Macbeth is the protagonist in this play, though he cannot be considered a hero or a truly righteous man. His character is dynamic as it undergoes drastic transformations throughout the play. At the start of the drama, we come to know Macbeth as a brave and a corageous Scottish soldier as this is clearly shown to the reader by his heroic actions in a battlefield against the Irish army. “The wounded sergeant bears ample testimony to his heroism when fighting against Macdonwald and Sweno” (Deighton, 2013). He says “for brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, Like valor’s minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave” (Shakespeare, Act I, Scene II, 16-20).
In this battle Macbeth exhibits astonishing fearlessness that King
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The first incident upon which we start to notice his transformation is when the witches greet him with “all hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare, Act I, Scene III, 51). Hereupon, his exceeding ambition overpowers him and the foretelling of the witches brings him joy. He cannot help himself but think about murder, and ultimately spurred by his wife’s teasing taunts he decides to kill Duncan in order to become King himself. Initially Macbeth’s good hearted character and state of self-awareness makes him reluctant to commit the deed. He easily chooses to favor pondering over the good attributes of the King rather than the bad ones:
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been so clear in his great office, that his virtues will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against the deep damnation of his taking-off. (William Shakespeare, Act I, Scene VII,