Macbeth

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are basically good people who make an ill judgment. It is unfair for Malcolm to describe them as "this dead butcher and his fiend - like queen". In the beginning they are respected people who share a loving relationship. Their downfall is caused by their ambition for Macbeth to be great, sparked by the witches' prophecy, and not because they are evil. Macbeth's indecision on whether or not to kill Duncan, …

…we see that Macbeth is not a butcher, but a good man with the tragic flaw of ambition. It is clear by their behavior that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are not evil. Lady Macbeth's obvious suffering and regret, shown by her sleepwalking and suicide, and Macbeth's fighting to his death, like the fearless soldier in the first Act, prove that Malcolm's describing them as "this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen" is unfair and inaccurate.