Character Report: Evil Macbeth

1. Evil Macbeth wants to survive the battle. He has a burning desire to go back to being the resolute man he used to be, who acted intuitively. He is prepared to fight “until from [his] bones [his] flesh be hacked.”
2. Evil Macbeth is driven by his ambition. Ever since the beginning of the play, his ambition to be the things that the fates have promised him that he will be has driven him over and over again to do things that before he would have considered abominable.
3. The obstacles in his way are his good side (or his conscience) and the English army, which is ten thousand strong. He also has the problem of the thanes deserting him.
4. When Evil Macbeth confronts Good Macbeth, he wins out, and shows that Macbeth’s evil side is greater than his Good. From this point on, as Macbeth says, “Evil Macbeth doth rule!”
5. Evil Macbeth’s speech is often cutting and straight to the point. In this scene, he appears to be insane, but still completely in control. Every order that comes out of his mouth, while perhaps insulting, has a purpose, and has been thought out. This is the Macbeth who is the man of action.
6. Evil Macbeth thinks very little during the scene. He thinks for a little bit about the outcome of his actions and argues with his better side, but otherwise this scene is all action. We see a compassionate Macbeth who wants his wife to be cured, but the prevalent character trait of the scene is not thought, but action.