Theme Of Morality In The Tragedy Of Macbeth

Without an ideology of morals, anarchy would arise. There would be no order, no control, no boundary, and no sense of wrong or right. Every day, humanity overtly battles towards maintaining a balance between good and evil. Even so, depriving a once judicious person of morals leads to corollary acts of betrayal, greed, and eventually, guilt. Similarly, the lugubrious loss of morals reflects itself in The Tragedy of Macbeth by the playwright, William Shakespeare. In the novel, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, who were once protagonists but are now branded with ignominy, allowed their sinister personas to consume them. By accentuating Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony, fatalistic allusions, and symbolic diction, he elucidates the destructive corruption of human nature.
Beginning with King Duncan’s tentative placement in trust, Shakespeare employs irony to …show more content…
After Macbeth has secured the crown from Duncan, the witches assure him how he “shall never vanquished be until/Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill/ Shall come against him (Shakespeare 4.1.105-107). Macbeth gains courage once he hears the prophecy because he knows he cannot be defeated. Since he has killed Duncan, since he has killed Banquo, he thinks he is invincible, and even [‘unfixes’] his hair and [makes] his heart pound against his ribs ‘against the use of nature’” (Bernad 50). He is certain the Wood would never move; however, instead of predicting Macbeth’s success, the Witches actually foretold Macbeth his downfall. The irony was within Macbeth’s pride. Shakespeare remarks how man’s greatest weakness lies in his own impudence. People only hear what they want and forget to accept reality. By criticizing society’s excessive ego, Shakespeare rebukes how people do not see and think clearly. Eventually, Macbeth’s ignorance contributes to his death “For it hath cowed [his] better part of man” (Shakespeare