By the end of the banquet scene, it is difficult for the audience to recognize the hero
of Act 1 in the man who claims he is “but young in deed.” In an essay of about 400
words, trace the process that changes Macbeth from hero to bloodthirsty villain.
STUDENT SAMPLE ESSAY: THATO MAIMELA Grade 11-1
A hero is defined as a person who is admired by many for doing something brave. In
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the character of Macbeth changes from a hero to a
bloodthirsty villain. This essay is logically set out to trace the process that changes
Macbeth’s character from hero to bloodthirsty villain as a result of the influence of the
three witches and the role of Lady Macbeth.
In the beginning Macbeth is seen as a hero. He is first introduced in the bleeding
Sergeant’s account of his bravery on the battlefield: “For brave Macbeth-well he
deserves that name!/ Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel/ which smoked
with bloody execution” (Act 1, Sc. 2). Through this Macbeth is portrayed as a valiant
warrior, even King Duncan praises him with words such as,”worthy gentleman”. For
Macbeth to receive such a compliment from the King emphasises how honourable
and highly esteemed he is. However, although seen as hero, he changes to a
bloodthirsty villain in the end.
The nobleman in Act1 is reduced to a bloodthirsty tyrant at the end of the play.
Macbeth changes from the honourable man who only killed for the good of Scotland
to a deceitful man who murders to satisfy his lust for power. This is first evident in
acts where he hires murderers to kill his friend, Banquo, in order to maintain his
power. In the beginning he was not fully committed to the idea of murder and even
needed his wife to push him. Now he acts without hesitation and Lady Macbeth’s
manipulation, indicating his loss of moral conscious. Even Malcolm describes
Macbeth as “malicious” and “murderous”, whose evil is greater than that of every
devil in “Horrid Hell”. This powerfully shows Macbeth’s transformation when
compared to the Sergeant’s and Duncan’s praises in Act 1. Macbeth’s change in
character is a result of many events and characters.
Macbeth’s fall from hero to bloodthirsty villain is a process catalysed by various
characters and events.
When Macbeth meets the three witches, they make two predictions in their greeting:
“Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor... All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (Act
1 Sc. 3). One of these predictions come true after they leave. It is at this point that
Macbeth begins to think like a villain. His ambition and dark desires within him
emerge from the seed the witches plant in his mind. It is possible that Macbeth may
have never thought of killing Duncan had it not been for the witches’ prophecies.
Lady Macbeth also played a catalytic role in Macbeth’s downfall by pushing him to
go ahead with the murder. “When you durst do it, then we’en a man;/ And, to be
more than what you were, you would/ Be so much more than the man” (Act 1 Sc. 7).
In this scene Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband using his manhood. She does
this multiple times in the play whenever Macbeth shows any hesitation towards
committing murder until he agrees to it in order to prove his manhood.
Macbeth is a hero that goes through a process of change. He has trumped his wife
in brutality and has abandoned all moral conscience and the honour he once had in
pursuit to fulfill the three witches’ prophecies.