Good and Evil

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Macbeth is a good man who does evil acts

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth shows that he's a "noble" person

He has the potential for greatness

Duncan recognises this and makes him Thane of Cawdor

Once he's tempted to give in to his ambition, Macbeth's goodness is overcome by his evil desires

Shows that even good people can be led astray by ambition and power

Macbeth becomes increasingly evil as he becomes hardened the many crimes he commits

The struggle for the crown of Scotland becomes a battle between good and evil

Macbeth is the evil "tyrant" who must be killed before he destroys Scotland

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Evil is linked to gender

Lady Macbeth links cruelty and aggression with masculinity

She wants the spirits to "unsex" her and fill her with "direst cruelty"

She thinks her femininity holds her back from taking violent action

Masculine ideas of evil focuses on violence and bloodshed

Though she wants to be more like a man, Lady Macbeth relies on manipulation rather than action

She sees Macbeth's weakness and uses emotional blackmail to persuade him to commit evil

The Witches' gender is ambiguous

Banquo says that they "should be women" but they have beards

Like Lady Macbeth, they rely on manipulation rather than physical force

Theme - The Supernatural

The supernatural elements of the play are presented as evil and powerful

The Witches are linked to the devil - Banquo calls them "devil" and Macbeth calls them "fiends" which associates them with evil deeds

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Battles represent the conflict between good and evil

Shakespeare uses battles to symbolise good and evil

In the opening scene, there's a battle between Scotland and Norway

The enemy army is led by a traitor, "merciless Macdonald", whose "villanies of nature" show that he's evil

The play ends with a battle, this time against Macbeth

Malcolm's men have "dear causes" and fight to "dew the sovereign flower" - in other words, to restore the rightful King

Macbeth is an "abhorred tyrant" who represents evil

Writer's Techniques - Imagery

Shakespeare emphasises the conflict between good and evil through religious imagery

Macbeth is described as "cursed" and has a name "More hateful" than the devil

In contrast, Young Siward is "God's soldier" because he died fighting to defeat an evil "tyrant"