Rooting for the Bad Guy: Narrative Empathy in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Abstract

One of the reasons for feeling an emotional connection with fiction is narrative empathy. Research shows that for narrative empathy to be fully realized, it must compose both reader response and authorial strategies. This paper proposes that William Shakespeare utilizes deliberate writing strategies in creating narrative empathy in Macbeth, and a study of it will validate the connection between reader response and literary empathetic strategies. This paper performs a technical survey of reader response, followed by an examination of William Shakespeare's writing strategies in Macbeth, regarding narrative empathy. Specifically, it examines Shakespeare's character, Macbeth; focusing on his psychological development and plot-line motivations which create narrative empathy in the reader; despite the paradox of his being a murderer. It will be shown that Shakespeare maximizes narrative empathy for his character Macbeth through his expert writing techniques, creating an empathetic character who otherwise would be seen as a murderer, making the play tragic.