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Honor And Loyalty In Macbeth

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The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare set in Scotland about a murderous and vehement king who spirals on a path of destruction as he suffers from the consequences of determining his own fate. The predominant theme portrayed throughout the play is honor vs. loyalty. This is represented through the identification, actions, and quotes of numerous characters. To introduce the theme of honor vs. disloyalty, the characters Banquo and Macbeth exemplify traits that are equivalent with the moral of the story. In various parts of the play, Banquo can be characterized as loyal, thoughtful, and trustworthy. These traits are consistent with an honorable person and they are shown as Banquo constantly submits his allegiance to Macbeth. Although …show more content…

For example, Malcolm stated, “Macduff, this noble passion, child of integrity, hath from my soul wiped the black scruples, reconciled my thoughts to thy good truth and honor.” (Act IV, Scn. III, Ln. 114-117) In this quote, Malcolm just finished testing Macduff’s loyalty to him and Scotland. Macduff openly admits that Malcolm would make and unsuccessful king. Instead of lying to Malcolm to make him feel better about himself, Macduff tells him the truth. This proves to Malcolm that Macduff could be trusted in their plot against Macbeth. This act of loyalty differs from Lady Macbeth who lies to her son about his father, Macduff. Lady Macbeth tells him, “Sirrah, your father’s dead; and what will you now? How will you live?” (Act IV, Scn. III, Ln. 30-31) Lady Macbeth puts disloyalty above honesty by lying to her son in order to cover up the fact that Macduff has apparently fled from Scotland. Although he is actually in England plotting against Macbeth, this does not keep her from lying to her son in order to keep him from feeling betrayed by his father’s retreat. This particular event also further proves the theme of honor vs. disloyalty. Finally, both of the quotes above show the quintessential impact of the theme on the

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