I will be discussing whether or not Malcolm's description at the end of the play is a fair and accurate description of Macbeth. I will be looking throughout the play at how the character changes, and how although some of the time the statement is definitely true, Macbeth’s character is much more complex. A lot of the time he is not depicted as a "butcher”. A butcher would willingly kill, intends to kill and kills with no remorse and profits from his killing.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is far from being a “Butcher”. As much as he is violent (“Unseamed him from the nave to th’chaps” Act 1 Scene 2 Line 22) he is very much a heroic character. Macbeth’s portrayal at the start is a positive one, with him being described as “brave” and “valiant”. However the play is quick to introduce a supernatural element, with the witches appearing frequently at the beginning of the play. They also express sinister plans for Macbeth (“All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” Act 1 Scene 3 Line 48) which suggests things are not as they seem. The Witches have several appearances, but they always seem to be a force that know everything and control events. This is telling that there is some sort of supernatural force at work…show more content… He is being pushed into murdering the King by his wife (“Screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we’ll not fail” Act 1 Scene 7 Line 60) and is having doubts about the Murder. At one point he even says outright that he is not going to do it (“We will proceed no further in this business” Act 1 Scene 7 line 31). However he is forced into committing the murder of Duncan by his wife. Even after the murder is done he feels extremely bad about it (“This is a sorry sight.” Act 2 Scene 2 Line 23). This shows that he is not a butcher, because he felt remorse after the murder was done, and he did not really willingly kill. On the other hand Macbeth is killing for his own