"This dead butcher and his fiend-like queen" is a striking depiction of the main characters made by Malcolm, an central character, near the end of one of William Shakespeare's most popular plays, "Macbeth". I have chosen to write about whether it is fair to compare Macbeth to a butcher, one who is insensitive to bloodshed, using evidence in favour and against to come to my conclusion. In my own opinion, having read the play, I believe that Macbeth is fully deserving of this title.
In the beginning of the play we can see that Macbeth is full of merit as he fights courageously in a battle against the Norwegians. In doing this he demonstrates his loyalty to his king, Duncan, and to his country. As a result of Macbeth succeeding on the battlefield he is heralded "brave Macbeth", "worthy gentleman" and "valiant cousin" by several characters. This indicates that he has gained the respect and admiration of his fellow countrymen for his good qualities such as leadership and determination and therefore is evidence that he did not have "butcher-like" qualities at that moment in time.
Furthermore before the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is reluctant to actually commit the crime and stands up to Lady Macbeth;
"We will proceed no further in this business.
He hath honoured me of late, and I have bought
Golden opinions from all sorts of people."
In doing this Macbeth reveals that he believes it to be wrong to kill Duncan especially after he has praised Macbeth for his role in recent events. Also, prior to the murder Macbeth shows that he has a conscience and experiences hallucinations.
"Is this a dagger which I see before me?
This is included to make the reader aware of Macbeth's deteriorating mental state as a result of the guilt he is experiencing without even having committed the murder but just by thinking about doing so t
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