The Struggle Between Good And Evil In Shakespeare's Macbeth

Macbeth had been driven to bad intentions because of his ambition. He lost his moral compass and a sense of his conscience ever since the witches told him he would be king. He started committing murders to ensure his position as king. Before his encounter with the witches, he was a good man. He knew how to kill, but he did his job as a soldier and had his intentions straight. Before he murdered Duncan and Banquo, we hear about Macbeth and get the impression that he was good. Characters in the play talk about him as if he were fearless and trustworthy. Lady Macbeth even said he is too good, “too full o' th' milk of human kindness” (I, v, 4). However, as the first act of the play unfolds, we see the darkness in Macbeth’s character start to come out. From the “worthy” and “noble” Macbeth, he becomes a murderer, who kills his cousin and his best friend. “Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires,” (I, iv, 52-53) Macbeth said. He knows that there is a darker side in him. At this point, we are only starting to get hints of it. He says, “They eye wink at the hand, yet let that be / Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see,” (I, iv, 54-55). Macbeth is afraid of what he is capable off. He is aware of what his actions could cause and we know that because he …show more content…
Lady Macbeth says lines like, “And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood,” (I, v, 31-32) and “pour my spirits in [Macbeth’s] ear” (I, v, 15). It is not entirely Lady Macbeth’s influence, which made Macbeth murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth did have an influence on Macbeth’s decision because she encouraged him to follow through with Duncan’s murder. However, the murder of both Duncan and Banquo were Macbeth’s ideas to begin with. He thought of murdering them because they were a threat to his position as