The Role of Good and Evil in Macbeth Essay

There is a constant war waging between good and evil in everyday life. It may be a war between two fractions that feel they are both in the right or an internal battle of good and evil. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth the titular character and his wife are battling against the true nature of themselves and in each other. Although they are known and seen by others as virtuous, their unsatisfactory greed and ambition lead both characters to become immoral.

The Way Shakespeare Portrays Evil in Macbeth Right from the first scene, it is obvious that Macbeth is a story of evil. The play starts on a moor, with thunder and lightning being the very first signal that something less than ordinary is going on. Before the play has even begun, the atmosphere is set for an intimidating and somewhat frightening scene. Stormy weather is nearly always seen as frightening, dark and evil, because it is often related to so much danger and destruction, and Shakespeare uses this well to give and accurate and striking first impression of the play.

After the moon is down, Banquo speaks to Macbeth about his dream,“All’s well./ I dreamt last night of the three Weïrd Sisters./ To you they have showed some truth”(2.1.24-26). The mood is dark because it is about the prophecy. It is also a sign of bad thing is about to happen. What might happen in order for Macbeth become king. Banquo mention the prophecy that Macbeth will be king. But in order for Macbeth become king Duncan has to die. So there will be something evil happens later on. Macbeth is walking to Duncan’s room and havings a conversation with himself before commit the crime, “Now o’er the one-half world/ Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse/ The curtained sleep”(2.1.61-63). The author create a dark mood by saying half of the world is sleeping as death. And this is the darkest time of the night. Half of world is sleeping and he is about to commit the crime. This is the midnight, the darkest part of the night when people all sleep like death and wicked dreams abuse them. These quotes have contributed to the dark and evil theme of the

Banquo was with Macbeth when the witches had told them of the prophecies that were to come true. Macbeth realizes that Banquo is a true noble man, and that he is likely to piece together what is going on and could tell people that Macbeth was the real murderer. “Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared.” Here Macbeth speaks of the fear that he has of Banquo and the true manhood that he exhibits. Macbeth sinks as low as going to the deed of killing his own best friend out of fear and evilness.

In this essay I will look at the ways that Shakespeare has contrasted evil with good in his play Macbeth. The play revolves around the bad and wicked qualities in human nature, but Shakespeare also contrasts this evil with the power of good. This contrast between good and evil is a recurring theme throughout Macbeth.

As the sun falls, evil spirits begin to take over one's mind and body. Evil thoughts can be sparked by an outside force or by one’s own ambition. Evil has the power to influence people and make them do things they normally wouldn’t. These malevolent ideas can cause severe pain and grief to those who are corrupted by them. As a skilled writer, William Shakespeare is able to portray a sense of dark imagery throughout the play Macbeth.

One aspect of symbolism in the play that shows evil doesn’t do any good is that of the weather. At the very beginning of the play when the audience first meets the witches they are discussing the weather; “when shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning, or in rain?” With this

Light and dark are common symbols in many pieces of literature. Often, light represents good and dark represents evil. The same is true in Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. In this play, the main character Macbeth begins as a military general with the title of Thane of Glamis. He receives a prophecy that states he will become king, igniting a thirst for power.

In William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, darkness and blackness are repeatedly used as symbols of evil, representing the misdeeds conducted by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. After three witches predict Macbeth’s future and tell him that he will become King of Scotland, Macbeth thinks about murdering the current king, Duncan, and exclaims “Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4.50-51). Macbeth’s wicked yearning of committing murder is ‘black’ and must be concealed by darkness because it is too horrible to be looked upon. His desire to kill is depicted as ‘dark’, which connotes evil, and is too horrible that Macbeth asks the heavens to conceal it. Furthermore, as Lady Macbeth is planning King Duncan’s murder, she

Shakespeare uses the symbol of light to contrast with the darkness in the play Macbeth. For example, when Lady Macbeth says her soliloquy about how she wants the spirits to change her sex and for the darkness to cover up the light in order to complete her dark desires. Lady Macbeth states, “[...] You wait on nature’s mischief!/Come, thick night,/That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,/Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,/To cry, “Hold, hold!”

Macbeth is very reluctant to react on his instincts to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth is able to ease her husband’s nerves and convince him that it is his best interests to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth, full of ambition for her husband knows darkness must cover their crimes. She calls upon the night as aid. “Come, thick night and pall thee dunnest smoke of hell nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark.” (Act 1 Scene 5, lines 50-53) at several times in the Macbeth reference the night as a universal symbol of evil. The dark night in other words, reflects the deep dark desires in Macbeth. After he succeeds the first time by going against his conscience, Macbeth is confident in killing others now. He turns his nature of being dark and becomes numb to all emotions. He became selfish and killing was no longer a moral issue for Macbeth. He becomes thirsty for blood and impulsively kills with no remorse. After doing so many dark and evil things, Macbeth fears no evil because he is evil. His the king of death himself and stops at nothing to get what he wants and to fulfill his ambitions. He walks in darkness and has no desire to escape the very thing that possess his soul and mind. Macbeth become not only the king of Scotland but also the King of death and

In The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, patterns of darkness and light are shown to represent evil and good. When it is dark, the human eye is not able to see. Therefore, the evil deeds of humanity mostly happen at night. This is seen when King Duncan is murdered in his sleep and Banquo is murdered in the night so no one can see. In the human light people are able to see, causing individuals to cover for themselves just as Macbeth did the morning after he murdered King Duncan. This imagery is very effective in Shakespeare’s play. The pattern of dark and light is incorporated throughout the entire play, even at the very beginning.

Macbeth is explaining to Lady Macbeth that the times are changing and she needs to trust him. Macbeth has already killed Duncan and now he’s planning on killing both Banquo and his son, Fleance.

In the blood soused, execrable mishap of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, he utilizes a motif of tenebrosity and light. Light and dark are often thought of symbols to represent good and evil. Shakespeare’s utilization of light plays in Macbeth to engender a destructive mood and reveal character . It shows the readers the damaging effects of zeal on those who seek puissance. Many of those analysis he utilizes through this tragic play are Shakespeare's utilization of images to show the representation of pernicious of puissance throughout Macbeth. The luminous light designating the divine components throughout parts throughout Macbeth. Conversed to the divine paramountcy of the holy light, tenebrosity entices the evil within the play and expels

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.