The theme of Good versus Evil is not only present in the atmosphere of the play, but goes deep into the personas of the characters in Macbeth. Each character in Macbeth can be said to have a preset stand in the battle between Good and Evil. Some of these change during the play, as Macbeth has proven. First he is regarded as ‘noble Macbeth’ and ‘valiant cousin’. But Macbeth’s fatal flaw, his vaulting ambition, causes him to murder Duncan. It is this vaulting ambition which is the initial evil within Macbeth. This is then further fuelled by the prophecies of the witches. In this case, the witches can be seen as the epitome of Evil in the play.
Continuously the forces of evil are plaguing Macbeth. His ambition causes him to doubt his own motives. He often finds himself purposefully contradicting his own thoughts and this is because he is dealing with the conflict of Good and Evil. One sides tells him to murder Duncan, but the other tells him to be patient. Slowly you notice a decline in Macbeth’s conscience, as he decides to murder Duncan. Once he has completed this one transgressional act of evil, he no longer fears the forces of Good.
Subsequently, Macbeth is known as a tyrant and a coward by the end of the play. But for every ‘evil’ character there has to be an equal opposite. Macbeth’s rival thus becomes Macduff, representing Good. Yet there are subplots which show the even deeper presence of Good and Evil. I believe that this is the role of Ross. Throughout the play he is never considered good or evil. But somehow he illustrates that the lines between Good and Evil can become blurred, or that either can be deceptive. Lady Macbeth is another example. On the surface, she gives of the impression of being devious and sinister. However, after the murder of Duncan, she breaks down, and you see the other side. This once again shows how close Good and Evil truly are.
Now that we have established the main role of Good versus Evil, we should consider the extent of its importance. The fact that this theme is always present, contributes to
Hannes Bernard Gr. 10 English
its significance. Also considering the time at which is was written, the theme of Good versus Evil is quite popular. Critical character analysis also reveals the omnipresence of Good and Evil, which severely affects their position in this metaphorical battle. Clearly this is what the play centres around. But Good versus Evil is not the only important theme, and therefore it would not make sense to say that this is what the play is about. However, Good and Evil are the two driving forces behind the play. This leads me to conclude that the importance of Good versus Evil in Macbeth is of the greatest extent.
The tale of Macbeth deals with the issues of greed and ambition. And it is clear that both of these are ‘evil’ traits. In fact, Macbeth is a brilliant depiction of the driving forces of ‘evil’. From a worthy, noble man, Macbeth falls to a traitor and murderer. All of this because of Good and Evil. It is thus apparent that one can say Macbeth is to a great extent a tale about Good versus Evil, but also features other themes.
