Macbeth as an Absolute Evil in Tragedy Macbeth - Essay Example

If Macbeth were so absolutely evil as Lady Macbeth (apparently) is, would "Macbeth" still be a tragedy? The story of Macbeth by Shakespeare fundamentally revolves around the character of Macbeth whom the play is named after. Macbeth had the thirst of being a king and could do this only by getting Duncan who was a Scottish king out of the way. In this play, it mostly defines the repercussions one faces because of the acts one does earlier. Lady Macbeth died because of what she had done earlier, Banquo died because she knew all that entailed the killing of Duncan. Macbeth killed Duncan because he had the thirst for power and his wife pressurized him into it. The knowledge impacted by Lady Macbeth to Macbeth made him uncomfortable simply because he was not as evil as his wife, though he proceeded according to his wife’s directions because he deemed it important to get power. The play clearly explains that Macbeth was not as evil as the role he played obeying his wife. Macbeth decided to murder Duncan, who was the king, though he was afraid to carry out this. Lady Macbeth-his wife convinced him to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth fundamentally encouraged Macbeth to kill Duncan. This made Macbeth a conspirator in killing Duncan. Lady Macbeth only talked about the killing of Duncan but lacked the guts to carry out the act. Lady Macbeth reiterated that Duncan resembled her dad. That was the main excuse she gave to have Macbeth do the act. Lady Macbeth instead, convinced Macbeth to kill the king so that he could no longer wait to have the throne in his hands. He decided to do as Lady Macbeth had advised him. Lady Macbeth found herself in extreme guilt after committing the crime. Lady Macbeth is indeed, an important character in the playbecause she represented a wicked woman who drove her husband into the land of sins. Macbeth could not be as big a tragedy as it is if he had been as evil as Lady Macbeth. This is fundamentally because the tragedy emerges from the conversion of a normal person into a criminal, upon following a wicked wife. Most of the crimes that Macbeth committed were directed by Lady Macbeth. Macbeth killed the Thane of Cawdor because he led a revolution against England which was under the ruling of King Duncan. The killing of the Thane of Cawdor by Macbeth received recognition from King Duncan who promised Macbeth the throne once he abandoned the power. The Thane of Cawdor was also greedy for power as the revolution he led was meant to oust King Duncan of England from his throne. In the long run, he deserved to die because of his greediness for power. These were the repercussions for the greed for authority. Macbeth is a tragedy because Macbeth did what he would not have done had he not had such an evil wife. Macbeth’s innocence exaggerates the effect of tragedy. We also see that Lady Macbeth was a conspirator in the killing of Duncan. She had never been directly involved in the killing of any party in the play because she would always give excuses, as she gave for not killing Duncan. If Lady Macbeth had been in such a situation, she could not have carried out the action because of the ample guilt she would have expected to follow her act. Lady Macbeth was not even sincere to Macbeth for she convinced him to do something, having done which would have put her into a life-long guilt. That means she did not really care for her husband. Lady Macbeth was not only evil, she also acted as a coward. Macbeth is a tragedy because Lady Macbeth used Macbeth as a tool to escape her own guilt. This is a very important cause of a reader’s emotional link with the play. Macbeth also killed Banquo for he had witnessed the killing of King Duncan. Banquo knew that Macbeth had murdered King Duncan upon the directions of his wife. This led to the disintegration of his personality because of the immense guilt he later carried for his heinous act. Macbeth plotted various murders that lead to the death of Duncan and Banquo so as to secure the throne that he had long been promised. The sons of Duncan flee to England to escape the adversities that have befallen them as no one around could help them. Macbeth also pretended that he suspected the soldiers for the king’s murder and killed them when they woke up. This way, he indirectly assumed power. However, the ghosts of Banquo attacked Macbeth in revenge later. Lady Macbeth treated Macbeth like a puppet. It is evident from the decisions she forced him into. Macbeth idiotically followed her. Initially, Macbeth hesitated to carry out murder. The wicked lady questioned his virility and blackmailed him in order to get him do the job. This implies that if Macbeth had the character as Lady Macbeth, his sinful conduct would not have been that dramatic. The murder of Banquo was significantly related to the murder of the king as she had all the evidence that proved Macbeth a killer. The evil nature of Lady Macbeth is further displayed when she plans to get the soldiers of Duncan drunk. She did that to get them blacked out on the morning of the killing and not remain in a position to defend the king as they would not be able to find out what might have happened. Though, after having the king killed, Lady Macbeth could not sustain the guilt and died of madness. These were the repercussions of her heinous influence on her husband. She was too cowardly to sustain the guilt of murder, yet she made her husband do it. Her extent of wickedness can not be defined in words. Macbeth was initially just in his actions. The tragedy originates from the wrath of his morality and mannerism. A careful analysis of the play suggests that Macbeth was always convinced into crime by others. The witches led Macbeth to truly evil thoughts mostly after the declaration that Macbeth could take over the throne. Before that, Macbeth was one of the bravest soldiers that King Duncan had, though he did not have unusually respectable virtues. This was because the temptations he entered into were keen enough to crown him the King of Scotland. Upon having crowned king of Scotland, Macbeth already assumed a lot of power. Macbeth’s rise to being the king displayed him as a tyrant because a lot of individuals were ready to sacrifice their lives to pick up that position. The guilt that Macbeth had was so exceedingly great to him that, in some situations, he did some actions that he could not justify to himself. This makes him ignore the effects of the atrocities he committed to the concerned individuals. Banquo was an objection that they had to conquer in order to satisfy their selfish ambitions. The killing of Banquo by Macbeth fulfils one of their ambitions of becoming king but later the ghosts of Banquo come back to haunt Macbeth. The ghosts also reiterated that Macbeth could have copied the consent of Banquo towards the witches. The King of Scotland had already had remarkably pleasant thoughts of crowning Macbeth for the role he had played in preventing his fall from the throne. The king was exceptionally virtuous, that he promised Macbeth the throne though, he did not know that this would have a negative impact on Macbeth. The king wanted to reward the finest works of Macbeth. However, Macbeth chose a sinful way to achieve all what he could have achieved righteously. This is indeed, the tragedy of Macbeth. The various examples in the play show that had Macbeth been as hugely evil as his wife, the various atrocities could not be committed. Lady Macbeth acted as a catalyst, and a driving force for most of the things that were in place, including the murder of Banquo. The murder of Banquo came as a result of the death of King Duncan of Scotland. This is because, everything related to Duncan’s killing was in the knowledge of Banquo, thus he served as a source of evidence especially to Macduff who was the closest friend. His evidence could have denied Macbeth the possession of his throne. In conclusion, the various actions should be directed to Lady Macbeth because of her, exceptionally influential capacity to affect the various decisions. Had Macbeth been as cruel as his wife, the play would not have been as big a tragedy as it is today because all murders would have directly involved Macbeth and not his wife. Lady Macbeth only influenced decisions to work her way without her physical involvement in them. The play also shows that everyone was accountable for whatever decision or action he/she took. For example, King Duncan’s virtuosity of offering Macbeth the throne led to his death because of the greed that Macbeth had while the death of Banquo was as a result of knowing what had happened to King Duncan. The Macbeths wanted to keep it a secret, so they killed Banquo. The wife to Macbeth should fundamentally be held accountable for the outcomes that befell her and also Macbeth. The character of Lady Macbeth assumes a very important role in the whole play. Without that, the play would have lost much of its charisma and tragedy. Read More