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Macbeth: Are People Born Good Or Evil?

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Are people born good or evil? Or do things throughout their life change them into who they are today? In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth, was destined to be evil. Macbeth goes from being praised in the beginning to becoming an evil murderer in the end. He was destined to be evil because he had bad thoughts own his own, killed the king and continued to kill more people by the end of the play.

Macbeth is destined to be evil from the beginning and even has bad thoughts before he talks to his wife, Lady Macbeth. The witches tell him that he is going to become Thane of Cawdor and Thane of Glamis, but they do not tell him how he will become thane. His thoughts conflict because he is wondering if this is a good or bad thing. "Cannot be ill; cannot be good. If ill, / Why hath it given me earnest of success / Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor. / If good, why do I yield to that suggestion / Whose horrid image doth undid my hair / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs / Against the use of nature?" (Act I, scene ii) Macbeth wonders why the witches prophecies seem to be both good and bad. They seem good because he became Thane but also bad because he is thinking of murder. Macbeth's evil thoughts grew without the help of Lady Macbeth, showing that he does have evil within him and not just because of his wife. …show more content…

Macbeth says, "If we should fail?" To this Lady Macbeth says, "But screw your courage to the sticking place," Macbeth responds, "I am settled and bend up / Each corporal agent to this terrible feat."(Act I, scene vii) The amount of persuading Macbeth had to hear to convince him to kill the king, shows that he already partially had his mind made up about killing him. Having bad thoughts is not good, but what makes him evil is that he acts on

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William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a testimony to the difference between greed and ambition, good and evil, and right and wrong. The story shows that when one becomes obsessed with power, they will often resort to methods of manipulation and retaliation to achieve their desired outcome. In the case of Macbeth, he is approached by the Three Witches who inform him that he will one day become Thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland. Additionally, they inform Macbeth’s comrade Banquo that his sons will one day be kings.

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Macbeth a brave and loyal thane to a murderous and evil king. As we all know that the main reason that macbeth became evil was because of the three witches and the prophecy that they told macbeth. They told him that he would first become thane of cawdor and then he would become the king of poland. At first macbeth was happy because he became thane of cawdor formerly he was the thane of glamis but then he had thoughts of killing king duncan who was the current king of poland so he could become the king of poland

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When Macbeth learns he becomes Thane of Cawdor, he seemed satisfied with the idea of small power. It was later when his wife, Lady Macbeth, mocks and demeans his manliness when he plots series of murders to secure his throne. Although, Lady Macbeth does seem like a stronger more ambitious character than her husband, Macbeth does go through with the murder of Duncan. Ambition and power become the most important aspects of Macbeth’s life, without analyzing any of the consequences brought upon his actions. Macbeth’s guilt does lead him to mental anguish and hallucinations.

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Macbeth's tragic downfall is caused by his gullibility with regards to the witches because he believes their prophecies and puts his faith in them. When Macbeth first hears the prophecies, he is doubtful but when the first part of the prophecy comes true, he trusts the witches. When this part-being named the Thane of Cawdor-occurs, Macbeth states,"Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor: The

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Macbeth is skeptical about what the witches said, but when King Duncan said that Macbeth will be known as Thane of Cawdor Macbeth cannot believe that the witches are true. This makes Macbeth unaware and unsure of what to do. Lady Macbeth persuades him into kill Duncan so that he would be king. Macbeth is weary at first, but when he becomes king the greed for

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At the beginning of the play Marson stated that Macbeth is portrayed as “valiant, dutiful to his sovereign, mild, gentle, and ambitious” (68). However, soon Macbeth is welcomed by the three witches and they speak their prophecy and declare him Thane of Cawdor. Still, Macbeth’s mental state is not shaken up, however, he is in a delusional state of mind. Macbeth rejoices and sends a letter to Lady Macbeth knowing that the witches’ prophecies come true. At the time, Macbeth has no interest in killing King Duncan, but Lady Macbeth does.

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Macbeth was already Thane of Glamis and he had been given the position of Thane of Cawdor but he didn’t know about it. Also the three sisters told Macbeth that he would be king. After hearing this prediction his mind got totally tempted to kill the king. His interpretation of what the witches said was that he needed to kill the king so he could become king.

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From the very beginning of the play, Macbeth is presented as a brave and honorable soldier who has won the respect and admiration of his peers. However, when he receives the prophecy from the witches, his desire for power overrides his sense of morality, and he begins to consider the possibility of killing Duncan. In Act 1, Scene 7, Macbeth admits that he is "settled, and bend up / Each corporal agent to this terrible feat" (1.7.92-93), referring to his plan to kill the king. This quote shows that Macbeth has made a conscious decision to commit a heinous act, and he is willing to use all his resources to achieve

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At the beginning of William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ the protagonist Macbeth is described as ‘brave’, ‘noble’ and ‘honourable’, however Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeths desire for power consumes them. Macbeth’s ambition overrides his conscience and transformed his greatest strength into his greatest weakness. Macbeth’s inability to resist temptations that led him to be greedy for power, Macbeth’s easily manipulative nature which allowed his mind to be swayed, Macbeth having no self control and his excessive pride was what allowed him to renew his previously honourable and celebrated title into one of an evil ‘tyrant’. Macbeth is led by the prophecies of the witches after they foretell he will become the Thane of Cawdor. Not only the witches, but also his wife easily manipulate Macbeth as she attacks his manhood in order to provoke him to act on his desires.

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For Macbeth, he is motive by the fulfill of the prophecies, which facilitate the growth of ambition. “He will be fooled into thinking he is greater than fate, he will mock death, and he will think he is above wisdom, grace, and fear.” (Crowther.3.5.2). As Hecate, the head of the witches suggests, the prophecies are made to fool Macbeth and lead him into the completely wicked way of killing people in order to satisfy his intrigued ambition and paranoid thoughts. In other words, the deterioration of Macbeth’s character and all the immoral practice done by Macbeth and her wife predominantly provoked by the prophecies, which in fact, only contains one piece of real information, possession of The Thane of Cawdor by Macbeth.

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