The Way Shakespeare Portrays Evil in Macbeth Essay

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,

The nobles Macbeth and Banquo enter Act 1, Scene 3 and are confronted by a threesome of witches, who tell Macbeth that he will be the Thane of Glamis, the Thane of Cawdor, and the King of Scotland from then on. Before vanishing, they also tell Banquo that his children will be kings. Ross and Angus arrive with words from Duncan, stating that as a reward for his service he was given the title of the Thane of Cawdor. Upon realizing that the second part of the witches’ prophecy has been fulfilled, Macbeth has an inner struggle; the “foul” side of him wants to trust the witches and attempt to murder Duncan to acquire the throne, while the “fair” side of him is hesitant and does not wish to betray his people and gamble with his life. Shakespeare uses diction, motifs, and tone to emphasize the coexistence of good and evil that manifests inside all human beings, and how the conflict of these influences can affect one’s perception of reality.

In this soliloquy, we learn how Banquo's ambition begins to collide with what's wrong and right. After Duncan's mysterious death,  Banquo is considering the possibilities of Macbeth's actions and expresses his emotions aloud to him. Banquo is the only character that is completely aware of the witches prophecies and Macbeth's involvement with them. In this excerpt he decides not to share his suspicions, revealing his loyalty for Macbeth. His words give more insight on how much faith he is beginning to have in the sisters after a state of doubt.

"Fair is foul, and foul is fair," a quote from the play that is said by the witches in Act 1, Scene 1. This quote shows us the evil within the witches. Throughout the play, whenever we encounter the witches the mood changes to dark and gloomy. They are very mischievous and this has a lot to do with their supernatural powers. One of the most noticeable differences between them and the other characters are that they speak in rhyme, this shows how different they are compared to the other characters.. The witches use Macbeth's vulnerability to manipulate his life by using their powers to destruct his mind and everything he once was. The first encounter between Macbeth, Banquo and the witches (Act 1, Scene 3), Macbeth brushes off what they have to tell him but Banquo thinks they should listen to them and is not frightened at all. Macbeth then becomes afraid of the witches and their powers, at first he never believed them, but once he sees that their sayings are coming true, such as towards the end when he sees the forest starting to come against him (Act 5, Scene 5), he starts to realize that they have mislead him and took him to his own death. The witches cause both Macbeth’s rise to power and the fall to his death. Through the influence of the Weird Sisters’ prophecies, Macbeth transforms from a noble military general into a ruthless tyrant overcome with madness for power, eventually leading to the death of Macbeth.

The witches in Macbeth were used as a symbol of evil and are also synonymous to the oracles that originated from Greek myths. The witches are first seen under a storm with thunder and lightning clashing powerfully as the play opens. They set the theme of betrayal and mystery which occurs throughout the entire play. The witches act as a catalyst for the actions of Macbeth. The witches use their powers to deceive the characters to behave psychotically and use their weaknesses and desires against them. Each time that the witches appear, they make the audience and Macbeth more knowledgeable about his faith. When Macbeth first meets the witches in Act 1 scene iii, they prophesize that he will be king of Scotland and that Banquo will give birth to a generation of kings. With the idea planted in his mind, Macbeth is effectively led down to the path that leads to his own destruction. Every time Macbeth speaks with the witches, he is more able to understand his mind. They

Act 1 scene 1 opens with the entrance of the witches; accompanied by thunder and lightning. The setting is an open place. It is clear that the witches control the elements and must therefore be very powerful ‘ When shall we three meet again in thunder, lightning or in rain’ the witches speak in rhyming lines with four stressed beats. The rhyme of ‘again’ and ‘rain’ and ‘done’, ‘won’ and ‘sun’ as well as the half rhyme in ‘heath’ and ‘Macbeth’ and the alliteration in the words ‘foul’, ‘fog’ and ‘filthy’ emphasises the unnaturalness of these beings ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’ this line tells us the anarchy the witches bring to our world. Their purpose in this scene is to create an evil and eerie mood and suggest that they will be the cause of evil doings later on.

'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.

Is Macbeth a tragic hero or a villain? This question is very complex because so far in the Shakespearean play, we’ve seen Macbeth be the perfect right hand man towards King Duncan. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is introduced to us as a very victories Scottish military man. Also the cousin of King Duncan. In Act 1 scene 3, three witches met with Macbeth, there in that moment the witches cast a spell; the sky turned dark as they spoke a prophecy over Macbeth. The prophecy was that he would become two important things in the kingdom, one is that he’d be thane of Cawdor and the second one is that he’d be king hereafter. With that being said Macbeth believed the witches and made sure he would attain the remaining two of those high positions. In the start of the

Banquo asked if the witches were imaginary or as real as they seem to be. He says that they greeted his friend (Macbeth) with his present titles, with prophecy of future nobility and with promise of royalty. He seems amazed. In contrast Macbeth is stunned to silence by their prophecies, while Banquo questions them calmly, showing that the witches don’t have the same affect on him.

Banquo does not dwell on the witches’ prophecies but Macbeth is entranced. The audience can judge the witches better than Macbeth can, we know that Macbeth has become the thane of Cawdor because he is brave and not because of the witches magic, and we are not surprised, as Macbeth is, when Ross calls him by his title. Macbeth believes now that because one prediction is true that, perhaps, the others may too. Macbeth speaks his thoughts aloud in a soliloquy. These thoughts are of regicide. This would create tension for the audience because it was an absolute sin to even contemplate the murder of a king because it was thought that the King was a man chosen by God and so, was holy. ‘Macbeth’ was supposedly written for the king of this period, James I. James I himself was greatly interested in witchcraft, he had written

Task 3 – Good Versus Evil (draft) Good morning/afternoon, today I will be discussing in depth a theme from the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare. The theme I am exploring today is good versus evil. Everyone is capable of doing good and evil things. The main character Macbeth portrays the theme good and evil.

Starting the play, Macbeth is a very much regarded saint who seems, by all accounts, to be an incredible person; On the contrary, macbeth’s hunger for power drove him to be something unlike his “true self.” Macbeth enters during scene three of act one alongside Banquo, coming from a triumphant fight. He utilizes the theme to depict the day as "So foul and fair a day I have not seen" (Act I, Scene 3, 38). Whenever Macbeth and Banquo first observe the odd sisters, Banquo is shocked by their ugly appearances. While, Macbeth quickly starts to speak with these all around known evil creatures. In the wake of listening to their prophecies, one can say that Macbeth considers the witches to be "reasonable" when in all actuality their goals are entirely "foul." Likewise, Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to "look like

The presents of evil in the play of Macbeth written by Shakespeare is strong and there's no doubt about it. Macbeth is a play about Macbeth becoming a murderous king until his demise, started by his wife Lady Macbeth making him commit the first murder. The evil takes many forms and enters many characters like a disease. So really, Macbeth is built on evil, from beginning to end and so what that there are a few scenes in the play that there is no evil. Shakespeare’s dictionary that he uses, ties in the emotion and drama and emphasizes the actions that the characters are playing out in the play, it just works so well. Shakespeare strikingly conveys the presences of evil through showing detailed images with his figurative

At the beginning of the play, three witches are introduced as women who have the physical appearance of men, causing Macbeth to wonder, “What are you?” (1.3.50). The series of unfortunate events begin with the all-knowing witches exclaiming, “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.52-53) proclaiming two titles that have not been verified as a fact. A few moments later a loyal Scottish noble with the name Ross enters with important information. He informs Macbeth and Banquo of Macbeth’s new title as Thane of Cawdor causing Banquo to question, “can the devil speak true?” (1.13.113) Macbeth and Banquo now believe the words of witches’ and question if their other predictions will also be true. Banquo warns Macbeth “The instruments of darkness tell us truths,/Win us with honest trifles to betray’s” (1.3.136-137), indicating the predictions made by the witches will eventually have their consequences. Despite Banquo’s warning of the consequences, the title character believes his prophecy as the future king of Scotland.

The other argument for Macbeth’s character argues that he was a victim of circumstances, and not truly evil in heart. Following the opening battle, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches. The prophecies they tell the two commanders immediately seem to influence