“First Witch: Sleep shall neither not nor day…
Weary sev’n-nights nine times nine (I.iii.19,22)”
This deprivation of sleep, would almost certainly lead to the man’s death, whether it be through an accident on the ship, or suicide, yet the inability of the witch to have total control over a man’s ultimate possession (his life) indicates a limitation to their powers. But it does also show, that they can heavily influence what will happen to a mortal, and cause them to do their evil deed of killing (this re-iterates the religious context of witches powers).
If we are to return to I.i, we first see the possibility of the future holding some sort of twist within the balance of good and evil at the end of the witches’ incantation.
“All: Fair is foul, and foul is fair; (I.i.11)”
This quotation indicates that what was once fair (i.e. good) has now become foul (i.e. bad). Thus distorting human judgement upon what may proceed in the play. This quote seems to act as a metaphor for Macbeth’s actions. The fact that he will go from a hero, as he valiantly defended his King and Country with his life, to a villain who killed his king in cold blood.
If we look at the point just before Macbeth first enters the play in I.iii, we have the three witches all together. And just before the moment he enters the play, just after they have seen him in the distance, they seem to recite some sort of spell, laying the grounds under which it is possible for them to control him or for some evil to be cast over him. This ominous sign of a trap being set up for Macbeth is shown by the final words said by the witches before Macbeth enters.
“All: Peace, the charm’s wound up. (I.iii.37)”
The word ‘charm’ in the above quotation, is another word for a spell, and ‘wound up’, seems to mean that the trap is now set for Macbeth. This spell seemed to have had an immediate effect on Macbeth, as his first words which he speaks, paraphrases the penultimate sentence in I.i when the witches chant;
“All: Fair is foul, and foul is fair; (I.i.11)”
And Macbeth’s first words are:
“Macbeth: So fair and foul a day I have not seen (I.iii.38)”
Although Macbeth is referring to the contrasting fortunes in the battle today, this sentence means one of two things. The witches already have a control over Macbeth, and are now controlling what he says and thinks or they were merely foretelling Macbeth’s words. But both of these reasons mean that Macbeth is not acting out of his free will, because as I earlier stated, free will needs to be an action undertaken within his own discretion (i.e. the witches not controlling what he says and thinks). Or an action undertaken with constraint or necessity of fate, (i.e. the witches not foretelling the future, which indicates that it is pre-determined and therefore fate). It is possible that the two sentences are unrelated, but this is highly improbable, as this would make the conjunction of the two sentences nothing but poor writing on Shakespeare’s part. This means that when the three prophecies of Macbeth becoming Thane of Glamis (which he already was), Thane of Cawdor (which had already been decided in I.ii) and finally king stated to him and Banquo could in fact be a plot by the witches to get him to kill Duncan, as the three witches were already controlling him. But alternatively it could just be them foretelling the future; both possibilities not allowing Macbeth’s free-will to decide whether he should kill King Duncan. But finally it could be that they know about Macbeth being the Thane of Glamis, using their powers they know about the fact that it has been decided that he will become Thane of Cawdor and they are now trying to trick him to kill the king by finally prophesizing that he will become king, knowing that he is a weak man spiritually and mentally.
Now if I am to look at the possibility of Macbeth’s action of killing the king being caused by Lady Macbeth’s emotional and sexual blackmail. Firstly, one wonders whether a single human would have enough influence on a man of Macbeth’s high stature to deprive him of free will? Firstly, it is necessary to establish if Lady Macbeth had an influence on Macbeth. The influence upon Macbeth by Lady Macbeth is indirectly described by a combination of speech from Duncan and Macbeth. In I.vii, in Macbeth’s first soliloquy, when he outlines the reasons why not to kill Duncan, he states that “…I have no spur (I.vii.25). But in the scene before, Duncan says that Lady Macbeth “his great love, sharp as his spur, hath holp him (I.vi.23)”. This shows that the spur, which he believes he requires in order to kill King Duncan, is Lady Macbeth. This is a slightly tenuous link though, and in order to obtain more substantial evidence of her control over Macbeth, we must look at dialogue specifically between the two. If we first look at I.vii we see right at the start of the dialogue between the two, that Macbeth states “We will proceed no further in this business. (I.vii.31)”, clearly showing his intention to not kill the King. This decision being reached in his soliloquy preceding this. But by the end of the scene after talking with Lady Macbeth he has decided that he will in fact continue in “this terrible feat (I.vii.80)”. So why did he change his mind so drastically in such a short space of time? Could it be due to Lady Macbeth using emotional and sexual blackmail to such an extent that he decided that it would be in his interest to kill his King? If we look at the passage between the two opposite stances of Macbeth of the act of killing the King, we see that Lady Macbeth is attempting to belittle Macbeth as much as possible, by calling a brave soldier such as Macbeth “…a coward in thine own esteem (I.vii.43)”. But the most effective bit of blackmail, came when Lady Macbeth showed the extent of her devotion towards her husband by telling him in graphic detail, the lengths she’d go to just to carry out a promise which she’d made towards him. She said that if she had promised to Macbeth that she’d kill their baby, she would pluck it from her breast while she was breastfeeding it, and smash its head against a table.
“Lady Macbeth: And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you (I.vii.58)”
But although this is a compelling argument, is it enough by itself for Lady Macbeth’s persuasions to her husband to deprive him of his free will and to cause him to kill King Duncan? She was the last person to talk to Mabeth before the killing of Duncan. Also to tie this in with the witches’ argument, in I.v, Lady Macbeth is seen to allow evil spirits within her body
“Lady Macbeth: …Come you spirits (I.vii.58)”
This could mean that another supernatural force is acting upon Macbeth, causing him to kill King Duncan, as Lady Macbeth’s influence on Macbeth could be yet more evil sorcery.
Finally there is the possibility that it was in fact Macbeth’s own free-will which caused him to kill King Duncan. This would mean the presence of fate in this play, which is indicated by the witches, doesn’t actually exist, and their possible foretelling of the future at various stages in the book, are just guesses which happens to come true as Macbeth believes in them so much that he makes them become true. And that it was only his ambition and greed, fuelled by the prophecies from the witches, Lady Macbeth’s persuasions to go through with the deed and his need for revenge for not being chosen by King Duncan as the next in line for the throne (which the previous Thane of Cawdor was).
Firstly, I will look at how Macbeth was perceived at the start of the book. In I.ii, Macbeth was built up to be a hero of Scotland; he had single handedly won the war against the traitors in Scotland, who wanted to dethrone Duncan. He was a man who didn’t fear losing his life, in order to safeguard his King’s land. In this passage, they show Macbeth to be a great man. The passage contains many superlatives describing Macbeth, but in particular this passage highlights Macbeth’s bravery and the extent he was willing to risk his life in order to protect Duncan. Of the many references of Macbeth’s bravery, the following quotation is the clearest example.
“Captain: For brave Macbethwell he deserves that name (I.ii.16)”
The captain then goes on to describe how Macbeth “Like valour’s minion carved out his passage (I.ii.19)”. This once again highlighting his bravery as valour’s minion means that he was courage’s favourite, signifying that he fought with no fear and his courage was unmatched. This again shows how Macbeth was devoted solely to protecting his King, which leads to the question how was it then possible only a night later for him to kill his King? I.ii does give a slight hint how this could be possible. Throughout this glowing account of Macbeth’s actions, we see that all the way through, a great deal of violence and killing is undertaken on his part without a thought. An example of this violence is shown graphically after he had just cut through many men, “…with his brandished steel (I.ii.17)” to face the opposing leader, “…The merciless Macdonwald (I.ii.9)”. The short battle between the two was ended when Macbeth defeated Macdonwald by, “…unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops,”. This emphasizes the fact that Macbeth could kill freely when duty required him to and justice was on his side, so would killing his king be undertaken as easily, when it was an act of unlawful murder? This I do not believe is true.
At the beginning of I.vii, Macbeth is listing the many reasons why not to kill Duncan in a soliloquy. Macbeth is Duncan’s kinsmen, host and subject, all three of which mean that he shouldn’t kill the king. But most emotive of all, is that he believes that if he kills King Duncan, even heaven itself would cry out in damnation of the evil sin.
“Macbeth: Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued against
The deep damnation of his taking-off (I.vii.19-20)”
The fact that he is even contemplating reasons why not to murder King Duncan means that he still does have some free-will left at this stage. But in the dialogue that is immediately after this soliloquy, Macbeth decides that he will in fact kill Duncan (see Lady Macbeth part of the essay above). This indicates to me that at this point, Macbeth was experiencing free-will, giving him the choice to decide whether or not he should kill Duncan. Or that it is only Macbeth trying to prove to himself that there are reasons not to kill King Duncan, but as it has already been decided by the witches’ control and his own belief that the deed will be carried out, it is merely a way of deflecting some of the guilt he has away from himself. I believe that the second answer is more probable, as the readiness in which he changes his mind in the exchange immediately after this with Lady Macbeth, leads to the conclusion that at this stage, Macbeth was not exercising free-will, but merely toying with reasons why not to kill Duncan, even though he was going to (possibly under the control of the witches.)
In order to successfully conclude if Macbeth did in fact kill Duncan of his own free will, I believe that it is also necessary to briefly explain and analyze the remainder of the play after the killing. There are a few key parts of the play, which I need to focus upon, as these are the parts that are most relevant to the essay.
Immediately after the killing of King Duncan in II.ii, Macbeth is guilt ridden due to the murder which he has just committed. He is in a state of extreme remorse and panic, illustrated by the fact that he is unable to control what he is saying and that he has completely ruined the plan of killing Duncan and then framing the guards nearby. I believe that this guilt can be caused by one of two things, either that he killed him purely of his free-will, and that this is an extreme case of natural remorse. Or that the control that forced him to kill Duncan has momentarily been broken, and he has realised what he has done.
In III.i, Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance. In III.iii, the two murderers kill Banquo, but Fleance escapes. This small chain of events is very important in understanding whether Duncan was murdered by Macbeth’s free will. Firstly, Macbeth, had used the witches’ prophecy in I.iii that he will become king as one of the main reasons to kill King Duncan (assuming the decision was his own free-will). But in this prophecy Banquo was promised a line of Kings (which is in fact true, as James I was a descendant of Banquo). So although the Macbeth’s prophecies came true due to the murder of the Duncan, he was now attempting to stop Banquo’s prophecy from becoming true by killing him and his son. But as luck (and possibly fate) would have it, Fleance escaped, keeping the prophecy as a plausible possibility. This also highlights the fact now that Macbeth was now more willing to kill in order to keep himself on the throne; he’d even kill his best friend.
In III.iv, a ghost of Banquo appears to Macbeth to haunt him. This scene is particularly powerful, as when the ghost first appears to Macbeth, it is seated in his throne, which symbolises the fact that Banquo’s descendents will take Macbeth’s place (i.e. become King of Scotland). I believe that this image of the ghost in Macbeth’s mind, could be only caused by either his guilt, this form symbolising the murder, and his fear of the witches prophecies. Or it is an evil image implanted into his psyche by the witches, showing their control over him.
After this, Macbeth re-visits the three witches in IV.i, as he is uncertain of his position as king, and by visiting the witches, he believes he can get some assurances. In this scene, Macbeth receives three new prophecies. He must beware the Thane of Fife – Macduff, no man born from a woman can harm him and Macbeth cannot die unless Great Birnham Wood moves to Dunsinane hill. These three prophecies all once again are true, but in this case, Macbeth can’t alter them all himself, and none have actually happened. If we look at the third prophecy that Macbeth cannot die unless Great Birnham Wood moves to Dunsinane hill, how else would this prediction be known unless the witches can foretell the future. Macbeth himself will certainly not alter this or make it become true. And as I have stated before, the witches ability to successfully foretell the future, means that fate is in place, and if fate is in place, free-will is not as free will is the ability to act without the necessity or constraint of fate.
In IV.ii, Macbeth’s murderers go to Macduff’s castle and ‘rape and pillage’ it, killing all those whom are contained within the castle (including Macduff’s wife and son). Macbeth brought about this killing because of the witches’ prophecy saying fear Macduff, Thane of Fife. But Macbeth justified this killing, as Macduff had gone to England to ask for help in dethroning the ‘tyrant’ Macbeth. This killing now showed that Macbeth was now willing to murder those, who posed no threat to him, in a bid to retain his crown.
In V.ii, Lady Macbeth is now seen in a state of insanity, which later drives her to commit suicide. This is a key part to look at in this essay, as I believe that it proves that Lady Macbeth’s actions did not deprive Macbeth of his free-will when killing Duncan (but they probably did have some influence). In this scene, Lady Macbeth re-tells all of Macbeth’s atrocities, blackening Macbeth to the audience. But the fact that she is insane at this point indicates that she was the lesser of the two criminals, so that her influence over Macbeth was not total. Also the fact that she is now insane indicates that there is a supernatural force in this, as the insanity was in Shakespeare’s time was often thought to be caused by evil spirits (i.e. in this case the witches).
The final battle between Macbeth and those wishing to dethrone him, seems to indicate more so that it was actually the witches and the supernatural force of fate that was associated with them was what was governing Macbeth, not his own free-will. Firstly, if we look at the three new prophecies which the witches gave to Macbeth. The first prophecy, beware of Macduff, Thane of Fife. This was an accurate prophecy, as it was Macduff who slay Macbeth. The second was no man born from a woman could harm him. Once again this was an accurate, as Macduff was born by a Caesarian Section. And finally he would only die when Great Birnham Wood moves to Dunsinane hill. This did in fact happen as the opposing army to Macbeth, cut down the trees in Great Birnham Wood and used them to hide their true numbers on Dunsinane hill. Although the first two prophecies could be affected by Macbeth, as he could fear Macduff because of both of the prophecies applying to Macduff that he’d be unable to battle him, the third prophecy wouldn’t be known unless they could see into the future. And by seeing into the future accurately indicates that fate is present, meaning that free will is not being used by Macbeth.
In conclusion, from all of the above analysis of the text, I firstly conclude that Lady Macbeth did not deprive Macbeth of his free-will. This is due to two main reasons. Firstly just before the killing, it does seem that she manages to persuade him to kill Duncan, but as I will explain later, I believe that at this point he did not have control of his free-will. Also because she becomes insane later in the play and Macbeth doesn’t, this leads to the second point that is she a strong enough character to control Macbeth’s actions, where as in fact it could have been possible that Macbeth’s character was in fact manipulating her.
