“Macbeth” is a play written by William Shakespeare in 1606 between “Julius Caesar” and “Hamlet”. It is a story that focuses on a Scottish general who committed cruel crimes in order to keep his throne. With that said, there are three themes in Macbeth, such as violence, ambition, and good vs. evil.
Violence is a theme seen through Macbeth’s actions. For example, in Act one, it is first seen with the murder of Duncan by Macbeth and his dagger. The dagger is the instrument of murder and in its structure, no more than a sharp, pointed blade with a handle that punctures the skin and flesh of a victim. It is the weapon of unknown violence, plots, and conspiracies. With this weapon, Macbeth “rips” Macdonwald, earning honor and praise for the importance and attention of his violence; with his dagger, he quietly kills the king.
Nevertheless, Macbeth’s use of violence is his worst enemy, but it is also his most powerful instrument . He starts to do whatever it takes to secure the throne. It is he who sets the pace, who decides who will live and die as he feels the disturbing power of fear. He made a throne that can only be secure if he kills people who question, seem to question, or someday question his privilege and authority. Macbeth’s use of violence is also the measure of his wickedness. It plummets even lower in his usage of lies, plans, and unlawful acts that are required for his endurance as a monarch. As a result, it brought suspicion between his peers: Macduff and Rosse. His rise to the throne is announced in a chat between Macduff and Rosse: it has become an accomplished fact while the audience is engrossing the conclusion of Duncan’s death. Macduff responds to Rosse’s suspicion that the abandoned sovereignty will fall on Macbeth: “he is already nam’d, and gone to Scone to be invested”.
Ambition is the most important theme in the play because it is driven by two factors: greed and power. Macbeth first shows ambition when he slaughters Duncan asleep as a visitor in his home. His ambitions go against important orders of policy in a union dropping into a harsh competition of skill, persistent to an aura of ethical structure. The theoretical problem of ambition is underlined by the need of a title for the just indication of ambition in the middle of its surplus and its defect in changing situations: as the author states, “It is possible to want honor as one needs, and more than one needs, and fewer, and the man who excels in his wants is named ambitious. The man who plunges short is unambitious, while the central person has no title’.
So, if Macbeth was “calm and restrained” in this position, he would have been thought of as “unambitious” . Ambition can be a good thing if done correctly. Well controlled, it can advertise civil and personal good. For example, Duncan says, “Welcome hither. I have begun to plant thee, and will labor to make thee full of growing”. If left unchecked, it turns society into a field of non-stop violent conflict.
Good vs. evil is the most relevant theme throughout the play. In fact, it is seen through the decisions of Macbeth. All of Macbeth’s actions are conducted toward true goods such as honor, courage, and the protection of someone’s country. Still these are assisting goods, whose goodness is lower and dependent upon, other greater goods, notably justice. Macbeth can be viewed as supplying exactly such factual proof. Macbeth’s constant choice of illusive goods over honest goods, his naturalization in evil, leads to his denial and also supplies a pleasant and convincing expression of the nonexistence of evil. At the critical point in the play, when Macbeth decides to no longer be troubled by the regret of his shame, he mentions, “For mine own good/ All causes shall give way. I am in blood/ Stepped in so far that should I wade no more,/ Returning were as tedious as go’oer” .
Everytime that Macbeth denies an excuse to depart from evil, he makes change more challenging and more improbable. But the possibility of regret and change remains and is an essential feature of the drama of the play. As we recognized, the failure of Macbeth describes its central character as bewitched of an unusual alertness of his evil deed. In order to do his deed, Macbeth must not only act on dumbness to the outside world, but also to restrain the intelligence that he has . But the question is, what exactly leads Macbeth to commit the murder?
Macbeth’s first meeting with the witches paves the way for what is to follow. When Macbeth is hailed the titles, Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and king, Banquo takes note of his reaction and confronts the witches . While truth and success might be balanced with good will, they may be the implements of tantalization. They are the implements of darkness used to guide men to abandon their nature. This is why Macbeth is concerned by his prophecy- he started to think about what is needed for him to become king. Such unpleasant feelings are surely opposed to Macbeth’s nature. He is brave and is an honorable man. Yet, he is still enticed by his want to be king.
