Macbeth
CHARACTER STUDY
Macbeth Character
What kind of person is Macbeth?
 In the beginning: He is brave and valiant. He appears to be
loyal to Duncan and is a noble man.
 He develops into: A deceptive liar whose ambition pushes
him to murder his King and friend. He becomes ruthless,
cruel and cold.
 In the end: He is weary of the world, exhausted by
everything he has done but remains defiant and brave until
the end.
Macbeth Character
Our first impression of Macbeth is positive.
Why?:
 He is highly respected.
 He has won the battle for King Duncan at the
beginning of the play.
 He is described by others as ‘brave’ and ‘noble’.
 King Duncan rewards his loyalty by making him
Thane of Cawdor.
Macbeth Character
Macbeth’s tragic flaw (the characteristic that brings
about his downfall) is that he is too ambitious.
How?:
 Macbeth knows Duncan is a good person but he
wants to become king so badly he is willing to kill
him.
 The witches use his weakness – ambition – to bring
about his downfall.
 Later in the play, he is willing to do anything and kill
anyone to hold onto his title of King.
Macbeth Character
Macbeth’s conscience greatly troubles him at the
beginning of the play. He knows what he is doing is
wrong so he is plagued with guilt and worry.
How?:
 He tells himself he owes Duncan loyalty.
 He admits it is only ambition pushing him to kill
Duncan.
 Until Lady Macbeth convinces him, he changes his
mind about the plan several times.
Macbeth Character
Achieving his ambition brings Macbeth no joy, he is
filled with feelings of horror about what he has done
and insecurity over who is still a threat to him. He
begins to change as a person.
How?:
Macbeth says he is jealous of Duncan because he can
rest at peace, while Macbeth can get no sleep.
His paranoia and insecurity means he decides to kill
his good friend Banquo.
Macbeth Character
Macbeth begins to murder with much greater ease and
he stops telling Lady Macbeth what he is planning to
do.
However:
His conscience is still troubling him and we can see
this when he imagines he can see Banquo’s ghost at the
feast.
Macbeth Character
After seeing the witches, Macbeth sides completely on
the side of evil and ignores his conscience and worries.
How?:
 He decides to kill Macduff’s entire family without a
second thought, simply because he is angry with
Macduff.
 Macbeth becomes isolated as the people of Scotland
realise he is an evil tyrant and his wife loses her mind
before dying, which barely affects him.
Macbeth Character
Macbeth is filled with despair at the end of the play
and is described by others very differently to the start
of the play.
How?:
 He gives a sad speech describing how life has no
meaning.
 He is referred to as ‘hellhound’, ‘devilish’, ‘tyrant’,
and ‘butcher’.
Macbeth Character
Despite his isolation, Macbeth refuses to surrender
and face humiliation.
How?:
 Macbeth bravely defies his enemies and shows his
warrior instincts are still strong.
 Macbeth’s bravery is the one aspect of his character
that stays the same the whole way through the play.
Macbeth Character Questions
1.
What kind of person is Macbeth at the start of the
play? What evidence is there to show this?
2. What does the term ‘tragic flaw’ mean?
3. What is Macbeth’s tragic flaw? How do we see this
in the play?
4. After achieving his dream of becoming King, what
kind of person does Macbeth become?