Macbeth’s path to evil Essay

In Macbeth, it is clear that Macbeth at the start of the play is a different person to Macbeth at the end of the play. During the course of the play, he changes a great deal, most obviously from a safe(p) and secretive thane of Scotland to a cruel and ruthless king. At the beginning of the play, he is at his noblest. He has shown great fortitude and loyalty brave Macbeth well he deserves that name, and is considered a gun for hire by Duncan, the king, for ending the revolt in Scotland, and is thought trustworthy O valiant cousin worthy gentleman He is a great warrior and one of the leaders of the Scottish army like valours minion carvd taboo his passage. Yet he is ambitious, and this leads him to become a terrible king, moving from one act of violence to a nonher, visual perception one threat after an otherwise, so killing conscience and pity.As he is king of Scotland, his detestation floods Scotland, making it horribly unnatural and filled with fear A falcon/Was by a mousing schnoz hawkd at and killd. However, at the end of the play he still shows that he has not lost his courage as he dies fighting Exeunt, fighting, but it is somewhat humble and his fear has grown as earlier in the play he is sc atomic number 18d of the apparitions But no more sights Yet at the beginning of the play he fought a bloody and gruesome difference in which a single, detached, armoured head (the appearance of the first apparition) would not have been an uncommon sight.It could be said that at the end of the play Macbeth is a villain, as Malcolm does this dead butcher, or that he is a tragic hero, as he fought, drive ining that Macduff would kill him And thou opposd, being of no cleaning woman born, /Yet I will try the last. In order to be a tragic hero however, he needs a tragic flaw. This could either be his ambition, which causes him to be willingly s agencyed by the witches and pretend everything, or it could be his courage, as he does not realise that courage is so metimes the ability to recite no. But Shakespeares auditory sense would more than likely consider him bound for Hell, as he at no point in the play asks for for travel byness. One of the beliefs on which Christianity is built is that no depend what people do on Earth, if they ask for forgiveness they will be forgiven by God, and Shakespeares earshot would mostly have been made up of faithful Christians. No matter what people do to hand over themselves, God does not forgive them unless they ask to be.But this change from good to wickedness does not detect overnight. It is triggered at the beginning by the witches, who open the play in the most unnatural of ways for a Shakespearian tragedy. The scene is very short, only 12 lines long, and it is unnatural in every way possible. The leash witches are supernatural beings you should be women, /And yet your stand outds forbid me to interpret/That you are so, the weather is unnatural and violent, counterbalance the incantatory poe try that Shakespeare gives them is unnatural, as no one else in the play ever speaks in the same way as they do. It is a prologue to the evil events that will occur throughout the play. They have planned out everything and know exactly what will happen when they tell Macbeth that he will be king one day There to meet with Macbeth, All hail, Macbeth that shalt be King hereafter.Throughout the play, Macbeth tries to control the witches, yet he never can Speak, I charge you. Witches vanish, and he tries the same with the apparitions, and is scolded by the witches He knows thy thought / observe his speech, but say thou nought. He does not realize that he cannot control either plenty or such unearthly creatures as the witches. Also throughout the play, the witches treat Macbeth as one of their own, and he does not realise that he finds them only because they want him to Something wicked this way comes. /Open locks, /Whoever knocks. Shakespeare makes this comparison mingled with them in Macbeths very first line, by giving him almost the exact same linguistic process as he gave the witches So foul and fair a day I have not seen.The witches are also significant to Shakespeares audience because there are three of them. There has ever so been an ancient superstition that the number three is a magical number, yet most of the Shakespearian audience would immediately associate it with the Holy Trinity Father, countersign, and Holy Ghost. In Macbeth this has been inverted, as so many other things are. Instead, there is an Infernal Trinity the three witches or a more elaborate one, made up of the witches, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth. Still, there could also be an incarnation of the Holy Trinity in Macbeth, represented by Macduff, Malcolm, and Banquo.Macbeths progression to evil is chiefly marked out by his soliloquies and the murders that he performs, or orders. He starts as a mighty and noble warrior, killing rebels for his King and country. Then, once his ambition has started to take over, he goes on to kill Duncan, an innocent, defenceless, old man Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope/the Lords anointed temple. He puts much thought into this before performing the deed, debating with himself whether to do it or not Hes here in double trust/his host, /Who should against his murderer shut the door/Not bear the knife myself. And once he has performed the horrific deed, he regrets it bitterly Wake Duncan with thy knocking I would thou couldst His hesitation however, is not the hesitation of fear, as he has a terrible courage, but of an intimate, bury knowledge between right and wrong. Then he goes on to kill Banquo, though not person exclusivelyy.He gives less thought to this deed There is none but he/Whose being I do fear and he does not regret the deed at all, yet is petrified of Banquos ghost at the coronation banquet. Banquo, when he is killed, knows what has transpired I fear, /Thou playdst most foully for t. He knows how Macbeth became king and that he killed Duncan, and also knows that he is behind his own murder O treachery Macbeth finally orders the murders of Lady Macduff and her children give to the edge of the sword/His wife, his babes. While killing men was considered a great crime, killing a woman and her children was considered a much worse crime. This is done without second thought and never regrets it at all he never mentions it to himself after it has occurred The very firstlings of my heart shall be/The firstlings of my hand.As he becomes increasingly evil, so Scotland becomes increasingly unnatural. This is most obviously shown when Banquo dies to save Fleance, a parent sacrificing himself for his childs life, which is natural Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly Later in the play however, it is clear that Scotland has become more unnatural as the Son dies in an attempt to save Lady Macduff, a child sacrificing himself for his parents life He has killd me, mother /Run away I pray you This is unnatural and fa ils, as two Lady Macduff and her Son die.Finally, another sign of Macbeths descent to evil is that he becomes more and more secluded. This is mainly shown by the increasing amount of soliloquies that Shakespeare gives him, but is also shown by his relationship with Lady Macbeth. At the beginning of the play they are a happy couple, who love each other intensely my lovemaking partner of greatness, yet as the play progresses, especially after Duncans murder, Macbeth separates himself from his wife, and once he is king, she must ask to see him Say to the king, I would attend his leisure. All Macbeths deeds are consequently thought out by himself, unlike the murder of Duncan, in which Lady Macbeth did most of the cerebration and grooming Leave all the rest to me, and Macbeth keeps Lady Macbeth out of the murder of Banquo even when she asks him what he is planning Be innocent of the knowledge/Till thou applaud the deed.All of these points show how Macbeth becomes increasingly evil t hroughout the play, eventually becoming a much feared villain, or a tragic hero.