Similarities Between Macbeth And Dr Jekyll And Hyde

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In ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare shows the gradual change in the protagonist Macbeth by displaying how he goes from a hero to a tyrant. Similarly, in ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, Stevenson includes the downfall of his protagonist in his story by showing him as a prestigious gentleman at the start of the play, but near the end he is shown as the villainous Mr Hyde. In ‘Macbeth’ the protagonists downfall is somewhat caused by the Witches and Lady Macbeth whereas in ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ the protagonists downfall is due to his addiction to his potion.

At the start of the play, Macbeth is shown as kind and brave due to his acts in the war. King Duncan says, “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won”. This shows he is brave because, due to his valiant efforts and bravery in the war, the King believed this was enough to bestow the title Thane of Cawdor upon him. Furthermore this shows that King Duncan believes it was him alone that won the war for Scotland. Macbeth is also shown as kind when Lady Macbeth says “Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o ' th ' milk of human kindness” this tells me personally that Lady Macbeth thinks that he is so kind that it is actually a handicap for him, in the sense that because Lady Macbeth wants him to kill the King she believes that his kindness will prevent him from doing such a devious act to acquire power. This could also be a metaphor for the level of his kindness, you could say that the only way to

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