Examples Of Evil In Macbeth

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Evil and Goodness are the oldest rivals known to man. They are complete opposites who are constantly at war. Evil, handsome on the outside, promising riches and prosperity to his new friends, gives nothing but pain and despair after gathering what man has payed of his life to him. Goodness, Evil’s hated sister, is a beautiful young woman. She may not promise riches as materialistic as Evil, but what is promised is given in the end, even when the man strays from her path on the way to her. William Shakespeare describes a battle between Goodness and Evil in a play titled, Macbeth. This play follows the story of a noble soldier by the name of Macbeth and his slow deterioration from a trusted nobleman to a greedy, murderous king with the

In many cases throughout the play, he shows the advantages that Evil has over Good. For example, while Macbeth considers the pros and cons of killing King Duncan, he realizes that Malcolm will become king before Macbeth ever does. While contemplating a solution, he thinks to himself, “Stars, hide your fires;/ Let not light see my black and deep desires./ The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be/ Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see” (Shakespeare 1.4.52-55). Macbeth sends a message that it doesn’t matter if Macbeth hides his Evil from himself because it is in his nature to do what will get him what he wants.This shows that Evil can have a great impact on man’s decisions when he has the advantage of a giving the man just what he desires, no matter how dark. This is a huge advantage over Good because it is not in her nature to fulfill man’s dark wishes, making her path look less rewarding to man. Evil is also a very devious master of disguise, making him more powerful. As Macbeth discusses with his wife the plan of action for how they will kill Banquo, he tells Lady Macbeth, “And so, I pray, be you. Let your remembrance/ Apply to Banquo; present him eminence,/ Both with eye and tongue: unsafe the while that we/ Must lave our honors in these flattering streams,/ And make our faces vizards to our hearts,/ Disguising what they are” (Shakespeare 3.2.32-37). This excerpt presents the eye

For example, after killing King Duncan, Macbeth goes home to Lady Macbeth, traumatized from the experience, while Lady Macbeth, in attempt to snap him back into it, argues, “The sleeping and the dead/ Are but as pictures. 'Tis the eye of childhood/ That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,/ I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal,/ For it must seem their guilt” (Shakespeare 2.2.52-57). Shakespeare’s use of the eye in this particular scene shows that Good uses the emotion of man to defeat Evil. She knows that it is in man’s nature to fall under his own emotions. It is in human nature to a let emotion play a huge role in one’s actions, so this makes for a very powerful tactic for Good to use. Even with these advantages, Goodness can still fall under Evil; however, one thing that Goodness can do that Evil cannot is get up after she has been knocked down. After talking to the doctor, Malcolm tells Macduff of King Edward, a man who is known to have healing powers: “How he solicits heaven,/ Himself best knows, but strangely visited people,/ All swoll'n and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye,/ The mere despair of surgery, he cures” (Shakespeare 4.3.151-154). The eye in this excerpt represents the power of Good overtaking Evil. The doctor’s healing powers overtake Evil’s of disease and pain in the body. This shows that