Macbeth
Macbeth is a moral play because the villain of the play, Macbeth, ends up paying for his actions. However, the only way to understand the morality depicted in the story is by analyzing the wrongs that Macbeth did in the play. At the beginning of the play, the character Macbeth is brave and loyal to King Duncan. However, after Macbeth heard the witches’ prophecy, he starts having too much ambition in his mind that was not there before. Due to his unrestrained ambition and hunger for power, he commits dreadful murders killing the king and other nobles. It is immoral to kill someone for one’s gain. Macbeth killed King Duncan to expedite his ascension to the throne since the prophecy said that he would become king. Macbeth suffers the consequences of his actions leading to his death. Therefore, the play’s moral lesson is that people should not let their ambitions take the better part of them, but one should have a limit to their aspirations. Macbeth was overcome by ambition that he killed anyone that came on his way. If one has an ambition, they should not use it to make others suffer but to let nature take its course.
At the end of the play, justice is served. Macbeth, an overly ambitious character, kills Duncan and kills Macduff’s family. It all comes around. Macbeth kills Duncan, and he admits that he had no good reason for killing him “but only vaulting ambition.” Macbeth had once considered killing Duncan in Act 1 when Duncan revealed that Malcolm, his son, is the prince. Macbeth said that “stars hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires.” He thought of committing murder even before his wife, lady Macbeth, motivated him to commit the murder. If one views justice “as an eye for an eye,” justice was served since Macduff kills Macbeth in the final act. Macbeth had killed Macduff’s family to make Macduff suffer since Macbeth feared Macduff. Lady Macbeth likely took her own life out of guilt and madness. Also, if one sees justice as a way of giving back to the victims, then the last speech shows that people who suffered under Macbeth’s rule were given justice. Malcolm promises that he will call back welcome “our exiled friends abroad,” and all people who had fled the country during Macbeth’s rule and welcome them back home. Malcolm also promises that he will find and uproot all the cruel helpers of Macbeth.