MACBETH

Good VS Evil Question

Shakespeare's Macbeth encompasses a complex fabric of imagery that articulates the eternal struggle between good and evil .In near visceral terms, Shakespeare highlights the frightening power that evil has for suffering and destruction. At the same time, he offers us a vision of the potential that human beings hold for good.The conflict between good and evil takes place on two levels in this play. Firstly, we are presented with a series of internal struggles where character s wrestle with their consciences and attempt to resist the impulse to do wrong. At the same time, we are presented with the physical struggle between good and evil - a struggle in which evil comes very close to victory.

 Perhaps the most obvious and potent image of evil in play is that of the Witches. If we take these character s as symbolizing wickedness, then we learn a great about Shakespeare's vision of evil. The Witches are presented to us in a series of unforgettable visual images. Banquo describes them as looking "not like the inhabitants of the earth." He lays emphasis on their "choppy finger" and "skinny lips." Their androgyny is under scored by his description of their "beards" which forbid him to "interpret" that they are"women." These are vile and paradoxical creatures. Yet, despite their obvious ugliness, they manage to tempt Macbeth into violating his most deeply held beliefs. This ability of evil to "win us to our harms"is an essential feature of Shakespeare's presentation of the eternal struggle between good and evil.

 As soon as Macbeth has met these creatures, he begins to struggle with his conscience. As he attempts to resist the lure of evil, he describes to us in near visceral terms,the effect that it is having on him: [...] , Against the use of nature?However, Macbeth does yield to his evil impulses, and as a result,Scotland is plunged into a living nightmare.Once Macbeth kills Duncan, the evil that has descended on Scotland is conveyed in a series of disturbing images. The play contains several references to the supernatural consequences of Macbeth's crime. 

The struggle between good and evil is fought initially on a supernatural plane. In Act II scene iv, Ross informs us that the "heavens have become troubled with man's act." The evil that Macbeth invokes ear lier in play results in " dark night strangl[ing] the travelling lamp." This strange occurrence is matched by unusual behavior in the animal world. Responding to what Ross has said, an old man informs us that Duncan's horses became unruly and "ate each other." Although Macbeth loses his struggle with evil early on in play, vestiges of his conscience continue to ©  reject the depravity that he has consciously embraced. He becomes haunted by nightmares and visions of evil. His thoughts are dominated by images of "scorpions" and other venomous creatures of the night. 

However, following the murder of Duncan, the rhythm and the cadence of Macbeth's speech changes until he begins to echo the speech patterns of the Witches: ere the bat hath flown His cloister'd flight, ere to black Hecate's summons | The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hum The combination of visual imagery and the sound of Macbeth'swords highlight for us the fact that Macbeth has lost his struggle with evil.If Macbeth loses his soul to evil, other character s in the play reject temptation and oppose the forces of darkness. Banquo's struggle with evil is captured in his heartfelt prayer to those: merciful power s to | Restrain in [him] the cursed thoughts that nature | Gives way to in repose.The imagery of sleep, which is so central to Macbeth's struggle with evil returns here and is seen elsewhere in the play. Later,when the forces of good have begun to rally, an unnamed Lord prays that "Northumberland" and "warlike Siward" will grant them deliverance from Macbeth's tyranny. His hope is that "sleep" will return once again to this cursed country.From this point on in the play, the imagery associated with the struggle between good and evil changes sharply. 

The inner struggle that we witness in Macbeth and Banquo now becomes literal. In order to convey this, Shakespeare relies on blood, nature and clothing imagery. Caithness explains that he is willing to offer his life blood as a "medicine" to be used in the "country's purge."His feelings are echoed by Lennox when he speaks of the need to"dew the sovereign flower and drown the weeds." Their willingness to die for Malcolm is, in par t, a recognition of the potential that his kingships holds for good. Macbeth has brought fire and sword to Scotland and the evil that he represents has resulted in genocide:[...] good men's lives Expire before the flowers in their caps, Dying or ere they sicken.This powerful image, drawn from the natural world, highlights not only the extent of Macbeth's evil but also the necessity of opposing him.

 Ross confirms what he has just said by providing us with further images of Macbeth's tyranny. He tells Macduff and Malcolm that under Macbeth, "Each minute teems a new [grief]." The need to resist Macbeth's rule is uppermost in Ross' mind. Drawing on clothing imagery, he informs Malcolm that his presence in Scotland"would create soldiers, make our women fight | To doff their dire distresses". Once Malcolm agrees to oppose Macbeth on the battlefield, his decision is given divine sanction. He tells us that ten thousand soldier s await his command and that "the powers above |Put on their instruments".

 Although the rebels' final victor y is, according to Siward,"cheaply bought," the play's imagery suggests that this is simply one event in the eternal struggle between good and evil – a struggle in which evil comes very close to victory.

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Hi guys I just wanted to give credit to Cian Hogan for this sample essay it is one of the sample essays that I used when studying and I thought that I would post it as it would also be of use to you guys as well. So i'm not ripping it off, i'm not claiming that it is my own. This essay is based on the 1991 Question on Good VS Evil and i'll pop it below for you guys 

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1991"The eternal struggle between good and evil – a struggle in which evil comes very close to victory – is the central theme in the play Macbeth." 

Discuss this view and show how the struggle is illustrated in the imagery in the play. Support your answer by quotation or reference.