“in Macbeth, Shakespeare Presents Us with a Powerful Vision of Evil.” Write Your Response to the Above Statement. Textual Support May Include Reference to a Particular Performance of the Play You Have Seen.

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The play Macbeth has a broad thematic focus but I firmly believe that its central defining concern is the theme of evil. Consideration of this theme is essential to even the most basic understanding of the text and this is why I feel that the vision of evil presented throughout this play is indeed powerful and memorable.
Essentially, there are two types of evil explored in this play, namely the evil inherent in humankind and supernatural evil. The violent imagery, language and occurrences described all combine to establish the overall atmosphere of evil in the play, while the characters of the three witches,
Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and the apparitions all make the theme of evil a very real and tangible force at work in the play. In my opinion, the vision of evil in this play is powerfully presented through the characters of the witches. The “weird sisters” can be seen as supernatural embodiments of evil, as their actions always involve the cruel misleading or suffering of their victims.
I think it is significant that the first characters we meet in the play are in fact the witches, as this shows the prevalence of the theme of evil. Early on, we realise that the witches have a great deal of power over events; they have a supernatural knowledge of the future and control over the elements.
However, they use their powers for evil purposes, wreaking havoc in the lives of whoever they meet. For example, they torture a sailor by depriving him of sleep or food and tossing his ship in a raging storm.
They enjoy cruel acts like “killing swine” and display trophies of their evil deeds proudly, like the severed “wrack’d” thumb of a pilot they apparently tried to destroy.
The main evidence for the witches’ evil natures, however, is their wicked treatment of
Macbeth. Their goal with the tragic hero is not to help him towards power

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