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 them 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 the 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 those present: “Why are you dressing me in borrowed robes? (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 and murderous monster. Towards the final scenes of the play, Macbeth realizes what he has become. As Macbeth asks to be put into his armor for his final 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 floating around him, like a giant's robe over a dwarven thief” (5.2.19-22). Angus says that anyone who follows Macbeth does so only by order, not out of love. He also notices that the title "King" does not suit Macbeth, but instead hangs around him like a dwarf disguised as a giant. Shakespeare shows Macbeth's transformations simply through what he...... middle of paper ......umes of Arabia will not soften this little hand. Oh, oh, oh! (5.1.35-6). Lady Macbeth admits that her hands will never be clean, no matter how hard she tries. At the end of the play, Shakespeare metaphorically manages to reverse the gender roles of Macbeth and his wife. Choosing to kill Duncan could have turned them both into completely different people, or did their decision just give them the little push they needed to show their true colors? Overall, their choice had to do with 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 turn out. Works CitedShakespeare, William. Macbeth. Adventures in English Literature. Ed. H. Edward Deluzain.New York, NY: Holt Rinehart Winston, 1996.