Macbeth's Fall From Grace

I believe evil is an ever-present force in our world that people must resist on a daily basis. Although some may be more immune or conditioned against such temptations, others continue to steal glances at the sometimes alluring yet always dangerous prize. The day one finally decides to reach out and grab that forbidden fruit and all its glory, he unknowingly also decides to takes a one way path towards self-destruction and evil.

Macbeth is one such man who, despite his valiant deeds in battle, succumbed to evil in the face of insurmountable power. His downward spiral began when the three witches hailed him as the next king. One could almost see his lust for power as Macbeth begged for the witches to, “Stay… tell me more!” (Shakespeare 6).  Now the idea of being so much more than a general plagued his thoughts relentlessly for the next days. He was just waiting for a trigger to set him off. The spark turned out to be his very own wife who, upon hearing the witches’ prophecy, insisted Macbeth that takes immediate action by assassinating King Duncan. At first, the thane of Cawdor is hesitant because he realizes the fatal consequences of being caught and the fact that he is about turn his whole world upside-down.  After more pushes from his wife, he follows through and murders the noble king that very night.

The death of the king acts as a turning point for the evil-inducing Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Now there is no going back and they must constantly be weary of blowing their cover. Lady Macbeth puts on a façade as she tries to remain level headed as her husband laments over his unforgivable actions. They begin falling into the grips of madness as the scenes progress. They realize they can’t keep hiding what they did forever- stories change, details are forgotten, and evidence is unearthed. Macbeth tries taking matters into his own hands by murdering the guards that would have compromised their scheme. He slyly says, “repent me of my fury / That I did kill them” (Shakespeare 27). The phrase "repent me" seems like a command instead of a plea, and it also lacks any remorse due to the lack of "sorry" or "please forgive me". However, that only leads to more suspicion over the royal couple because the supposedly guilty guards were obviously needed for questioning. Macbeth must end more innocent lives and fight off his guiltyconscious as he desperately tries to avoid being caught. In the end, the only apparent remedy that silences his guilty conscious is the powerful poison of insanity.