The play I have chosen is Macbeth by William Shakespeare. From reading act one; my favourite character is that of Macbeth himself. I chose this character as he is so complex and appears to have several facets to his personality. In some scenes he is shown as a brave warrior steeped in honour and many are in awe of him. Yet we also see that he has a desire to become king and at first gave the impression that he had no qualms about killing the current king, Duncan, to attain his dream of becoming king. Yet we also see that he has a conscience as he is hesitant in killing Duncan when he realises that it would be the wrong thing to do and that he himself would be condemned by the Scottish people.
Macbeth is portrayed as a brave war hero in scene two, when the captain describes the battle between him and Macdonalwald and also his defeat of the Norwegian advance. Because of this King Duncan decides to award Macbeth with the title of the thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is described as ruthless by the captain when dwelling on scenes of carnage: “he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops” he says, describing Macbeth slaying Macdonwald.
However, in the next scene we see another side to Macbeth when he meets with the three witches and shows a more sinister side and one that strikes fear in the audience. The witches foretell that Macbeth will become thane of cordor and then be crowned King of Scotland. At first Macbeth didn’t fully believe the witches prediction and seems shaken by this revelation, and not until the thane of Ross arrives and tells Macbeth of his recent appointment, does he start to believe that it might be the truth. This gives another dimension to Macbeth and further adds intrigue to his character, which is one of the reasons I choose Macbeth as my favourite character. One is held in suspense and never knows what to expect next.
Macbeth is very much his own person and decides to ignore his friend, Banquo’s, interpretation of the witches prophecy when...