A major component of all human societies has been the existence of religion. In all of these religions the concepts of good and evil have been present. The reason for this is because man has constantly been in a struggle with internal and external pressures about the intentions of his actions either good or bad. Pressures have been given different names throughout history. These range from vices, temptation, morals, sins, conscience and goals. They can be either good or bad and can be exerted on an individual from others (external) or from within (internal). One play that examines the issue of external and internal pressures on an individual and his actions is William Shakespeare's Macbeth. One particular episode that reflects the intent of the play is when the title character kills the King of Scotland in order to become king himself. Shakespeare concludes that both external and internal pressures have forced Macbeth to act evilly. As both options (good and evil) are available for mankind and there are numerous examples of both being done, then it must be concluded that the choice of evil is not non-existent nor rare, but rather frequent. Therefore, through the murder of Duncan, Macbeth do

Thus it can be seen that for both audiences viewing Macbeth, then and now, they would be able to understand and acknowledge his actions. For in the words of Frederick Nietzsce, Macbeth is 'Human, all too human'. Macbeth was potentially good but realised of evil. Like all other members of humanity external and internal pressures struggled over the intentions of his actions. On this occasion evil happened to prevail. Therefore through the murder of Duncan, Macbeth does not isolate himself from humanity but rather symbolises it on a much larger scale.

For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires!

Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?

3. Lady Macbeth, Act One, Scene Five, Line 16

Contemporary audiences would feel the same way. To fully understand the context of modern day audiences it is perhaps wise to examine another favourite event of present society, namely the Olympic Games where they 'Celebrate Humanity'. This event sees the best athletes from around the world compete on a four yearly basis. It is where the ideals of competition and fair play are meant to be espoused. However, it is not always like this. Many competitors fall to both external and internal pressures and turn from good to evil. This is evidenced by the fact that there were 49 cases of athletes caught with illegal drugs in the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games. This does not include many athletes who did not turn up knowing that new drug tests meant they were going to be caught. The Olympics have also been used as a political vehicle. Hitler used the 1936 Berlin Games to advertise the Nazi belief. While the Munich Games of 1972 were marred by the assassination of 11 Israeli athletes and officials by a Palestinian Terrorist Group known as Black September.

1. Sergeant, Act One, Scene Two, Line 46

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Approximate Word count = 1733
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)