The Degradation of Character in MacbethThe tragedy, Macbeth, was written by William Shakespeare in 1606. Throughout the play the main character, Macbeth, suffers a continuous degradation of moral character. This change in character from good to evil has a significant impact on Macbeth's attitude towards the other characters, Duncan, Banquo, Lady Macbeth and the witches. The first of the four characters is Duncan. Since Macbeth interacts with Duncan only minimally before Duncan's death, Macbeth's attitude towards him changes very quickly. Before Macbeth hears the witches' first prophecy, he is very loyal to Duncan and would never consider raising a finger against him. When the thought of killing Duncan occurs to Macbeth soon after learning that he has been made Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth cannot believe that he could "yield to that suggestion / Whose hideous image loosens my hair / And makes my heart beat heart sitting at the ribs" (I.iii.133-35). In act 1 scene 5, however, his "vaulting ambition" (I.vii.28) begins to take over, but partly due to his wife's influence. He agrees that they must "take the nearest road" (Iv17) and kill Duncan that night. On the other hand, as the moment of murder approaches, he begins to give himself reasons not to kill Duncan: First, since I am his relative and his subject, both strong against the action; then, as his guest, who should shut the door against his murderer, bear not the knife myself (I.vii.13-16). When Lady Macbeth enters, she uses her cunning rhetoric and persuasion techniques to convince Macbeth that murder is, without a shadow of a doubt, the right thing to do. He then tells her "I'm settled" (I.vii.79). He is adamant that killing Duncan is the right thing to do, until he commits the murder. He is then so horrified by the act that, for a moment, he forgets where he is or who he is with. From the murder we learn that Macbeth truly had faith in the king and was very loyal, but under the combined forces of his wife's persuasion and his own ambition, he is put into an evil frame of mind just long enough to kill Duncan. This murder permanently alters him from his moral state of mind. Soon Macbeth will have no remorse for killing Duncan. The second character towards whom Macbeth's attitude changes is Banquo.