Theme Of Good And Evil In Macbeth

The ideas of good and evil, as defined by God and man, have always been closely deliberated by human culture. Men and women face choices between good and evil every day, and human responsibility, not the will of God, is to blame for many of the decisions made. In the Renaissance, man realized he could affect his own destiny, and make his own choices, and authors began to examine how humans justified making an evil choice and how they responded psychologically to choosing evil and making evil decisions. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Shakespeare explores these questions through the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, who choose to commit murder to obtain the throne, and his tragedy follows their descent into darkness. The torture of previous …show more content…
Although he had priorly harbored guilt from the murder of his king and leader, Macbeth now realizes that an iron fist must be weld to keep control within his grasp. His earlier aversion to using nefarious activity to achieve his goals is erased, replaced by jealousy, anger, paranoia, and the resolution to perform all necessary actions to ensure his victory. Macbeth displays his newly unveiled paranoia and power through his self-recitation in which he discloses about Banquo “There is none but he / Whose being I do fear” (3.1.59-60). Macbeth’s distrust of Banquo coupled with his newfound resolve to utilize force leads him to order Banquo’s death. This forceful step unveils the extent to which evil action has altered the once noble Macbeth, who formerly regarded Banquo as his closest ally. Macbeth’s guilt forces him onto a course of self-degradation, which is fueled by his fear and paranoia of others who could seek to dispose him. Macbeth’s derangement runs deep, affecting all judgement with which he is faced, as established when Macbeth orders “The castle of Macduff I will surprise / Seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls” (4.1.171-173). The savagery with which Macbeth orders the extermination of all those at Fife testifies to the level at which guilt and paranoia have corrupted his character. The barbarity and malignancy with which Macbeth treats all other, notably those who he deems to be threats, palpably exposes the degree to which guilt and sin have deformed his valiancy and reasoning. His insanity when it comes to risking his position of power rules over all else; guilt and sin have overtaken his formerly logical