How Does Shakespeare Create Sympathy For Macbeth

1659 Words7 Pages
In the play 'Macbeth' William Shakespeare is able to make the audience sympathise with the main character even though he committed terrible deeds. In the play a brave warrior is tempted by his wife and the witches to kill the reigning King. After committing murder he takes place as King, which makes him feel guilty. As the play goes on he realises his mistakes but ignores them. He ends up killing many innocent people and comes across as an 'evil butcher', but is eventually slain by Macduff. Throughout the play there are a number of ways in which Shakespeare makes us feel sympathetic for Macbeth. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is seen as a loyal, noble soldier. Many important men recognise him and praise him to the highest extent.…show more content…
Our sympathy further develops towards the end of the play. Macbeth realised he has lost everything he had and all his potential. In another soliloquy he says, "And that which should accompany old age, as honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, I must not look to have" The audience feel great sympathy for Macbeth in this scene. He feels extremly depressed as he is left alone without any supporters and he realises no-one wants to help him anymore. People are beginning to tuen against him and he feel she has nothing left to live for. He "My way of life is fall'n into the sere, the yellow leaf" It is at this point Macbeth feels he there is nothing worth living for, he feels he wants to die as nothing is going the way he planned for it to. He believes his life is is beginning to wither and die like a yellowing leaf in Autumn. The audience also feel pity for Macbeth because he learns his wife has commited suicide. I think he feels lonely and that his life is just dragging by. The audience know this when Macbeth reveals this in another soliliquy he
Open Document