Character Analysis In The Tragedy Macbeth example essay topic

Character Analysis In the tragedy Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, many character traits are portrayed through the various characters throughout the play. Macbeth was one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. It was completed in 1606 and was most likely first performed before King James I and his royal family at Hampton Court. King James I is believed to be a direct descendent of the character Banquo. Probably the most potent character trait expressed in Macbeth would be integrity or the lack there of. Integrity could be defined as doing the right thing at all costs no matter what the consequences or what would be in the persons best interest.

In this play the person that displays the most of this character trait would be Macbeth himself. Macbeth shows his lack of integrity in many ways throughout the entire play through his actions towards the other characters, this trait helps to personify what kind of person Macbeth was and what kind of person he was becoming. In the beginning of the play Macbeth is portrayed as an upstanding citizen to Scotland and a man with unending courage. He could do no wrong in the eyes of the king and because of this was presented with many honors. As with any person when they are recognized for what they have done Macbeth became somewhat greedy in his newly found fame and this greed also spread to his wife, Lady Macbeth. With this greed, as you can expect, came a want for more and more attention and fortune so Macbeth was going to do anything and everything possible to climb his way to the top even if this meant giving up his values and forgetting who his friends were if necessary.

The first event that showed Macbeth giving up on his integrity would be when he and his wife plotted to murder Duncan when he stayed at their castle for the night. In the time that this play took place there was almost no greater sin than to consider killing the King, but not only did Macbeth consider it he actually carried it out. The only thing keeping Macbeth from being the king of Scotland is the fact that that title belongs to Duncan. So in order for Macbeth to attain this highest honor he must dispose of King Duncan and not be caught. But with this murder comes many more acts of lack of integrity on Macbeth's behalf. In another scene in the play Macbeth is forced to kill one of his long time friends Banquo.

Instead of doing it himself Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo for him showing once again that he is turning more and more against his values, because this shows in a way that he may be somewhat scared. Another thing that shows that Macbeth is scared is that he is trying everything possible to hide his treachery and even says, 'False face must hide what the false heart doth know. ' ; (1, 7, 82) In this line Macbeth tells us that he must lie on the outside to keep the secrets he has inside from getting to other people. Through out the tragedy Macbeth there are many character traits displayed in all of the characters of the play. The most prevalent in my eyes was the lack of integrity displayed by the main character Macbeth. He went from a man of outstanding character to a man of little to no good character whatsoever.