Macbeth: Character Changes"This dead butcher and his demon for queen" (V.viii.80) is how Malcolm describes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth changed considerably over the course of the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is seen as a brave and loyal soldier to the king. As the play progresses, Macbeth becomes corrupted by the witches' prophecies and by his and Lady Macbeth's ambition. Due to the weakness of Macbeth's character and the strength of Lady Macbeth's character, Lady Macbeth is able to influence him easily. At first Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth towards evil, but after realizing what he has done, he decides to continue down the murderous and bloody path. At the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth appears as a kind wife to Macbeth, but underneath lies a scheming and treacherous woman. Macbeth is initially a strong soldier who fights relentlessly for the king. His ambitious drive and curious nature lead him to three witches who give him a prophecy. Banquo realizes that somewhere there must be a trick hidden in the witches' prophecies, but Macbeth refuses to accept it. When Lady Macbeth finds out about the witches, her strong ambition and cold nature lead Macbeth astray. Macbeth is a little ambitious at first, but Lady Macbeth's ambition far surpasses his. Therefore, he manages to convince Macbeth to kill King Duncan. Macbeth still has a conscience at this stage because he is very reluctant to kill the king, but his weak nature overwhelms him. He actually has a conscience throughout the entire play, as demonstrated by the hallucinations of the dagger and Banquo's ghost. His vivid image...... middle of paper ......ed. Over the course of the play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth change significantly in regards to their characters and personalities. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth appear to be common nobles. Although Macbeth was weak at first, he was able to rely on the formidable strength of his wife's determination to help him overcome the first murder. As a result of controlling Macbeth and his conscience, Lady Macbeth eventually weakened under the strain and lost control of her conscience. As a result, she went mad and killed herself. Thus, in the end, it seems correct to call Macbeth and his wife "a dead butcher and his demon a queen" (V.viii.80). Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry and drama. Ed. XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longmann, 1999.