Creating Sympathy for Macbeth The dark aura surrounding Shakespeare's Macbeth is well deserved, as is the darkness surrounding the title character. While Macbeth is certainly an evil and evil man based solely on his actions, a deeper examination of his character's portrayal leads to a more sympathetic view of him. The play does not portray Macbeth simply as a cold-blooded murderer, but rather as a tortured soul attempting to deal with the atrocities around him. Before any murderous activity occurs, Macbeth does not experience small, ambiguous premonitions, he is told directly by mysterious, dark figures things that are "destined" to happen. Although these mysterious prophecies seem dubious at first, after Macbeth is named Thane of Cawdor, the third prophecy, his accession to the throne, no longer seems remote. The fact that Macbeth sees his ultimate goal, his childhood dream, as an attainable thing that he simply must achieve and achieve, should serve to evoke some sympathy from the audience. “I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / The circling ambition, which surpasses itself / And falls upon the other –” (I vii 25). Not acting now would only demonstrate Macbeth's cowardice and failures. Everyone has an end goal; not everyone has the opportunity to try to achieve it, and even fewer succeed in achieving it. Examining Duncan's brutal, bloody, and repeated stabbing as Macbeth's only chance to finally realize his childhood dream of becoming king sheds a different light on the normal horror of his act. Before the murders, Macbeth has no positive guidance to help dissuade him from danger. murders. Her closest confidant, Lady Macbeth, is portrayed as a mad and conniving woman......center of card......arrior. Works Cited and Consulted: Campbell, Lily B. "Macbeth: A Study in Fear." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 126-35.Gates, David. “Shakespeare: Dead White Male of the Year.” Newsweek December 30, 1996: 82+.Kinney, Arthur F. ed. William Shakespeare: the tragedies. Boston: Hall and Company, 1985. Noble, Adrian. “At age 436, his future is limitless.” New York Times 23 April 2000, last ed., sec. 2:5.Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Macbeth. Elements of literature. Sixth ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1997.Wadsworth, Frank W. "Shakespeare, William." World Book Online American Edition. Online edition. Online. Netzero. March 26, 2002."William Shakespeare." BBC home page. Online. Available . March 26, 2002.Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 30-37.