The Affect of Macbeth's Power on His Character

Kapitanov, Daniel
10/5
November 7, 2010

The Affect of Macbeth’s Power on his Character

Macbeth is the main character in the play, and he suffers many changes throughout it.   At first he is honest and innocent, until he finds out what power he might obtain, and starts getting greedy, impatient and fearful.   There is a great difference between being an ordinary person and being at the top, and after Macbeth shifts into being a king the way he acts and takes control of a situation change drastically.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth lives a relatively satisfying life. He holds the title Thane of Glamis, and is the owner of Inverness Castle, and he fights for his king with great pride and bravery and is honored with much respect from the soldiers and the captain, who describes him and Banqo as “cannons overcharged with double cracks.” (1.2.37). He still does not know what great power might be in his hands then, so he is devoted to his king and lives an ordinary life.   The first major change that strikes his character is when he meets the witches and they tell him that he “shalt be King hereafter!” (1.3.51). Once a man knows that such power can be in his possession, it is very hard for him to resist the temptation of taking some actions to achieve the wanted power. This, of course, happens to Macbeth too, and that’s when he loses his innocence, because he is no longer happy with his ordinary life, when he knows it could be extremely improved, and that’s the point from which he starts to become insatiable and ruthless.
Lady Macbeth also has a great part in shaping Macbeth’s character. Once she finds out she could be queen, she also develops a very strong hunger for power and takes the main part of convincing her husband to murder the king. Macbeth views himself as a courageous and strong person, and cannot stand someone insulting his manliness, and that’s why his wife calling him a “coward” (1.7.43) is enough to convince him to prove her wrong and take...