Preview

Good And Evil In Shakespeare's Macbeth

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
157 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Good And Evil In Shakespeare's Macbeth
In Shakespeare’s, Macbeth, the character lady Macbeth appears as an innocent woman, when in reality she is corrupt and evil, revealing that things are not always how they seem. As Lady Macbeth says “That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty!” This shows how she is starting to fall apart. By Lady Macbeth wanting to completely change her sex also shows how she doesn’t feel complete being who she is and she feels the need to be more masculine. Lady Macbeth slowly shows how she is becoming more evil through the quote “My hands are of your colour, but I shame to wear a heart so white.” This represents how Lady Macbeth was able to get her hands bloody despite the evil murdering

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Lady Macbeth Quotes

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages

    She challenges the natural order of things. "Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood; stop up the passage to remorse." Is a quote made by Lady Macbeth describing her wanting to get rid of her kind feelings of femininity and fill her up with cruelty that of a man so that she can commit the murder herself. Macbeth once implies that his wife Lady Macbeth is a masculine soul inhabiting a female body. Femininity it self is seen to a degree as a source of evil and violence, but they rely more on deception and manipulation. Because of this stereotypical portrayal of women it is argued that Macbeth is a misogynistic play. Furthermore Shakespeare plays on the idea of the natural state of woman and men and of that of nature. These symbols help to reinforce the theme of nature and…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show the first instances of this peculiar gender role reversal, which occurs exceptionally early in the play when Macbeth is conflicted with the choice of either killing Duncan as according to the plan or spare his life as he begins to see the true wickedness of this act. Here Macbeth exhibits weakness, an inability to do something treacherous and soul…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    However, this first evil deed leads him to carelessly murdering others, including the guards, Banquo, the attempted murder of Fleance Macduff family. Macbeth is leaving Lady Macbeth out of his plans to kill Banquo, Fleance and Macduff’s family. At the dinner party Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth, “We have scorched the snake, not killed it.”(III. Ii. 15). Lady Macbeth is first hearing about Macbeth’s further actions to kill Banquo. This also shows Macbeth is willing to do whatever it takes to gain power.…

    • 82 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    This essay will study and confer the vast number of contradicting ideas of good and bad evident in the play Macbeth.…

    • 645 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth filled with morality and respect, is very loyal to king Duncan. When Macbeth is first introduced, his bravery on the battlefield leads Duncan into crowning him with the formal tittle of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth could not imagine committing treason of any kind because of his profound regard for the king. The encounter and the prophecies of the three witches triggered Macbeth’s ambitious nature. They appear to him with visions into his future saying, “ All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.52) From this point on, Macbeth begins to think about his desire to be king,…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Shakespeare created a play titled The Tragedy of Macbeth, which is set in Scotland. In the tale, Macbeth who is driven by the desire of power goes down a dark, bloody, and destructive path to overcome those he sees as a threat once he becomes king.Macbeth’s malicious actions later lead to his horrific murder. The essential theme is the characteristics of Good vs. Evil shown throughout the kingdom of Scotland.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Role Of Evil In Macbeth

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A mere thought can be a dangerous thing capable of bringing many lives and nations into ruin. When the seed of doubt is planted; it slowly manifests, eating away at one's reasoning eventually blinding them to all logic. If not recognised and treated as what it is it could destroy your life but it will inevitably change you whether for better or worse. William Shakespeare illustrated this in his play Macbeth. Some may say that the weird sisters within the play are responsible for the actions of Macbeth and that his wife, Lady Macbeth, acted as a catalyst to persuade and manipulate Macbeth to commit regicide, but truly all they did was simply put thoughts into his head. They set the play in motion but Macbeth is fully responsible for his own…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Banquo Changes

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Throughout the play Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have seen many changes within themselves. In the beginning, Macbeth was friends with Banquo. He stuck through what happened with the witches and throughout meeting the king but after that, he saw him as an enemy when Banquo did not do anything to provoke him. Macbeth turned into a sour, arrogant man with only the intentions of keeping himself and his title safe. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth was bitter about her gender and how everyone would look at her and immediately assume she was innocent and fragile. She wanted to be seen as an equal to the men. Throughout the Acts, however, she went from giving approval to, and even almost forcing, Macbeth to kill Duncan to not being satisfied with him wanting to kill Banquo. She thought that if he put what they did to Duncan in the back of his mind that all would be well.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Stereotypes In Macbeth

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages

    When she receives a letter from Macbeth that says he is willing to kill King Duncan, she talks to the spirits in her mind and says: “Unsex me here/ and fill me from the crown to the toe/ top full of direst cruelty!” (1.5.46-49). In fact she wants the spirits to strip her of her feminine traits, make her strong, and let her commit a crime without regretting it in the future. With all of these dark thoughts that she has in her mind, she still tries to act nice and compassionate in the public, so that nobody can realize what plans they have. Macbeth also wants her to act this way and he thinks that “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.” (1.7.92). He tells Lady Macbeth that the face should hide what the “false heart” has inside, because he is aware of Lady Macbeth’s personality and he points it out by telling her: “Bring forth men-children only/ for thy undaunted mettle should compose” (1.7.80-81) which shows that he believes Lady Macbeth does not have a proper action as a woman and she only should have “men-children”, meaning boys. Her effort towards having the qualities of the opposite gender helps her to do what a woman would not usually do; it helps her to plan a murder and be the reason of…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth, friend, don’t be lured by the siren’s call. Be neither quick nor slow to believe their words of forbidden fruit. Don’t be tricked by them so easily. Be the man you know you are, and don’t be manipulated by these witches of misery. Surely, that is all to follow if you do. Misery. Misery and the revocation of you ever being a man.…

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth is a play full of darkness, evil, and tragedy. It is the story of a…

    • 1224 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Evil in Macbeth is very frequent. In this story, the act of being evil is transferred from the villain to the hero. King Duncan is the ruler at the start of the Shakespearean play, but Macbeth wants to be the next King. In order for Macbeth to have potential to be the next reign he must kill Banquo's sons because according to the Witches' prophecies, his sons will follow King Duncan. Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's wife was thrilled he could become King so she came up with a plan to murder Duncan. At first, Macbeth was opposed to being evil, but as the course of the play he became more powerful and courageous. Duncan's murder, Banquo's murder, and the death of Lady Macbeth are some of the few reasons of as to why Macbeth was a very evil play.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lady Macbeth Gender Roles

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the play, The Tragedy of Macbeth Shakespeare shows how Macbeth turns from being an average man to an evil one. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth both display characteristics that are not female or male. Throughout the play it is presented how gender does not represent a person for who they are and isn’t based on how they act. Lady Macbeth gains manlike roles that show her bravery but also a deranged mind. Unlike Lady Macbeth, Macbeth shows discourage and is doubtful. The gender parts particularly Lady Macbeth’s are appeared all through the play by her getting to be overwhelmed by ambition and manly qualities.…

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “unsex me here and fill me from top to toe full of direst cruelty”. This show that she is capable of committing the act whilst she has no womanly feelings. This is the first time she shows herself as being truly evil as her voice ferocious and strong whereas before she would talk to her husband very softly which now portrays her as a rather violent…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Do people commit different acts of evil? Are all acts of evil equal or different? In current time there are different punishments for different crimes committed. If a person commits a murder then they could be put in jail for life. While another person who robbed a bank might only be in prison for ten years. If there were only one form of evil then should the punishment for all crimes be the same? The different types of evil can be caused by different reasons and lead to many different consequences. In the tragedy of Macbeth different forms of evil, starting from the thought of committing the evil act to the impact, is shown through the characters and their actions such as murder, treason, and lying . Within the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth commit many evil acts such as murder, treason, and lying. Both of them have different reasons for each crime they commit, either it being greed or the desire for power.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays