Macbeth : A Continual Struggle Of Good And Evil

In his shortest and bloodiest play, Macbeth, Shakespeare exhibits an ongoing theme of greed through the rise to power and the downfall of his main character, Macbeth. Macbeth is a brave Scottish warrior fighting in King Duncan’s army who, after proving his bravery in the war, is rewarded by King Duncan as Thane of Cawdor. Prior to being informed of his new title, Macbeth and his friend Banquo meet three witches in the woods who tell them their prophecies. The witches proclaim that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland and that Banquo’s descendants will also be kings. At first, Macbeth is skeptical about his prophecy, however, once he learns that Duncan has named him Thane of Cawdor he begins to believe it. He believes that if the witches were right about the

The witches manipulate Macbeth into becoming a murdering, power-hungry evil being, by telling him, “someday you’ll be king.” “I'll drain him dry as hay. Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang upon his penthouse lid. He shall live a man forbid. Weary sev'n nights, nine times nine, Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine.” (I,i) The witches use the two other prophecies to get in the mind of Macbeth. They say that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor, and Banquo will be the father of future generations of kings. Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tossed.They give Macbeth a false sense of security with the visions they perceive. These influential women are the ones that instill the idea of murdering the king. Macbeth lets greed get the best of him. The witches sway Macbeth into killing Duncan for the throne. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” (I,i) The Witches intend to turn Macbeth from his good ways, into something evil. As the only character that understands their cruelty, the witches want Macbeth dead. The witches give Macbeth the temptation to kill the king by telling him their prophecies. In the end,

These prophecies severely change the lives of both soldiers.  The three witches surprise Macbeth and Banquo but tell Macbeth the prophecy of him being given the position of Thane of Cawdor.  Secondly speaking, ¡§All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!¡¨  (Act 1, scene iii p.12)  They then tell Banquo that his sons will be kings but he will never rule a King.   This news frightens Macbeth and both try to put it in the back of their minds, thinking of it as a prank.  This is until Ross, one of the kings men, greets Macbeth and Banquo and gives great news to Macbeth in these words:

in all purity. This is mainly due to the fact that he was willing to

In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character’s goal is to become the king. Macbeth seeks to gain as much power as he possibly can and this ultimately leads to his demise. He hears the prophecy of the witches and becomes so obsessed with fulfilling the prophecy because it states that he will eventually become king. Having this information, Macbeth goes out of his way to force the prophecy to come true. He becomes so power hungry that he tries to force fate leaving him with an undeniable guilt for his actions, the loss of love from the people who once loved him, and a harsh death in the end.

The witches confront Macbeth and state that they foresee he will rise to power. The title Thane of Cawdor holds many possibilities for Macbeth. With it comes the opportunity for a more comfortable life with his wife. However Macbeth understands that to make this fantasy possible he must kill the now reigning king, Duncan. He ponders the witches fortune and realizes his true desires “Let not light see my black and deep desires,” (1:4:58).

The King of Scotland, Duncan, is at war with Norway, and he is told about the bravery of a general, called Macbeth. He is also told about the betrayal of the 'Thane of Cawdor' who fought with the Norwegian army, against Duncan. However, Macbeth fights and wins against them, so Duncan wants to make him the new Thane of Cawdor.

Macbeth is a man whose progressive external misfortunes seem to produce, and at the same time seem to be produced by, the parallel progression from greatness to great wickedness. This reaffirmation that Macbeth is not a true son of evil comes, interestingly enough, immediately after the murder of Banquo, at a time when the audience needs a reminder that Macbeth is not fundamentally evil. Macbeth is visited by a vision of Banquo’s ghost, visible only to him. His fading mental condition becomes apparent to all he cries out to the guests, inquiring who has played the cruel trick and then in terror, yells to the ghost, "Thou canst say I did it. Never shake thy gory locks at me" (III.4.65-66).

Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest Elizabethan drama and especially tragedy. It was first performed in 1606 at the Globe Theatre in London and it was inspired by true events. The story takes place in Scotland and concerns a brave soldier named Macbeth who received the prophecy that he'd become the King of Scotland. Drunk with ambition Macbeth decides to kill king Duncan, to make the prophecy come true and eventually gets paranoiac. The story is about the corrupting power of ambition and through it, Shakespeare tries to convey the message that, crime does not pay. Act 1 scene 7, that is later analyzed, is a scene of great importance for the play. Despite the fact that it is the climax of Act 1, it is the first soliloquy of Macbeth and also the last time Macbeth is seen as a free man, meaning that it is the last time, we see him being capable of choosing between good and evil. Through this scene we are exposed to the weaknesses of Macbeth that make him incapable of action,

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.

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air” (Shakespeare Act I Scene I 12-13). The Weïrd Sisters utter these lines in unison in the first scene of the play. Shakespeare thus establishes the backdrop for a story full of paradoxes and mysticism. Not all is how it appears to be. Deceit and betrayal take center stage in the play, paving the way for Macbeth’s ascendancy to kingship, and eventual downfall. Good versus evil is present in nearly every scene. As in most literary works, the author develops different themes expressed in various ways. Symbolism is often the most effective way to express central themes. In Macbeth, Shakespeare creates contrast to effectively strengthen the overriding message of good versus evil.

After Macbeth and Banquo receive prophecies, the foil characters start to diverge as Banquo’s takes the moral path of goodness while Macbeth takes the immoral path towards his ultimate decline. Banquo and Macbeth have the opportunity to pursue the same path, but because of his unchecked ambition, Macbeth deviates from Banquo's path of good morals. Immediately after the witches tell their prophecies, Banquo’s mindset is wary and rational. He warns Macbeth that, “oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths...” (1.3.125-126). Banquo is not obsessed with the prophecies and the idea that one day his ancestors will be kings. On the other hand, Macbeth speculates, “Two truths are told, / as happy prologues to the swelling act / of the imperial theme.” (1.3.130-132) Because two of the three prophecies have come true, Macbeth is blinded by his ambition and seems to fantasize about the idea of being king. These contrasting reactions show that Macbeth takes a

Soon after he achieves the title Thane of Cawdor as predicted by the three witches; whom drive Macbeth’s ambition to murder King Duncan- due to the fulfilment of the witches’ first prophecy, Macbeth is foolish enough to commit to treason and murder King Duncan. The first change of

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

Macbeth is without a doubt a play about evil. The play revolves around the bad and wicked qualities in human nature, but Shakespeare also contrasts this evil with the power of good. In this essay I will explore the ways in which Shakespeare contrasted good and evil in Macbeth.