The Usurper in MacbethIn the tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare, there is an ambitious captain who seizes the throne of Scotland by force. Let's take a look at his character in this article. Lily B. Campbell in her volume of criticism, Shakespeare's Tragic Heroes: Slaves of Passion, explores the workings of Macbeth's mind as he plots the destruction of Banquo and his son: If the witches spoke as truly to Banquo as for him, Macbeth sees that he wears a “sterile crown” and carries in his hand a “sterile scepter”; he indeed gave peace and immortality to make the race of Banquo kings. And he proceeds to his interview with the murderers, plotting what he dare not do openly, for the fear which arises when we are rivals for one thing and we both cannot obtain it, makes one believe in Macbeth: Let every minute of his being clash with my loved one. 'st of life; and he will kill his fear by putting Banquo and Fleance to death. , like that of Eve in Paradise Lost; his is gradual and reluctant, like Adam's. She only needs her husband's letter regarding the Weyard sisters' prophecy to hasten her resolve to kill Duncan. In an instant, she invites murderous spirits to desexualize her, fill her with cruelty, thicken her blood, turn her mother's milk into gall and darken the world "So that my sharp knife does not see the wound that 'he does' (1.5.50). Macbeth, on the other hand, hesitates. The images of the act which possess it repel it at the same time (1.3.130, 1.7.1). When she suggests Duncan's murder, he procrastinates: "We'll talk further" (1.5.69). (189) In his book, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, HS Wilson relates how audiences are inclined to identify with a thug such as Macbeth: That such a man should sacrifice all the richness of his human spirit - his kindness , his love. , his very soul - becoming a victim of continual fears, a mercilessly murdering tyrant in the vain attempt to feel safe, only to be finally killed like a foul beast of prey - it is terrible and pitiful too. Shakespeare has here realized for us in a very poignant way the ambivalence of the tragic effect described by Aristotle. We