Macbeth starts as Scotland's most celebrated warrior - brave, honourable, and admired by everyone including King Duncan. However, he's also surprisingly malleable and naive, making him the perfect target for manipulation by both the witches and his ambitious wife.

His character contains fascinating contradictions that make him so compelling to study. He's simultaneously courageous in battle yet fearful of consequences, calculating in his schemes yet impulsive in his actions. This complexity is what transforms him from hero to villain throughout the play.

The most crucial aspect of Macbeth's character is his unchecked ambition. Once the witches plant the seed of kingship in his mind, his honourable nature gradually crumbles. He becomes increasingly violent and feared rather than respected, showing how power corrupts even the noblest people.

Key Insight: Macbeth isn't born evil - his transformation shows how ordinary people can be led astray by ambition and poor influences.

These top 10 quotes will be your lifeline in exam essays, showing Macbeth's journey from hero to tyrant. Start with Duncan calling him 'brave' and noting his 'signs of nobleness' - perfect evidence for his heroic beginnings.

Watch how his language becomes darker as ambition takes hold. 'Stars hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires' reveals his inner conflict between good and evil. The famous dagger soliloquy - 'Is this a dagger I see before me' - shows his mental deterioration perfectly.

By the play's end, others describe him as 'devil', 'hellhound', and 'abhorred tyrant' - a complete contrast to his heroic start. Yet his final quote shows he retains some courage: 'Yet I will try the last: before my body I throw my warlike shield'.

Exam Tip: These quotes work brilliantly for tracking character development - use early quotes for his noble side, middle ones for his internal struggle, and late quotes for his tyrannical transformation.