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Morality In Macbeth

1574 Words7 Pages

Without moral discipline, anarchy would arise- boundary, order, and control would cease to exist. Every day, humankind is in a constant battle between right and wrong, good and evil. Even a once noble person will turn to greed, betrayal, and guilt when deprived of their morals. The deprivation of morality and its effects reflect itself within the story The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were once noble people, but when exposed to the possibility of power and control, they turn corrupt, allowing their sinister thoughts to consume them. By portraying Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s loss of moral discipline, Shakespeare accentuates the calamitous corruption of human nature, and warns society that ambition without …show more content…

During the Renaissance, witchcraft was highly praised and believed in by many. The Renaissance, “like many European cultures of the period, medieval Scotland maintained a belief in witches, including their ability to make prophecies and to affect the outcome of certain events” (“The Historical Context of Macbeth”). Humankind during the Renaissance believed witches could control one’s outcome; therefore, the witches were able to manipulate the fates of people. Likewise, in Macbeth, Macbeth’s belief in the three witches leads to his impending death. Macbeth was told by the three witches that “the power of man; for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” (4.1.83). Macbeth trusts them and continues on to do as he pleases because he knows no one could harm him. However, his excessive confidence allows the witches to deceive him. He thought he would not fall until “Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him” (4.1.97), but the witches had twisted the truth and Macbeth is too arrogant to see the reality. Macbeth, who is excessively confident, who allows himself to be deceived, is ultimately killed by Macduff as a result of his overconfidence. By exhibiting Macbeth’s hubris, Shakespeare warns society when one is too confident, one will be blinded from reality, and it will lead to

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