Evil: how is it presented?; The prophecy: true or false

[MidnightShadow]

Hi there. Recently, I was asked to write about the various ways evil is presented in the play.
In my essay, I wrote that evil is summed up by the quote "fair is foul, and foul is fair". Plainly, there is no "fixed' idea of evil in the play, but rather, many viewpoints of evil; Malcolm and company's being Macbeth, and Macbeth's being the witches. I would like to get some personal ideas of evil in the play.

Also, is it justified to argue that fate had not meant for Macbeth to be king, as shown from the quote:

Though his bark cannot be lost,
Yet it shall be tempest-tossed

Could the "prophecy" be merely a ploy to wreck havoc in Scotland?

[Gladys]

I understand the words of the First Witch, “Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tossed”, to refer to the sailor, whose wife who has spurned the witch’s demand for the “chestnuts in her lap”. This has little to do with Macbeth except that it shows the negative character of the witches.

In fleeing Scotland alone, patriotic Macduff seems to betray his family and relatives. Lady Macduff says as much and worse. Malcolm and Ross tacitly share her judgment. Macduff himself is strangely silent on why he abandons them to Macbeth wrath. So the play ends with traitor killing traitor! “Foul is fair”?

[MidnightShadow]

I understand the words of the First Witch, “Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tossed”, to refer to the sailor, whose wife who has spurned the witch’s demand for the “chestnuts in her lap”. This has little to do with Macbeth except that it shows the negative character of the witches.

However, this implies that the witches, though able to change the circumstances, are not able to change fate completely. This is because they can only make the sea so strong that the ship was "tempest-tossed", but it was the ability of the seamen which was the crucial factor in whether the ship will survive.
This can be used to show that the witches, in the case of Macbeth, could have been able to change a few circumstances (one cannot forget the dagger he saw) in order to get him to kill Duncan, and thus may not be something decided by Fate.
I believe that the reason of this passage is to show thus as it would be rather redundant otherwise. As for the purpose being to show the " negative nature of the witches", it would be quite useless as our attitude towards the witches is already tainted.

[deepachan]

Its the three witches they bring out the hemartia of the play/ or macbeths flaw, they made Macbeth and Lady Macbeth turn evil so the 3 witches are the most evil in the play

[Virgil]

I voted for MacBeth. He did the killing. No one twisted his arm.

[Gladys]

Thanks for elaborating, MidnightShadow, I stand corrected. The witches can influence the environment of a mortal but their power doesn’t extend to death and damnation. That is a pathway Macbeth chooses for himself. The witches tempt and hassle Macbeth rather than altering his destiny.

“Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tossed” tells of a ship’s master, whose wife rebuffed the first witch. The witches harry that sailor and, through a flaw in character, he dies by shipwreck nearing home (assuming the ship’s master and pilot are one).

Macbeth chooses to be king, rules with arrogance (a character flaw) and succumbs. As Hecate forecasts:

He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear
His hopes 'bove wisdom, grace, and fear:
And you all know, security
Is mortals' chiefest enemy.

In return, Macbeth and his wife are tempest-tossed by conscience, Banquo’s ghost, and the need to purge enemies - all credit to the witches. Nevertheless, Macbeth alone is responsible for his actions and for the havoc wreaked in Scotland. The witches aren’t to blame since “his bark cannot be lost”, though he himself can (and does) lose it.

Who is most "evil"? Lady Macduff and I reserve our votes for her husband.