The play I have chosen is Macbeth by William Shakespeare. From reading act one; my favourite character is that of Macbeth himself. I chose this character as he is so complex and appears to have several facets to his personality. In some scenes he is shown as a brave warrior steeped in honour and many are in awe of him. Yet we also see that he has a desire to become king and at first gave the impression that he had no qualms about killing the current king, Duncan, to attain his dream of becoming king. Yet we also see that he has a conscience as he is hesitant in killing Duncan when he realises that it would be the wrong thing to do and that he himself would be condemned by the Scottish people.
Macbeth is portrayed as a brave war hero in scene two, when the captain describes the battle between him and Macdonalwald and also his defeat of the Norwegian advance. Because of this King Duncan decides to award ...view middle of the document...
This gives another dimension to Macbeth and further adds intrigue to his character, which is one of the reasons I choose Macbeth as my favourite character. One is held in suspense and never knows what to expect next.
Macbeth is very much his own person and decides to ignore his friend, Banquo’s, interpretation of the witches prophecy when Banquo tells Macbeth that devils often tell half-truths in order to “win us to our harmâ€. Instead, he chooses to fantasise about the idea of being King.
Our initial impression of Macbeth based on the captains report of his valour and prowess in battle, is immediately complicated by Macbeth’s obvious fixation upon the witches prophecy. Macbeth is a noble and courageous warrior, but his reaction to the witch’s pronouncements emphasises his great desire for power and prestige. Macbeth immediately realizes that the fulfilment of the prophesy may require conspiracy and murder on his part. He clearly allows himself to consider taking such actions. His reaction to the prophecy displays a confusion and inactivity that I do not admire in this character. Instead of resolving to act on the witches’ claims, or simply dismissing them, Macbeth talks himself into a kind of thoughtful stupor as he tries to work out the situation for himself. It takes Lady Macbeth to finally push him to act and murder King Duncan. The audience are left to decide for themselves whether or not Macbeth would have done this without such persuasion: his reaction to Lady Macbeth is “if we should fail†and here he is portrayed as weak. However, we are led to believe that Macbeth may have had a change of heart and his conscience wouldn’t allow him to continue with this heinous crime. However, the power of Lady Macbeth’s persuasion eventually leads to Macbeth’s betrayal of Duncan and ultimately of Scotland.
In conclusion, I would see the focus of the drama’s moral confusion centred mainly on Macbeth. In my opinion he plays a vital role in the success of this scene.
