Question

In stories, plays, or films, it is always satisfying when villains get what they deserve in the end. in an essay, discuss whether this is the case with macbeth and lady macbeth or whether they might have gotten off too easily. do you think their fate would have been the same if they'd committed the same deeds today? use events in the tragedy of macbeth, to support your argument.

Answer 1

Students may choose to defend either point of view in their essays as long as they support it with examples. For example, students who agree that the villains get what they deserve will say that nothing except death is a worthy penalty for cruel murderers who tear their own country apart. In contrast, some students might feel that because Lady Macbeth chooses to end her own life and Macbeth's death is quick and brave, these villains do not suffer enough for their crimes. Students might say that the fate of the Macbeths would be the same even today and that in many parts of the world today systems of checks and balances help keep rulers from becoming dictators.

Answer 2

Their fate definitely would not have been the same today, as the judicial system nowadays is much more refined. They would have been tried, probably found guilty, and sentenced to prison. Both of them, in the play though, get a fair punishment for what they deserve. Macbeth has to see his wife die, which is an emotional moment for him that he deserves for putting Macduff through the same. Then, he has to discover in the middle of a battle that he thinks he cannot lose that the witches' prophecies might not have told him the whole story. Discovering that Macduff is not of woman born and can definitely kill him is a blow to his psyche that shakes and rattles him to the core, leading to his defeat. Being so mentally shaken and then beheaded is a pretty harsh punishment, even considering the crimes he committed. Lady Macbeth is tormented by her guilt and is driven to madness because of what she has done. This madness and death are also punishments that seem to fit the crimes she committed.