The document provides background information on William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. It discusses that the play was written between 1603-1606 and examines themes of evil and the possibilities of evil through the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It also summarizes that the play uses symbolism to represent good versus evil and order versus disorder. Shakespeare crafted Macbeth's character to be fully aware of the horror of his deeds as he is tempted by witches and his desire for power over Scotland.

1. Introduction
Macbeth was written by Shakespeare between 1603 and 1606, between Caesar
and Hamlet. It is the story of a murderer and usurper, like Richard III or Claudius
(Hamlet) from crime to crime to achieve security. Macbeth is a villain but a more
humanized character compared to another written by William Shakespeare.
Macbeth is a noble and gifted man. He chooses treachery and crime, knows them
for what they are and is totally aware he is doing evil. Evil is concentrated in
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who are influenced by the three witches. The play
examines the possibilities of evil and centers on the villain-hero. We find good only
in secondary characters like Duncan or Malcolm. Macduff is the righteous
character. Macbeth is a tyrant and Malcolm will be the good king
The supernatural powers are represented by the three witches and Hecate,
standing for the side of evil (disorder) and by the King of England, standing for the
side of good (order). The symbolism is obvious: it is light versus darkness, angels
vs. devils and heaven vs. hell.
The character of Macbeth is interesting because he is fully conscious of the horror
of his deeds. Indeed, we learn in the beginning of his soliloquies that he knows
very well what is good: in Act I, sc2, l.13, there is an enumeration of all reasons
why he should not kill Duncan. Macbeth is tortured between his erected wit and his
infected will.
Macbeth is the story of the temptation of a good man by witches and the desire of
the power and rule Scotland this story contain topics like: control, ambition and
domination.

2. Summaryof William Shakespeare
ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare (1564-1616). English
poet and playwright – Shakespeare is widely considered
to be the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote
38 plays and 154 sonnets.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on
23rd April 1564.
His father William was a successful local businessman,
and his mother Mary was the daughter of a landowner. Relatively prosperous, it is
likely the family paid for Williams education, although there is no evidence he
attended university.
In 1582 William, aged only 18, married an older woman named Anne Hathaway.
They had three children, Susanna, Hamnet and Juliet. Their only son Hamnet died
aged just 11.
Shakespeare. After his marriage, information about the life of Shakespeare is
sketchy, but it seems he spent most of his time in London – writing and acting in
his plays.
Due to some well-timed investments, Shakespeare was able to secure a firm
financial background, leaving time for writing and acting. The best of these
investments was buying some real estate near Stratford in 1605, which soon
doubled in value.
It seemed Shakespeare didn’t mind being absent from his family – he only returned
home during Lent when all the theatres were closed. It is thought that during the
1590s he wrote the majority of his sonnets. This was a time of prolific writing and
his plays developed a good deal of interest and controversy. His early plays were

3. mainly comedies (e.g. Much Ado about Nothing, A Midsummer’s Night Dream) and
histories (e.g. Henry V)
By the early Seventeenth Century, Shakespeare had begun to write plays in the
genre of tragedy. These plays, such as Hamlet, Othello and King Lear, often hinge
on some fatal error or flaw in the lead character and provide fascinating insights
into the darker aspects of human nature. These later plays are considered
Shakespeare’s finest achievements.
Some academics, known as the “Oxfords,” claim that Shakespeare never actually
wrote any plays. They contend Shakespeare was actually just a successful
businessman, and for authorship suggest names such as Edward de Vere.
Nevertheless there is evidence of Shakespeare in theatres as he received a variety
of criticism from people such as Ben Johnson and Robert Greene. When writing an
introduction to Shakespeare’s First Folio of published plays in 1623, Johnson wrote
of Shakespeare:
William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets mostly in the 1590s. These short poems,
deal with issues such as lost love. His sonnets have an enduring appeal due to his
formidable skill with language and words.
His plays have retained an enduring appeal throughout history and the world.
Some of his most popular plays include:
 Twelfth Night
 Henry V
 Romeo and Juliet
 Macbeth
 Hamlet
 King Lear
 Othello

4. Literary style
Shakespeare's style in "Macbeth," according to the book and Biography he, fuses
diction, syntax, and characterization into a partnership between a character's
words and his evolving mental state from moment to moment. Shakespeare does
this through stylistic changes that reflect not only the mental degeneration of
Macbeth and his wife but also the sanity of their underlings.
The cunning writing style Shakespeare employs particularly for the play's lower-
class characters retains balanced syntax in that simplest of the archetypal
character: the fool, or in "Macbeth's" case, the porter. His delightful speech --
concerning the erectile dysfunction a drunkard suffers notes that drink "makes him
and it mars him, makes him stand to and not stand to." Even Macduff, lost in the
deaths of his family, retains balanced syntax: "not for their demerits, but for
mine/Fell slaughter on their souls." Finally, Malcolm gives the Macbeths' ironic
epitaph the balance they had forfeited; "this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen"
restores Scotland's monarchical balance.
Shakespeare's particular stylistic genius was to reflect not only his characters'
progression from one mental state to another but to also harness, with diction and
syntax, the minds of his audience. In a sense, his words mentally carry us along
with Macbeth, which may be how Shakespeare engages his audience's sympathy
for a six-fold murderer: through the vigor of a style that is both figuratively rich and
psychologically attuned.
Literary Gender
Tragedy
Was Macbeth the greatest tragedy ever written? Maybe. But before we go throwing
around words like "greatest," let’s take a peek at our handy-dandy tragedy
checklist:
Dramatic work: Check. Macbeth's a play, that's for sure.
Serious or somber theme: The play's all about what causes people to commit evil
acts (like murder). So, check.

5. Hero's got a major flaw of character or conflict with some overpowering
force: Check. Macbeth's got some serious ambition (so does his wife), which
makes him willing to kill in order to secure his position as King of Scotland. Plus,
once Macbeth eliminates Duncan, he can't seem to stop killing people. Is there
some other "overpowering force" at work too? Keep reading.
Hero is destined for destruction and downfall: Here's where Shakespeare mixes
things up. On the one hand, the three witches’ prophesize that Macbeth will
become King of Scotland. "Weird" comes from the old English ("wyrd") word for
"fate" (see these ladies' "Character Analysis for more about that), which aligns the
witches with the three fates, who are supposed to control man's destiny.
So, does that mean the witches control Macbeth's fate? If the answer to this
question is yes, then Macbeth is destined to murder Duncan, become king, and get
then later get his own head lopped off by his disgruntled countryman. But this isn't
necessarily the case. In fact, the play goes out of its way to dramatize Macbeth's
deliberation about whether or not he should kill the King. What's more, the three
sisters never say a word about murder. Are the weird sisters just a catalyst for the
murderous ambition that's maybe been inside Macbeth all along? There's lots more
room for interpretation here so go ahead and take a stab at it.
Ends in death but with the promise of continuity: Not all tragedies end in death but
all of Shakespeare's tragedies do. The question isn't whether things will end badly,
but how badly. In Macbeth, it's pretty bad—Macduff's entire family is murdered,
along with Banquo and his son, and, of course, Macbeth himself.
But despite the deaths of individuals in the play (King Duncan, the guards,
Macduff's wife and kids, Lady Macbeth, the Siward's son, etc.), Shakespeare is
also interested in the restoration of political order. With Malcolm on their thrones,
things (we hope) are going to get back to normal—culminating in Shakespeare's
very own king James I, who traced his lineage back to Banquo.
Plot

6. As most Shakespearean tragedies, “Macbeth” is the story about a tragic hero
whose desires bring about dismal self-destruction. For the most part, “Macbeth”
can be considered about ambition and how power corrupts all, yet looking more in
detail, the play is about heinous actions and the guilt that comes along with
committing them. Through the journey of the protagonist Macbeth and his
conflicting emotions, Shakespeare is able to advice against ambition and
sacrificing one’s values in order to fulfill it.
Unlike other Shakespearean novels, “Macbeth” is the only novel set in Scotland
around the 11th century. In this situation, Macbeth is a Scottish general who serves
the king and his country nobly. In the first few scenes of the play it becomes
evident that Macbeth is both the protagonist and the antagonist for the fact that he
becomes an enemy to himself and to everyone around him. Macbeth can be
characterized as an intrepid character whose only desire is to be king and to
maintain power. Closest to him are Lady Macbeth, Banquo, and the three witches.
For instance, Lady Macbeth is the wife to Macbeth and ultimately the one that
pushes him to commit his unforgiveable actions in order to become king. In the
play, she is portrayed as relentless in convincing Macbeth to do the wrong thing;
she is both manipulative and deceiving to her husband. Similarly, the three witches
are able to make use of Macbeth as well, almost controlling Macbeth through
implications of power and forebodings. At this level, the only character not toxic to
the protagonist is Banquo, although he too becomes in the way of Macbeth’s
journey to power, and is so cut short of a role in the life of Macbeth.
At the commencement of the play, Macbeth is a nobleman who alongside his friend
Banquo, has been able to obtain a victory for Scotland and his king, Duncan. At the
same time Macbeth asserts his victory, the Thane of Cawdor is being executed for
treason, opening up that spot per say. On the way back to the castle, Macbeth
thinks nothing of a higher rank, however that changes after he and Banquo
encounter the three witches.

7. The play is about the rising of a nobleman through murder and deception and his
downfall in doing so. However, because it is Shakespeare it is much more
complicated than that. In truth, “Macbeth” can be about the battle between good vs.
evil, ambition vs. righteousness, and fate vs. free will. Throughout the play,
Macbeth presents himself as evil and tyrannical, and even though it seemed
unlikely for the good to prevail in the end it did. Similarly, Macbeth’s inner conflict
demonstrates his inability to come to terms with the actions he made in order to
gain the crown. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s hallucinations of a dagger and
Banquo’s spirit are just manifestations of his guilt, no matter how hard Macbeth
tries his conscious still manages to deteriorate causing his own downfall like all
good tragic heroes. Furthermore, the theme of fate vs. free will presents itself
through the characters of the witches. Although no implication is made that they
conjured Macbeth’s rise to power, it is evident that Macbeth single handedly made
the “prophecy” come true. Even though most would believe that it was fate, it was
mostly free will that lead Macbeth’s life. Only he had the power to kill or not kill King
Duncan and in doing so, he acted upon his own true desires and not upon request
of someone else. In the play, there is also a strong distinction made between male
and female, as portrayed by Shakespeare, it can be said that the woman is evil
and insightful. For instance, would Macbeth have killed King Duncan had he not
met the three witches? Or upon his wife’s craving? In every situation, the woman
becomes a burden to Macbeth or devises to put their interests before his,
contrasting the different roles of gender in the play and Shakespeare’s respective
attitude towards them.
Characters
Macbeth: A captain in Duncan's army, later the Thane (Lord) of Glamis and
Cawdor. When Three Witches predict that he will one day be king of Scotland, he
takes his fate into his own hands, allowing his ambition and that of his wife to
overcome his better judgement. His bloody reign culminates in a battle against
Malcolm and the English forces.
Lady Macbeth: The devilish wife of Macbeth, whose ambition helps to drive her
husband toward the desperate act of murder. Subsequently, her husband's cruelty

8. and her own guilt recoil on her, sending her into a madness from which she never
recovers.
Banquo: A fellow-captain and companion of Macbeth, who also receives a
prophecy from the Witches: that his children will one day succeed to the throne of
Scotland. This information is sufficient to spell his death at the hands of the
resentful Macbeth, who is later haunted by Banquo's ghost.
Duncan King of Scotland: His victories against rebellious kinsmen and the
Norwegians have made him a popular and honored king. His decision to pass the
kingdom to his son Malcolm provokes his untimely death at the hands of Macbeth.
Fleance Banquo's son: who, by escaping Macbeth's plot on his life, will go on to
be father to a line of kings.
Donalbain and Malcolm Duncan's two sons: Fearful of implication in their
father's murder, they flee Scotland, Donalbain to Ireland and Malcolm to England,
where he raises a large army with the intention of toppling the tyrant Macbeth.
Macduff : A thane (nobleman) of Scotland who discovers the murdered King
Duncan. Suspecting Macbeth and eventually turning against him, Macduff later
flees to England to join Malcolm. When Macbeth arranges the murder of his wife
and children, Macduff swears personal revenge.
Lennox, Ross, Menteth, Angus, Caithness: Thanes of Scotland, all of whom
eventually turn against the tyrannical Macbeth.
The Porter, the Old Man, the Doctors Three: commentators on events, all of
whom have a certain degree of wisdom and foresight. The Porter hints at the Hell-
like nature of Macbeth's castle; the Old Man associates the murder of King Duncan
with the instability of the natural world; the Doctors recognize disease and disorder
even though they cannot cure it.
The Three Witches: agents of Fate who reveal the truth (or part of it) to Macbeth
and Banquo and who later appear to confirm the downfall and tragic destiny of the
tyrannical Macbeth.
Personal view of William Shakespeare
Williams Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers, who have existed, in our
humble opinion he has influenced many writers and play-writes in his time and
ours. His work needs explanation just like Homer's and Aristotle's. Not everyone
thinks the same way so anyone's works would have to be explained to someone.
To talk say that he is the greatest writer of all time is a bit much but he is a very

9. influential and fantastic author. His plays are basic but so are most, it is how you
present it and the way it is received that makes it great. I have not read all his
writing nor do I plan to but there is something beautiful about the way he describes
his characters, and scenes. He is one of the greatest writers thus far. That isn't to
say that there aren't better writers because every record is broken eventually, but
he is one of the few writers that mostly everyone has heard of and read.
Conclusion
Macbeth is a book filled with betrayal, prophecies, revenge and many other
themes. After reading this book I feel that Macbeth is indeed tragic because of his
one fatal flaw. As one could see, throughout this book, Macbeth seeks guidance
from the wrong people like the witches, his wife, whose ambition is as great, if not
greater than his. This was a very interesting book to me because of the way of how
things happened to him due to believe in the witches´ prophecies which was the
cause of his death at the end of book.
Macbeth is a play about the eclipse of civility and manhood, the temporary triumph
of evil, when it ends, virtue and justice are restored. Shakespeare displays a
remarkable perception of the human condition by dramatizing not only the way in
which evil enters Macbeth's world, but also the devastating effect it has on those
who yield to temptation and sin. Shakespeare concludes the tragedy on a hopeful
note; however, for as awesome and corruptive as the evil is that pervades
Macbeth, it is only temporary. Ultimately, time and order are restored through the
actions of the defenders of goodness.
By the way, the point of view in Macbeth is third person objective. The characters
are not speaking directly to the audience, and in third person objective, the narrator
gives an objective without opinions. This makes the narrator more neutral and is
often used in newspapers and magazine articles.