Darkness By Macbeth's Evil Deed example essay topic

'Is He Good or Is He Bad?' In Macbeth, William Shakespeare portrays a particular kind of evil. As the character of Macbeth grows into darkness, he searches for more power. Every time Macbeth completes a battle for power, he lusts for more. In Act I, the witches state, 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair. ' This foreshadows the disorder and moral darkness in which Macbeth will plunge himself. Macbeth begins with a bright light of what he wants in his life; later on, he is persuaded by his wife and the witches to yearn for more power.

Macbeth turns from an essentially good character toward evil by giving into: his need for power, his insecurities about his relationship with his wife, and vengeance. First of all, Macbeth is easily persuaded into the idea of being king. The witches previously told the truth of Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawador, now why not move forward and become king. Yet, he knows the only way to become king is to have Duncan die first. In the beginning of Act I, Macbeth is satisfied with his status of living. He doesn't yearn for more, but it is implanted in his head that he wants more.

In Act I, Scene IV Macbeth takes one giant step towards evil. He states, 'Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires. ' He tries not to express his desires for he knows they are wrong. Macbeth rather hide what he wants then to do harm against others. Before returning home, Macbeth writes a letter to his wife telling her of all the predictions made by the witches.

Lady Macbeth definitely wants her husband to be king for selfish reasons. She knows that Macbeth will not cheat to get anything even if he wants something badly, so she Stipanov 2 drills in his head that she will leave him if he doesn't kill Duncan. Within Act I, Scene IV, Lady Macbeth states, 'Come, thick night, / And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell. ' In other words, if Macbeth takes a giant step towards evil, Lady Macbeth makes an even greater leap.

Once Macbeth returns home, Lady Macbeth takes charge and starts making plans for Duncan's murder immediately. Even when Macbeth tells his wife he cannot go through with the murder, she begins to mock him and tells him that he is a coward. In Act I, Scene VII, she twists the following idea into his head: 'I have given suck, and know / How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me: / I would, while it was sniffing in my face, / Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, / and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you / Have done to this. ' Macbeth is turned off by the idea of motherhood and decides to go through with the plan and the challenge of his manhood.

Within the beginning of Act II, Macbeth murders Duncan. After Duncan's murder, one can still see that Macbeth has a conscience. He is absolutely horrified by the crime that he has committed. In Act II, Scene II, Lady Macbeth states, 'These deeds must not be thought / After these ways; so, it will make us mad.

' She believes that Macbeth's action of killing Duncan is fine, and that all means for him becoming king should be forgotten. The torture Macbeth is going through by realizing that the murder he did is one of the most evil deeds ever committed. Macbeth states, 'Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather / The Stipanov 3 multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red. ' Macbeth never thought himself capable of such evil, and he would love to be able to undo what he has done. In Act II, Scene, Macbeth's conscience is slowly becoming lax.

When Macbeth hears of the murder from Lennox and Macduff, he simply responds, 'Twas a rough night. ' He and Lady Macbeth do an excellent job of pretending to be innocent. The theme of light and darkness comes into play in Scene IV of Act II. At this point it seems as though the entire country has plunged into darkness by Macbeth's evil deed. As Duncan's sons flee the country for the safety of their lives, Macbeth is crowned king. On the day of his induction, nature seems upset for it is dark during the day.

As Act II continues, Macbeth's desires and needs for power are even greater than they were before. Once he learns of Banquo's knowledge about the witches, Macbeth immediately sends for men to murder Banquo and Fleance. Another of the witches predictions is that a descendant of Banquo will become king. So, Macbeth decides that nothing can get in the way of his kingship. In Scene II of Act, the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth continues to go down hill. She wonders why Macbeth keeps things to himself: 'Why do you keep alone, / Of sorriest fancies your companions making?' She urges Macbeth to become practical.

Macbeth no longer has a conscience for he is not tortured by the past, but worried about the future. As Banquo's murder is completed, Macbeth loses his sense of right and wrong. His reaction to this murder is not as intense as the first one. Macbeth seems to show that once a person gives into the temptation of evil, his morals crumble. His conscience is becoming even Stipanov 4 more lax; he isn't upset over Banquo's death, yet he is upset over the fact that Fleance, Banquo's son, isn't dead as well. As the play rolls on, Macbeth's need for power increases and he becomes insecure about his position as king.

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth was sought out by the witches, yet now he is searching for them. The evil has taken over his entire body. Macbeth has now reached a point where he is willing to do anything; 'For mine own good / All causes shall give away' (Act, Scene V). He is no longer divided between good and evil as he was before Duncan's murder. By killing his king and having Banquo killed, Macbeth committed himself to a path for which there is no return.

The language in Act, Scene VI, used by Lennox suggests that they see Macbeth as more than just a tyrant; they consider him a devil. Lennox stated: 'Some holy angel / Fly to the court of England... that a swift blessing / May soon return to this our suffering country / under a hand accursed. ' In Act IV, Macbeth meets with the witches for the second time, except this time he found them. Yet, this time Macbeth is different then the one from Act I; this Macbeth is a man totally dedicated to evil. Within this act, Macbeth tells the witches that he does not care if the entire world goes into turmoil for he does not want any of his questions left unanswered.

This shows he no longer has a heart, and Macbeth's conscience is now totally down the tubes. In the end, Macbeth is murdered. The kingdom of Macbeth foreshadows the kingdom of heaven on earth. The blanket of dark portrays the evil within the play.

The tragedies are caused by the temptation of evil. (Hawkes 60) The witches are also supernatural powers of evil that show both the side of God Stipanov 5 and the devil. Simply, Lady Macbeth intrudes her duty to Macbeth. She doesn't consider the immoral consequences of the murder, yet seems to believe bad things are apart of life. Having put away the knowledge of good, Lady Macbeth is without charity (Glaser 242). Macbeth, at first, is able to tell the difference between good and evil.

In Act I, Scene VII, Macbeth states: 'Duncan... hath been / So royal 'of nature'. ' Yet, Macbeth never does the right thing; he is constantly afraid of going against his wife's wishes. Lady Macbeth cannot give Macbeth a lasting commitment of marriage because in the end Macbeth's evil is ten times as powerful as that of his wife's. Lady Macbeth's threats of violence are those that force cruelty upon Macbeth. Macbeth portrays a kind of evil that results from the lust of power.

One may not notice, but Macbeth's desire for power is stated in Act I, Scene, when Macbeth is greeted as Thane of Cawador. Macbeth states the following: 'This supernatural soliciting / Cannot be ill; cannot be good: / If ill, why hath it given me earnest of success, / Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawador: / If good, why do I yield to that suggestion / Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair, / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, / Against the use of nature? Present fears /... That function is smother'd in surmise, / And nothing is, but what is not. ' The values of which evil is defined are in some sense grounded in nature.

Another reason why Macbeth is so dark is that the striking emphasis on the unnaturalness Stipanov 6 of both the chief and the secondary events of uncertain expressions of the truth. For example, in Act IV, Macbeth speaks as though the reality is good, which is under false appearance because everything looks bad. This main action describes the hardening of a soul that is insensitive to evil and sensitive to persuasion. As one can see, the great idea of the symbols of light and dark in the play are phenomenal.

The light stands for life, virtue, and goodness, while darkness stands for evil and death. The idea that only in darkness can such evil deeds be done is present throughout the play, especially in the character of Macbeth. Much of Macbeth is filled with struggle between light and darkness. There is much light at the beginning of the play, but darkness slowly foreshadows all of it.

Truly, Macbeth yearned for more power and become quite greedy as the play went on. His battles for power continually increased. Macbeth put himself into a large, dark whole where he couldn't get himself out. His vulnerability into evil was due to the fact of vengeance, his need for power, and his insecurities.