"All Hail Macbeth"

It was not regicide, however brutal. It was not betrayal of a good king, however treacherous. It was not his subtle tongue, which slyly persuaded men to join the evil party. It was not drinking the witches' brew to see the future. Look into the night sky, as he did. Stare at that hot dark light until you are dizzy with illumination. Be patient as the wolf howls and the night birds screech. Invite fear into your heart and soul. Now do you understand Macbeth's fate? The ornaments of life - honor, love, obedience, friends - he exchanged for one glittering prize - The Crown. He thought he was born to be King. He summoned Hecate and the wolf. He bloodied his knife with the sacred life of a divine king, and blood flooded his being, and choked every good impulse. But his greatest sin, his unforgivable offence, was to speak with a poet's golden words, and make despair beautiful: "Out, out...."