Macbeth

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth the four major themes are greed, ambition, lust and evil. Ambition means an eager and sometimes an exorbitant desire for honor, power and a goal. It is the determination to overcome adversities to reach a certain goal. Greed is an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than one needs or desires. One is greedy when he or she is selfish. Lust is a strong inclination or desire for a certain thing. It can be expressed in various ways. Evil is anything morally bad or wrong that has a potential to cause pain, injury or death. Anything unpleasant or villainous is admonished evil. These characteristics or qualities lead to the story’s catastrophic ending.

The first theme is evil. For example, In Act I Scene 1, the Three Witches say, “Fair is foul and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.”(I-1 L11 p.6) If one perceives good as evil and evil as good, that person is reprobate and probably craven. A person that is covered in sin is on the verge of mental destruction. The line vastly demonstrates the Witches’ selfish disdain for good. The line also forespeaks about the characters’ real natures. In the story we discover that the characters are not who they really are. Macbeth is ambitious yet a moral coward that fears his acts and consequences. Macbeth would not have murdered Duncan and cover himself with sin, unless Lady Macbeth indoctrinated him. Although, Macbeth was a courageous general, he transformed into a craven murderer who would vastly suffer self-depravity. Macbeth and his wife possessed quite admirable qualities at first, yet after various murders it led to their downfall.

The second theme is lust. For instance, Macbeth demonstrates lust that he possesses to be king after he is entitled Thane of Cawdor.



MACBETH:

[Aside] Two truths are told,

As happy prologues to the swelling act

Of the imperial theme.--I thank you, gentlemen.

[Aside] Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if...