Introduction
Macbeth's tragedy by William Shakespeare was written in 1606-07 and published in 1603. Set in Scotland, Macbeth is a successful army general in the army of King Duncan. He is approached by three witches who claim that he is going to become the King, but also, the witches predict that the future Scottish kings will descend not from Macbeth but his fellow army captain, Banquo (Shakespeare 2). Initially, Macbeth decided to wait for the prophecy to come true, but he is overwhelmed by ambition when the current King appoints his son Malcolm as the heir. Lady Macbeth persuades him to kill the King so that he can quickly ascend to power (Shakespeare 10). Macbeth is skeptical about the action because he believes it will invite judgment if not on earth then in heaven, but his wife prevails him, and Macbeth ends up killing the King. But he is caught by Macduff, who is a loyal follower of the King, and after the murder is revealed, Macbeth kills all the witnesses (Shakespeare 18). Due to this, the King's sons flee the country, and Macbeth is made the King of Scotland. However, due to the second prophesy by the witches, Macbeth plans to send murderers to kill both Banquo and his son Fleance (Shakespeare 24). They Let Fleance escape and kill Banquo (Shakespeare 28). The ghost of Banquo keeps appearing and reappearing on Macbeth during a celebratory Banquet (Shakespeare 34). When he returns to the witches, they confirm that the sons of Banquo will rule Scotland and that he would be invulnerable in the battle until he comes across an enemy not born of a woman. Macbeth later learns that his friend Macduff fled to England to be with Malcolm, he vows for the execution of Macduff's family starting with the wife. Macduff plans to revenge on Macbeth, and they plan with Malcolm, who has already raised an army in England. In the battle, Macbeth hews aggressively, but the forces from England continue to overwhelm his army. Seeing this, lady Macbeth decides to commit suicide. Macbeth continues to fight until when Macduff overpowers and kills him. Malcolm is then declared the King of Scotland. The theme that is very dominant in this play is loyalty, and therefore the paper will aim to explain how loyalty dominated the play and its outcome.
Loyalty and Betrayal
In Macbeth's play, loyalty is the central theme that is depicted on many occasions and from different characters of the play. During the beginning of the play, Macbeth is rewarded by King Duncan with the title of thane Cawdor since the original thane betrayed the King by joining the forces in Norway (Shakespeare 8). Compared to the original thane, Macbeth was a brave and trustworthy general and deserved the title. Macbeth replies to King Duncan that the loyalty he owes in doing his job is eventually paying off (Shakespeare 8). Nevertheless, things took a wrong turn when king Duncan named Malcolm as his heir just when Macbeth had received a prophecy from the witches that he is going to be the King of Scotland after King Duncan. The ambition of becoming the King had already struck in and how he was ready to do anything, even if it meant killing the King. It came to pass when he decided to kill King Duncan eventually.
Macduff was also an army general who was a friend to Macbeth. After seeing the King's corpse, Macduff suspected that Macbeth was the reason for the King's death, and he, therefore, betrayed Macbeth and pledges his loyalty for Malcolm by fleeing to England with Malcolm and plan their revenge against him (Shakespeare 42). Macduff confirms to Malcolm that he is not treacherous
In another occurrence of loyalty and betrayal dynamic in Macbeth, He betrays Banquo out of paranoia. It happened after the witches further prophesied to Macbeth that the lineage of Banquo would inherit Scotland kingship and not that of Macbeth. Macbeth and Banquo were a longtime duo in the Scotland army, and it was expected that Macbeth would maintain loyalty between the two. However, jealousy crept in, and to Macbeth, Banquo and his descendants were a threat to his kingship. Therefore, he decided to kill Banquo and his son by sending murderers to kill them (Shakespeare 30). The murderers permitted Banquo's son to flee but killed Banquo (Shakespeare 34).
Conclusion
Macbeth's wife is also seen to maintain her loyalty to her husband from the beginning of the play to the end. She remains loyal to Macbeth from the time of plotting the killing of the King, Banquo's, and also during the war. After the death of Banquo, his ghosts keep appearing and reappearing to Macbeth during the celebratory Banquet claims, which his wife brush off and instead use the chance to encourage him (Shakespeare 24). In another scenario, lady Macbeth shows loyal thoughts. However, the moment she imagines herself as the queen of Scotland., she becomes the mastermind in plotting the killing of King Duncan (Shakespeare 10).
