Pity for the Central Characters in Macbeth
I don’t agree with this statement. The play is meant to be a tragedy but we feel pity for the two central characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare makes the characters very accessible to the audience through the use of soliloquies. The play wouldn’t be considered such a tragedy if we didn’t feel pity for the two characters.
I think that Shakespeare chose the witches to act out the first scene in order to show us the difference between pure evil, the witches, and someone under the influence of evil, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. We see Macbeth and his wife through the eyes of many characters throughout the play but the one that strikes us the most is when Duncan praises Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 2 by saying “For brave Macbeth, well he deserves that name”. This is the first insight we get about Macbeth and with the King singing his praises life seems to be going well for Macbeth up until this moment.
It is in Act 1 Scene 3 when Macbeth first interacts with the witches that his life takes a turn for the worse. Macbeth is intrigued by what the witches have to say about the future, and this is when we first feel pity for Macbeth We are already aware from the witches’ conversations, that they are pure evil and have no meaning to their actions. “Where hast thou been sister?” To which the sister replies “Killing swine”. We feel pity for Macbeth because of the course of action he takes after the witches, have not only been prophesised by the witches because of the interference with his life. Had they not visited him in the first place his life would not have become so tragic.
Macbeth’s dark side is provoked not only when Duncan makes him the Thane of Cawdor, but also, when the king makes his son Malcolm the Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth’s ambition is awakened. “This is a step on which I must fall down, or else o’er leap, for in my way it lies. Lady Macbeth gives us a further insight into Macbeth when she reads a letter from him. In it he calls his wife his
I think that Shakespeare chose the witches to act out the first scene in order to show us the difference between pure evil, the witches, and someone under the influence of evil, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. We see Macbeth and his wife through the eyes of many characters throughout the play but the one that strikes us the most is when Duncan praises Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 2 by saying “For brave Macbeth, well he deserves that name”. This is the first insight we get about Macbeth and with the King singing his praises life seems to be going well for Macbeth up until this moment.
It is in Act 1 Scene 3 when Macbeth first interacts with the witches that his life takes a turn for the worse. Macbeth is intrigued by what the witches have to say about the future, and this is when we first feel pity for Macbeth We are already aware from the witches’ conversations, that they are pure evil and have no meaning to their actions. “Where hast thou been sister?” To which the sister replies “Killing swine”. We feel pity for Macbeth because of the course of action he takes after the witches, have not only been prophesised by the witches because of the interference with his life. Had they not visited him in the first place his life would not have become so tragic.
Macbeth’s dark side is provoked not only when Duncan makes him the Thane of Cawdor, but also, when the king makes his son Malcolm the Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth’s ambition is awakened. “This is a step on which I must fall down, or else o’er leap, for in my way it lies. Lady Macbeth gives us a further insight into Macbeth when she reads a letter from him. In it he calls his wife his