Macbeth English Ib-Hl Essay - 1229 Words

ENGLISH HL SHAKESPEARE- MACBETH ESSAY It is human nature to be intrigued by all things mystical and dangerous. We fear the unknown but seek it nonetheless out of greed. Most of Shakespeare’s works hold an element of the supernatural and the play Macbeth is no exception. In this play we see a contemporary morality that warns of the dangers of trafficking with instruments of darkness; the witches in the play prophesize of Macbeths future as king, and Macbeth blinded by his hunger for power fails to recognize that the witches prophecies are luring him to evil . In act 1 scà ¨ne 3 we see the effect that the excitement of the prophecies has had on his imagination as he begins to contemplate murdering the king. As Macbeth gets closer to†¦show more content†¦If he were certain about the murder he would have had the confidence to face the exposing light of nature fearlessly. True evil fears no good. Macbeth fears the light then he cannot be a purely evil individual. A purely evil individual fears nothing but him self and to add to that note that is reason why Macbeth is referred to as a tragic hero and not a villain. His tragedy is profound because he realizes that killing the king is wrong and mentally and physically he is very hesitant to do so but he still give into his selfishness ambitions as he makes his ways to Duncan’s chambers. As we move closer to the king’s murder in act 2, the evil in Macbeth begins to strengthen and solidify. We begin to see the cunning traits of a murder surface in Macbeth as the theme of appearance verses reality is brought out in his character at the end of act 1 scene 7 when he says â€Å"false face must hide what false heart doth know†. This example implies that one can never truly tell what is on someone else mind by looking at the face; the face will hide the truth that the heart and mind (conscience) knows. There is a metaphoric reference to the reality that is behind Macbeth’s appearance. The false face that Macbeth speaks of is like a mask worn by a thief. Like a thief he will put on a mask and steal Duncan’s life and crown away from him and no will would know it is him as he is disguised. In the beginning of this scene Macbeth had come to the