Macbeth as a Play About the Conflict Between Good and Evil
Macbeth is a tragedy, which addresses the inner conflict of people's
morality. Furthermore, it appears Shakespeare's intention was to
portray the modern day attitudes towards religion and the supernatural
of his time. Indeed, the Elizabethan audience the play was written for
would have been devout Christians, and would have had strict beliefs
towards good and evil. The audience was genuinely afraid of evil, and
it was about this time that the Salem witch trials took place, where
witches were executed. Watchers would have regarded the witches with
suspicion and fear, just as Macbeth and Banquo do in the opening
scenes. There is suggestion that this play was written for King James
I, as he had a keen interest in the supernatural and occult ideas.
Evil is shown in two ways throughout this play. We see the fight
between virtue and immorality within characters; through struggles
with their conscience, but they are also shown as forces in the
outside world, which arose from religion, and ideas of Heaven, Hell,
God and the Devil. The theme of evil is shown through unnatural
occurrences, the witches, and within characters. However, the intended
interpretation of whether these occurrences are literal or
metaphorical is ambiguous. For example, the dagger seen by Macbeth
just before his murder of King Duncan might be a vision of his own
mind, or an illusion created by the witches, to spur Macbeth on to
carry out the vicious deed. Whether these things are interpreted
metaphorically or literally depend on whether you think Shakespeare
meant to promote the supernatural aspect of the ...
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...ernity of damnation. For this reason he shows remorse, but this
remorse is subdued, and eventually disappears for good. Macbeth
relinquishes any hope of successful repentance, accepting his evil
nature. Praying is also common images used to portray the reliance on
religion. For instance, Banquo says "Cousins, a word, I pray you".
The struggle between good and evil is present throughout 'Macbeth'. In
the end we see good overcoming evil; in the death of main character,
who by the end was an evil figure. We see virtue restored, taking its
place as saviour and leader of humanity. Evil is completely
diminished, and the remaining characters seem pure and valiant, all
embodiments of complete goodness. It must also be said that although
this play was written many years ago, the themes it includes are still
valid in this day.
In literature, "evil often triumphs but never conquers." By definition, a triumph is only short- term. For example, something short- term would be an achieved title, a victor in a battle, or a winner in a game. These three things are only temporary, as triumphs usually are in novels. By definition, when something is conquered, it remains conquered perpetually. Usually the evil force is unable to conquer, because of the opposite side's mentality. Because of these definitions, this statement is showing that even though evil characters or actions prevail in battles or events, the feat would not last forever, especially in the hearts and minds of the opposite side. I agree with this statement because there is proof that this is true in novels that I have read. Many novels have this common theme: good versus evil. This theme is unquestionably shown in two works, Macbeth and To Kill A Mockingbird.
The legendary plot of Macbeth, like those of many Shakespearean plays, relies heavily on the influence of the supernatural. The play itself reflects on the dark inane tendencies of humans to be evil, especially when faced with a thirst for power. Throughout its course, the reader is able to witness a man’s transformation from a brave soldier to a murdering madman. Without the impact of certain apparitions, hallucinations, and three bearded witches, the events of the story would not have unfolded as they did. The root evil is first planted in the minds of two ambitious people, creating in their minds a projection of how things will turn out. Unbeknownst to our two leading lunatics, the eventual outcome of the play will not be the scenario drawn up in their twisted minds.
Evil. It is a word that has been used for hundreds of years, yet the
The witches also kept repeating a quote that has a lot of meaning. They continued to say “foul is fair and fair is foul.” (I.i.12) This means that what seems right isn’t really right and what seems wrong isn’t really wrong. So the whole play is about false faces and how someone who seems normal and innocent isn’t really. The witches also seem to be an illusion. They are in a way human like, but at the same time they are also fake. They talked to Macbeth and told him three prophecies, which caused him to become greedy and kill King Duncan. The first time they told him what they saw was in Act 1. They said
Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a recognized classic tragedy portraying the victory of good over evil. This paper will explore the various expressions of evil within the play.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays to ever have been written. Takes place back in the Elizabethan age back when kings and queens ruled certain countries and people did not have much freedom. The Tragedy of Macbeth has to do with a couple madly in love with one another. Where Macbeth would do anything for his wife lady Macbeth; in ACT I Macbeth and Banquo return from battle, he and Banquo meet three witches who predict that not only will Macbeth be rewarded by King Duncan but that he will become king himself. This is when Macbeth actually starts to consider the assassination of King Duncan. However for Banquo the witches greet him as a father of kings. When Lady Macbeth hears of the witch’s predictions she comes to the conclusion that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth will kill King Duncan. On the night Lady Macbeth tries to kill King Duncan she hesitates on completing the task and she urges her Husband Macbeth to do the killing instead. In Act II Lady Macbeth drugs Duncan’s guards to make Macbeths task; on killing King Duncan much easier. Macbeth kills the guard...
to the earthly at the base of the chain; everyone had a place, and a
Macbeth is a tragedy written by Shakespeare roughly between the years 1603 and 1606. It was a play written following the death of Queen Elizabeth. The king at the time - James I of England/King James VI of Scotland was known to be a big supporter of theatre, witchcraft and demonology. Shakespeare and his associates soon into their career became known as the King’s men. The Kings ancestry was traced back to Banquo, a character from the play.
Good vs. Evil in Macbeth The good characters in Macbeth are less interesting than the evil ones. Everybody has an evil seed planted in them. Only the really evil person acts on them and commits something morally wrong. Like a Macbeth. When Macbeth first received the prophecies, he actually considered them.
William Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth in approximately 1606. The play is a tragedy and this can be often identified before we have even read the play. The title “Macbeth” alone suggests the genre of the play is a tragedy as it is the name of a character. Life in Shakespeare’s time was very religious and the play was written in order to please King James I who was on the throne at this point. The idea of the theme of religion and witchcraft fitting into the play was also to please King James I as he was interested in witchcraft. The majority of people living in Shakespeare’s time were Christians and they believed that if you lived a good life, you would go to Heaven and if you were bad in life, you would go to Hell. At the time of the play, King James I was on the throne and this is significant as he makes Banquo a good character as he is the King’s Ancestor. This influenced Shakespeare’s writing because he had to write a play to please the King so Shakespeare included witchcraft as King James I was interested in witchcraft. The text of the play is based on “Chronicles: History of England, Scotland and Ireland” published by Raphael Holinshed in 1577. In Chronicles, Banquo is an accomplice to Macbeth in the murder of the King rather than a loyal subject of the King who is seen as an enemy by Macbeth. Shakespeare could have changed Banquo’s character in order to please King James I. The witches fit into the theme of Macbeth as the play is very religious and involves witchcraft and the powers of evil.
The character Macbeth in the story of Shakespeare’s Macbeth faces decisions that affect his morals. He begins as an innocent soul, dedicated to serve his kingdom and its king, Duncan. As time passes and opportunities present themselves combined with the deception of the evil witches, Macbeth begins his descent into madness. Macbeth’s innocence and loyalty are completely corrupted due to his over confidence, guilty conscience, and the inevitability of human nature. Macbeth looses sight of what is morally right to do in life because his logical choices are changed by these factors.
Evil is a destructive force; it causes harm to those who embrace it and their victims. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the protagonist Macbeth and Lady Macbeth fall into the hands of evil. Evil is what drives people to commit unnatural actions of destruction. Macbeth succumbs to evil through his fatal flaw, greed, and it causes him to disrupt the chain of being. When Macbeth willingly murders, massacres, lies and deceives, he loses his heath and sanity. Evil corrupts everything it touches, and Macbeth decides to be evil's servant. But, when Macbeth embraces evil, it corrupts him, and it ultimately destroys him as well. Lady Macbeth is a victim of Macbeth's fatal flaw, since she is drawn in, and becomes greedy for power herself. She pushes Macbeth into destruction when she adds the small touch that plunges Macbeth into a chain of murder, destruction, and lying followed by the loss of their sanity and health. After Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are well into the depths of corruption and greed, it is clearly seen that their guilt will haunt them for the rest of their lives. The harm they have caused others will be returned to them as revenge and they have lost their sanity in order to gain power. The fate of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth clearly illustrates that to embrace evil is to negate our own need for order and well being.
“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” Once said by Marc Twain, this is an excellent example of the human nature that is represented in the play: Macbeth. Shakespeare demonstrates that all humans have the ability to do good or evil. This is strongly affected by the choices that we make and by our actions. These decisions will have a huge impact on our lives and the lives of others. Throughout the play, Macbeth experienced a huge decent into evil and violent action that lead him to his death. With his thirst for power and constant paranoia, he killed his way to seize the crown. By killing Duncan at the beginning of the play, Macbeth soon realizes that nothing can be undone and his blood stained hands can never be cleaned. “A little water clears us of this deed” (2.3 70) said by Lady Macbeth after Duncan’s murder. But what they don’t know is that this is the start of the bloody massacre that will change who they are and how they think forever. Macbeth has multiple hallucinations and his paranoia leads him to hire murderers to kill Macduff’s family out of anger and spite. Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and gets to the point of madness when she kills herself at the end of the play. This demonstrates that our actions can be affected by human nature and our thoughts can be easily corrupted by temptation.
The witches play a very important role in "Macbeth", as they initiate the evil plot. Even from the prologue we can see the witches are evil. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair:" (Act 1 scene 1 line 11). They uphold their evil status throughout the play although their power is not fully demonstrated until the prophecies come true and also later where they conjure up the three apparitions. The witches are truly evil and love evil for its own self unlike Macbeth. "Spiteful and wrathful; who. as others do,/Loves for his own ends, not for you." (Act 3 scene 5 line 12-13). Throughout the play they provide the strongest impression of evil. They are continually committing mischievous deeds, such as, "Killing swine" (Act 1 scene 3 line 2), tormenting sailors and casting spells.
Evil and Suffering in his play Macbeth. For example, when Macbeth was hallucinating and saw a dagger in front of him in Act II. Scene i., “A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable, As this which now I draw” (II. i. 39-42), or when Macbeth broke down and became existential as his castle is being invaded in Act V, “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more” (V. v. 24-26). These demonstrate the themes of Good vs. Evil and suffering as Macbeth is having internal conflicts, whether or not he should do the deed. This gets to his head and is stressing him out, causing the hallucinations. Once he does the deed, he is suffering from guilt, because of this he becomes a hated tyrant, and eventually his castle gets taken over and killed. Shakespeare writes soliloquies and asides to explore the themes of Good vs. Evil and Suffering in his play Macbeth to bring the audience into the mind of a character, which can be used to emphasise a theme or