In the start of both, A Christmas Carol and Macbeth we can see the writers (in this case Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare) give a clear idea straight away to the reader or audience what the characters are like, their flaws are obvious in some senses but hidden in others. In Macbeth we can see where the sergeant speaks of Macbeth during the battle, “Like valor’s minion carved out his passage…and fixed his head upon our battlements”. I can see from this that he is considered a beast and also a ferocious fighter. In this quote Shakespeare used a simile when comparing Macbeth to a ‘valor’s minion’ in order to create an image of a servant who would fight to the death for his king, holding nothing back. I believe that both of the writers structured personality traits at the start of each story to give the characters flaws to be shown and overcome. In a Christmas carol, Scrooge is often described as totally the opposite of what Macbeth was known as. Scrooge was often portrayed as stingy, anti-social and passive aggressive. When asked by a charity worker “How much should I put you down for?” Scrooge responded “Nothing!”. From this I can see that Scrooge is nihilistic as he does not care for any other beliefs apart from his own. Also Dickens has used exaggeration when Scrooge exclaimed “Nothing!”. Looking at both of these characters in the start of their play/novella there are no real similarities to see at this point apart from the passionate fierceness of each character.

In the next part of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge meets the ghost of Marley, who was a former business partner of Scrooge’s, often mistreated by Scrooge. When he finally meets this ghost he feels shock and starts to potentially believe that the ghost is real. “though he looked the phantom through and through and saw it standing before him; though he felt the chilling influence of his death-cold eyes…and fought against his senses”. I believe that Dickens has structured this to be in the novella at this moment to give the reader the idea that Scrooges flaws could be overcome and are not fixed, and that he might hinting at an ability to change, he is starting to believe in the ghost of Marley despite his outward attitude. In this section of the novella Dickens uses imagery to create the moment when Scrooge finally meets the ghost. The ‘death-cold’ metaphor helps to create that feeling of dread about what is going to be discussed later by the ghosts. On the other hand, it could also create the image of the grim reaper which would of been a very popular mythical figure at that time. Dickens wanted people to feel the genuine fear of Scrooge, especially through the use of the supernatural which was widely believed in a the time. The metaphor would of reinforced this strongly.

Contrary to Scrooge, Macbeth is currently thinking of killing the king (king Duncan at the time). Another important factor is that Macbeth has the ambition to kill someone so high of a status as King Duncan. “Vaulting ambition, which o’er leaps itself and falls on th’ other.” Although, it is not just Macbeth who wants King Duncan dead as the wife of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, is trying to persuade the brave warrior to do his ‘duty’ and step up so that Lady Macbeth can become the Queen. The language feature that Shakespeare has used in the previous quote was a metaphor, when he mentions Macbeth’s vaulting ambition. With this being said, I can see some clear comparisons between Scrooge and Macbeth. One of which is that Macbeth is seen as very paranoid, knowing what will have to be done to the king by himself. However, Scrooge is seen as suspicious, as at this current moment he does not know whether to believe in the ghost or not. I believe that Scrooge and Macbeth were portrayed in a way where they have made significant developments and we are starting to see that their flaws are coming out.

Moving onto a much more controversial part of the play, Macbeth has returned from killing King Duncan. We can see that straight away he feels remorse and regret from killing the current king just to become the king himself. “Therefore Cawdor shall not sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more.” In this quote Shakespeare uses exaggeration and repetition to brutally reinforce the feeling that he will never be able to forget this action he has taken. I believe Shakespeare has structured this crucial moment in the play at this part as he wanted to show the audience how much Macbeth regretted making the decision of killing the now former King Duncan. The Divine Right of Kings was widely believed at the time and this killing would of shocked audiences deeply. To go against God was seen to be a really serious crime and people would of been completely stunned by his actions. They would also know that his punishment would be severe.

Contrary to Macbeth, Scrooge at this part of the novella meets the ghost of Christmas present. The main reason why he is meeting the ghost of Christmas present is so that he can see what he has been missing due to his anti-social and passive-aggressive ways. He is starting to see how people are enjoying themselves. Towards the crisis point of the play, Scrooge feels uncharacteristic sympathy when he questions “Have they no refuge or resource?”. The spirit responds “Are there no prisons?” said the spirit turning on him for the last time with his own words. “Are there no workhouses?”. I believe that Dickens has used rhetorical questions in this quote. Looking at Macbeth and Scrooge in these parts, I can see that they both have a sense of regret, with Macbeth killing the former King Duncan and Scrooge for being cold-hearted . I also believe that they both think that time is running out for them. Macbeth was told that this would be his only chance to become King essentially and Scrooge has seen from his own point of view that he and Tiny Tim are dead towards Christmas. I feel that Dickens has placed this part of the novella where it is because Scrooge has now been given an idea of what it could be like if he carries on with these ways, and he now has a chance to change. For Macbeth, Shakespeare has noted that Macbeth feels great regret but it could be too late, and adds a twist in the play because we don’t know what Macbeth’s next move will be.

There are a few reasons why Macbeth killed King Duncan, the main reason was to become King himself. Macbeth is then told by the witches that Banquo’s sons are set to be in a long line of royalty, and that it would be impossible for Macbeth to become King with this situation in place. Macbeth decides that the best thing to do is to get people to go out and kill Banquo and his son as he feels like time is running out. The murder was successful in some sense but only Banquo was killed, and not his son. Later, we can see Macbeth at a banquet where many of Macbeth’s peers sit and eat with him. “Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake thy gory locks at me.” This is when he meets Banquo’s ghost and speaks to him when everyone is around the table, this is where we can see that Macbeth is going insane. In the quote Shakespeare uses desperate imperative as a language technique.  I believe that Shakespeare had the idea to strike fear into the audience, and also to make Macbeth seem like a totally unpredictable character. It is also important to mention that this was structured in this part of the play to give an added twist to Macbeth’s flaws. Now, Macbeth realises that its not going to be easy, as he has just killed King Duncan but will now have to get past the sons of Banquo and Banquo in his ghost form, who is traumatising him.

Scrooge potentially has one similarity to Macbeth at this point, as they both feel as if they are being traumatised by a ghost of some sort. In Macbeth’s case it is of course the ghost of Banquo but for Scrooge it is the ghost of Christmas yet to come, where Scrooge is shown what will be of his life if he does not change his ways. “Tell me if Tiny Tim will live.” “If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, the child will die.” “Oh no kind spirit! say he will be spared.” “If he be like to die, he had better do it and decrease the surplus population.” After this ordeal Scrooge hangs his head, as the spirit once again cruelly quotes Scrooges previous words, and he feels like he is grieving. In those quotes, Dickens uses a para-suggestion. I believe this was in this part of the structure of the play to give the reader the idea that Scrooge is grieving which is a rare sight. Also, it could be showing that Scrooge is starting to change his ways.

Towards the denouement of Macbeth, he starts to feel worthless with all the work he has done. He feels like he has done all of this work for nothing and and in the process has ended up losing all of his friends. He also feels regret as there has been no reward for his efforts.  “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” I think that this quote uses pathos because it makes the audience feel sorry for him, as he states that he signifies nothing. Also, I believe the writer wanted the audience to know the consequences of murder and also to let people know that loyalty is important. In this case Macbeth has realised this too late. The reason I believe as to why Shakespeare decided to use my evidence in this part of the play is because it is coming to the end of the play and he now knows that he cannot undo his actions and that these mistakes will never be forgotten.