Meet Macbeth

    In the opening of the play, Macbeth is introduced through indirect characterization by a soldier talking to his king.  In how Macbeth was introduced, Shakespeare drew from the medieval germanic/norse epics in order to incite the time period in which the play takes place, and the culture it comes from.  In this introduction, the audience learns about how brave a warrior Macbeth was, and how he slay the rebel leader, ending the Scots rebellion.  Even though the audience is told of his great deeds, they are meant to be unsure about it, as the witches warned that things that might seem good would be bad.  This meant that the witches also characterized Macbeth just as much as the wounded soldier at the beginning, but their lyrical way of talking gave their version of characterization a very nebulous tone, which meant that Shakespeare could tell what was going to happen, but be so roundabout about it that the audience only got a taste of what was to come.  This characterization also tells the audience how Shakespeare felt about his character:  he is initially good, but his deeds and remorse blur this line and make him spiral into insanity.  Macbeth is shown as a valiant soldier and a ruthless killer, and these will stay with him until his death.