evilmac Comparing the Evil of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Essay -- compa

Comparing the Evil of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth At the heart of William Shakespeares Macbeth is an examination of the nature of immorality and its many faces and facets(Cathell 119). The principal evil characters in the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, are both evil, but the manifestation of evil is different in each. Macbeths evil is a ever-changing character trait. He begins the play as a celebrated hero, loyal to his friends and dedicated to his king. He is strong and noble, a man to be admired by his audience. Macbeth and Banquo are visited by the three witches, who promise him that he will be king. This veiled intimation ignites a secret ambition at bottom Macbeth. Evil has dawned within him, but at this early stage of his transformation Macbeth is ashamed of his evil urges. He says, Stars, hide your fires Let not light see my black and darksome desires The eye wink at the hand yet let that be, Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. (Shakespeare I, iv, 50) Soon, h owever, Macbeth is overcome by his ambition and his fall begins. He says, I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which oerleaps itself/ and falls on the other. (Shakespeare I, vii, 25) As soon as the descision to murder Duncan is made, and until his death, Macbeth is a vessel relentlessly woof with evil. Macbeth is the source of all the dastardly deeds in this play. The witches ignite his evil ambition, Lady Macbeth stokes the fire, but the blame for Duncans murder rests squarely on the shoulders of Macbeth. Macbeth may not have held the knives that killed Banquo or Macduffs family, but the agression is his. Lady Macbeth does not descen... ...waits, Macbeth rushes to violence. His evil is brutal and impatient. His weakness is his inability to control his mind. Works Cited and Consulted Cathell, A.L. The Diabolic Evil in Macbeth in Shakespeare Survey Volume 5. Edited by Allardyce Nicoll Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1996 Elliot, G.R. Introduction On Macbeth as Apex of Shakspearean Tragedy in Shakespearean Criticism, Volume 3. Edited by Laurie Harris (Gale 1984) McElroy, Bernard, Macbeth The hurt of the Mind in Shakespearean Criticism, Volume 3. Edited by Laurie Harris (Gale1984) Ribner, Irving. Macbeth The Pattern of Idea and Action, in Shakespearean Criticism, Volume 3. Edited by Laurie Harris (Gale1984) Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Edited by Norman Sanders. (Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1984)