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Nature And Evil In Macbeth

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Arshdeep Singh
Mrs. Rossi
ENG3U
May 01 2017
The evilness of the Macbeth vs Nature condemning evil

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, nature itself reacts to some of the events in a supernatural manner. The topic of natural versus unnatural comes various times throughout the Macbeth. Natural is what is good and unnatural is what is bad, or evil. In medieval times, it was believed that the health of the country was directly related to the goodness and the moral legitimacy of its king. If the king was good then the nation would have good harvests and weather. If there was a political order, then there would be natural order. In Macbeth, when characters do something considered evil, unnatural things happen. In Macbeth, the supernatural …show more content…

(1, 3, 51 to 53)

When Macbeth first hears the prediction, Macbeth questions the witches, and demands more from them, and then ponders what the prophecy might mean. Macbeth’s only large speech here directed totally to the witches, which shows his interest in their prophesy, for he begs them three times for more information. Between these lines Macbeth says;
Tell me more. By Sinel’s death I know I am
Thane of Glamis. But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor………. Say from whence you owe this strange intelligence or why upon this blasted heath……… Speak, I charge you. (1, 3, 73 to 81)

The prophecy that revealed that he would be the king was the first thought that he had to kill the king Duncan. Even though, Macbeth once thought about to kill Duncan but it was not possible, if lady Macbeth did not convince him.. Macbeth hesitates to kill Duncan because he has a change of mind. He begins to thinking about the fact that Duncan has recently honored him by promoting him to the position of thane of Cawdor. This shows that Macbeth still has good in him. However, Macbeth’s decision to not to kill Duncan is overruled by lady Macbeth. She insults Macbeth’s manhood and calls him a coward. She …show more content…

This shows that after committing another evil deed Macbeth has become unstable and his mental health begins to deteriorate. Macbeth has lost the good that he had in him. He totally became a corrupted and a evil king who only cares about to keep the power. This also relates with the theme of nature seems to be condemning evil because only Macbeth knew that Banquo has been killed and the nature condemns evil by only letting Macbeth to see Banquo’s ghost. The play Macbeth is a true tragedy, in which murders take place in order for man to take the throne and to become a king. It starts with Duncan’s murder, then the murder of Banquo. Once, Duncan and Banquo were out of the way, Macbeth turns his attention to kill Macduff. Macbeth chooses to murder Macduff, a man who Macbeth himself said was a good man and a fine leader. At this point in the play, Macbeth has lost all touch with moralistic value and rational thought. He is so fearful of losing his crown that he will do anything to protect it. When Macduff was absent from Macbeth’s inauguration, Macbeth grew suspicious of him and decided to kill his family. The reason of killing Macduff’s family was to clear the bloodline.
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For instance, he commits multiple murders after he gets the title of King. The murder of his own friend Banquo, the attempted murder of Banquo's son Fleance, and the murder of Macduff's family all were committed to fueling his growing obsession with maintaining his status and power. Nearing the end of the play, his determination completely takes over him and leads to his downfall. The witches give Macbeth more insight near the end of the play, communicated through visions and apparitions. The apparitions tell macbeth: “Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, beware Macduff; / Beware the Thane of Fife.

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“To know my deed, twere best not know myself.” (2.2.92) Another death caused by Macbeth was the murder of Macduff's family. Macduff was a nobleman who had suspicions about Macbeth's true intentions. He decided he would go to England to speak with Malcom, King Duncan's eldest son. Together they shared opinions about Macbeth's tyranny over Scotland.

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His desire for the crown outweighed his conscience to do what was morally right. Now, void of morality, he kills the guards to cover up and divert any suspicion from himself. And, as his thrust for power grows, he kills his friend Banquo to eliminate all threats that would stand in his way. His tyranny did not stop there; not only was he a lying murderer, but he now personified evil as he set eye on “The castle of Macduff” by ordering the killing of everyone in the household (4.1.151). Macbeth reigned with fear, berating those around him or killing them to maintain control.

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In act 4 scene 1 Macbeth orders for the murder of macduff's entire family. In act 4 scene 2 the murders take place, and in act 4 scene 3 macduff hears of his family's slaughter. It is then, when it dawns on the reader the true extent of Macbeth's cruelty. He thinks it fit to murder people who play no part in his war for power, simply because it will send a message to those who oppose him. His id allows him to commit such atrocities remorselessly because it has overpowered his ego and superego.

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Macbeth's guilt and paranoia following the murder of King Duncan lead him to see apparitions and hallucinations, which he interprets as omens of his impending downfall. Rather than confronting his guilt and confessing to his crimes, Macbeth attempts to bury his past and dismisses his conscience as a sign of weakness. He becomes increasingly ruthless and paranoid, ordering the murder of innocent people, furthermore, he orders the murder of Banquo and his son, Fleance, and later orders the massacre of Macduff's family in an attempt to eliminate anyone who may pose a threat to his reign. Macbeth believes that by burying the past and eliminating his enemies, he can secure his position as king and ensure his legacy. Macbeth's attempts to control his conscience and bury his past only serve to exacerbate his guilt and paranoia, ultimately leading to his

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Later on, Macbeth is then again wanting to kill another person, Macduff. Macbeth knows that he can not get to him, so instead he plans to kill Macduff’s family. The wanting for more power has created him into being wicked and kill innocent lives. While in anger he orders, “give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls” (iiii.i.152-153).

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Due to the murderous actions of Macbeth, his and Macduff’s paths eventually cross. Throughout the course of the play, Macbeth has committed several deaths and these include; King Duncan, the two guards, Banquo, and Macduff’s family. The personalities of Macbeth are deceitful, hypocritical and insidious while the personality of Banquo is civil, straightforward and genuine; Macbeth acts upon them with vile actions while Macduff acts upon them with subtlety.

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The second witch tells Macbeth that he will soon become the Thane of Cawdor. At the beginning of the play, Ross told Macbeth that he will be the next Thane of Cawdor since the previous Thane tried to go against King Duncan by joining forces with an enemy. After hearing the news Ross told him, Macbeth knew the witches were onto something. The third witch tells Macbeth he will become the King of Scotland in the future. “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!”

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However, he fundamentally makes the choice to murder Duncan. Before Macbeth performs this treasonous act, he behaves as though he is extremely unwilling to do so and his brain begins to play tricks on him. “Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee,” (Shakespeare 2.I.40-41).

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Bad weather, supernatural events, and unnatural occurences often appear within the natural realm in Shakespeare's written tragedy. Such instances were brought upon by Macbeth's thirst for power and violent temperament; the king Macbeth onced hoped to be was overshadowed by the tyrant that came to surface. The contrast between the two is simply that Macbeth lacked an embodiment of justice, selflessness, and his love for Scotland was deminished by his own personal interests. Therefore, the moral, political, and social orders were ruined by the spree of preposterous murders commited by Macbeth to gain power. The thunder and lightning that accompny the witches during this time to symbolize the fall and corruption of man.

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However, when she begins to tell Macbeth her ideas he attempts to be steadfast in his loyalty to King Duncan. Macbeth states that “We will proceed no further in this business:/he hath honoured me of late;” (1.7.507-508). Macbeth’s only issue with murdering King Duncan is that he just got honored by him and that would be rude. Again it does not take much time for Macbeth’s ambition to take control due to his wife stating how much more of a man he could be if he just went through with it. Despite these influences Macbeth is in control of his own actions.

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Furthermore, Shakespeare warns his audience of the consequences of interfering with the Natural Order as Macbeths world begins to descend into chaos. This is seen in Act two scene three when Porter tells Macbeth “Some says the earth was feverous and did shake”. This is a consequence of the disruption to the natural order that Shakespeare communicates against using the weather, as it was believed in medieval times that when the weather went awry, something had happened to the natural order. This is also seen in the act two scene four when Duncan’s horses become uncontrollable and eat each other “And Duncan’s horses, a thing most strange and certain… ‘Tis said they eat each other.” Shakespeare demonstrates to his audience that when regicide is committed and the great chain of being has been disrupted, earth will also be disrupted.

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Macbeth evidently undergoes a mental process by which he come round to the idea or murdering Duncan. He does this as a result of his wife’s manipulation, her leverage being his manliness. Without the role of Lady Macbeth, the murder of King Duncan would never have occurred in the play. Lady Macbeth had already been plotting for the murder since she received the letter concerning the three prophecies by the witches. Although Macbeth had sinister thoughts about having the throne, Macbeth would have never dared to take it upon himself to kill King Duncan and steal the throne from

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Macbeth had become everything that he had ever wanted to be which was the king of Scotland and when the witches told him that someone else was going to take his crown he went to extremes to try to keep them from doing that which was eventually what lead to him dying. The witches had told Macbeth that the sons of Banquo would take his crown so he decided to have Banquo and his son killed Macbeth said, “Our fears in Banquo stick deep/ And in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared”(3.1.49-51). Macbeth did everything he could to protect his crown, but that is eventually what lead to his downfall and his death. He killed his best friend Banquo which was when his ambition had gone to far and was the beginning of his decline.

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Nature and the Unnatural In the middle ages, it was believed that the health of a country was directly related to the goodness and moral legitimacy of its king. If the King was good and just, then the nation would have good harvests and good weather. In Macbeth by Shakespeare, Macbeth disturbs this social order with the unnatural.

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