Macbeth's Mind Analysis

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Macbeth’ Mind
The play “Macbeth” is a portrayal of the character Macbeth, and how his personality changes through the play. The play presents his declension from good to bad throughout the play. As Elizabeth Montagu states, “more amazing is the art with which he exhibits the movement of the human mind”. Elizabeth is refering to How Shakespeare shows the flexibly of Macbeth’s mind, and how ambition leads him to his eventual downfall. Ambition is something that everyone has experience with, and Macbeth is a powerful story of how ambition can destroy someone. Macbeth shows how people are not always surface deep; Macbeth starts out normal and is than slowly absorbed into evil. Once Macbeth's ambition is set, the play starts to turn darker until …show more content…
The play first shows this when he states "stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires” ( 1.4.50). Macbeth fears that people will spread the fact that he wants to be king and will kill people for it, so he calls upon the stars to cover their light, so no one can see what he is going through his head. The aside again shows this; the readers are the only ones who know what Macbeth is thinking. Asides show and help the audience understand Macbeth. This shows further that he has become even more drawn to darkness and evil. Macbeth’s soliloquy ,or speech, tells how he is worried about people finding his humane side. When Macbeth is alone on stage, he worries about his eternal soul, and what his religious punishment will be in the afterlife if he kills the king. He starts to think of reasons why he should walk away from his plan to kill the king. A better understanding of Macbeth’s true nature is shown when he says, "He's here in double trust: First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his host he should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself.” (1.7.12-16) This gives insight into Macbeth’s mind that he is not completely evil, but that his ambition is what spurs him on. Later in the same scene, Macbeth chooses not to kill the king; however, Lady Macbeth provokes and prods him
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