Macbeth

Macbeth: An Overview

Macbeth is presented as a mature man enjoying an enviable reputation. throughout this Shakespearean play, however, Macbeth's emotions change drastically. His abilities in battle are stupendous, yet his abilities as a husband and King are on the contrary. His overvaulting ambitions overcome his morality, and lead him to do “the evil deeds” that he commits during his reign.

Macbeth's prophecies begin with his encounter with the three evil women, the witches. They put the thought into his mind that if he were to kill Duncan, he himself may become king. When Lady Macbeth found out about this, she liked the idea of becoming a queen. She uses many techniques throughout the first act to convince him to execute the King, including questioning his manhood. He appears to be a very strong individual before all of this occurred, being very stable mentally and being a hero in the eyes of his countrymen on the battlefield. All of this changes as the play progresses.

The “angel” on one of his shoulders is telling him how kind this male ruler has been to him and the country of Scotland. The little “greedy devil” on his other shoulder that wants to be King finally overcomes the “angel.” His mind finally warrants him the justification to kill King Duncan. He has deep regret for what he has done shortly thereafter. The murder of the King is the first to slowly break down his now fragile emotional state. He feels that after murdering the King, he has given his mind and soul to those evil and demonic forces which are the enemy of mankind.

It seems as though he is addicted to a drug; he must kill those who oppose him or those who (he feels) will do him harm in the future, yet he does not enjoy this. He is “hooked” on this drug and he knows it; however, he cannot stop until he is happy. He gains no satisfying peace because his conscience still obliges him to recognize the negative qualities of evil and the negative results of evil action. The individual who once prized mutable goods in the form of respect and admiration from those about him has now lost his sensitivity towards good and evil. His conscience is numbed, and he has almost reached a “peace” with himself, being morally obsolescent from what is really going on. The environment that he is subject to is continually being intensified, until his final encounter with Macduff ends everything.