Discuss how Shakespeare develops his main character in Macbeth. Consider the language, form, structure, and context of the piece in your response. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Shakespeare's eponymous hero begins the play as a male, warrior-like character admired by all. Through the use of rhetoric and imagery, Shakespeare reduces Mac to a nihilistic, self-loathing tragic hero who fell from grace due to his arrogant hamartia and falsification of his God-given right to kingship and the great chain of being. In the early scenes of the play, Macbeth is presented as noble, courageous and loyal, the very embodiment of manhood and a heroic figure that everyone admires. Shakespeare achieves this by reporting his exploits, using tragic conventions such as the chorus. He also uses fantastical imagery to portray Macbeth as the hero of Scotland. He is described as carrying out his deeds "as the servant of courage" itself. Shakespeare personifies bravery, presenting him as the very embodiment of bravery itself, the embodiment of all things valorous. The connotations of the word "servant" are that it is a being who only serves his commander, in this case demonstrating Macbeth's loyalty and desire to fight for king and country. It is a reference to the divine right of kings, Shakespeare foreshadowing the breaking of the great chain of being. Further evidence of Shakespeare's skill is demonstrated by the fact that Macbeth is described as the very fruit of courage, an impossible and supernatural feat, which would be interpreted by contemporary audiences as an unnatural event. Shakespeare's depiction of Macbeth as the product of an intangible being makes him appear inhuman, meaning that the Jacobean audience is immediately disturbed by the chain of events that ensues, causing them to see Macbeth in a light of more and more suspicious. This interpretation both foreshadows the influence of witches and also depicts Macbeth in a superhuman and invincible luminous reference to the dichotomy that begins to appear within Macbeth. The Jacobeans are even more troubled by Shakespeare's subversion of conventional femininity, Lady Macbeth's direct and emasculating tone illustrated by her attack in Act One, Scene Seven, where she questions his manhood: "when you dared to do," she says, "then you were a man". The audience would have seen his actions as a supernatural feat brought about only by supernatural beings. Macbeth draws his sword, described using fantastical imagery as a "steel brandi” who “smoke with bloody execution.” The images create a vivid image in the audience's mind, showing from the start the dichotomy of Macbeth in which he is both revered and feared for his cruelty. "smoke", using hyperbole to refer to the large number of Norwegians that Macbeth killed, portraying to the audience the images of destruction and desolation caused by Macbeth as the captain accounts for his duties in killing the traitor His hidden personality for. What he is revered for is his patriotism and pride in his country, as he is considered a “valiant cousin”. Macbeth's valor and bravery is further demonstrated by Shakespeare's use of the tragic convention of the Aristotelian chorus which is employed in Act 1 Scenes 2 and 3. This is most notably demonstrated when the Captain, Duncan and the two messengers all talk about Macbeth's physical superiority. inducing respect and reverencefrom the public. Act 1 Scene 7 brings the first notable change in Macbeth's character, as his submissive and conflicted alter ego begins to emerge. Shakespeare's use of rhetorical questions and Lady Macbeth's commanding, commanding speech emasculate Macbeth and show the audience his mental weakness. The form of Act 1 Scene 7 is, essentially, Lady Macbeth speaking, which shows her dominance over her husband, all of which. Her speeches consist of rhetoric and undermining vocabulary which causes Macbeth's dichotomy . The most important rhetorical question asked by Lady Macbeth is "Was the hope in which you dressed yourself drunk?" » The condescending and condescending nature of this question plays on the idea of ​​clothing and costume; Lady Macbeth accuses him of dressing like a knight or a soldier, that his courage is only a pretense, often called "Dutch courage", because she implies that he must be drunk to show courage. The recurring motif of clothing is essential to Macbeth's emasculation, as Lady Macbeth reveals to the audience that Macbeth is nothing more than an ordinary man, dressed in the robes of a soldier. The horrible irony of Lady Macbeth's "borrowed robes" is that it calls Macbeth's authenticity into question, but in reality she conceals her greed and ambition with a character who shrouds her desire in nothing but royalty. Contemporary viewers would see Macbeth as a weakling and Lady Macbeth as a supernatural being as she performs such an unheard of act, perhaps only the work of supernatural spirits. At this point in the play, Macbeth is still cowering under the cover of his own masculinity which is slowly being undermined by Lady Macbeth, so she turns to violent imagery when describing what she would do to her child if she had promised him, she would have “smashed his brains in”. She goads Macbeth, emasculates him even more; the word “dash” is very violent, which uses pathos to make the audience feel sorry for Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is seen as possessed by the audience due to her views on gender and femininity, with Shakespeare portraying her as demonic and possessed as she "poured spirits into his ear". This remark shocks the audience; images denoting paranormal activity, a reference to witches and their influence. She comments on Macbeth's physical appearance, saying that he "looks so green and pale"; horrifying the audience by referring to Macbeth as looking almost demonic, appealing to the audience's fear of the supernatural. This is arguably the most important emasculative point because it undermines Macbeth's physical appearance, something he is so proud of - and which everyone embodies as a physically superior warrior. By removing his warrior attributes, Lady Macbeth reduces Macbeth, calling him a “coward,” which does not make him any more of a man than her. Lady Macbeth, in this section of the play, challenges contemporary gender stereotypes that existed at the time, as she asserts her dominance over Macbeth, renounces her femininity and emasculates Macbeth, who is meant to be the dominant figure of the relationship. arrogant and dismissive nature of Macbeth's language throughout Act 4 Scene 1, Shakespeare shows another side of his character, his pride and ignorance, bordering on idiocy as he continues to question and order witches. Macbeth is unaware of his possession, which presents him in a worse light as he continues to challenge the witches. His ignorance and arrogance towards the powerful witches shocks the Jacobean audience as they slowly turn against him. The language Macbeth uses makes the audience see him in a completely different light than theprevious scenes. His arrogance and greed for power, which arouses strong feelings of resentment from the public, is particularly evident through his use of imperatives and rhetoric, particularly the confrontational phrase "tell me you are a power unknown ". The imperative “say” shows his ignorance and stupidity in the face of the supernatural power of witches. The phrase "unknown power" is ironic because, in questioning the witches, he does not know what consequences he will face if he continues to undermine their authority. Macbeth's vanity and self-respect continue to be strong throughout the second half of Act 4 Scene 1 as he says, "Macbeth will live nature's lease." The meaning of this phrase is that he is ignoring the witches' warnings and saying that the only force that can defeat him is nature itself and that is the only thing he will bow to. This extreme pride he has in his own ability to overcome supernatural powers is scorned by the audience who, at this point in the play, despise him as a character with any remaining dignity. The fact that he speaks of himself in the third person “Macbeth will…” shows that he considers himself too high, greater than his contemporaries, because he refuses to lower himself to their level and use personal pronouns. Once again, the rhetoric Macbeth uses in line 81 reveals the contempt he feels when he asks himself “what need I fear from you?” He asks the witches, despite their prophecy, what should he be afraid of. The word "fear" in the sentence above is crucial to the feelings aroused by the audience, as it refers to his once fearless and warlike nature, which has now been defeated by his ambition and greed. Macbeth's final character transforms into his utter nihilism and apathy towards the events around him is manifested through his speeches lamenting the emptiness and fragility of human life, using apathetic and nihilistic imagery to create a character philosophical. Macbeth's nihilism in Act 5, Scene 5, causes a change in the audience's feelings towards him, as they move from resentment for his ignorance and arrogance to feelings of surprise at his utter apathy. His days on the battlefield have clearly taken their toll as he proclaims that "murderous thoughts can't get me going just once", showing how his mind has been numbed by all thoughts of distress and how even his wife's screams as she fell from the battlements to her death. can “start” it. As he reflects on the morbid irony of the situation in which humans have no purpose or meaning, only playing a role, filling a space, he reveals to the audience the unchecked ambition he had, leading to a destructive obsession with power. He refers to life as a "brief candle", a metaphor for the uselessness of life; the fact that a candle is a common good means that it can be bought, replaced and thrown away after use; referring to the brief fate of a human, playing their role then dying and being forgotten. A candle can be easily extinguished, showing Macbeth's nihilism and apathy towards the concept of death. Macbeth's only acknowledgment of his wife's death is the phrase "he would have had time to utter such a word." This ties back to the previous point about Macbeth's view on the natural order of life, believing that a force as strong as nature had every right to take Lady Macbeth. This sentence, devoid of any perceptible emotion, shows that Lady Macbeth died too soon, an unnatural death, in which Macbeth does not see the consequences of his own actions that ultimately led to his death. He finishes..