Beginning of Essay
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment explore the psychological depths of man. These two works examine tragedy as represented through the existential beliefs of many philosophers. Existentialist theory expresses the idea that man ca ....

Middle of Essay
.... and hollowness penetrate human existence, creating anxiety, reverence, and dejection (Moore & Bruder 503). And man faces, as the most prominent fact of human existence, the need to decide how he is to live within this “absurd and irrational world” (Moore & Bruder 504). “Macbeth” employs many existentialist concepts. Macbeth’s murdering of Duncan to obtain his kingship displays a basic existentialist philosophy in that he eliminated his obstacles in order to fulfill his ambition (Gellrich 17). The witches who constantly taunt Macbeth drive him to his ultimate goal (Craig 255). Dostoevsky also employs an existentialist philosophy in his ....