Burhanuddin Sabir

AP Language
Moomau-2
3/14/16
Prompt #3: Compare the passages of prompt 1 and prompt 2 and analyze their language to
determine how this reflects Macbeths change in character.
The Changedy of Macbeth
As a human being moves through life, they find themselves both able to influence
circumstances around them as well as be influenced by the events that transpire around them. In
William Shakespeares play, Macbeth, the titular character experiences these influences as he
moves to assassinate the existing king, Duncan, after listening to the prophecy of three witches
and the counsel of his wife Lady Macbeth to assume his role on the throne of Scotland. Macbeth
then plans to murder his political rival and friend, Banquo, in order to maintain his newfound
power. Macbeths internal deliberations before carrying out each of these murders about the
character of his target as well as the consequences of his actions reflect Macbeths change from
an ethical thane agonizing over his task to a more ruthless king understanding the necessity of
what he must do.
When Macbeth first considers killing Duncan, he is seen as troubled over what he has to
do due to the greatness of Duncan and his uneasiness to face what will come as a result of his
actions as seen through his morally-obligated diction, personification of the kings virtues, and
deadly metaphors. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth was rewarded by the king and made
Thane of Cawdor after seeing his bravery in war. Duncan had never been anything but laudatory
of Macbeth and even came to visit his house, a fact plaguing Macbeths conscience as he notes

that the king is here in double trust as Macbeth is his kinsman and his subject and his
host and as a result should strong both against the deed (1.VII.12-13). Macbeth does not
generalize his identity in relation to Duncan and chooses to specify that he is a kinsman, subject,
and a host, three titles that he could have alienated himself from if his heart was already cold and
ready for murder. Thus, Macbeth is seen giving himself reasons not to kill the king instead of
preparing for his death, a sign of a conflicted man unwilling to carry out his task. In addition,
Macbeth believes that Duncans virtues will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against the
deep damnation of his taking off (1.VII. 18-20). By comparing the kings inanimate character to
the words of an angel, Macbeth not only places the king in a heavenly state, but also
demonstrates his unwillingness to kill someone as harming such a divine being is, as he
describes, sinful and could literally and metaphorically lead to Macbeth going to hell. By
discussing Duncans character and his relation to him, Macbeth separates himself from his
persona which could easily kill off his opponents in war and assumes the role of one unable to
harm as he is deeply vested with his target. Besides fearing how he would be able to finish off
the king, Macbeth also worries of what will happen to him after the king dies. He believes that
even-handed justice commends the ingredience of our poisoned chalice to our own lips (1.VII.
10-11). Using a metaphor to relate how killing Duncan will lead to his justified own demise,
Macbeth shows not only his internal conflict as only one who knows he is doing something
wrong fears its reparations, but also his reluctance to carry out the murder as he believes his own
death will be his punishment for assassinating the king.
After eventually killing Duncan, the new King Macbeth worries on top of his throne
about the threat of Banquo, and realizing he must kill him, shifts into a more ruthless identity as
evidenced through

From being a military leader and a thane who although was strong on the battlefield, submitted
to the will of three fates and his wife, Macbeth transitioned into a paranoid king with blood on
his hands which led him to be even more ruthless. Macbeth was not able to embrace the little of
humanity which would have given him a chance to do things correctly. So, in actuality, Macbeth
perhaps did not change into one with a ruthless demeanor but instead simply reverted back to his
militaristic, power-hungry persona.