Macbeth is the eponymous character of this

Shakespearean tragedy. He is a tragic hero,

meaning he starts out in a position of glory and

success, but falls from grace due to an error in

judgement of his own making. Every tragic hero

has a fatal flaw, or hamartia: Macbeth’s is his

unchecked ambition. He can’t restrain himself

from going after what he wants, regardless of

moral consequence.

When we are introduced to Macbeth, he is presented as the stereotypical hero, the ideal

himself to be overpowered by his wife, you could say that he takes a more feminine role in their

marriage. He descends from a brave, masculine warrior to a passive feminine coward. Could

this change in gender expression be linked to his villainy? If so, Shakespeare is suggesting that

breaking the norms and order of society makes you vulnerable to corruption and temptation.

Macbeth’s character is significant in terms of philosophy, religion, and morality. His personality

is defined by both his ambition and his guilt. On the one hand he is fixated on the future he

desires. On the other, he is constantly looking over his shoulder, haunted by his crimes. A

question Shakespeare explores through Macbeth is one of predestination; Macbeth’s life

seems to be controlled by fate, but how much of Macbeth’s story was foretold, and how much

was of his own making? Was he destined to become a hellish villain, or was there anything he

Initially, it seems like Macbeth has no reason to worry about his manhood. He is successful in

battle, has a loyal wife, and is destined to work his way up the social ladder. But it quickly

becomes apparent that this isn’t enough for him. For Macbeth, the ideals of valour, power, and

violence become synonymous with masculinity. He is convinced that if he doesn’t pursue

Ambition is his fatal flaw, but his disputed

masculinity is his weakness. Any challenge to his

manhood is enough to convince Macbeth of any

crime. You could argue that what Macbeth’s

ambition strives for, more than to be king, is to be

suggests he is worried about the destination of his immortal soul.

A significant part of Macbeth’s character arc is how he copes (or tries to cope) with turning his

back on God. While contemplating Duncan’s murder, he acknowledges that Heaven will object

to his plans. He frets that Duncan’s virtues as a good king will somehow cry out against the

murder. This could refer to how his subjects will literally mourn his death, or it could be

metaphorical: Macbeth may be worried that Heaven and Earth will react negatively to the

These affect Macbeth so deeply because

they both demonstrate that life as he knows

it is over. He will no longer live like the rest

of humanity. He has strayed from God’s

path, and so has lost God’s protection.

Setting - Scotland

Shakespeare constructs Scotland after the

murder as a godless, Hellish land to match

Homosociality & Male Friendship

Male friendships were a huge part of Jacobean culture. It was a patriarchal society where

women were expected to stay at home, so the public domain was exclusively male. Men were

business partners, colleagues, and school peers. Most of the time, a man’s only company was

other men. This meant men were emotionally and psychologically attuned to each other, and

became very close.

The influence of military standards on society also meant that male solidarity and loyalty

were important values. In battle, soldiers relied on each other, and desertion was unthinkable.

suspect Macbeth at first because the idea of a man betraying another was preposterous.

Tragic Hero

The concept of the tragic hero was popular in Shakespeare’s plays and in Renaissance theatre

as a whole. There are several stages to a tragic hero’s journey:

For Macbeth, his hamartia is his unchecked ambition. Shakespeare uses the idea of the tragic

hero to teach his audience the importance of morality, and of respecting God’s will. Having a

tragic hero means the audience feels sympathy for them despite their failings.

Shakespeare ensures we root for Macbeth, wanting him to succeed and avoid detection, even

though we know what he’s doing is wrong. This creates a big moral crisis for the audience,

guaranteeing they will be more engaged with the topic and debate it. Our investment in Macbeth

also makes his turn towards pure villainy more painful to bear. Even though we relate with his

desires and are, to a certain extent, on his side, we are forced to admit that he is wrong, and

Ambitious

Unchecked ambition is Macbeth’s undoing in the play. If

he had been patient, and waited for the title of king to

come to him, he would have improved his position in

society and kept his soul fit for Heaven. Under the

The issue, Shakespeare argues, isn’t ambition itself, but

the way Macbeth allows himself to be controlled by it.

We know this because other characters, like Banquo and

Malcolm, show ambition, but know how to restrain

themselves. They can judge the situation, and recognise

when it’s best not to listen to their desires for the good of themselves, their loved ones, and the

country they serve. Macbeth, on the other hand, is oblivious to morality and natural order.

Shakespeare shows his audience that ambition is a sin when it goes against God’s will for the

way things are meant to be. By killing Duncan to become king, Macbeth fights his way up the

Chain of Being. Think of it like swimming in a river: Macbeth goes against the current, led by his

Guilty

Immediately after the murder, Macbeth becomes a man who is guilt-ridden and tragically

remorseful. He has to live with what he’s done, and with the knowledge that there is no

undoing it. His guilt makes him a nihilistic figure, a character tormented by his own

conscience. He is surrounded by blood, darkness, and death. Although unchecked ambition is

what causes Macbeth’s downfall, his guilt makes

his undoing unbearable for him and the audience.

What might have been a historical or political play

that follows the righteous uprising against a

Macbeth is troubled and cannot enjoy the life he

sacrificed his immortal soul (what Christians

believed lived on after death and went to Heaven

or Hell) for. Shakespeare suggests that the

conscience, or inner voice of God, that we all have

ensures that no crime or sin can go unpunished.

He proposes that no one can cope with the guilt

our conscience creates, nor can we live with the

knowledge of our own evil.

Scotland.

Violence is largely associated with manhood and masculinity, particularly by Macbeth.

Whenever his manliness is challenged, Macbeth responds by committing a violent, ruthless act.

He represses any feelings of fear or doubt, viewing them as signs of weakness and femininity.

Importantly, Shakespeare demonstrates how violence and bloodshed are used to maintain

tyranny and corruption. They are tools for bad kings. Unlike Duncan’s reign, which is

portrayed as a nurturing, fruitful harvest, Macbeth’s is plagued by disease and murder. If he was

an effective ruler who obtained his power through fair means, he wouldn’t need to use violence

to protect himself. As it is, his power is wrongly gained, and his reign is corrupt.

Macbeth, furthermore, is at the centrepoint of the power plays. In many ways, what matters

more in the play is the fight for power, rather than the power itself. There is a constant push

Already, we see a glimpse of the guilt that will haunt him after the murder takes place. We see

them. Lady Macbeth, in particular, holds a lot of power over him. Linked to this is his fragile

sense of masculinity. It’s clear that Macbeth will do whatever it takes to prove himself and his

manliness. You could argue that his weak will is entwined with his ambition, which is typically

named as his fatal flaw. His ambition for power ties in with his deflated ego. The power he

craves isn’t supernatural or physical. What he wants is the title of king and the recognition it

brings. Being king means his peers - and his wife - will have to respect him. It will be a

testament to his masculinity, the ultimate proof of manly strength.

Middle (2.3 - 3.4)

Macbeth’s crisis of character is at its most extreme during the middle of the play. The

Macbeth’s seemingly inexorable (unstoppable) descent into violence could also be attributed to

his paranoia. As we discovered before, Macbeth’s public image is very important to him,

because it helps him believe he’s still a good man. Though he kills people in cold blood, he

doesn’t do it without a reason. At least, in his eyes, he has a good reason. And that reason is

always protection. Anyone who could defeat him or expose him is killed.

Part of what makes his guilt so difficult to bear is his revelation that power doesn’t come with a

guarantee. Murdering Duncan has taken a great toll on him, and he knows it, so he is frustrated

worth the cost. This perspective marks the third and final part of his character development as

we enter the final scenes of the play.

Ending (3.5 - 5.9)

As with the rest of the play, in the final acts it seems like two different Macbeths walk the stage.

Undoubtedly, Macbeth has become a tyrant. To repress all feelings of guilt and regret, he

embraces violence and greed. He wants to feel

invincible and unstoppable - like God.

his side.

Similarly, Macbeth’s hubris peaks in Act 4, as he

believes he is immune to fate and higher powers.

Hecate tells us as such when she addresses the Witches. Macbeth has lost sight of his

humanity and weaknesses, so that he’s possessed by arrogance, confidence, and pride.

Lady Macbeth’s main role in the play is to shake things up and cause havoc, meaning her aim is

to fool and manipulate as many people as possible with her deceitful ways. She benefits hugely

from the divide between appearances and reality. Furthermore, she relies on people’s

but if her spells were successful, then she is wombless and full of gall on the inside.

Lady Macbeth isn’t even fully honest to her husband. Only we, the audience, know the extent of

her plots and motivations. By allowing us to hear her soliloquies, Shakespeare emphasises

the divide between appearances and reality and how extreme her deceit really is. Other

characters on stage are oblivious of who she really is, but we know the dark truth. Moreover, as

femme fatale archetype in the character of Lady Macbeth. She threatens to emasculate

Arthurian Legend

Arthurian Legend refers to the legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

In the Jacobean Era, women had no legal rights in society, and this meant that when they

married, they became the property of their husbands. Their role was to have children and run

the household. Domestic abuse, and even domestic murder, was extremely common. Maternal

mortality (how common it was for a woman to die from pregnancy, childbirth, or the period after

birth) was also extremely high. A woman’s destiny was to get married and have children. Any

education she was offered was geared towards these two occupations: women were taught to

cook and clean, and for the upper classes, they might be taught to dance or embroider, all in the

hopes of attracting a man. Men were entitled to divorce or disown their wives at any time if they

felt she had dishonoured them, disobeyed them, or brought shame to their reputation.

mother altogether.

Gender

Whether Shakespeare intends to show the perils of femininity or of androgyny through Lady

Macbeth depends on how successful you think her prayers to the spirits were. If we are to

believe she was successful in unsexing herself, then her villainy and disturbing personality

suggest that gender nonconformity is dangerous. By losing her femininine identity, she loses

her humanity. Alternatively, if we still view her as a female character, her acts of manipulation

and seduction portray women as deceitful, wicked beings.

marriage, which would have been unheard of. Rather than appearing weak or idiotic, she is

smart, cunning, and bloodthirsty, and embraces the occult and villainy in order to achieve her

goal. She is so powerful that a Jacobean audience would view her as unnatural, possibly even

supernatural.

supernatural contacts. It isn’t just significant that she has soliloquies in her first scenes: the

allusions to witchcraft and the diabolical portray her as a villain, and it’s as if she’s casting

her own spells. She wants the power of the occult to achieve her aim, suggesting she is willing

to sacrifice everything to be queen.

She bullies Macbeth with cruel and cutting insults, but also entices him with promises of power

and success. The way she greets him, calling him a soon-to-be king, mimics the Witches’ own.

After Macbeth’s soliloquy where he concludes that he has “no spur to prick the sides of [his]

intent, but only / Vaulting ambition”

that very “spur”, “vaulting ambition”

Middle (2.2 - 3.4)

In the climax of the murder in Act 2 Scene 2, we see how Lady

Macbeth takes charge and remains calm while Macbeth has a

She is frustrated with Macbeth because of his guilt, hysteria, and

fear - something that happens continually for the rest of the

middle section - portraying her as unempathetic and closed-off.

It’s as if her spells were successful and she is an invincible,

amoral villain, presenting her as a Witch. To her, guilt goes as

far as the blood on her hands, and can be disposed of just as

easily. The contrast between her and Macbeth’s reactions - her

coldness against his panic - makes her appear far-removed from

humanity and its worries. On the other hand, her one display of

emotional vulnerability could foreshadow her guilt and torment later.

As we enter Act 3, we see cracks starting to appear in Lady Macbeth’s calm. She’s still

unaffected by guilt, but she’s paranoid. Moreover, she’s anxious about how Macbeth is

faring. His own paranoia and guilt are causes of great concern for her, and she doesn’t want his

incompetence to ruin her plan. This tension and frustration comes to a head when Banquo’s

ghost appears. She can’t understand why Macbeth is behaving the way he is, and is angry that

he would be so terrified by something so foolish, putting her in danger by doing so. She mocks

and chastises him (tells him off) for displaying weakness, implying she’s very passionate about

keeping in control.

Ending

We next see Lady Macbeth on stage in Act 5 Scene 1. This is also the last time she ever

appears before her death. The person we see is even further away from the person who plotted

caught up to her.

Shakespeare uses the characters of the

doctor and Lady Macbeth’s Lady in Waiting

to emphasise how insane and alien Lady

Macbeth has become. She never speaks to

anyone, and it’s only through the exchange

between these two minor characters that we

know what’s going on. Along with the doctor,

the audience observes, studies, and

were lower class or insane. Hence, Lady

Macbeth isn’t as impressive or intimidating as she once was.

Lady Macbeth’s speech is incoherent, frantic, and continuous, as her internal monologue is

said aloud. She alternates between worrying about her growing guilt and telling an imagined

Macbeth off for jeopardising their plot. For example, in one long string of monologue, she says,

“The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands ne’er be clean?

No more o’that, my lord, no more o’that. You mar all with this starting,”

panicking about their growing body-count to scolding Macbeth for being jumpy in an instant. The

random, disjointed structure of her speech reflects how she’s torn between her ambition and

Lady Macbeth is hardly mentioned by the other characters for the rest of the play. Only upon her

death does Macbeth think of her, highlighting how separate the two of them have become. She

drifted away from the outside world, caged inside the castle. Before the murder, Lady Macbeth

could never have imagined fading into such insignificance.

motion.

Macbeth | Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are incredibly ambitious and power-hungry. Most of

power and status, but controls Macbeth like he’s her own puppet. Eventually, Macbeth breaks

away from her, plotting without her and keeping secrets.

your fires // let not light see my black and deep desires

must hide what false heart doth know

Rhyming Couplets

Shakespeare’s use of rhyming couplets gives the Witches’ speech a spell-like sound as is

symbolic of spell casting and bringing things into existence through their utterances. This sets

up the debate as to whether the Witches are really controlling events or if they are in actuality

leading Macbeth into his own demise.

Macbeth | The Witches are dependent on Macbeth to

fulfill their prophecies. It was believed that witches were

unable to directly kill man so instead they had to control

others to create the disorder and chaos they wished to

impart on mankind.

have the power to influence the men around him. It could

and vehicle for evil. Their prophecies cause Macbeth to

However, you could argue that the Witches are simply a catalyst for Macbeth’s actions, it is his

desire to fulfill his ambition for power which provides the momentum within the play. Perhaps,

Macbeth had the potential to sin, but needed the suggestion in order to persuade him into

Shakespeare’s play is more of an exploration of the psychological state of Macbeth, rather

than an exploration of the supernatural. This prompts the interpretation that the Witches only

predicted events rather than causing them and deciding fate. Duncan had already decided that

Macbeth would be Thane of Cawdor, before they told Macbeth

Duncan | Though they never meet, King Duncan linguistically echoes the witches in speech

(unwittingly) as he exclaims “when the battle’s lost and won

parallelism (repeated grammatical structure) to echo the Witches, who state “what he hath

lost, noble Macbeth hath won

the world – even the king.

Banquo | Banquo is also affected by the Witches, as he admits to dreaming of the witches: "I

dreamed last night of the three weird sisters

Banquo met the Witches, prompting the question - had he been thinking of them before they

met? Were Macbeth and Banquo already connected to the supernatural?

This dream shows that they have influenced Banquo too, however he serves as evidence that

the witches can be resisted and they do not have complete control as they give him a prophecy

too, which he ignores. This response from Banquo is necessary for his character as he serves

as the foil to Macbeth and to embrace the Witches would go against the purpose of his

character.

Lady Macbeth | Lady Macbeth can be interpreted as a fourth witch, of perhaps an even greater

evil. It is important to understand why Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as similar to the

Witches. She lapses into rhyming couplets when trying to persuade Macbeth to commit

Lady Macbeth defies gender roles as she is dominant in her relationship with Macbeth, which

was often all the justification needed to convict a woman of witchcraft. She becomes the proxy

Lady Macbeth’s ongoing influence on Macbeth could be why, unlike Banquo, he is unable to

resist the Witches’ influence. Macbeth has many moments when he is decided to resist evil and

not murder Duncan. But this reluctance causes him to be emasculated by Lady Macbeth - she

is outraged, calls him a coward and questions his manhood: “When you durst do it,

“then you were a man

as feminine.

Macduff is, essentially, a minor character. However, he is,

arguably, the most prominent minor character in the play.

Macduff is a static character, in that his loyalty to King

Duncan, and righteous heirs to the throne, is unwavering. He

immediately distrusts Macbeth and refuses to attend his

coronation. Ultimately, Macduff becomes a focal point for

Macbeth’s rage and desire to protect his throne. Macduff’s

family is murdered by Macbeth’s assassins, after Macduff

flees to England to seek help from the king. Revenge drives

rightful heir to the throne.

Macduff is, in every way, the opposite to the character of Macbeth and therefore they are the

foil of each other. It is important to consider why Shakespeare portrays Macduff as in stark

contrast to that of the character of Macbeth. These two characters extend to the symbols of the

fight between good and evil. Arguably, these characters may also have a Biblical symbolism –

a representation of sin being defeated and order restored.

Macduff uses metaphorical language to describe Duncan’s

death: “most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope the lord’s

anointed temple

order to reinforce the holiness of Duncan’s reign. He

recognises Duncan as the true, divinely ordained, king; the

“Lord’s temple

anointed with holy oil at their coronation to signify this.

change who was king was a sin as you were going directly against God’s will. This is similar to

the Biblical fall of man in the Garden of Eden, as Adam disobeyed God’s orders. Macduff

audience that Macduff is a character to be trusted.

delivers news both to the characters and audience in the play, and Macduff is part of this

deliverance.