Macbeth: His Progressive Change from Good To Evil
There is a fine line between good and evil. When something goes from good to evil, its popularity is replaced with notoriety since fear, corruption and knowledge lead people away from good. In life, power and greed produce progressive change which shows they have the ability to be as good as they want, but also how evil they can become, often provoked by a single event, which directs intentions from generous to self serving. Usually, when there is a progressive change from good to evil, such as in Macbeth, there is a collapse of a man's morality, which threatens his freedom. The metamorphosis in Macbeth is both physical and mental, a decided change ignited by his obsession for power as he controls his own fate, he inevitably crosses the easily accessible line separating the extremes. At first and honored lord, Macbeth dies a murderous cheat as a result of his pride and transformation from good to evil. Upon encountering Macbeth there is all promise in his future. He has been a victorious general, saving his country from a near invasion by Norwegian forces. Even Lady Macbeth recognizes his goodness: "Great Glamis! Worthy Cawdor! / Greater than both, by the all hail hereafter!" (I,V,52-53) She honors her husband for his
Obviously, the murder of a king does not go unnoticed. The witches tell Macbeth to beware Banquo. The circumstance in which Macbeth is pressured to murder again is to protect his status as king. These circumstances may make his crime more humane but certainty not excusable. When Macbeth kills Banquo, he does it with much less hesitation and afterward, without any regret. As a result of this murder, we can conclude that Macbeth has become even more inhumane and evil. That Macbeth cannot say "amen" immediately after the murder is the first clear sign of his alienation from God. He will sleep no more, for sleep is an aspect of divine mercy. Steadily Macbeth moves farther and farther from God and his fellow men, and his bond with nature is weakened. He becomes committed entirely to an unnatural course from which he cannot retreat . . . At the beginning of the play, evil had come to Macbeth unsought , as it does to all men; he had followed its promptings in order to attain definite ends, and not without strong misgivings. Now he seeks evil himself; he embraces it willingly and without fear, for no other end than the evil act itself. (Ribner 251) glorious leadership and recognizes the words of the witches, "all-hail," must suggest further successes. There is no possibility here such a man will descend into evil.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 899
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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