"Character StudiesOne of the most significant reasons for the enduring critical interest in M~cbeth'scharacter is that he represents humankind"s universal propensity to temptation and sin.Macbeth's excessive ambition motivates him to murder Duncan, and once the evil act isaccomplished, he sets into motion a series of ~nister events that ultimately lead to hisdownfall. But Macbeth is not merely a coldbfooded, calculating murderer; even beforehe kills the king, he is greatly troubled by his conscience. VV'hileplotting Duncan'smurder, his better nature warns him that the act is wrong; he nearly persuades himselfto reject the plan, but his wife forces him to reaffirm his determination. In addition,Macbeth possesses a powerful imaginationdemonstrated by his excessivephilosophizing over his condition-that sways .his actions. In fast the hero's imaginationcontributes greatly to his decision to murder Duncan: after his first meeting with theWeird Sisters, Macbeth acknowledges that he can wait to see if their prediction of hisimminent kingship will come true, but his imagination persuades him to fulfill theprophecy with his own hands. Later, Macbeth's overworked imagination producesfeelings of guilt and betrayal that throw his mind into disorder, gradually eroding his bray ,ery and replacing it with inexplicable fear and paranoia Several critics remark thatalthough Macbeth fully embraces evil, his philosophizing over the hopelessness of hissituation results in some of the greatest poetry ever written on the human condition.Others argue, however, that the hero's rhetoric becomes less sincere as his actionsbecome more ruthless.

Most critics contend that Lady Macbeth's principal dramatic functio" in Macbeth is topersuade her husband to commit evil. Some critics further suggest that Lady Macbethembodies, a feminine malevolence in the play that corresponds to a masculine fear ofdomination by women. This antago nism is particularly evident in the unusual level ofcontrol Lady Macbeth exerts over her husband. Further, she serves much the same roleas the witches do in manjpulating Macbeth to murder Duncan, but her influence is of amore frightening nature. As supernatural beings, the Weird Sisters represent a remote,abstract evil, and their mode of exploitation exists onfy on a cosmic level. LadyMacbeth's coercion of her husband is more terrify ing because she brings the fullmagnitude of the witches' evil influence to the domestic level by calling on demonicforces to suppress her femininity and give her the power to make Macbeth murderDuncan. This unholy contract does not endure, for, after she actively participates incovering up Duncan's murder. Lady Macbeth's feminine nature reasserts itself, and sheis driven insane. Many commentators assert that Lady Macbeth's mental breakdownmanifests itself in the sleepwalking episode (Act V. scene i). in which she is not so muchdistracted by the guilt over her role in Duncan's murder as she is by the inability toescape the memory of it

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While much of the action of Macbeth revolves around the protagonist and his wife,Banquo is also an important figure. One critical perspective views aanquo's function asessentially symbolic: he is portrayed as a man who, like Macbeth, 'has the capacity forboth God's grace and sin; but unlike the protagonist, he puts little stock in the WeirdSisters' prophecies and does not succumb to their temptations. Banquo's reluctance to

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