Whether or Not Macbeth is Deserving of Pity in Shakespeares Play Macbe

In the last scene of â€Å"Macbeth†, Malcolm describes Macbeth as â€Å"this dead butcher† which could be argued is the best way to sum up Macbeth’s character. The word â€Å"butcher† implies slaughter and brutality. Macbeth is certainly guilty of butchery, the cruel, senseless killing of people. Malcolm uses the word â€Å"butcher† to provoke appalling memories of Macbeth’s deeds from the audience. But could Macbeth’s behavior ever be justified? Could Macbeth ever be pitied or even excused for the actions he took? Shakespeare chooses to have Malcolm describe Macbeth as â€Å"this dead butcher† for a reason. Clearly, Malcolm loathes Macbeth for killing his father and so his choice of language, such as â€Å"butcher†, will be biased. This will also sway the audience to dislike Macbeth, because Malcolm is the hero by saving Scotland. The audience would have wanted to be on the winning side, witch is undoubtedly Malcolm‘s. At this point in the play, I don’t think Shakespeare intended the audience to pity or excuse Macbeths deeds. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth started as a well-respected thane but as he rose to power, became a guilty murderer. However, Macbeth was influenced and tricked by many others in the play and I will explain why a case could therefore be made to defend him. The three witches, or the weird sisters, approach Macbeth on a dark day in a Scottish moor. Shakespeare uses the weather to suggest that the witches are evil. The scene, with thunder and lightening, reflects the witches thoughts- which are intent on creating trouble and stirring things up. The weather also predicts a stormy future for Macbeth. The setting, â€Å"A desolate place† immediately sounds eerie and spooky. This shows that the Witches plan to manipulate Macbeth from th... ...r all he has done. I feel strongly that we are meant to feel pity for Macbeth at the end of the play. I believe that the Shakespearian audience would not have excused Macbeth for the murder of the Macduffs but perhaps for the murder of banquoe, because it was torture for Macbeth to think becoming king was all for nothing if Banquo’s offspring succeeded the throne after himself. I do not think the audience are meant to regard Macbeth as just a â€Å"butcherâ€Å", because of the shame Macbeth clearly feels at the end. Although Macbeth is guilty of the deception of his best friend, his king, as well as his subjects, he can be excused because he was manipulated by many others in the play such as his wife and the witches. I feel that the actual play Macbeth is quite relevant for the 21st centaury. The moral is still significant today. The themes in Macbeth are relevant too.