Theme Of Loyalty In Macbeth

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Malevolent Macbeth To what extent can one’s pity reach? Where is the point when one’s empathy for a character turns into disgust? In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth becomes so corrupted by power that it is impossible for katharsis to be evoked by the reader, especially after he kills Duncan. Specifically, his gratuitous lies and murders cause the reader to view Macbeth as maniacal, and in the end actually crave his downfall. The hideous lies that Macbeth spurts throughout the play evoke disgust and anger in the reader, instead of the intended pity and fear. When Macbeth is questioned about the death of the people guarding Duncan(page 55), he tries reasoning with Macduff and asks: “Who could refrain, that had a heart to love and in that heart …show more content…
When contemplating killing Duncan, Macbeth agonizes over the possible consequences of his actions. However, the deaths he inflicts afterwards cause him to feel no guilt, and cause the reader to feel no pity. Soon after Macbeth sees Banquo off from the palace, he plots his murder in fear that Banquo suspects him: “Banquo, thy soul’s flight, if it find heaven, must find it out tonight.” He even orders the death of Banquo’s young son, “to leave no rubs nor botches in the work.” This displays how his own well being is much more important to him than his friends, like Banquo. He is so attached to power that he is no longer human. More monstrous than his arranged murder of Banquo is his hunting of Macduff, as he orders the killings of Macduff’s whole family(page 107): “His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line.” Macbeth has become so paranoid that he is willing to kill innocent women and children in fear that they will one day stand up against him. Again, this causes the reader to wish for Macbeth to be put down and cease the murders. Throughout Shakespeare's play Macbeth, Macbeth’s atrocities only manage to evoke horror and disgust in the reader, rather than the pity and fear that most readers expect to feel for a tragic hero. To force a reader to feel sympathetic for the character is a tragedy writer’s goal, because when a reader feels a character’s struggles themselves, they learn a lot more from the novel. We must learn to sympathize with other’s pain in order to achieve
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