In Macbeth Shakespeare focuses on the evil consequences of one manâs thrust for power. Through their prophecies, the witches plant an evil seed in Macbethâs mind which has numerous repercussions, not only for Macbeth but for the King, his family and the people of Scotland. Â Shakespeare shows that once his ambition has been inflamed, no one is immune from the consequences. Whilst both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth sacrifice their honour and pay a heavy price, many others are also killed to satisfy their thirst for power.
From the opening scene, it becomes clear that the witches are determine to use their supernatural powers to plant the seeds of evil and to undermine Macbethâs honour. They create moral havoc by targeting his ambition. If the witches state that âfair is foul and foul is fairâ, Macbeth soon finds that the prophecies âcannot be ill cannot be goodâ. Â When the witches plant the seed that Macbeth is likely to become King, Macbeth is captivated by their prophecies. âI stood rapt in the wonder of itâ. It is his ambition that promotes evil thoughts that undermine his sanity and corrupt him. As Shakespeare shows, Macbethâs ambition creates âpresent fearsâ that are linked with âdeep and dark desiresâ and that encourage him to put aside his moral compunctions. Â After he commits the murders, he again seeks out the witches who give him a false sense of confidence. They predict that he will be safe from harm and Macbeth continues on his killing spree.
Lady Macbeth continues the corruption begun by the witches which has an immediate effect on Macbeth and a long-term corrosive effect on herself. Â Shakespeare depicts the transformative power of evil as Lady Macbeth becomes âtop â full of Direst Crueltyâ in order to encourage Macbeth to murder King Duncan. She manipulates him, criticises his manhood and suggests that he is cowardly. She states that she would have plucked a baby from her breast and âdashâd the brains outâ had she so broken a promise as Macbeth seems to be doing. Whilst she intimidates Macbeth and convinces him that it is cowardly to thwart oneâs desires, she, ironically, pays the heaviest price. Her belief that a âlittle water clears us of this deedâ returns to haunt her as she becomes increasingly obsessed with the evil she has unleashed. She is unable to remove neither the stain nor the deaths. She is also dismayed at the tyrant that continues unabated.
Owing to both the influence of the witches and Lady Macbeth, Macbeth succumbs to evil and pays a heavy price. Foolishly, he sets aside his scepticism and renounces his honour as he contemplates the âdeep and dark desiresâ. His conscience alerts him to the evil nature of murder; he is fully aware of the âeven â handed justiceâ or âjudgementâ which instructs people about good and evil. He also knows that âBloody instructions return to plague the inventorâ.  Most importantly, Macbeth knows that he should not commit evil deeds, because his conscience will torment him and undermine his honour. Despite all this, Macbeth wields the dagger and King Duncan becomes his first victim. He suffers the shocking consequences of Macbethâs âoverleapingâ ambition that causes a  âheat-oppressed brainâ to turn towards evil.
Macbeth continues to pay a heavy price and does not enjoy his royal status. Owing to his conscience, Macbeth becomes paranoid and guilt gives way to hallucinations and âstrange self-abuseâ. Macbeth becomes suspicious of everyone. He tries to harden himself to the pangs of his conscience. He wants to fight fear and become fearless by killing more people. He states, âtâis the initiate Fear that wants hard Useâ. Macbeth has become a cruel tyrant and transforms Scotland into a country âalmost afraid to know itselfâ. He sets spies on each of his thanes and even distrusts the witches for he is determined to make âassurance double sureâ by slaughtering Macduffâs entire family. This propels him  to the final showdown.
So the evil effects spread throughout Scotland, and even Banquo suffers from the cruel effects of evil. Banquo is honourable and rightly dismisses the witches even though they predict that his sons will be king. Because of this secret knowledge, Banquo becomes Macbethâs second victim. Macbeth feels that âunder him my genius is rebukedâ. He is killed while his son Fleance escapes.
Tragically, many lives are lost because of one coupleâs ambition. They both sacrifice their honour and do not enjoy their status because they become paranoid about the consequences. Once Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to commit murder, there is no stopping him. To soften his conscience, he continues killing and changes the whole atmosphere of Scotland. No one escapes. The citizens are so sick of the tyrant that they are relieved by his death. Â Shakespeare shows that one manâs evil thirst for power does not pay and many other suffer a heavy price.
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