Hero vs Villain

Test yourself

Macbeth the Hero

At the start of the play, Macbeth is a hero.

Brave in battle

He has bravely fought in a battle on the side of his ruler, King Duncan, against the King of Norway and other treacherous Scots who have switched sides: 'For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)'.
The Captain, who is telling King Duncan about the battle, is clearly impressed by Macbeth's bravery. By using brackets here (or dashes in some versions), Shakespeare is emphasising that Macbeth deserves to be called brave and that his bravery stands out.
Macbeth shows that he is an honourable man by fighting like this for his king and risking his own life. He obviously lives by the heroic code (tells you how a noble person should act).

Struggle

Despite his final decision to murder King Duncan, we do see Macbeth really struggle with the decision to go ahead with the plot.
- He tells Lady Macbeth that he does not want to kill King Duncan anymore: ‘We will proceed no further in this business’.
- Macbeth does not want to go against his friend, his king, or God (removing the rightful king from the throne was a sin against God).
- It is Lady Macbeth who uses manipulation to encourage Macbeth to go ahead with the murder – she calls him a coward and accuses him of lying to his wife, implying that he is less than a man.

Violent nature

You should note that Macbeth's violent side is present from the start.
He is thought to be a hero because of his violent nature – but, he uses this violence to kill people for the king.
‘He unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps, / And fix'd his head upon our battlements’ (N.B. in some versions of the text, chaps is spelt 'chops').
- When fighting the Norwegian enemies, Macbeth attacked a man he had never met before and slit him open from his belly to his jaw, and then cut off his head and placed it on the battlements.
- This action is horrific but is viewed as heroic because it happened to an enemy.

Macbeth the Villain

Macbeth is the overall villain of the play because it is Macbeth who murders King Duncan.

Breaks loyalty to King Duncan

Macbeth kills an innocent man while he sleeps – a man Macbeth should be loyal to for a number of reasons:
- King Duncan is Macbeth’s king, so Macbeth should be loyal to him.
- Duncan is Macbeth’s friend – the King trusts him and Macbeth betrays this trust.
- In the 11th century (when the play is set), hospitality was very important. Duncan placed himself in the care of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, who should have treated him with kindness and loyalty. Instead, they betray his trust and murder him.

Ruthlessly murders

It is also Macbeth who begins murdering anyone who he thinks might get in the way of him keeping his powerful role as King of Scotland.

Trusts the supernatural

It is also Macbeth who begins to trust witchcraft and the supernatural, letting it take over his life – King James I, and most citizens of England and Scotland, hated anything supernatural.
Macbeth’s trust in the witches (and the fact that he murders people because of what they told him) means that Jacobean audiences would distrust and dislike him intensely.

1Literary & Cultural Context

1.1Context

1.1.1Tragedy

1.1.2The Supernatural & Gender

1.1.3Politics & Monarchy

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Context

2Plot Summary

2.1Act 1

2.1.1Scenes 1 & 2

2.1.2Scene 3

2.1.3Scenes 4-5

2.1.4Scenes 6-7

2.1.5End of Topic Test - Act 1

2.2Acts 2-4

2.2.1Act 2

2.2.2Act 3

2.2.3Act 4

2.3Act 5

2.3.1Scenes 1-3

2.3.2Scenes 4-9

2.3.3End of Topic Test - Acts 2-5

3Characters

3.1Macbeth

3.1.1Hero vs Villain

3.1.2Ambition & Fate

3.1.3Relationship

3.1.4Unstable

3.1.5End of Topic Test - Macbeth

3.2Lady Macbeth

3.2.1Masculine & Ruthless

3.2.2Manipulative & Disturbed

3.3Other Characters

3.3.1Banquo

3.3.2The Witches

3.3.3Exam-Style Questions - The Witches

3.3.4King Duncan

3.3.5Macduff

3.3.6End of Topic Test - Lady Macbeth & Banquo

3.3.7End of Topic Test - Witches, Duncan & Macduff

3.4Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.4.1Grade 9 - Lady Macbeth Questions

4Themes

4.1Themes

4.1.1Power & Ambition

4.1.2Power & Ambition HyperLearning

4.1.3Violence

4.1.4The Supernatural

4.1.5Masculinity

4.1.6Armour, Kingship & The Natural Order

4.1.7Appearances & Deception

4.1.8Madness & Blood

4.1.9Women, Children & Sleep

4.1.10End of Topic Test - Themes

4.1.11End of Topic Test - Themes 2

4.2Grade 9 - Themes

4.2.1Grade 9 - Themes

4.2.2Extract Analysis

5Writer's Techniques

5.1Structure, Meter & Other Literary Techniques

5.1.1Structure, Meter & Dramatic Irony

5.1.2Pathetic Fallacy & Symbolism

5.1.3End of Topic Test - Writer's Techniques

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