Character Flaws in Shakespeare's Macbeth Essay Example

Many of the best pieces of literature contain characters with flaws. Macbeth is no stranger to characters with flaws, in fact almost every character in the play has a major flaw. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both have the tragic flaw of their own ambitions, which leads them to commit horrible crimes and ultimately lead to their demise. The people that Macbeth targeted, namely Banquo and Duncan, also had flaws that could have prevented their downfall and death. Duncan did not see his death coming as he trusted Macbeth and Lady Macbeth too much, he even sped to his own death by going to Macbeth’s castle. Banquo also saw the prophecies that Macbeth saw, and his ignorance of Macbeth’s ambitions shows throughout the play. These characters all have flaws that create an interesting character, but some of them did not deserve the flaws they were dealt with.

Macbeth is the main character of the play, coming back after the war against Norway and presented with some prophecies that he wants to believe in. At first, his ambition isn’t fully seen through and Macbeth does not want to kill Duncan to claim the title as the King of Scotland. However, after a little encouragement from his wife, he does end up killing Duncan and shows his other tragic flaw. After he takes the crown, he starts becoming paranoid at what is “threatening him”, including his best friends. He starts killing more people who presented a threat to him, such as Banquo who saw the prophecies and Macduff’s family, who did not present a threat themselves but rather his husband did. As he continues to kill, he starts seeing ghosts of the people he’s killed, namely Banquo. The cycle of killing continues with his paranoia, leading his thanes to distrust him and leading a revolution against him. The witches give him false hope by giving him false prophecies such as “anyone born of a woman cannot harm you” and “Macbeth will be king until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane”. This leads him to believe that he’s essentially invincible even as England’s army is moving towards him, which leads to his death at the hands of Macduff (due to him “not being born of a woman”). While he was not initially evil, he did not listen to the people around him. He kept killing due to his desire to become king and led his friends to be killed or revolt against him. He deserved his death due to the amount of killing he did because he wanted to be king and was afraid of others hurting him. Darkness and bad weather was used as a way to represent death, surrounding the play every time a death was about to occur. Macbeth was constantly surrounded by darkness and bad weather, death overshadowing him. Death was coming closer to him but he only saw his greatness as king, leading Scotland to its downfall until he fell from the throne due to Macduff’s distrust of Macbeth and his revolt.

Lady Macbeth was very similar to Macbeth in many ways, but namely their flaws. Lady Macbeth was ambitious, ready to take the crown from Duncan almost immediately. She continuously tried to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan, stating how Macbeth was not a man and how she wishes she could “unsex” herself so she did not have the stigma of being a woman. However, her want to have Macbeth become the king of Scotland quickly falls apart on her. Not only is she not happy after Macbeth takes the throne due to Duncan’s death, she starts hearing about Macbeth’s murders. She ends up going crazy in Act 5 due to the murders of Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s family and starts to sleepwalk. She is constantly sleepwalking and starts washing her hands constantly, trying to get rid of the “blood” on her hands as she shouts “Out, damned spot; out, I say” and ultimately leading her to commit suicide (Macbeth Act 5, Scene 1). While Lady Macbeth did deserve her flaws and death, she did not fully deserve it. Lady Macbeth did orchestrate the murder of Duncan, creating the monster that Macbeth became and leading Scotland to its ruin. Lady Macbeth is guilty, in many ways, for the events of the play even if the other murders that Macbeth caused were not her fault. She did deserve her downfall for creating irreversible damage, but she shows in Act 5 her guilt towards what she has caused. She did not become emotionless but rather she showed regret towards the murders of Banquo and Macduff’s family, caused indirectly by her own actions. That type of strong emotion, while not related to murder, is relatable to every reader and makes Lady Macbeth one of the most interesting characters. The sympathy that she has elicits some sympathy from the readers, but she does ultimately deserve her flaws. 

While many characters in the play do deserve their flaws, there are a couple of characters who do not deserve their flaws. Duncan trusted Macbeth, perhaps a little too much. He instantly gave him the title of Thane of Cawdor in Act 1 after the first one was executed for committing treason, unknowingly fueling Macbeth’s ambitions. He ends up leading himself to his own death, as he rushes to Macbeth’s castle for the banquet and sleeps in his castle. He trusted Macbeth too much, ultimately leading to his undeserved death. Duncan did not deserve his flaws as he was not a bad person, rather simply one who was too trusting. Everyone in Scotland liked him and he earned the trust of the people by being a righteous person. Banquo was also in a similar position to Duncan. While he did have his suspicions about Macbeth killing Duncan and saw the prophecies given to him in Act 1 by the witches, he did not act on it to try and stop Macbeth. Banquo also tries to trust Macbeth, although with his own suspicions. This becomes his downfall, as Macbeth sends murderers to kill him and his son Fleance. Banquo also did not deserve his death nor flaws. Banquo was in the wrong place at the wrong time, he would not have been killed if he was not there to ask about his prophecies in Act 1. The people who trusted Macbeth the most met their untimely deaths at his hands. Duncan and Banquo did not deserve their flaws that lead to their downfall, they simply were in the wrong place at the wrong time.