In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, there is a character who changes drastically throughout the play. That character is Macbeth. At first, Macbeth is an honest and loyal thanks to King Duncan. However, he lets greed and evil desires lead him to an act of regicide. Guilt and fear slowly begin to overwhelm him as the show progresses and his sanity begins to slip away. At the end of the play he has gone mad due to the growing sense of guilt for all those he has killed. Ultimately, all 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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayMacbeth begins as an honest, faithful, and loving man towards King Duncan. Duncan also trusts him when he says: “Nothing more than the Thane of Cawdor will receive / Our deepest interest. Go, pronounce his present death, / And with his ancient title hail Macbeth” (1.2.64). Duncan gave a new title to Macbeth, making him Thane over two regions. But after the Weird Sisters tell him that he will be king and Duncan names Malcolm 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 a regicide, killing Duncan. This begins his descent into madness. In the middle of 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 assassins and tells them, "Fleance, his son, who keeps him company, / Whose absence is no less important to me / Than his father's, must embrace the fate of that 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, during the great feast he throws for himself and the Lords, he begins to see the ghost of Banquo sitting in his chair and Macbeth is incredibly disturbed by it. He is tormented by fear and shouts at the ghost to leave. He has become so filled with guilt and fear that he sees the reincarnation of the people he killed. By the end of the play, Macbeth has lost his mind, he has become so mad and self-obsessed that his paranoia is overcome by his sense of invulnerability. When the English army is advancing on his castle, Macbeth says, “Bring me no further reports. Let them all fly. / Until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane / I cannot taint myself with fear. What is Malcolm the boy?” (5.1.1-3). He believes he cannot be defeated since everyone is born a woman and the forest could never suddenly move into his castle. He thinks he can rule for the rest of his life because everything is in his favor. And that false sense of security, while filled with madness, is what led to his ultimate death. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Macbeth's mental state throughout the play shows the negative repercussions he received from all his dark deeds. The guilt of killing those who trusted and respected him is overwhelming and he can't handle it. He goes from being a loyal and happy man to collapsing in fear and guilt. Shakespeare uses this progression to demonstrate that even the most powerful people will reap what they sow.