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Role Of Betrayal In Macbeth

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Macbeth’s very first soliloquy characterizes him as a person who is both loyal and honorable to his king; he knows that he must honor his king by fighting every battle like it would be his last, but his mind gradually begins to alter and generates a chain of betrayal. Macbeth was a great man in the commencement of the play, “Till he faced the slave; which ne’er shook hand, nor bade his farewell to him, till he unseamed him from the nave to th’chops, and fix 'd his head upon our battlements” (L. 9). After the three witches antagonize Macbeth, he changes even more from being the righteous soldier that he was, by saying to himself; “Let not the light see my black and deep desires: the eye wink at the hand yet lets tis should be which the eye fears, when it is done to see” (LL. 51-53). Nevertheless, many of the happenings in the play occur because of betrayal, whether it is betrayal regarding the main character or even betrayal of leaving people dear to you behind. …show more content…

Consequently, betrayal is one of the main things that allows the play, Macbeth, to flow and keep the audiences entertained. When Lady Macbeth sees Macbeth’s intentions concerning king Duncan, she is delighted by this idea, so she pushes Macbeth towards it. Lady Macbeth is so blinded by the excitement and fulfillment of the prophecies that all thoughts of consequence are utterly ignored. This completely changes Macbeth 's views and skews him toward the light of betrayal, “If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well it were done quickly” (LL. 1-2). The battle of loyalty and betrayal exists throughout the entire story. Each character shows the aspects and effects in different forms, but present them nonetheless. Ultimately, Macbeth went from fighting for and honoring to assassinating and betraying King

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