The Theme of Macbeth

The play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare in the beginning of the 17th century, deals with a man’s turn from the king’s most glorious, brave and courageous general into a traitor and murderer influenced by evil forces. In the following I am going to describe the play briefly and explain the theme of it. Furthermore I will discuss Macbeth’s character and his internal conflict. While the general Macbeth and his friend Banquo …

…Macbeth hears the witches, he envies Banquo’s having heirs, as much as he fears, later, those same heirs as rivals for the throne. We feel pity, ultimately, for Macbeth, not hatred and disgust. This is the key to the tragedy: Macbeth’s suffering is a result of his self-destructive behavior by leaving all his good qualities behind and eliminating his potentials and possibilities in an attempt to claim a fate that is not his.