FREE ESSAY ON MACBETH:CONCIOUS VILLAIN TO UNREPENTANT TYRANT

MACBETH:CONCIOUS VILLAIN TO UNREPENTANT TYRANT

Adam Harrell
English IV
January, 13, 1999
Macbeth: Conscious Villain to Unrepentant Tyrant
Thesis: To trace the degradation of Macbeth from a hero to a conscious villain to an
unrepentant tyrant. 
I. Macbeth as a Hero.
A. Admired warrior
B. Duncan's Admiration
II. Macbeth as a Conscious Villain
A. First tidings of villainy
B. Murder of Duncan
C. Guilt-Ridden Soliquoy
III. Macbeth as a non-repentant Tyrant
A. Murder of Macduff's family
B. Selfish thoughts of sleep 
C. Feelings of Invincibility
Macbeth, like most tragedies tells the fall of the protagonist from grace. Macbeth,
originally a hero, degrades into a conscious villain who feels guilt and then into an
unmerciful, non-repentant tyrant. A man once heralded as a hero becomes the bane of the
land and his people.
At the start of Macbeth we are introduced to him and it is implied that he is a great
warrior and a great man. He is the hero of the recent battle and is the subject of
rewards from King Duncan. In fact one critic describes him as A great warrior, somewhat
masterful, rough, and abrupt, a man to inspire some fear and much admiration. There was
in fact, much good in him ... certainly he was far from devoid of humanity and
pity.(Bradley Macbeth) This paints the picture of an admired, somewhat inpersonable hero
who was admired for his bravery and courage. In fact even Duncan, his later victim,
admired him. Duncan gives him another kingdom and appoints him the Thane of Cawdor. The
captain says of Macbeth to Duncan that:
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; Which nev'r shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, Till he
unseamed him from the nave to th' chops (I, ii, 16-24)
These are the words of a man who admires Macbeth, and at this point rightly so. This is
the heroic Macbeth of whom we are speaking. Unfortunately Macbeth soon begins his down
fall and becomes a conscious villain.
Macbeth degradation to a conscious villain begins with his first tidings of villainy.
These tidings begin when Macbeth hears that the Duncan's son is the next in line for
kingship. Macbeth says of this:
The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step I must fall down or else o'erleap. For in my way
it lies. (I, iv, 47-50)
This is the point at which we see Macbeth start to become a man driven by his ambition
for the throne. A man willing to kill for it. From this point in the story Macbeth's
villainy is not yet set in stone and is urged onward by his wife's calls of cowardice.
Macbeth soon acts on this ambition through the murder of Duncan. However his acts lead
him toward a guilty conscious. After he murders Duncan he is haunted by his guilt. He
cries out that I'll go no more. I am afraid what I have done; Look on 't again I dare
not.(II, ii, 49-51) In these lines it is clear that Macbeth regrets his action. According
to John Andrews this is his first attempt to bring about a ... transposition (to
transpose the structural conditions of his own mind into the external world); in
parricidal terms making himself the sole sovereign of his world. (Andrews #?) In other
words his need for power is so great that his ambition is willing to o'erleap his
humanity to get what he desires. His guilt from his murderous action continues throughout
Act II, scene ii. In Act II, scene iii we begin to see the cloud of guilt lifted from him
and he slowly becomes an unrepentant tyrant.
Macbeth's murder of Banqou is the beginning of his descent into the abyss of true
tyranny. He murders a man with whom he once was a dear friend. He murders Banquo in hopes
of securing the crown of which he wanted so much. He says:
They hailed him father to a line of kings. Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown and
put a barren scepter in my gripe. (III, I, 60-63)
He murders this time with little guilt and the only fears that haunt him do so out of
fear of discovery and not of guilt. At this point The idea of Macbeth as
conscience-tormented man is a platitude as false as Macbeth himself.(Scott ?#) Perhaps
the most heartless act of Macbeth's reign is that of murdering Macduff's family. He
murders completely innocent people for the sake of vengeance. His first instincts and
feelings of his heart overtake him. He states that:
From this moment the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand ...
to crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done: The castle of Macduff I will
surprise. (IV, ii, 147-150)
And amazingly from this horrendous action there appears to be no guilt. It is said,
Macbeth has no conscious. His main concern throughout the play is that most selfish of
all concerns: to get a good night's rest.(Scott ?#) He has no feelings for others but
envy, He envies the murdered Duncan in his rest.(Scott ?#) At this point after all his
actions his main want is rest. Truly he has become an unfeeling tyrant.
The tragedy of Macbeth has a common plot, that of a hero losing his heroism. Macbeth once
the admired warrior soon becomes the hated tyrant of Scotland. Through key points in the
play you can trace this devastating downfall. From Hero to Unfeeling tyrant, that is the
tragedy of Macbeth.
Bibliography
Consulted Bibliography
Andrews, F. John, ed. William Shakespeare: His Work, II. New York: Charles 
Scribner's Sons, 1985
Bradley, AC The Character of Macbeth. England in Literature. Ed. James E.
Miller Jr., et. al. Illinois: Scott Foresman and Co., 1973.
Scott, Mark, ed. Shakespeare for Students. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1992
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth, The British Tradition. Eds. 
Ellen Bowler, et. al. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996