Essay On The Effect Of Sin In Macbeth

Justin Kasey

English

Feb. 22, 2023

The Effect of Sin on Macbeth William Shakespeare, during his life, claimed to be a protestant Christian. Did this belief carry over to his writing? Looking at Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth starts with a good loyal soldier, the Thane of Glamis, named Macbeth. Macbeth was going home after a victorious war when three witches prophesied his rise to power, provoking him to murder the king and kill many people to keep his power. During this story, we can see Macbeth give in to temptation, and once he does the first heinous act of killing, he loses all of his morals and becomes ruthless and unrecognizable from Macbeth at the beginning of the play.

Macbeth’s military success turns into unbridled ambition when he

Adam and Macbeth both face the same consequence of death. Macbeth needed to trust that, in time, he would get the crown in a fair and moral way. Instead, he acted irrationally, gaining the crown through murder. This sin will plague him throughout the rest of the play.

After killing Duncan, Macbeth expresses remorse and guilt in Act 2, Scene 2: “I'll go no more: / I am afraid to think what I have done; / Look on't again I dare not.” Only after the deed was done did Macbeth understand the moral problem of killing someone, as he was overcome with guilt. Macbeth laments his past decision:

Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood

Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather

The multitudinous seas incarnadine,

Making the green one red.

Instead of using this time of remorse to admit what he did, Macbeth killed more people to cover up what he did. In Act 2, Scene 3, Macbeth explains why he can not return to his former way of living:

Had I but died an hour before this chance,

I had lived a blessèd time; for from this instant

There’s nothing serious in mortality.

All is but toys. Renown and grace is dead.

The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees

Is left this vault to brag

He was not watchful of the witches’ motives and got wrapped up doing exactly what they thought he would do. The Bible warns us about watching for the devil's traps. 1 Peter 5:8 ESV “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Later in the play, Hecate confirms that the witches were using Macbeth, saying, “Saucy and overbold, how did you dare / To trade and traffic with Macbeth / In riddles and affairs of death.” The witches completely confused Macbeth, causing him to act with less thought, make bad decisions, and hide his qualities of wisdom and grace. The Macbeth, who was so grieved after killing Duncan, changed to a ruthless leader who killed young Seward without a second thought. Macbeth did not only lose himself but also lost his friends, his wife, and the respect of his people, the things he valued most at the beginning of the