Macbeth
 
 By William Shakespeare
 
In the tragic drama Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare
in 1606 during the English Renaissance, the hero, Macbeth,
constantly declines in his level of morality until his
death at the end of the play. Because of his change of
character from good to evil, Macbeth's attitude towards
other characters, specifically Duncan, Banquo, Lady
Macbeth, and the witches, is significantly affected.
 
The first of the four characters is Duncan. Since Macbeth
interacts with Duncan only a minimal amount before Duncan's
death, Macbeth's attitude towards him changes very rapidly.
Before Macbeth hears the witches' first prophecy, he is
very close to Duncan, and would never even think of doing
something against him. When the thought of murdering Duncan
crosses his mind immediately after he finds that he has
just been named Thane of Cawdor, he cannot believe he
"yield[s] to that suggestion / Whose horrid image doth
unfix my hair / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs"
(I, iii, 133-35). In scene 5 of act 1, however, his
"vaulting ambition" is starting to take over, but partly
because of his wife's persuasion. He agrees that they must
"catch the nearest way" (17), and kill Duncan that night.
On the other hand, as the time for murder comes nearer, he
begins giving himself reasons not to murder Duncan:
 
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.
 (I, vii, 13-16)
 
When Lady Macbeth enters, though, she uses her cunning
rhetoric and persuasion techniques to convince Macbeth that
this is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the right thing to
do. He then tells her that "I am settled." (79). He is
firmly seated in his beliefs that killing Duncan is the
right thing to do-until he performs the murder. He is so
horrified by this act that for a moment he forgets where he
is or whom he is with. We learn from this murder that
Macbeth truly had faith in the king and was very loyal, but
under the forces of his wife's persuasion and his own
vaulting ambition, he is put in the evil frame of mind for
just long enough to kill Duncan. This murder does
permanently alter him from his moral state of mind,
however, and he soon does not feel much remorse for
murdering Duncan.
 
The Second of the four characters towards whom Macbeth's
attitude changes is Banquo. Before he murders Duncan,
Macbeth is a very close friend to Banquo, and they are
almost always together. After the murder, however, Macbeth
senses suspicion on Banquo's part. He realizes that
Banquo's "wisdom that doth guide his valour / To act in
safety" (52-53) will cause Banquo to want to turn Macbeth
in for his crime. Macbeth knows he must also get rid of
Banquo since, according to the prophecy, the throne will
pass to Banquo's sons otherwise. Macbeth starts showing his
extreme hatred towards Banquo while he is convincing the
two murderers that killing him is right:
 
Macb: Both of you
 Know Banquo was your enemy.
 
Murderers: True, my lord.
 
Macb: So is he mine; and in such bloody distance
 That every minute of his being thrusts
 Against my near'st of life;
 (III, i, 114b-118)
 
 Finally, Macbeth actually shows signs of relief when the
murderer calls him to the door during his banquet and tells
him of Banquo's death:
 
 Macb: There's blood upon thy face.
 
Murderer: 'Tis Banquo's then.
 
Macb: 'Tis better thee without than he within.
 (III, iv, 12-14)
 
Macbeth's last statement, "Tis . . . within", means that
Banquo's blood is better on the murderer than in Banquo,
showing that Macbeth is, in truth, happy that Banquo has
been killed. the killing of Banquo by Macbeth shows extreme
selfishness; he cannot bear to see even his best friend's
sons succeed him on the throne. However, a more important
reason that Macbeth kills Banquo is because of Banquo's
suspicion of him, and what Banquo will do to him once he
finds out for sure that Macbeth has commited the murder of
Duncan. One can see that Macbeth becomes extremely harsh if
he wants his way. He will go to horrid extremes just so
that he does not have to live his kingship in fear, but
instead "to be safely thus." (III, i, 49)
 
Lady Macbeth, the third character, interacts with Macbeth a
considerable amount, and influences him greatly. He and his
wife as a pair are dangerous because his ambition combined
with her bloodiness can cause fatal situations. In
Macbeth's letter to his wife, he calls her "my dearest
partner of greatness" (I, v, 8), and later, when he is
talking to her in person, he calls her "My dearest love"
(I, v, 54b). Shakespeare shows their close relationship
until they have started falling into a state of
near-despair after the murder of Banquo and Macduff's wife
and son. At this point, they have started to separate a
great deal. In act five, scene five, Macbeth hears the "cry
of women" and not even noticing that it is a woman's cry,
let alone that of his own wife, asks "What is that noise?"
(7b). He feels so little towards her that when he is
informed that she has just died, he remarks that "She
should have died hereafter" (17), meaning that she would
have died anyway. His loss of feeling towards his wife most
likely is caused by his distraction and present state of
mind. Had his mind been calm and relaxed, not distracted by
anything, he probably would have reacted to this news with
more feeling. However, his whole personality has changed,
and perhaps death does not faze him any more because he has
committed five murders since the beginning of the play.
 
The way Macbeth acts toward the three witches changes
significantly as the play progresses. In act one, scene
five, Macbeth tells his wife in his letter to her that the
witches "have more in them than mortal knowledge." (2), and
he puts great faith in their prophecies; after all, of the
witches' three so-called "prophecies", "Two truths are
told" (I, iii, 126b). He depends on the witches for a long
time, even after he murders Banquo. In act 3, scene 4, when
he remarks that "I am in blood / Stepp'd in so far that,
should I wade no more," (136-37), he knows that he must
consult the witches again because "More shall they speak;"
(134), and he is "bent to know" (134) what he should do and
what his future holds. He then sees the three apparitions
that the witchs have conjured up especially to torture him.
This causes him to become enraged at the witches and damn
himself in the ironic phrase in which he damns "all those
that trust them", (IV, i, 139, "them" meaning the witches.
Macbeth's change in attitude towards the witches shows that
his nature is to befriend those who bring him good news,
but he separates from them once he finds that even though
he trusted them, what they said was not in his favor. He
supposedly befriended the witches simply because he thought
they could tell him his future. It was a false relationship.
 
Macbeth starts out a heroic man of good doings, but his
whole attitude completely changes because of the murders he
commits. His relationships with many characters are broken
or become weak. He starts trusting no one and hating - or
killing - everyone. His wife may have started him on his
killing streak, but he was the one to finish himself off.
Macbeth got what he deserved.