Although the world of Macbeth may be engulfed in darkness and evil practices, it is certainly not entirely evil. Heroism is a continuous theme in the play, and this is first shown when in the second scene of the first act, the Captain narrates the story of Macbeth and how he deals with the rebels of Scotland. He says of Macbeth,.
"For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name-.
Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel.".
This shows us how loyal and brave Macbeth is at the beginning of the play. Although in the first scene, the witches show the presence of evil through their appearance and their disturbing chanting, this is later contrasted with the presence of King Duncan in the second scene and also the presence of Malcolm, who later proves to be a hero of the play. Therefore, although there is evil, the world of Macbeth cannot be entirely evil, as there are good characters in the play.
King Duncan is the main good character of the play, and he symbolises the goodness and purity of the world. He is portrayed as an innocent man, for example, when he says,.
"There's no art .
To find the mind's construction in the face:.
He was a gentleman on whom I built .
An absolute trust." .
His speech is interrupted with the entrance of Macbeth who is soon to prove a traitor, and Duncan greets him with gratitude and a similar 'absolute trust' that he felt for the previous Thane of Cawdor. This shows how difficult it is in the world of Macbeth to tell the difference between good and evil, as 'fair is foul and foul is fair.' This also shows us that although it is hard for characters in the play to tell the difference between good and bad, there is a presence of good, because the world of Macbeth involves a struggle between the two forces, and so it cannot be completely evil. What Macbeth says of King Duncan in Act one also shows how good a man Duncan is. He is thinking of all the reasons why he should not kill Duncan, and he admits to himself that his king .
