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Brooke Carmazzi

Mr. Clark

Honors English 12 British Literature

13 December 2017

Macbeth by Shakespeare

In a tragedy play written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600s, Macbeth is about a

brave general who will do anything in his power to become king. His desire for power influences

his relationships and moral decisions. Eventually, the actions he pursues cause him to experience

consequences for what he does. Shakespeare demonstrates the fact that every action has a

reaction or a consequence. The evil actions that people commit will not benefit them in the

future, even is if that is the goal. This concept is evident through a variety of characters

throughout the book.

In the act one of Macbeth, three witches approach Lord Macbeth and call him by three

names, one being the future King of Scotland. When Macbeth first hears this, he says, “If chance

will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir” (Shakespeare I.iii.146-149). He

believes that he will become king through fate if the witches’ words are true. However, when he

decides to trust the witches, it corrupts his personality, causing him to perform violent deeds in

order to gain power. His actions lead to a chain of events that only have negative effects in the

play.

In order for Macbeth to gain power, he decides that the current ruler, King Duncan, is the

first person he needs to eliminate. At first he is hesitant to execute this task, but eventually Lady

Macbeth calls him a coward, convincing him to kill the king. When Lady and Lord Macbeth are

faced with the perfect opportunity, Macbeth uses the guard’s dagger to kill King Duncan. After
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he dies, Macbeth’s decision backfires because he is faced with serious guilt. Macbeth claims,

“One cried, ‘God bless us!’ and ‘Amen’ the other, as they had seen me with these hangman’s

hands. List'ning their fear I could not say ‘Amen,’ when they did say ‘God bless us!’”

(Shakespeare II.i.28-30). After killing King Duncan, he was unable to say the word amen. He

also said, “Still it cried, ‘Sleep no more!’ to all the house. ‘Glamis hath murdered sleep, and

therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more.’” Along with these two

consequences, he also begins to be afraid by every noise he hears and states that he cannot return

to the dead body to return the bloody dagger because he does not want to even think about what

he has done.

When Macbeth worries that the guards will ruin his plan and expose what he has done to

Duncan, he murders the two guards that were at the crime scene. He claims when he went to see

the body of Duncan, “I saw the murderers, dripping with blood, their daggers rudely covered in

gore. Who could have restrained himself, who loved Duncan and had the courage to act on it?”

(Shakespeare II.iii.93-97). This causes Macduff to consider Macbeth as the murderer of Duncan,

and he later questions Macbeth about where he was that night. This deepens Macbeth’s guilt over

the murder. It also leads to Duncan’s sons, Malcom and Donalbain, fleeing the country in fear of

being killed next. As a result, Macbeth becomes king, and the town does not support him as a

ruler.

Macbeth is still threatened by the existence of Banquo and his descendants because of

what the witches told him. As a result, he sends two murders to attack Banquo and his son,

Fleance. They succeed in kill Banquo, but his son escapes. Soon after Macbeth is informed of

this attack, Macbeth hosts a dinner of which everyone is present except Macduff and Banquo.

When Macbeth claims that he wishes Banquo was present, the ghost of Banquo appears at the
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table. Macbeth faces serious hallucinations and is haunted by the ghost as a result of killing him.

Macbeth speaks to the ghost saying, “Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake thy gory locks at

me” (Shakespeare III.iv.54). The guests, confused by his behavior, believe that he is ill.

Macbeth’s rule causes Scotland to suffer, so Macduff goes to England to convince

Malcolm to return to Scotland with help from English forces to dethrone the evil Macbeth,

restore peace to the citizens of Scotland. Because Macbeth believes that Macduff goes against

his orders, he has everyone in Macduff’s castle killed. Ross reports the news to him following

the attack. He says, “Your castle is surprised, your wife and babes savagely slaughtered. To

relate the manner, were, on the quarry of these murdered deer to add the death of you”

(Shakespeare IV.iii.207-210). This action backfires on Macbeth because it provoked Macduff to

seek revenge on him. Malcolm and Macduff prepared for battle shortly after Macduff was given

the sad news, and during the battle, Macbeth was killed by Macduff himself.

In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to kill King Duncan,

giving him the courage to kill several more people throughout the play. Because Lady Macbeth

was involved in everyone of these murders, she obtains serious guilt and paranoia for what she

has done by the end. Lady Macbeth has no one to talk to because she cannot tell anyone what she

has done, and it is noticeable that as the play goes on, Lady Macbeth becomes less important to

Macbeth as he gains more power. Eventually, in the final act, these feelings result in her killing

herself offstage.

The idea that every action has a consequence was depicted very well in the book of

Macbeth. Everything someone does has a reaction that affects future events. Not only was this

present in the play and during past years, but it also is still evident in everyday life today. If one

commits an evil deed, their actions will most likely backfire on them. Similarly, if one spreads
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positivity and performs good deeds, he or she should receive a positive response to their actions.

Though good things happen to bad people, and vice versa, it is important to always act in a

manor that reflects good character in order to maintain a happy life.

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Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Edited by Sylvan Barnet, Signet Classic, 1998.