has occurred and he no longer need outside stimulation to commit murder. While Macbeth's enemy Macduff has left to meet with the rightful king Malcolm about overthrowing Macbeth, he orders the murder of Macduff's family and all other people within his house at the time. While Macduff is consulting Malcolm on what to do he finds that Macbeth has been sending people to meet Malcolm to lure him back to Scotland so Macbeth can kill him. He has no qualms about killing anyone and everyone if he sees any threat, real or imagined. Macbeth's metamorphosis from guardian angel of Scotland to devil is complete. Despite the blackness at the core of Macbeth, Shakespeare portrays him in such a way so that the audience overlooks his evil deeds somewhat and does feel sympathy for him. Prior to his murdering of Duncan, Macbeth has serious reservations about following through with the assassination. After all, his ambitions for the throne only surfaced after hearing a prophecy by witches. He reasons, "If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me, without my stir" (I, iii, 158-160). However, Lady Macbeth drives him to the point of seriously considering murder, and originally was going to commit the murder herself, only failing to do it upon noticing the sleeping Duncan's resemblance to her father. Thus, Macbeth must perpetrate the crime, one that after he regrets mightily. Upon hearing a knock at his castle's door after killing Duncan, he moans, "Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!" (II, iii, 92). After the murder of Banquo and his

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subsequent haunting by Banquo's ghost, Macbeth mourns that he has passed the point of no return and has no choice but to continue with murder. Having the audience know this generates some degree of sympathy: it does not excuse him but it reveals that if given the choice he would rather not go on killing people. At the end of the play when the combined forces of Macduff, Malcolm, and Siward are ready to attack Dunsinane castle to depose and dispose of Macbeth, Macbeth has the choice of waiting out the siege in his castle which is stocked with enough supplies to last a good long while. Instead of taking that easy way through the situation, Macbeth elects to take on the challengers in battle, declaring, "I'll fight, till from my bones my flesh be hacked" (V, iii, 36). His officer Seyton tries to convince him otherwise, but Macbeth will hear nothing of it. His display of bravery against his foes finally secures sympathy for Macbeth since he ends up going down bravely in battle rather than cowardly in the depths of his castle. Despite committing numerous evil acts throughout the play, Macbeth gains unwarranted sympathy through the way Shakespeare portrays him. Macbeth transforms from a loyal soldier to a traitorous and murderous usurper but gains some compassion from the audience. His showing regret for killing, remorse for acquiring the necessity to kill, and bravery at the end all prevent Macbeth from seeming like the complete monster he had become. Shakespeare masterfully makes Macbeth a tragic hero, saving him from being a full-fledged villain.