Characters:	Macbeth
	Lady Macbeth
	Witches (Hecate)
	Banquo's Ghost

Macbeth: Macbeth is a subject to the workings of evil throughout the play. When he is first spoken of in the play, he is viewed as brave and noble by all; but, deep down inside him, as in all things, lurks the potential for evil. The audience often wonders whether the evil he was capable of was brought upon by himself or whether the witches used this potential for evil to their advantage. Macbeth is meant to be a man of strong will. It is doubtful that he is so easily influenced by the words of the witches. Macbeth is very conscious of his evil doings. An example of this is during his first meeting with the witches, Banquo is also present (1, 3, 49-52). The witches tell Macbeth that he will be king. Banquo is somewhat suspicious of Macbeth's reaction. To Banquo, it seems as though Macbeth is a bit worried by this promise of royalty. This fear inside him is caused because he knows that for this prophecy to be fulfilled, he must murder Duncan. He is very conscious of what must be done.Another example of Macbeth's knowledge of his evil is in the scene where Lady Macbeth receives the letter from him ( 1, 5, 1-13). In the letter he tells Lady Macbeth of the prophecy he received. She is excited by this and, the feelings of evil and greed are then released from within her. In writing this letter Macbeth is subconsciously committing himself to the act of which it speaks. If, deep down, he didn't want to go through with the murder and thus be crowned king, he would not have written this letter which tells of an event which could have so easily been forgotten. As the audience can see, from the moment after the murder is committed, the knowledge of his own evil actions is what drives Macbeth to an inevitable insanity.

        Macbeth could be compared to other characters known for their evil, such as Jack and Roger from "Lord of the Flies".
In comparison Macbeth's traits of evil are more similar to those of Roger than of Jack. Jack is evil, without a doubt, but there is a kind of remorseful ignorance to the actual severity of his own actions. On the other hand, Macbeth and Roger are both quite aware of their actions. Each act of evil they commit drives them further and further, into their own inner evil. As a result roger becomes more and more sadistic maniac, and Macbeth is driven over the edge to insanity.
                                                                                                                                                                                                     
 

Lady Macbeth:  In  a lot of ways Lady Macbeth has more evil within herself than Macbeth, but she is also much weaker than him. When she receives the letter from Macbeth, she is excited by what is written on it. She knows of Macbeth's deep down honour and nobility. She awaits his return so that she can stop him from only looking at the negative aspects of his future actions.

    Lady Macbeth is very unstable. She has obviously given birth and mothered a child (1, 7, 52-54); but there is no sign whether it is living or dead. Whether the death of this child has caused her to focus all of her intentions on Macbeth, so strongly, is a very real possibility, but unknown. She pushes Macbeth until the deed is done. She seems to stay in control; even after the murder has been committed. She stays calm, she puts blood on the grooms to complete the task Macbeth disregarded in his confusion ( 2, 2, 56). She then comforts him and tells him to wash away the blood that taints his hands ( 2, 2, 68).
    Lady Macbeth's evil is shown to be very powerful. She depicts a true horror to the audience when she says she would "dash out the brains of a baby" ( 1, 7, 56-58). This is a very effective demonstration of her evil, because not only is this the most horrifying thing to the audience, but it is also the most horrifying thing that she herself can think of. The fact that she would act out this horror shows the audience her true evil and ruthless nature.
                                                                                                                                                                                     
 

Witches (Hecate):  " Fair is foul and foul is fair, Hover through the fog and filthy air." The first scene with the witches on the moor, lets the audience know that evil is present. The fact that the witches always meet in stormy weather is a device used by Shakespeare to show chaos and that everything natural is overthrown. The witches are ruthless and they seem to look upon humans as inferior to themselves. An example of this is when one of the witches speaks of the sailor's wife ( 1, 3, 4-9). Some actresses, when playing the role of the witch, use a tone of voice that makes the sailor's wife seem pig like. The witches obviously view humans as a weak creature that is easily manipulated.
    The witches have a lot of influence on Macbeth. They also have a truer view of his inner feelings, they can see right through him, to the potential for evil that lurks inside him. They are the ones who plant the seed of doubt about Macbeth's true character.
    Hecate is the Queen of the witches. She is worshipped by all things that are evil. In essence, Hecate is the personification of the evil behind the witches every action.
                                                                                                                                                                        
 

Banquo's Ghost: This character is a figment of Macbeth's imagination. Banquo's Ghost a reflection of the evil and insanity within Macbeth. When the ghost first appears, it sits in Macbeth's place at the table. This, to Macbeth, shows how his past actions will come back to haunt his future. Macbeth thinks that the ghost does not belong in this chair, but when he thinks this, it makes him realize how he also has not truly earned the right to sit on the throne. (3, 4, 50-51) Macbeth's guilt makes him begin pleading, almost immediately, with the ghost. Macbeth feels that because he sent the murderers to kill Banquo, he is not truly responsible. The ghost seems to disagree.
                                                                                                                                                                      
 

Setting:Shakespeare uses a medieval setting to stage the play. He does this because it was probably the most brutal time in civilized society. It allows the evil to be shown in brutal yet truthful form.
    He uses the setting of Scotland because he was presenting the play to British royalty. He didn't want to " hit too close to home". Because of the incantations and murders within the play he feared frightening or offending the royals.
    In the beginning of the play Scotland is being threatened by Norway, with the aid of the Thane of Cawdor. The Thane of Cawdor is a traitor to Duncan and is hanged for his acts of betrayal. This betrayal helps to foreshadow the behavior in the newly appointed Thane of Cawdor in Macbeth. There is a certain irony about this because Macbeth contributes greatly in the overcoming of Norway, but then himself becomes the greatest threat to Scotland.
                                                                                                                                                                                   
 

Mood:  The mood created in Macbeth is primarily ominous and evil.  It is rare when reading the play to finish a scene that has produced a pleasant feeling, because none do.
    In the opening scene where we are first introduced to the witches, the thunder and lightening combined with the cadence of the dialogue indicates to the audience the evil nature of this play.  When we next see the witches they have rejoined and are in wait of Macbeth & Banquo.  Once again a fearful mood is created by the witches, who are sitting around bragging to each other of all the horrors they have committed.  When they deliver their prophecies unto Macbeth and Banquo, the audience realizes that their interference in fate has cursed these two and perhaps all of Scotland.
    Macbeth's aside to the audience after the announcement of Malcolm as heir to Scotland, creates the most ominous feeling.  He says " Stars, hide you fires!/  Let not light see my black and deep desires;"  and the audience knows that his capability of evil is awakened and he is now susceptible to treason.
    Lady Macbeth has convinced her husband that to ever reign in Scotland he cannot wait on chance, he must take action.  While awaiting a signal to perform the murder, a floating dagger is seen in front of Macbeth.  This dagger creates fear in the audience because it sets the murder in motion.
    Even though Macbeth has been crowned King, he still fears Banquo because the witches prophecy said he would be the sire of Kings and Macbeth's crown is "fruitless".  Macbeths plans the murder of his "friend" and Fleance, on their ride.  His speech about their positions, creates and ominous mood because we now know that Macbeth will do anything to keep the crown and has lost his morals.  When the two murderers are lying in wait of Banquo they are joined by a third murderer, who is unknown.  The arrival of the third person to their group gives the audience an unfounded fear because they know that he has a special purpose and not what it is.  At the banquet Macbeth is throwing, the absence of Banquo is noticed and the stress of his latest deed causes him to hallucinate and see Banquos ghost everywhere.   Macbeths loss of self control combined with the ghosts arrival cause fear in the audience.
    Macbeths nerves are getting to him and he is afraid of the future, so he goes to the witches to get another prophecy.  Hecate is mad at the witches for interfering in fate and decides that Macbeths next prophecies will be duplicitous.  Again the witches create ominous moods.  Thunder introduces this scene and we see them gathered around the cauldron chanting and making incantations.  Macbeth is given prophecies that make him feel invincible but are only fooling him.
    Macduff has started the war and Macbeth has gone to fight.  Lady Macbeth is breaking under the stress of her deeds, and we see her sleepwalking and talking in riddles.  Seeing Lady Macbeth as she is now causes pity and sadness in the audience as well as a feeling of justice.
                                                                                                                                                                                
 

Imagery:  In Shakespeare time imagery was used instead of props.  Props weren't as sophisticated therefore it was very difficult to create ideas.  The dialog and script were very important because they developed character, plot and imagery.  Here are a few examples of imagery in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

                                                       each new morn
New windows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows
Strike heaven on face, that it resounds
As if it felt with Scotland, and yell'd out
Like syllable of dolour.
                `                                            (Act IV, Sc 3, Ln 4-8)
                                                                        Macduff

    This example shows that Macduff knows about all the horrible things that Macbeth has done.

                                  Stars, hide your fires!
Let not light see my black and deep desires;

                                                               (Act I, Sc 4, Ln 50)
                                                                      Macbeth

    This example expresses Macbeth's longing to be king.  He now has two people to eliminate if he
were to act on the prophecy.
 

                                    Come thick night,
and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,

                                                                (Act I, Sc 5, Ln 51)
                                                                    Lady Macbeth

    This example expresses that Lady Macbeth would like night to come as soon as possible so that they can murder Duncan, and become King and Queen themselves.

    The dialog of the witches also has a lot of evil imagery because Shakespeare tried to reinforce the idea of witches being evil.

Plot:  The plot of Macbeth is inherently evil in that it is a story about a man who commits treason and is a tyrant over his realm.  Macbeth is a greedy man whose good sense and loyalty were overthrown by his treasonous ambitions.  The witches are the characters who make the plot evil, if they had not interfered with Macbeth he may not have killed Duncan for the crown.  In an already dark age, when wars were constant, torturous interrogations were done, men were killed as easily as met, and women were burned at the stake as witches, this is still a story of evil because it shows a man rise against his country and King, and be rewarded.