The Evil Macbeth

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In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth is guilty of committing treason against his king and country. He is purely and deliberately driven by dark desire, ambition, and murderous thoughts. As the play continues, it gets easier and easier for Macbeth to commit his heinous crimes. He not only kills the king, but continues to kill various people in order to secure his wrongfully obtained position. Macbeth also has many interactions with witches, who at the time are the definition of evil. One could say that Macbeth and depravity are two sides of the same coin. Macbeth is far more evil than any other character in the play, including Lady Macbeth. In the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth has the opportunity to kill Duncan herself, but refuses to do it. Although she grows impatient with her husband and does not have confidence in his ability to commit the murder, she is not the one who carries out the crime. “If the king hadn‘t looked like my father while he slept, I would have done it myself.” (2.2.14-15) These words spoken by Lady Macbeth are clear; she could not kill the king because Duncan reminded her of her father. This gives a perceptible trace of good within her because her excuse for not being able to murder Duncan is baseless. She could never have done it; her compassionate and sentimental side took over. One could argue that Lady Macbeth manages to manipulate her husband with remarkable effectiveness to kill the king. She overrides all his objections and morals. She repeatedly questions his manhood in order to make Macbeth feel that he must kill Duncan. Her remarkable strength of persistence does induce her husband's actions until the crimes have been perpetrated, but in the end Macbeth is the one who decided to proceed with th... ... middle of paper ... ... other hand, Macbeth feels no remorse. Macbeth is more evil because he has no sense of regret. At this time he also feels no sorrow when he finds out his wife has died. This only shows the man he became. He became a man with no concern with anything else, but to commit evil deeds to maintain power. His lack of emotions show him as more evil than his wife, who ends up committing suicide because she can no longer live with her actions. Ultimately, Macbeth is far more evil than any other character in the play, including Lady Macbeth. He becomes a man with no mercy or pity for anyone else. He is a man who lingers among witches. A man who sheds the blood of innocent people and feels no wrong in doing so. Macbeth who is diseased with ill ambition, wicked desire, and savage thoughts is the most prominent evil character in the play, whose evil is far superior to his wife’s.

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