The fundamental moral issue is that evil is made possible because of man’s free will. But we learn that even the wicked can have virtue through repentance. The Thane of Cawdor is a traitor and he dies in I,4. It is not a manichean word: “ our life is a mingled yarn, good and evil together” ( All’s Well that Ends Well). The play is therefore more subtle since we find the presence of evil in the virtuous and of good in the wicked. It is a moral dimension that does not exist in Richard III. There is also a sort of philosophical issue: Macbeth is a brave soldier but a moral coward too: he is a brutal murderer feeling guilty. Lady Macbeth is the one who is really tempted.Ī lire : Structure in A Midsummer Night's Dream
It is comparable to Adam and Eve with the Serpent. Macbeth is the story of the temptation of a good man by witches. Macbeth is tortured between his erected wit and his infected will. Indeed, we learn in the beginning of his soliloquies that he knows very well what is good: in Act I, sc2, l.13, there is an enumeration of all reasons why he should not kill Duncan. The character of Macbeth is interesting because he is fully conscious of the horror of his deeds. The symbolism is obvious: it is light versus darkness, angels Vs devils and heaven Vs hell. The supernatural powers are represented by the Weird Sisters and Hecate, standing for the side of evil (disorder) and by the King of England, standing for the side of good (order). Macbeth is a tyrant (Cf Richard III) and Malcolm will be the good king (Cf Richmond). We find good only in secondary characters like Duncan or Malcolm. The play examines the possibilities of evil and centres on the villain-hero. Evil is concentrated in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who are influenced by the Weird Sisters.
He chooses treachery and crime, knows them for what they are and is totally aware he is doing evil. Macbeth is a villain but a more humanized character compared to Richard. It is the story of a murderer and usurper, like Richard III or Claudius (Hamlet) from crime to crime to achieve security. Macbeth was written by Shakespeare between 16, between Caesar and Hamlet.
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