Macbeth, by William Shakespeare

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Recommended: Macbeths power dynamic

“Evil… is by definition a monster. It has a strange coercive force: a temptation, a mystery, a horrible charm” (Morrow 49). These words, written by Lance Morrow in a 1991 essay, could have been written about Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Evil is a conscious rejection of morals that causes pain to others. Evil is the force that causes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to plot murder; that drives Lady Macbeth to her death; that persuades Macbeth to commit further atrocities. Madness is an obsession with an idea or event, and related, abnormal, behavior. Madness evolves from evil, and evil is all pervading.

The evil in Macbeth initially stems from the three weird sisters and their message: “‘All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!’ / ‘All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!’ / ‘All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter’” (I. iii. 48-50)! The sisters serve Hecate, the goddess of dark magic. There is no obvious motive, just the pernicious act. Their message is initially rebuffed by Macbeth, but he is tempted with the idea of power and after he is declared thane of Cawdor, he becomes susceptible to their insidious ideas. “Why do I yield to that suggestion / whose horrid image doth unfix my hair / …against the use of nature” (I. iii. 48-50)? Macbeth writes to his wife and when she receives the letter, she initiates the plot for the death of the King of Scotland, Duncan. “Come, you spirits… / unsex me here… / and fill me… / of direst cruelty” (I. v. 135-137)! Lady Macbeth becomes obsessed with the plot and begins the fall into madness as she meditates murder. When she informs Macbeth of her decision, his loyalty to Duncan will not allow him to act upon Lady Macbeth’s wishes, but her madness tempts him and charms ...

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...ss evolves from evil, and evil can grow unchecked within madness. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are tempted and charmed by the driving forces of evil. Their own ambition and desire for power drive them to their evil actions and their actions lead them to madness. From this madness, evil grows stronger, the madness in their minds justifying the actions of evil. Eventually, it is this cycle of evil and madness that leads to Macbeth’s demise, as he believes himself invincible, only to be slain by Macduff in battle. Once unleashed, evil grows and begins a dance with madness. Evil feeding madness and madness justifying evil, operating in an eternally repetitive cycle, a continuous sequence, into which humans must not venture into too deeply, lest they be drawn in by the horrible charm of temptation.

Works Cited

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Evil by Lance Morrow

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