The assertion that Macbeth is a villain in whom there is little to admire is extreme and does not reflect the whole truth. While, by the end of the play Macbeth is indeed a villain of the worst sort and while it would not have happened but for the choices he made, he is but a man and as a man he has weaknesses. Unfortunately the extraordinary circumstances caused those weaknesses to be amplified exponentially.

A villain can be defined as a wicked or evil person, or a dramatic or fictional character who is typically at odds with the hero. In the case of Macbeth, either definition may be appropriate, for Macbeth does become a wicked and evil person and by the end of the play is at odds with the hero, himself.

The witches played an important part in Macbeth’s fall from grace but interestingly, at first, the only supernatural thing they did was predicting that Macbeth would be Thane of Cawdor. This is because it would have been relatively common knowledge that he was Thane of Glam due to the death of his father and it was Macbeth’s actions that made him king. The witches simply poi

“No more the thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom interest. Go and pronounce his present death and with his former title greet Macbeth” Act I scene ii. This happens before the witches “predict” that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor.

nted him in that direction. An interesting thought is that the witches needed no magic to manipulate a will as weak as Macbeth’s. At the time they told him the fate of Cawdor had already been decided - all they needed was to find out before Macbeth.

“All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor All hail MacBeth! that shalt be king hereafter!” Act I Scene iii. Chronologically, their prediction was made after the fate of Cawdor was decided, so the witches needed only good sources of information or an understanding of the ways king Duncan might settle the problem of Glamis. Perhaps the Witches were psychologists or had a very good source of information as that is all they needed.

Some topics in this essay:
Duncan Macbeth, Topic Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Act Scene, Thane Glam, Glamis Witches, Duncan Act, Captain King, II Scent, II Scene, villain little, act scene, scene ii, little admire”, thane cawdor, “a villain little, “a villain, villain little admire”, lady macbeth, hail macbeth, macbeth thane cawdor, evil macbeth, act ii, fate cawdor decided, act scene ii,