Walt Whitman

Witch-Slapped: Macbeth's fall from grace

Why do people who are not "evil" take the first step into evil? What, for instance, is involved in taking that first step "down the primrose path to the everlasting bonfire" (Macbeth, 2.3)? What are the consequences of the individual choosing evil (particularly the internal consequences)? Use examples from the text to support your opinion.

The tragedy of Macbeth began with the three witches.  These witches gave Macbeth a prophecy that he would become Thane of Cawdor.  This idea was planted in Macbeth's head and eventually motivated him to take part in the action of murder.  

People who are not "evil", or those with good standing ethics/morals, sometimes act in a way that does not reflect their persona.  The reason that people take part in actions deemed "evil" or not good is for self-interest.  This is the transition into the first step of falling "down the primrose path to the everlasting bonfire" (Macbeth, 2.3)" that Macbeth quickly falls into.  Self-interest is the reason that these actions are carried out; Self-interest can be summarized as benefiting oneself or putting yourself before others.  Greed and glory are two results desired by these people, who will turn off their moral compass and interest for others in order to obtain this for themselves.  The consequences of an individual choosing evil are guilt and more evil.  This means that one evil action will eventually lead to another and another.  These evil actions also bring guilt upon the person as they feel responsible for the results and regret going against their morals. 

In the story of Macbeth, the first evil step that Macbeth takes is the murder of Duncan, in order to fulfill the prophecy granted by the wishes.  This is done selfishly by Macbeth, for the result of becoming king and rising to glory.  After the murder, Macbeth says to Lady Macbeth, "One cried “God bless us” and “Amen” the other, As they had seen me with these hangman’s hands, List’ning their fear. I could not say “Amen” When they did say “God bless us.” (Macbeth 2.2).  This is Macbeth's first taste of guilt for his actions.  He is stressed about the fact that he could not say Amen when needed because he was in the middle of committing a crime and did not like it that the situation made him not allowed to finish a prayer heard.  An example of how evil leads to more evil is the murder of the guards in the story.  After the deed is done, and Duncan is dead, Lady Macbeth must go and murder the guards to prevent getting caught.  "Who can be wise, amazed, temp’rate, and furious, Loyal, and neutral, in a moment? No man. Th’ expedition of my violent love Outrun the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan, His silver skin laced with his golden blood, And his gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature For ruin’s wasteful entrance; there the murderers, Steeped in the colors of their trade, their daggers Unmannerly breeched with gore. Who could refrain That had a heart to love, and in that heart Courage to make ’s love known?" (Macbeth 2.3).  In this monologue, Macbeth explains that he was so enraged at the guards for "murdering" Duncan, that he could not contain himself and killed them.  This shows how that one evil action can lead to another (the murder of Duncan lead to the murder of the guards) and often forces people to lie about the motives or their perspective of what happened.  An example of guilt is when Banquo's ghost appears: "Blood hath been shed ere now, i’ th’ olden time, Ere humane statute purged the gentle weal; Ay, and since too, murders have been performed Too terrible for the ear. The time has been That, when the brains were out, the man would die, And there an end. But now they rise again With twenty mortal murders on their crowns And push us from our stools. This is more strange Than such a murder is." (Macbeth 3.4) .  This quote is when Macbeth discovers Banquo's death and proceeded to return to dinner with his guest.  He sees a ghost sitting in a chair and reacts harshly to the ghost that no one else can see.  This is his subconscious thinking about Banquo, possibly due to Macbeth feeling guilt for what happened to Banquo.  His sanity may be questioned in this scene, which is often a consequence of someone falling into evil actions.  The internal conflict is often worse than the external conflict.  The internal struggle of someone who has fallen into the trap of evil is often losing sense of right and wrong, excessive guilt and overall insanity created by not being able to deal with your own actions.   In the story, Macbeth constantly struggles with getting over his actions, resulting in him going somewhat crazy.  Overall, it is greed and glory that often drives evil actions, leading to a life of guilt, regret, and more evil actions.