Macbeth Turns Evil

1. Why do people who are not "evil" take the first step into evil? What, for instance, is involved in taking that first step "down the primrose path to the everlasting bonfire" (Macbeth, 2.3)? What are the consequences of the individual choosing evil (particularly the internal consequences)? Use examples from the text to support your opinion.

There are multiple reasons why someone may become evil. People who are not evil may take the first step into evil because they have a chance to obtain power; perhaps power that they have never experienced or more power than they already possess. Power can be deceiving and contort the minds of those who possess it. Evil can also come in many forms. Evil can be hidden or blatantly noticeable. Good people take the first step into evil because of things such as jealousy, pride, and greed.

Evil was first given legitimacy in Macbeth’s mind when he met the three witches. He later contemplates what they have said: “If good, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs against the use of nature? Present fears are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man”. Macbeth, who was an upstanding and respected soldier, took his first step towards evil when he contemplated the prophecies presented by the three witches. In this passage, Macbeth is talking to himself about if he should believe what the witches said. He also knows that believing them will mean that Duncan has to die. The thought of murdering Duncan scares Macbeth, but it means that evil was then planted into Macbeth’s head. Power, the throne, is what Macbeth now wants.

Since Macbeth chose to fulfill the prophecy, there were multiple external consequences. Primarily, the death of Duncan, his guards, and Banquo. He first enlisted the help of Lady Macbeth to have the courage to do the deed: “Unsex me here; and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood”. Lady Macbeth was also a victim to evil. In this soliloquy, she cries out to evil spirits to give her the strength and masculinity to kill Duncan. Once Duncan and his guards are killed, Macbeth is racked with grief and regret. However, he tells Lady Macbeth that the prophecy is not yet fulfilled. The murder of Banquo and attempted murder of Fleance are what results in Macbeth’s evil next.

As the story progresses, we see Macbeth become less and less mentally stable. The burden of all he has done has begun to weigh on his mind. He has committed a lot of evil in order to fulfill the prophesy. At first, he is able to keep up appearances in order to hide his murders, but he begins to deteriorate after Banquo’s murder. At the dinner feast, Banquo appeared as a ghost to Macbeth, and Macbeth wasn’t able to conceal what he was seeing; he says to the ghost, “Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake thy gory locks at me”. Macbeth is in anguish over what this evil has made him do. He has become a completely different person. First he was an honorable soldier. Eventually, he became a power-hungry murderer.

Evil came to Macbeth in the form of three witches. They told him that he would be all powerful, only a few people were in his way. Macbeth took the opportunity to become king of Scotland. As a result, he killed Duncan, his guards, and Banquo. Macbeth also suffered mentally because of this. He couldn’t stomach how much harm he had done, and his madness was available for everyone to see. This will ultimately lead to his downfall.






Quotes:Shakespeare, William. Macbeth: FOLGER Shakespeare Library. New York: Washington Square, 1992. Print.
Picture: Madani-Houha, Riad. "This Picture Mocks the Fact That Macbeth Is Killing Everyone in His Sight, Even Women and Children." Pinterest. N.p., 16 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2016. <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/494692340290819084/>.