Macbeth

His Bravery
The wounded sergeant bears ample testimony to his heroism when fighting against
Macdonwald and Sweno.

"For brave Macbeth well he deserves that name
Disdaining Fortune, with his brandish'd steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like valour's minion carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave.
For brave Macbethwell he deserves that name
Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like valors minion carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave;
Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseamed him from the nave to th' chops,
And fixed his head upon our battlements."

"Brave Macbeth, laughing at Luck, chopped his way through to Macdonwald, who didnt
even have time to say good-bye or shake hands before Macbeth split him open from his navel
to his jawbone and stuck his head on our castle walls."
Act 1, Scene 2

And again, Ross speaks of him as
Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof.".

"But outfitted in his battle-weathered armor,"
Act 1, Scene 2

We may notice, too, Macbeth's own words when speaking of himself:
"I dare do all that may become a man,
Who dares do more is none."

"I dare to do only what is proper for a man to do. He who dares to do more is not a man at
all."
Act 1, Scene 7

His Kindness
His wife knew well this feature in his character, and says of him:
"Yet I do fear thy nature;
It is too full o' the milk of human kindness,
To catch the nearest way."

"You are too full of the milk of human kindness to strike aggressively at your first
opportunity."
Act 1, Scene 5

His Ambition
That there were evil thoughts of an ambitious nature in Macbeth from the beginning we
may be sure. No sooner have the witches greeted him with:
"All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!"
"All hail, Macbeth, the future king!"
Act 1, Scene 3

When Banquo says this, he unknowingly encourages Macbeth to kill King Duncan:
"Good sir, why do you start: and seem to fear
Things that do sound so fair?"

"My dear Macbeth, why do you look so startled and afraid of these nice things theyre
saying?"
Act 1, Scene 3

It was his evil conscience that made him start. When he is informed that Duncan had made
him Thane of Cawdor, he at once gives way to the temptation suggested by the words of the
witches, and allows his ambitious thoughts to have full sway:
"Why do I yield to that suggestion
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair,
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,
Against the use of nature?"

"Why do I find myself thinking about murdering King Duncan, a thought so horrifying that it
makes my hair stand on end and my heart pound inside my chest?"
Act 1, Scene 3

The words of Lady Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 5 clearly show that ambitious designs had been
discussed at some point prior to the events recorded in Act 1, Scene 3:
"Was the hope drunk
Wherein you dress'd yourself?"

"Were you drunk when you seemed so hopeful before?"
Act 1, Scene 7

"Nor time nor place
Did then adhere, and yet you would make both."

"The time and place werent right before, but you would have gone ahead with the murder
anyhow."
Act 1, Scene 7

When Duncan proclaims Malcolm as Prince of Cumberland, and Macbeth finds himself face
to face with crime if the object of his ambition is to be attained, he says:
"That is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, For in my way it lies."

"To become king myself, Im either going to have to step over him or give up"
Act 1, Scene 4

And later on:
"I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition."

"I cant spur myself to action. The only thing motivating me is ambition,"
Act 1, Scene 7

His Treachery
At first he regards the idea of acting treacherously to Duncan with horror:
"My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man that function
Is smother'd in surmise."

"Even though its just a fantasy so far, the mere thought of committing murder shakes me up
so much that I hardly know who I am anymore. My ability to act is stifled by my thoughts and
speculations"
Act 1, Scene 3

He appears to be half determined to give up the project; but when he meets Lady Macbeth
the fall soon comes. She knows well the weak points in his character, and at once he is
taunted with cowardice, irresolution, and weakness. She shows him how easy it will be to
perform the deed, now that the time and place "have made themselves," and at last he gives
way:
"I am settled, and bend up
Each corporal agent to this terrible feat.
Away, and mock the time with fairest show:
False face must hide what the false heart doth know."

"Now Im decided, and I will exert every muscle in my body to commit this crime. Go now,
and pretend to be a friendly hostess. Hide with a false pleasant face what you know in your
false, evil heart."
Act 1, Scene 7

His Tyranny
When once he has attained the object of his ambition, Macbeth's character undergoes a
change. He is no longer the cautious and hesitating plotter, but becomes bolder and more
energetic in his scheming. He now takes to bloodshed readily. Lady Macbeth's taunts are not
required now to spur him on. He plans the murder of Banquo in a most careful and business-
like manner. He tells the murderers:
"I will advise you where to plant yourselves;
Acquaint you with the perfect spy o' the time,
The moment on't; for 't must be done to-night."

"Ill tell you where to go and exactly when to strike. It must be done tonight,"
Act 3, Scene 1

He, who was so cautious over the murder of Duncan, without any hesitation or thoughts of
the hereafter, puts Lady Macduff and her children to death.

His Imaginativeness
Throughout the play we have evidence of Macbeth's lively imagination. He imagines he sees
the blood-stained dagger:
"Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand?"

"Is this a dagger I see in front of me, with its handle pointing toward my hand?"
Act 2, Scene 1

He fancies he hears voices:
"Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more!
Macbeth does murder sleep.'"

"I thought I heard a voice cry, 'Sleep no more! Macbeth is murdering sleep.'"
Act 2, Scene 2

He alone of all the company sees the Ghost of Banquo at the banquet. He is greatly affected
by the words of the witches. Towards the end he says of himself:

"The time has been, my senses would have cool'd
To hear a night-shriek; and my fell of hair
Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir
As life were in't."

"There was a time when I would have been terrified by a shriek in the night, and the hair on
my skin would have stood up when I heard a ghost story. "
Act 5, Scene 5