The Tragedy of Macbeth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Tragedy of Macbeth - Essay Example Macbeth’s guilt and his words demonstrate that he knows it is an evil act he and his wife have plotted and are talking about in this scene, but having been approached in Act 1, Scene 3 by the Weird Sisters, the three witches, who, before disappearing, give Macbeth their prophesies as to his ascension to the King’s throne, Macbeth seems to reconcile himself to the fact that he must murder the King and fulfill the prophesies. The seed of what is to come has been planted in Macbeth’s mind, and that it is prophesized by the three withes, in Macbeth’s mind, makes it somewhat of a done deed. It is at this point that Scene 1, Act 1 becomes vitally important, because it is in that scene that the withes meet and talk about their ideas, and upon departing the third witch declares, â€Å"Fair is foul, and foul is fair,† which sets the stage for the notion that for every action there is a reaction. Though the result of â€Å"fair is foul,† as it certainly is in the mind of Lady Macbeth in Act 1, Scene 7, there is, too, the end result of what is â€Å"foul is fair,† which is what Macbeth seems to be concerned about in Act 1, Scene 7, when he says, â€Å"False face must hide what the false heart knows.† This, as Macbeth resolves himself to what he is about to do to his kind and friend, Duncan, knowing that it is evil, and his face must not betray what his mind knows lest his evil be detected. There is a balance in the universe that comes from the concept of the idea that for every action there is a reaction, or a balance. Act 1, Scene 7 prepares us for that which will be the reaction to the couple’s murder, in that Macbeth’s troubled conscious will manifest itself in a way that brings physical and mental distress to Macbeth. His wife, who denies her conscious in this scene, will suffer equally great physical and mental distresses. Avarice, the basis for the pair’s evil, will meet with the balancing