Pressure and persuasion can make a person do something they wouldn't normally do, or something they might regret. In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, regrets symbolize the transformations of a character, transforming him into someone completely different. Throughout the play, Shakespeare completely reverses the emotions and actions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Through the use of symbolism and different gender roles, Shakespeare demonstrates transformations and changes within the characters of Macbeth. In the first act of Macbeth, Shakespeare uses loose clothing as a symbol of changing times. After Macbeth defeats Macdonwald, a traitor, he becomes the new Thane of Cawdor. Once he accepts his new title, he removes his battle armor and replaces it with robes. He asks the people present: "Why do you dress me in borrowed clothes?" (1.4.108-9). Macbeth deduces that the clothes of the previous Thane of Cawdor, the traitor, do not fit him. Shakespeare uses this symbolism throughout the play to show how Macbeth evolves into a greedy, murderous monster. Towards the final scenes of the play, Macbeth realizes what he has become. As Macbeth asks to don his armor for his last battle, Angus makes a comment about him to Menteith, Caithness, and Lennox: “Those he commands move only by command, nothing by love. Now he feels his title fluttering around him, like a giant's robe over a tiny thief” (5.2.19-22). Angus says that anyone who follows Macbeth does so only by command, not by love. He also points out that the title "King" does not fit Macbeth, but rather surrounds him as a dwarf dressed as a giant. Shakespeare shows Macbeth's transformations simply through what he... middle of paper... the rivers of Arabia will not soften this little hand. Oh, oh, oh!” (5.1.35-6). Lady Macbeth confesses that her hands will never be clean, no matter how hard she tries. At the end of the play, Shakespeare manages to metaphorically switch the gender roles of Macbeth and his wife. Could the choice to kill Duncan have turned them both into completely different people, or did their decision simply give them the little push they needed to show their true colors? All in all, their choice carried with it some karma; they both died in the end, Macbeth in battle and Lady Macbeth by suicide. Making a decision can be one of the hardest things to do, especially if you don't know how the ending will play out. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Adventures in English Literature. Ed. H. Edward Deluzain. New York, NY: Holt Rinehart Winston, 1996.