As the wise philosopher Xun Kuang once said: "Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity." » This is perfectly illustrated in The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. It takes an in-depth look at this perspective on humanity, showing the lightness and darkness of people, as well as the inevitable fate that comes with our choices. Macbeth is a great example of human nature because he demonstrates that although humanity is imperfect, it is choices and actions that determine human destiny. Macbeth's tragic flaw, his over-ambition, leads him to his ruthless and impulsive bloodshed and is the opposite of what humanity is supposed to represent, even though these desires resonate in his human heart. But where there is darkness, there is also light. Macbeth's darkness and corruption contrasted with Banquo's light, loyalty, and disciplined ambition. This proves that even though they are both flawed because they are human, the choices they made ultimately reflect their contrasting human natures. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay For example, humans are flawed in their own ways, but these flaws are especially highlighted when they cause wicked human nature. Macbeth was the epitome of wickedness, showing that his tragic flaw was the beginning of a chain reaction of events leading to his downfall. This can be seen when Macbeth considered killing King Duncan for the prophecy, saying, "I have no sting / To prick the sides of my intention, but only / A hunched ambition." Aristotle would have explained the three ways of leading to a tragic fall: a personality defect, ignorance of the defect and/or the consequences suffered because of the defect. Here, Macbeth recognizes that the only intention he has for murdering Duncan is ambition. He recognizes his excessive ambition but ignores it, making it his greatest motivation and only goal, leading to his downfall. The Three Witches, along with Hecate, are able to notice, expose, and exploit this flaw themselves. Their symbolism as supernatural and evil elements is not noticed by Macbeth, which deceives him, revealing his tragic flaw of being easily deceived. This is demonstrated when Hecate, the leader of the witches, plans to exploit Macbeth's flaws to push him towards self-destruction. “He will reject fate, despise death, and carry / His hopes “above wisdom, grace, and fear.” / And you all know security / Is the chief enemy of mortals.” Throughout the play, Macbeth has been tricked time and time again by characters ranging from Lady Macbeth to witches. This fatal mistake leads him to let himself be deceived by the witches' apparitions, giving him a false sense of security by thinking he is invincible. The witches told him that he would only be defeated when Birnam Wood moved to Dunsinane and that no one born of woman could kill him. Even when he realizes that these are only half-truths and that he has been deceived, he continues to fight, resulting in his death. However, Macbeth is not the only character with flaws, as this play shows. Lady Macbeth also lusts for power, which leads to greed, and is eventually overtaken by her own guilt, which leads to suicide. An example of this can be seen when Lady Macbeth received Macbeth's letter and she became impatient to see Macbeth crowned, but thinks that he will not take the necessary steps to do so. She declares: “Come here / So that Imay pour my spirit into your ear / And chastise with the valor of my tongue / All that prevents you from accessing the golden round, / Whose destiny and metaphysical aid seem / To have crowned you. ".Lady Macbeth is convinced that Macbeth will become king and, because of his greed, she wants to persuade him to make the right choices to get there, which will benefit him the most. She has not thought about the consequences or the immorality of these actions. This drives her into a state of insane guilt leading to suicide. She is also responsible for Macbeth's descent into madness and bloodshed when it was initially prudent to do so. a negative impact on others, creating the consequences she suffered Therefore, her tragic flaw is perfectly explained by Aristotle, as stated earlier in this article Finally, it makes sense that the murderers in this play have flaws,. but so does everyone else, as shown even by the royal King Duncan, whose failure to be too trustworthy of others creates an opportunity for the Thanes of Cawdor to betray him. For example, when King Duncan mentions treason. of old Thane of Cawdor he says: "There is no art / To find the building of the mind in the face / He was a gentleman on whom I built / Absolute confidence." The implication here is that you can't guess a person's aspirations through their face, because Duncan trusted the Thane completely and was unable to predict his disloyalty and betrayal in advance. No one can tell what's going on in his head. It is unfortunate that Duncan did not follow his own advice, for when he appointed Macbeth as the new Thane of Cawdor and trusted him enough to sleep in his castle, he was in return treacherously murdered by Macbeth. This situational irony is not the first example of disloyalty in the play, as it also happens to Macbeth himself when his own army turns against him at Birnam Wood. In conclusion, Macbeth's corrupt rise to power as well as all the characters he encountered along the way prove to modern society that all of humanity is flawed, in one way or another. highly dynamic characters such as Macbeth whose actions, choices and free will decide their destiny and, therefore, human nature. Macbeth and his best friend Banquo perfectly embody the particular destiny towards which their actions have led them. They were both exposed to the witches' prophecies, but their choices after this encounter sparked and fueled divergent solutions. When Macbeth begins to fear that Banquo will discover his dark methods, he says: "Our fears in Banquo are deep / And in his kingship of nature reigns that which would be feared." » They were both good men who were greeted by the neutral words of the Weird Sisters, but it was the moral value they put in those words that set them apart. Banquo was cautious and even suspected Macbeth's "foul play" in light of recent events, but he never let his ambition cross his conscience. He is the light that contrasts with Macbeth's darkness, and even though he has done nothing wrong, Macbeth's actions, fueled by his excessive ambition, have interfered with his ability to correctly see reality, the leading to him turning on his best friend and murdering him. The torch that Banquo held as he died represented his light, and when he died, that torch went out with him. Yet this unnecessary action did not change Banquo's prophecy that his relatives would ascend the throne, demonstrating the irrationality of Macbeth's decision-making. But Macbeth's actions not only affected Banquo but alsoothers, like Macduff. Once corrupted by greed, his free will shows how he ignored all morality to obtain power. One such act occurred when Macbeth murders Macduff's family, then later encounters him on the battlefield, declaring, "Of all men I have avoided thee / But come again; my soul is too loaded / With your blood already. » Macbeth was too guilty to shed more of Macduff's blood. This encounter, as well as the entire Battle of Dunsinane, was the indirect result of his actions. Malcolm sought battle to avenge his father and reclaim the throne that Macbeth illegally seized. Macduff, on the other hand, sought revenge for the inhumane murder of his family. Macbeth also recklessly killed the servants early on, proving that his choices created these repercussions, which led to his tragic downfall. Of course, Macbeth's actions weren't the only thing that had an impact. Lady Macbeth's lust for power also crippled her judgment, leading her to make unethical decisions that greatly impacted the humanity in the play. This is proven when Lady Macbeth receives Macbeth's letter regarding the witches, saying “Thou art Glamis and Cawdor; and you will be / What was promised to you. / Yet I fear your nature; It's too full of milk of human kindness. From the beginning, it is clear that Lady Macbeth holds more authority over the throne, even if that is not what she appears to the audience. It is she who guides Macbeth on the path to self-destruction. Here we see that she thinks he is too nice to take on the right opportunities to get there and plans to influence him to get what she wants, power. She forcefully pushes him to kill Duncan, without any sympathy or guilt. This, in turn, made it the result of a glut of bloodshed, which consequently killed many people, as well as herself and Macbeth. She turned Macbeth into madness and madness, into excessive ambition, which could have been avoided or dealt with peacefully, but that was their fate after all. Ultimately, it is the witches who heavily influence Macbeth's actions as well as the play as a whole. . When Banquo speaks to Macbeth after their encounter with said witches, he says "Good sir, why do you begin and seem to be afraid / Of things that seem so right?". The Three Witches also indirectly controlled Macbeth's actions throughout the play with deception. When Banquo says this, it is dramatically ironic since the audience knows that in fact the witches' prophecies are not right but rather very foul. Specifically, when the witches planted King's idea in his head, it sparked an ambition in him that was doomed to failure. Then, using the half-truths with Burnam Wood and the female-born, they made him feel like he was immortal, which was an appearance that made him miss the reality of the situation, that no man is not immortal. These acts of deception and evil directly show the serious efforts that were made that resulted in the corrupt human nature found in this room. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay "What is done cannot be undone." The atrocious acts committed in Macbeth illustrate the powerful significance of tragic flaws, but it is his individual actions that truly show us the contrast between the good and evil of humanity. The evil that resides in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is irreversible. It ended up being so fueled that it abolished them both, eliminating others in the process..