Macbeth Is More to Be Pitied Than to Be Condemned.

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Macbeth is more to be condemned than pitied, when faced with his heinous crimes. A single regicide would have been enough to denounce him beyond any hope of acquittal, yet it was not just one murder that so condemns him. Not only did Macbeth murder his king, but Young Siward, Macduff’s family and his own friend Banquo, in addition to the attempted murder of Banquo’s son Fleance. During the course of the play, his actions are inhumane and morally wrong, and while it can be argued that it was the influences of both Lady Macbeth and the Witches led to King Duncan’s murder at Macbeth’s hands, it was he who performed the act. It was his fatal flaw, ambition, that ultimately led to his downfall. Macbeth was a man who could want for nothing. He was happily married, and an owner of lands, titles and respect. However, even that was not enough when a prophetic greeting from a trio of witches ignited something inside him, his fatal flaw: ambition. When the witches greet him as “...Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.” [Act 1, Scene 3, Line 48] he begins to strive toward a larger goal: the throne. Despite initially mocking the witches, Macbeth places a great deal of importance upon their words. At the time, the people of Scotland held unwavering belief in the supernatural. Macbeth and Banquo believed that the witches possessed dark power in the same way that a person in the twenty-first century believes in gravity, and that is why Macbeth placed so much importance on their prophetic greetings. It was his belief in their words, and his own ambitious nature that led to his crimes, and his condemnation. However, it is not only Macbeth’s ambition that condemns him in the eyes of the reader, but also his callous disregard for human life. This mentality was clear when Macbeth organised the murder of his own friend, Banquo, based on fears that Banquo’s sons would succeed him

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