'Using the speech in Act 1 Scene 7, explain how far you think Shakespeare presents Macbeth as an upstanding member of society'

Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 7 consists entirely of an internal battle that Macbeth is having with himself based on the plan to murder Duncan. He is beginning to contemplate whether the advantages of killing the King outweigh the certain negative repercussions that will also accompany the deed. Macbeth’s hesitation in regard to the assassination and his recognition of the difference between good and evil demonstrate that to an extent, his morals are still intact and that he can be considered humane. This is a very dramatic scene as it consists of a heightened suspense in regard to what Macbeth’s decision will be. Macbeth’s monologue commences with a phrase that includes alliteration to place emphasis on it because it acts as a summary of Macbeth’s conflicting thoughts. He says “If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well it were done quickly.” Foreshadowing is used in the first half of this phrase as it shows that Macbeth perceives that the murder of Duncan could initiate a cycle of violence that will eventually destroy him, which is precisely what occurs later on in the play. Macbeth desires the cessation of the affair to occur at the crime scene so that “th’assassination could trammel up the consequence”. This exhibits selfish and immoral flaws in Macbeth’s character. On the contrary, the latter half of the quote exemplifies the presence of morals in his person as Macbeth recognises that he must rush into the deed before he has time to think about it and so permit his conscience to be an unconquerable obstacle that stands in the way of the act. Above all, the phrase indicates that Macbeth knows that killing the king is morally wrong and he would like to execute the action before his morals make him change his mind. Throughout his speech, Macbeth exhibits a vast fear of punishment rather than fear of committing the crime itself. This is evident within the quote “this even-handed justice commends th’ingredience of our poisoned chalice to our own lips”. Foreshadowing is present within this quote as it suggests that Macbeth knows that justice is distributed evenly between people so committing such a horrific deed unto someone means that the same thing will occur to him. The word “poisoned” connotes to a painful death whilst “chalice” connotes to the giving of life as it has a religious resonance, linking to the last supper in Christianity which is a representation of the removal of sin, leading to eternal life. The significant contrast between these words could mean that “poisoned chalice” is an oxymoron, signifying a sort of perverted mass, and that it emphasises Macbeth’s knowledge that rather than being born into eternal life when drinking from the chalice as it is believed the disciples were in Christianity, he would on the contrary be born into eternal damnation as his chalice is “poisoned” with his own sin. This goes to show that Macbeth does have basic moral values as he realises that committing the murder would be a grave wrong, so wrong in fact that it would result in his eternal death.