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Loyalty and Betrayal in Macbeth

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Loyalty and betrayal are two conflicting qualities, yet they find a way to highlight one another. An individual cannot portray one quality without showing the other; to prove complete loyalty, one must betray another in a sense. Whether out of good or evil intentions, a person will show an act of loyalty, which will in the end lead to betrayal; so that the two qualities work together to portray one another. Before one can be completely loyal, he must first pay the price of betrayal to another. Before acting on one's thought, he must consider the different outcomes each outcome a scenario could bring. In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, loyalty and betrayal are exhibited in abundance. Throughout the play many characters betray what is most important to them and in the end happen to lose it all. Macbeth, Macduff and Banquo learn that all loyalty comes with a potentially worthy price once they lose everything they depend on, such as their lives and families. Being loyal is rare among the many qualities people possess but at the same time it is also considered a tragic flaw if bestowed upon the wrong person. Macbeth is both loyal and disloyal at the same time; his greatest loyalty lies within himself and his ambitions. As a result of his strong loyalty to himself, Macbeth betrays his King, Duncan, his friend, Banquo and his moral thoughts. He betrays his King by murdering him; in doing so he shows his loyalty towards his ambitions. He does this based on the witches' prophecy that states that he will be future King of Scotland, hinting that Macbeth needs to rid of Duncan. He ignores his conscience and allows for his ambitions to take control of him. Another person that Macbeth betrays is Banquo, by allowing his drive for greed and ambition to take over; as a result he kills his dearest friend. The reason behind this betrayal is because of his loyalty to his ego and power of not wanting his crown to be taken from him. This is due to the fact that Banquo was given the prophecy that states he would be the father of a line of Kings which Macbeth fears. Lastly, he betrays himself by not listening to his moral though

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