In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, there is a character who changes radically throughout the play. This character is Macbeth. At the beginning, Macbeth is an honest man and loyal to King Duncan. However, he lets greed and evil desires lead him to an act of regicide. His guilt and fear slowly begin to take over him as the play progresses, and his sanity begins to escape him. By the end of the play, he has gone mad from overcome guilt towards everyone he killed. Ultimately, all of his killing and deception gets him killed. With this, Shakespeare shows that people will reap what they sow. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Macbeth begins as an honest man, loyal and loving to King Duncan. Duncan also trusts him as he says: "No more than Thane of Cawdor will receive / Our self-interest." Go, pronounce his present death, / And with his ancient title hail Macbeth” (1.2.64). Duncan gave Macbeth a new title, making him the Thane of two regions. But after the Weird Sisters tell him that he will be king and Duncan names Malcolm as his heir, Macbeth's conscience is filled with greed and dark desires. After being convinced by Lady Macbeth, he takes power into his own hands with regicide, killing Duncan. This begins his descent into madness. Midway through the play, Macbeth began to become paranoid about the negative repercussions of his actions. In his fear, he believes that Banquo and Fleance cannot be allowed to live. He hires three murderers and tells them: “Fleance, his son, who keeps him company, / Whose absence is no less important to me / Than that of his father, must accept the fate of this dark hour. » (3.1.140-143). His paranoia that Fleance will somehow overthrow him drives him to get rid of him and anyone who might get in his way. Later, at the big party he is throwing for the lords and himself, he begins to see the ghost of Banquo sitting in his chair and Macbeth is incredibly disturbed. He is filled with fear and shouts at the ghost to leave. He has become so filled with guilt and fear that he sees the people he killed reincarnated. By the end of the play, Macbeth has lost his mind, becoming so mad and self-obsessed that his paranoia is overshadowed by his sense of invulnerability. When the English army advances on his castle, Macbeth says, “Bring me no more reports. Let them all fly. / Until Birnam Wood is transferred to Dunsinane / I cannot be tainted with fear. What is this boy Malcolm? (5.1.1-3). He believes that he cannot be defeated because everyone is born female and that the woods could never suddenly move towards his castle. He thinks he can rule for the rest of his life because everything is in his favor. And this false sense of security, although overrun by madness, is what led to his ultimate demise. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay Macbeth's mental state throughout the play shows the negative repercussions he has received from all his dark actions. The guilt of killing those who trusted and respected him is overwhelming, and he is unable to handle it all. He goes from being a faithful and happy man to fear and guilt. Shakespeare uses this progression to show that even the most powerful people will reap what they sow..