Essay On Human Nature In Macbeth

Humans have the benefit of free will. Every person inherently has the potential for good and the potential for evil. Humans have innate qualities and weaknesses imbued into them from birth as well, although an individual has the will to decide which qualities and weaknesses to further enhance. If our strengths outweigh our weakness, we tend to be better individuals but if our weaknesses outweigh our strengths, we tend to be the opposite. Our greatest weaknesses is that we are purely self-interested and prideful. Our judgements tend to be distorted by pleasures and pains of the moment. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the tragic hero, Macbeth, starts out as a prestigious and honorable soldier but he succumbs to the dark shroud of ambition that falls upon him. Although Lady Macbeth and the three witches pester him into pursuing his desires, Macbeth chooses to go along with it, despite being fully aware of the inhumanity. He in turn, murders King Duncan to ensure his crown. This marks the start of a dark and cloudy path which leads to more bloodshed of innocent lives under the command of no other than the fated tyrant, Macbeth. The brutal massacre of Macduff’s family brings Macbeth and Macduff into the final duel and Macbeth ultimately meets his eternal slumber. The darkness and weakness in human nature is best exemplified by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who lust for power and ignore their intrusive impulse towards human decency and convince themselves that they can live with such heinous acts due to their ego and desires.

Macbeth shows the extent he would go to achieve his ambitions and he strays from the virtuous path. He starts to walk down the road of darkness with the guidance of the three hags and Lady Macbeth. At first, Macb...

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...is point in the play, she is seen as the epitome of evil.

Most of what is vile in human nature is demonstrated in the play, but the most profound darknesses in human nature is the ego and desires. Shakespeare has a deep understanding of the ugly side of human nature and he exploits it into many of his writings. “Macbeth” does an outstanding job of depicting human weaknesses and the evil that follows it. Ego and desire cloud our judgement and morality. We tend to ignore our innate human qualities when it comes to dealing with these two atrocious sides of human nature. The ego only has absurd desires. The ego is not the person, it is only the image you have of yourself, the idea you carry about who you are. Ego and desires are relatively linked to each other, and they come as one but are two entirely different ideals. They are humans’ greatest evils and weaknesses.