Macbeth is a brave and comfortable warrior. Although when his destiny is revealed to him, we can glimpse his character declining as he is intrigued by his future destiny, “Stay you imperfect speaker. Tell me more.” Here the spectators can see that the witches are intriguing Macbeth. He wants to find out more, which shows the ambition within him. His intrigue is shown again when Banquo says that Macbeth seemed “rapt withal”. While this is true, Macbeth also seem uncomfortable with the predictions, “Why do you start and seem to fear,” shows the audience how uncomfortable he seems at this point in the play. It gives us the impression that he fears both the roles and himself. This again shows a decline in both his character and mind. Banquo’s description of Macbeth shows that he must look nervous and agitated. The audience can now see that Macbeth is very uncomfortable with the roles he might be given. These uncomfortable feelings are increased by Banquo’s line:
“Have we eaten the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?”
This is saying that to find out your destiny is like eating deadly nightshade, or taking poison. This has undertones of death, and suggests that by learning your future is destructive and results in death. Evil is often behind death, and seems to also be behind the metaphor of capturing reason. To capture reason can cause the decline of the mind, and this is what might happen to Macbeth. This causes more uncomfortable feelings about Macbeth’s future. As we see him getting more and more uneasy, we can see the decline in his character.
Macbeth’s uneasiness develops as he is given the new title of Thane of Cawdor. This is shown in:
“The Thane of Cawdor lives.
Why do you dress me
In borrowed robes?”
This clothing image helps the audience to visualise that Macbeth is uncomfortable in wearing this title. The fact that he calls them ‘borrowed’ shows that the title may never metaphorically fit him. If this is true he might have to eventually take them off. This again shows the sense of conflict between his ambition to become a powerful man, and his conscience. This conflict causes him to be uncomfortable. He might also be uncomfortable in this new role for other reasons. One could be where the title previously came from. The preceding Thane of Cawdor was a “disloyal traitor” who “began a dismal conflict”. This implies that by stepping into the traitor’s shoes Macbeth might also become “disloyal” and begin a “dismal conflict”. My prediction is backed up by a quote from King Duncan, “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won.” This oxymoron suggests more conflict and a future uncomfortable Macbeth. This also relates back to the words of the witches, “When the battle’s lost, and won.” To repeat these words, which are filled with evil, acts as an ironic statement. It helps the audience to visualise the evil that underlines the title that Macbeth has won, and predicts that evil will come from it.
This evil lining of Macbeth’s new role starts to reveal it’s self in what Macbeth says in his soliloquies:
“…horrid image doth unfix my hair
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs.”
Here, as Macbeth thinks of murder, the audience can glimpse the evil acting on his character. This evil is pulling out and making his ambition and impatience for high status, more powerful. Although the evil is now within Macbeth, the audience can witness from his speech that the good within him is fighting back. It is this good and evil conflicting that is making him uncomfortable. This conflict is shown again in
“My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical
Shake so my single state of man…”
His thoughts are again on murder. This is shown in the lexical field of the passage. The lexical field includes words such as “horrid image”, “horrible imaginings”, “murder”, “suggestion” and “Surmise”. All these words show that he is considering murder, but at this stage his conscience is fighting these thoughts. This fight is shown again in Banquo’s repetitive description of Macbeth being “rapt”, but also in Macbeth saying:
“If chance will have me king, why chance will crown me king
Without my stir.”
Here the audience can notice that deep down he wants to leave his future in the hands of chance, which is personified as a person who would crown the king. We know that this is true, but we also can identify that deeper down ambition and impatience are strong. They would want his destiny to come faster. What is also worrying is the fact that Macbeth seems to see kingship just as a crown. We know that there is more to being a king than wearing a crown, as there are other qualities a king needs to have. The audience can also observe in this extract another clothing image. They can see that maybe the crown of a king might fit Macbeth, but not the other garments. Another clothing image is used in Banquo’s speech as well:
“New honours come upon him
Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould
But with aid of use.”
Here the viewers can distinguish that Banquo can see Macbeth is uncomfortable. With the use of the clothing image he helps the audience to visualise this. He is also saying that he will eventually grow into them and become more comfortable.
When we next meet Macbeth at Duncan’s palace he does seem more comfortable, and has maybe grown into the title. However his character still seems to be declining, “The service and the loyalty I owe” Macbeth is saying here that I will serve you and be loyal to you. This seems ironic to us, as we know that his loyalty went as soon as he started thinking about killing the king. This dramatic irony is again shown in how Duncan talks about the previous Thane of Cawdor:
“He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust.”
This is very ironic, as Duncan also trusts in Macbeth, who is thinking of killing him. Macbeth’s thoughts of murder again reappear, as well as conflict in the form of light and darkness, “Let not light see my black and deep desires.” The oxymoron of light and black again show conflict. As Macbeth’s character declines further, we can see the conscience and good within him pushed away. This good is in the form of light, and by not letting it see his “deep desires” the audience can also make out that Macbeth feels guilty.
Even though the light within Macbeth is being pushed away, when I hear about his character from his wife’s point of view, the audience can see that there might still be some good in him still:
“…too full o’th’milk of human kindness.” Here the audience can witness that lady Macbeth understands her husband well. She believes that he is too human to kill. Her understanding of Macbeth proves to be greater in:
“Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it…”
Here the spectators see that she believes he has enough ambition to do it, but doesn’t have enough evil within him. In her speech the audience can observe her connection with the witches. If he is too far on the good side, she is saying she is on the evil side. With the evil that Lady Macbeth possesses she then tries to make Macbeth as deceitful as possible.
“Look like th’innocent flower
But be the serpent under’t.”
She wants Macbeth to conceal his thoughts and emotions. This also refers back to what Duncan said about the previous Thane of Cawdor, “There’s no art/ to find the mind’s construction in the face.” These two ironic statements show the audience that you cannot ‘judge a book by its cover’ Macbeth is being driven by his ambition into deceit. Shakespeare investigates how humans can be driven by ambition. Ambition is a powerful characteristic and this can inspire deceit.
Macbeth is uncomfortable with his deceit as he was previously ‘loyal’ to the king. At the beginning of scene seven we see Macbeth contemplating all the reasons why he should not go through with the murder. The audience can see his conscience gaining more power as he thinks of all the reasons. His conscience is also seen in the fact that Macbeth never directly speaks of killing Duncan. He uses euphemisms, such as “assassination”, “this blow” and “the deed”. These words are less brutal, instead of addressing murder directly, and show that Macbeth himself does not want to be brutal. By the end of his reasoning the audience can see he has made his decision. Even so he seems not too sure about it:
“… I have no spur
To prick of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself.”
Here Macbeth says that he has nothing that pushes him towards murder, except his “vaulting” or powerful ambition. This ambition is what has the greatest power over him, but at the moment his conscience seems to be in control.
Lady Macbeth believes deceit to be a powerful and positive means to an end. Therefore when she hears of his change of heart she dopes not approve:
“Was the hope drunk
Wherein you dressed yourself?” This personification and metaphor of hope helps the audience to visualise that Macbeth’s ambition of becoming king has died down. This Rhetorical Question also includes another clothing image, which shows the audience that the robes of a king have been put aside. Macbeth is now happy and comfortable in the garments he already has on. As Macbeth is comfortable Lady Macbeth uses her knowledge of him to play on his warrior status and make him uncomfortable:
“Art thou afeard
To be the same in act and valour
As thou art in desire.”
Here the audience can see that she plays on his manhood and warrior status. She says she will “chastise with the valour of my tongue” to hurt him. She tries to shame him into the murder using a lexical field of bravery. The words she uses are “Valour”, “act” and “afeard”, all of which would hurt Macbeth. Another example of this lexical field is in “And live a coward in thine own esteem.” To call Macbeth a coward and afraid, as above, would really upset him as the audience knows that he is a very brave warrior. By using such words Lady Macbeth makes him heel helpless. This assists to shame him into committing murder. With the use of this shame she manages to change his mind, which is evident in:
“I am settled and bend up
Each corporal agent to the terrible feat.”
He has decided to go through with the murder. The audience can distinguish that his character has declined to his lowest point. With the use of the word “settled” we could see that he is now comfortable with the murder. However the audience can also see that his conscience is still at conflict because of the adjective of “terrible”. This shows conflict because he still sees it as a “terrible” thing. Therefore he does not totally agree with it. As he doesn’t agree with it he knows that he must become deceitful, and he must hide his guilt:
“False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”
He is convinced that he must become deceitful, and he must hide it. The audience can again see the irony of this relating back to Duncan’s line where he says:
“There’s no art
to find the mind’s construction in the face.”
In conclusion I can see that in Act One of “Macbeth”, the character of Macbeth had declined greatly. He started out as a brave and heroic warrior, who was noble and comfortable in his role. Through the influence of many evil beings his comfort diminished, and his state of mind declined. The influences that conspired to bring out this change were the witches and their predictions. They were intent on causing disruption in Macbeth’s life, by giving power to his ambition and impatience. The other main influence that conspired to bring out his change was Lady Macbeth. This woman of evil desired the power of a queen. To get this power she used dark spirits and the valour of her tongue to manipulate Macbeth’s mind. This pushed him towards murder. The effect of these influences on Macbeth had great power over him. They unleashed an ambition and impatience that was within him, which gave him a great desire to become king. The once comfortable, heroic character has become a totally irredeemable man, with little good still within him. He wants to become king as soon as possible so I believe he will embrace the evil, and use it to gain power.
