fiona
05-24-2005, 06:07 PM
Im presently studying 'Macbeth' for my leaving cert and I must admit I find Macbeth to be an incredibly interesting character. I do not believe he can be classified as either good or bad. Indeed he posesses many virtues, yet these can and are turned against him to bring about his eventual downfall. The witches prey on his 'vaulting ambition' and cause him to lose sight of his loyalty to the king, yet while these 'instruments of darkness' undoubtably influence Macbeth, their powers are limited and it is he himself who destroys his own character. One must not, however, lose sight of the bravery and indeed courage displayed by Macbeth in the final scenes as he faces up to his self-inflicted misfortune. I believe it is a tragedy that such virtues are turned on their head and villainised through a slight weakness of character on the part of Macbeth.