Essay on The Sense of Evil Conveyed in Shakespeare's Macbeth

The hallucinations of Macbeth take a toll on him as the thought of killing Macbeth is unsettling to him. His hallucinations allow him to reflect on the decisions he is about to make and has made. Before entering the bedroom of King Duncan, Macbeth is paranoid of killing the King and visualizes a bloody dagger pointing towards the King’s bedroom.

The most frequent imagery is in fact Blood. Shakespeare uses this as a method to portray guilt and murder with betrayal, and evilness and treachery. Blood can be interpreted as good or evil.

Overwhelmed by his own ambition, impressed with prophecies of the witches and also the insistent urging of his wife, his mind starts to full a lot of wicked and evil thoughts. Thus, he begins to see a bloody dagger which is floating in the air and this bloody dagger indicates that the murder will come true with the help of this tool. He says that “is this a dagger which I see before me…”(ACT 2 Scene1). Besides, Macbeth sees a dagger before killing Duncan symbolizes that he will come to the throne. However, succeeding being on the throne does not bring the desired happiness.

Shakespeare transformed writing as we knew it over 500 years ago. He believed in an interconnected story in which all characters and actions portrayed a deeper meaning. The play Macbeth exemplifies this ideal in countless ways through the use of themes and supporting motifs. Although themes appear throughout, the most impressive is that of betrayal and trust used to expand characters. These characters are depicted around blood through many instances of this theme and this use brings a new layer of depth to Shakespeare’s work.

In scene 1 Macbeth sees a dagger. While seeing the dagger, Macbeth's dialogue is known as soliloquy. It is a conversation with yourself. According to the play, “Is this a dagger which I see before me…” This is the night on which was lead to kill King Duncan. The hallucination of the dagger foreshadows the inspiration for the death of Duncan. “Still it cried sleep no more to all the house.” Macbeth hears voices and sounds as he goes to bed after he has murdered King Duncan.

Shakespeare had a background of using universal themes in his material. The play Macbeth is very well-known that includes many of his themes such as ambition, guilt, things are not what they seem and nature versus the unnatural. The themes have powerful messages that help plot out the play keeping you itching for what's next. Ambition is an essential theme of the play.

In Shakespeare’s plays Hamlet and Macbeth, the theme of “theater versus life” causes one to question what is real, who is trustworthy, and what is the Truth. As Macbeth progresses, Macbeth is left to wonder what is reality, and what is not. Throughout the play, Macbeth sees many apparitions that others cannot see. In Act II, Scene i, Macbeth sees a dagger pointing him to King Duncan’s room and asks “art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?”

'Macbeth is simply the study of pure evil at work.' We can all agree that Macbeth developed some strange traits during his guilty rein. However is Macbeth to blame for all his sins he is portrayed to do so? To some Macbeth is pure evil in its natural form- The crimes a single soul can commit tells us that Macbeth is destined for hell.

In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth is truly a “devil more damned” of “horrid hell” as he senselessly murders. He is guided by his own ambition, the witches and his wife to kill the king but he reveals his true evil nature by choosing to murder his best friend. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as noble and brave. This shown as Lady Macbeth says in Act 1, scene 4, line 12, “ yet I do fear thy nature: it is too full o’ the milk of human kindness” This portrayal does not last long as Macbeth receives a prophecy from the witches, who represent evil and are seen as allies with the devil, and Macbeth believes these wicked beings.

The floating dagger appears to him covered in blood, before he commits his murder. It leads him the way to King Duncan’s room in which he follows. The floating dagger also represents darkness, as it shows the audience clearly that what Macbeth is about to do is evil. Through out the play, it becomes evident that supernatural apparitions and beings appear only where evil is present.

In Macbeth, Shakespeare encompasses many different themes throughout the entirety of his play. A few of these themes brought to light in his play are ambition, guilt, how things are not always what they seem, and nature versus the unnatural. Now, while these have different meanings for each theme, they all come together to create a well-rounded play. What are the meanings of these themes? How can we see how Shakespeare depicts these? Well, throughout his play, many quotes can be seen as examples of the many themes.

Macbeth is a tragedy by English playwright William Shakespeare. The play’s protagonist, Macbeth murders his king and becomes a king of Scotland. He shows good qualities such as bravery, honesty, and mercy before he assassinates Duncan, the king of Scotland. He kills his political opponents which includes his friends to fulfill his ambition. Eventually, his good qualities fall away as he becomes merciless and ruthless. Macduff, antagonist of the play kills Macbeth. Malcolm, Duncan’s son, the new king of Scotland describes Macbeth as a “dead butcher”. Although Macbeth has some good qualities, he is at heart a cold-hearted murderer because he lets his political ambition steer him down a path of cruelty and isolation.

The underlying theme of Macbeth is that being over ambitious can be disastrous. Macbeth’s loyalty to the king and his desire to obtain power lead to his over ambitions, which then led to his doomed fate in the end of Macbeth. In Macbeth’s attempts to obtain his ambitions he takes actions which in turn lead to his lonely desolation, which supports the theme of being over ambitious can lead to disasters. When Macbeth disregards his loyalty to his king to fulfill his own desires is when his progression to

4)Another form of the supernatural Shakespeare uses is the floating dagger Macbeth sees before he commits to killing King Duncan. 5)The floating dagger, covered in blood, symbolizes evil, and leads Macbeth to go forward with his plan to kill Duncan. As Macbeth questions whether he should commit the murder, he sees a “bloody dagger” appearing before him with the handle pointing towards his hand, and he speaks “Come, let me clutch thee”(Shakespeare 2.1.41-42). 6)Macbeth’s doubts about killing the King disappear, as Shakespeare uses the dagger to lure Macbeth towards King Duncan’s room. 7)Macbeth sees the dagger as a sign, that he is being led by the supernatural to commit the murder, but really he is only following his own greedy desire to become King. 8)The floating dagger appears to hypnotize Macbeth, because he confesses “mine eyes are the fools o’ the other senses” (Shakespeare 2.1.52). 9)Shakespeare has Macbeth kill Duncan to illustrate a change in Macbeth as he grows more evil in pursuit of his goals. Macbeth becomes more dependent on what he believes the