Potential for Evil in Shakespeare's Macbeth

Macbeth and the Human Potential for Evil

Macbeth is a study of the human potential for evil; it illustrates, though not completely in a religious context, the Christian concept of humanity’s loss of God’s grace. The triumph of evil in a man with many good qualities becomes evident, as the reader is made aware that the potential for evil is frighteningly present in all of humanity and needs only wrong circumstances and a relaxation of our desire for good to consume ones mind. The good in Macbeth cries out poingnantly through his feverish imagination, but the instigation of a supernatural power, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth’s worldy ambition all combine to crush his better nature.

Shakespeare’s depiction of supernatural evil in Macbeth takes shape within

Macbeth who himself is the representation of the supernatural world; this is seen as his ambition leads him to a dependence on the Witches as well as their predictions, and it is this dependence which consumes him and allows the evil and supernatural to command his life. Evil exhists outside the protagonist in the world of black magic, represented most strikingly by the Witches. The appearance of these embodiments of the Devil in the opening act establishes the play’s tone of mysterious evil. The Witches cause Macbeth to respond in ways that along with the Witches predictions, fuel his ambition. When

Macbeth finally recognizes that their predictions were not what they seemed, he denounces “ ‘th’ equivocation of the fiend, that lies like the truth’” As the words roll off his tongue Macbeth touches on the Witches most important quality, that they deform the lives they interfere with because they disturb a nec...

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...ower of evil. Macbeth succombs to the temptation in an almost ritualistic way. He acknowledges each evil and then proceeds, prepared to accept “deep damnation” from the time he first recognizes temptation until he is left with no alternative (1.7). Eventhough Macbeth is equipped with this knoweledge, a down-hill spiral begins and ulitmately it leads to his demise.

Macbeth which encompasses some of Shakespeare’s greatest poetry, offer one of literatures most striking accounts of an individuals soul’s descent into the darkness of evil, and its resulting isolation from society. Macbeth’s rejection of morality, and its consequences-the loss of his soul and the disruption of the society that he influences- horrifies the reader. This is a tragedy that is as terrifying as the plots and wars of real kings and usurpers of Shakespeare’s time.