I have chosen the question, "Compare the ways in which the conflict between good and evil is presented in Macbeth and in The Strange Case of Dr....

In terms of good, your first two small quotations—"valiant cousin" and "noble Macbeth"—help to illustrate the goodness, loyalty, and bravery with which Macbeth begins the play. Duncan refers to him as his "valiant cousin" and the Captain calls him "noble Macbeth" in order to praise him for his courage and success in his fight against the traitor Macdonwald as well as the king of Norway's troops. Macbeth is loyal to Duncan and Scotland in these...

In terms of good, your first two small quotations—"valiant cousin" and "noble Macbeth"—help to illustrate the goodness, loyalty, and bravery with which Macbeth begins the play. Duncan refers to him as his "valiant cousin" and the Captain calls him "noble Macbeth" in order to praise him for his courage and success in his fight against the traitor Macdonwald as well as the king of Norway's troops. Macbeth is loyal to Duncan and Scotland in these early scenes.

However, he later claims, "I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition [...]" (1.7.25-28). What he means is that he has a great many reasons not to commit the murder of Duncan and only one reason to go ahead with it: ambition. This quotation speaks to the changes we begin to see in Macbeth; he is no longer the king's loyal kinsman—now he is the man who plots against him in order to take power for himself, and therefore we begin to see his descent into evil and corruption.

At the end of the scene, when Macbeth has again determined to go forward with the murder, he says that "False face must hide what the false heart doth / know" (1.7.95-96). He means that his face must be false (he has to look kindly and loyal as he always has) in order to hide the deception in his heart. He knows he is going to kill Duncan, but he cannot look like it. He is becoming even more evil here, as he works out how to get away with the crime.

Finally, after he commits the murder, we can see his internal struggle again when he cries, "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?" (2.3.78-79). He feels tremendously guilty and believes that he will always feel this way. The conflict between his goodness and loyalty with his corruption and greed is especially evident in this scene.