This provides an effective contrast to his personality later in the play, when, after the murder of King Duncan (which was against Macbeth’s will), Macbeth becomes consumed by his lust for power and becomes a cruel, ruthless ruler, willing to do anything necessary to maintain his position on the throne. King Duncan’s murderer, is portrayed as equally noble in the opening scenes of the play, both through report and action. The portrayal of Duncan as such a noble king only heightens the tragedy and atrocity of his murder by Macbeth, one of the supposedly ‘loyal’ subjects later in the play. He welcomed his loyal subjects like brothers, demonstrated in his greeting of Macbeth and Banquo after they return victorious from war. Was a noble, kind-hearted King who treated his subjects with respect and admiration. With Duncan being such a likeable and honourable character, it makes his murder much more horrifying. He was always generous with bestowing honours to the soldiers and thanes who protected both him and his kingdom. King Duncan is a noble and kind man, who treated everyone with respect. In her soliloquy in Act 1, it truly displays her duplicity and evilness as she beckons the spirits to unsex her, displaying her wish to not be a woman so that she could commit the dirty deed herself. She manipulates her husband into killing Kind Duncan through challenging his manhood and knows what she has to do to push Macbeth. She comes across as a sweet and gentle lady, but however, is the evil genius behind Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is an ambitious and power-hungry woman. Different to the other characters in the play, Shakespeare has made them speak in rhyming couplets, making them seem wicked and adding to the eerie feeling of them. These witches toy with peoples’ lives and embody an instinctive evil, making them interesting characters. Without the witches, Macbeth would not have committed the murder. They are the ones who set the plot, as they set up Macbeth’s prophecy and therefore driving his ambition. The Three Witches, who are also known as the ‘Weird Sisters’, play an important role within the play. They enjoy destroying the lives of those who slander them and take fun in destroying humans (such as Macbeth’s) lives. The witches are extremely cunning and dangerous. They are a force to be reckoned with as they hold supernatural powers to see others weaknesses. The witches take pleasure in playing with Macbeth’s life. As Macbeth becomes more desperate to maintain his position of King, he begins shutting Lady Macbeth out of his evil schemes, consequently driving her crazy and to the point of suicide. She is also extremely intelligent which is portrayed through her duplicity amongst friends and Macbeth. Her ambition to make Macbeth king shows through her cunning, murderous plans of killing King Duncan. Lady Macbeth is incredibly greedy, gluttonous, scheming and manipulative. Macbeth uses his heightened evil genius as power and becomes a cruel, ruthless King, willing to murder those who were once his friends. His personality later in the play provides antithesis to his previous personality as well as Banquo’s. His wife, Lady Macbeth, knows how to control Macbeth’s newfound leadership and brings out his evil genius. Macbeth is initially portrayed as a kind, noble, loyal, honorable and respectable man however once confronted by the witches his superstition takes over. The incessant dramatic tension that accompanies their very presence stems from these naughty intentions. These wicked characters represent darkness, chaos and evil – their sole desire to increase trouble for those around them, as embodied in the line “Double, double toil and trouble” (IV, i). The mischief and trickery of the weird sisters inspire Macbeth’s quest for power and leads to his destruction and that of many others. By using her knowledge of human character to plot the demise of Macbeth, her evil and devious character is revealed to readers. In Act III Scene 5, she demands to know why she has been excluded from their scheming concerning Macbeth, and also states “Security is mortals’ chiefest enemy”. The antithesis of Duncan is Hecate, who is the goddess of witchcraft and the ruler of the conniving three witches. Some may argue that King Duncan did the best he could have given his situation (with bloodthirsty Macbeth desperate for the crown), but I believe his ignorance in a kingdom filled with deception was a primary catalyst in his downfall. Although he always tries to do right by his people, his trusting nature and inability to distinguish genuine from fake eventually result in his murder. Throughout the play, readers get the sense that King Duncan has a pure conscious and is an honourable king.
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