After Macbeth receives the honour of Thane of Cawdor he thinks to himself, “Glamis, and then Thane of Cawdor: the greatest is behind ”. Macbeth is now wondering what else lies ahead for him, but if the greatest is behind only worse is to come. Banquo again acts as a ‘guardian’ or acts as Macbeth‘s ‘conscience for Macbeth as he always states the negative sides of anything, „The instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betrayals in deepest consequence.” Macbeth begins to think of the negative side, which Banquo suggested and he has doubts of the truth, which the witches speak of, “Why hath it given me earnest of success, commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor: if good why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfit my hair!” Macbeth is now feeling a sense of guilt, as he is thinking in a more logical manner.
Instead of being very weary of the witches and not really taking any notice of them, Macbeth is very intrigued and he is wandering how these predictions will come about, hence the curiosity. At this present time Macbeth is feeling how stupid he was to take any notice of them as he has now got to face the consequences. This links in with the timing of the witches approach as they got him at a very emotionally charged moment (fearless), but now the moment has seized, Macbeth has realised who he is dealing with, witches, which also can be described as agents of the devil. When Macbeth realises this he feels this sense of guilt and pity for himself. Macbeth begins to fear the witches’ prophecy for Banquo. He then realises that too maintain his position as king; he must commit more murders. Therefore, he hires murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. Unknowingly, he takes a leaf out of the witches’ book, as he is no longer doing his own dirty work, by getting someone else to murder for him. Banquo is killed, but unfortunately for Macbeth, Fleance escapes.
Meanwhile, Macbeth is due to hold a banquet at the royal palace. Suddenly, he sees Banquo’s ghost at his place at the table. Terrified and shaken by this, Macbeth now actively embraces the supernatural, “I will tomorrow (And betimes I will) to the weird sisters More shall be speak” So, whereas before the witches caught him by surprise and intimidated him – Banquo asked him, “Why do you start, and seem to fear things that do sound so fair?” This time he initiates the encounter and accosts them aggressively, “How now you secret, black and midnight hags! What is’t you do?” Now, the witches, entities of pure evil, view Macbeth as worse than them, “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.” To ensure his own safety, Macbeth is prepared for the apocalypse, which is exactly what the witches desire. “Though you untie the winds, and let them fight against the churches… Even till destruction sicken, answer me To what I ask you.”
Macbeth is more evil than before at the point of the third and final encounter with the witches. They visualise and conjure up images of Macduff, saying that he is a threat to Macbeth. They also prophesies that “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”. This meeting inspires him to kill the Macduff family.
I feel that the witches promote evil and treat everybody with cruelty and brutality. However they do not suggest to Macbeth to kill Duncan, but they spark off a reaction in Macbeth. Banquo sees the witches for what they are. They cause Macbeth to stumble along his disires (King of Scotland). They achieve what they want by tempting him with their prophecies and the witches cleverly outwit him at every step. All the Witches ever wanted to do is tell the truth, Macbeth hears what he wants to hear, the witches give Macbeth a false security. At the end of the banquet scene he is going to find the witches, this is the turning point, he has lost all fear. The witches acknowledges that he is wicked. They create the climate for evil but don‘t carry out the deeds.
The Macbeths and the Witches
Lady Macbeth invites the evil spirits into her, close to the beginning of the play, “Come you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty!” Similarly, Macbeth calls upon darkness to hide his wicked desires; “Stars hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires.” They first became evil after they said these words. This leads me to believe that the witches were the ones who controlled both Macbeth and his wife.
Was Lady Macbeth ever actually possessed? Did she faint because she was shocked at how Macbeth killed the two guards?
In the beginning, Lady Macbeth thought that Macbeth was “…too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness…” She never thought Macbeth was actually capable of committing murders by himself. They had previously planned everything together and the killing of the two guards came as a shock. So, Lady Macbeth may have fainted due to this shock. Or, she may have fainted to distract attention from Macbeth and the guards. Or, perhaps there is a more supernatural explanation.
When Lady Macbeth fainted in act 2 scene 3; she couldn’t cope with the fact that Macbeth carried on killing people. She allowed herself to be possessed by evil spirits because she knew that if Macbeth were to kill Duncan, she’d need to be pure evil. So, if she was pure evil, why couldn’t she accept all of Macbeth’s murders?
I believe that Lady Macbeth was used by the witches to encourage Macbeth to fulfil his prophecy to become king. Once this had been achieved, they no longer required Lady Macbeth’s help and so, they took away the evil spirits which possessed her (not exorcism). This sudden change caused Lady Macbeth to faint. This would explain why Lady Macbeth could not tolerate Macbeth killing people after he was made king and why she could before (whilst she was still possessed). Once they left her, she was powerless.
When Macbeth’s marriage deteriorates and he no longer consults his wife before he does something, he puts his faith in the supernatural. He says, “…I will to-morrow (And betimes I will) to the Weird Sisters: More shall they speak; for now I am bent to know, by the worst means…” But, is it he who wishes to see the witches, or is it the witches who wish to see Macbeth? Hecate, Queen of the Witches, is angry with the witches for focusing their attention on someone whom is not devoted to evil, “…And, which is worse, all you have done Hath been but for a wayward son…” But, at the same time, Macbeth is beginning to put his faith in the supernatural. Hecate told the witches that she would make a spell to lure Macbeth into a false sense of security, “… And you all know, security Is mortals’ cheifest enemy.” It is this false sense of security, which makes Macbeth seek out the witches. Another reason for Hecate to be angry is that the witches did not tell her that they were going to deal with Macbeth. This is very similar to when Lady Macbeth is upset that Macbeth does not consult her before he does something.
Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth is described to be the most famous villainess in English literature, seen in Shakespeare’s day as pure evil. If we described Lady Macbeth in the 21st century, she is totally the opposite, and can be described as a very confident and she knows her aims in life (wants the best for her and her husband). A typical woman in the 17th century can be described as a housewife and a very supportive to the husband i.e. Lady Macduff would be seen as a ‘good’ woman, trying to protect her children, “the poor wren, the diminutive of birds, will fight, her young ones in her nest, against the owl”. Where as Lady Macbeth is a very confident and powerful woman. She doesn’t follow the usual life of a woman in those days as she is in control of her own life and even though it is natural for a woman to cherish children she seems to have a different approach. She is the kind of person who doesn’t like children and rather than follow the tradition she will break the rules of life and lead it her way, “smiling in my face. Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums. And dashed the brains…out!”
After reading Macbeth’s letter, she makes a bizarre comment about her husband being, “too foul o‘ the milk of human kindness.” This comment is saying that Macbeth is very sensitive outside the battlefield. As Macbeth’s sword has just ‘smoked with bloody execution’ in combat, and he has fixed the enemy leader ‘head upon our battlements’. Her statement seems ridiculous.
When Lady Macbeth finds out about the witches her strong desire for ambition and her ‘cold nature’ leads Macbeth astray. Macbeth is a little ambitious at first, but Lady Macbeth’s far exceeds his and so she is able to get Macbeth to agree with her to kill Duncan. Macbeth the warrior and Macbeth the man are almost separate characters. He has ‘ambition’ to become king, as his wife acknowledges yet he ‘wouldst not play false’. So she has to ‘force’ him. The way she does this is to use her sexuality, “I pour my spirit in thine ear, and chastise with the valour of my tongue.” This shows that Macbeth is mentally weak and that a woman’s sexuality can almost hypnotise him to do whatever she desires. Lady Macbeth has him ‘wrapped round her little finger’ as she is going to persuade Macbeth to kill King Duncan, as he wouldn’t normally do this. Macbeth still has a conscience at this stage because he is very hesitant about killing the king but his weak nature overcomes him. He has a conscience throughout the play as he begins to have hallucinations, such as the ghost of Banquo at the dinner party “(to the lords) Pr’ythee, see there! Behold! Look! Lo! How say you? Why, what care I? (To the ghost) if thou canst nod, speak too.” Lady Macbeth is able to persuade Macbeth into killing Duncan, assuring Macbeth that it will succeed, as Lady Macbeth ambition is far greater than that of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth, after reading the letter from Macbeth, she begins to talk to the evil spirits to make herself evil with lines such as, “fill me from the crown to the toe-top full of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood”. She even plans the murder of Duncan, partly to persuade Macbeth that nothing can go wrong. She is so ambitious that she even makes Macbeth a ‘coward’. It is this persuasiveness on her words and her confidence that makes Macbeth do what she says. Lady Macbeth can be described as an ‘engine’ for the murder of Duncan. She gets Macbeth to commit the murder (even though he didn’t want to) and then preventing him going insane she makes him be guilt free.
After the murder of Duncan straight away –Macbeth (looking at his hands) “A little water cleans up of this deed: How easy it is then!” Lady Macbeth’s vivid imagination cannot understand his wild reaction to the murder and accidentally predicts her own deterioration “These deeds must not be thought after these ways: so. It will make us mad.” Like a baby, she cannot see the consequences of what she does. For her, the crown is the end of the killing: for Macbeth it is just the beginning, partly because of his own violent streak, which leads to the slaughter of the grooms, but mostly because his life comes to resemble a siege, “bear-like I must fight the course”. So, after nearly forcing him to kill his king to prove his love for her, “ From this time, such I account thy love”. She loses touch of him as things spin out of control. It is this ‘spinning’ out of control, which Lady Macbeth started and has drove him from a ‘worthy gentleman’, to a ‘dead butcher’. Her goal or aim was the crown, but there were many things, which made it to hard for her to retain the title. Her ambition was far greater than any doubt of Macbeth’s so he went along with her plan. But Macbeth’s violent streak took over him and he slaughtered the two grooms. So Lady Macbeth plays a key part in the decline of Macbeth, as she exposed this violent streak of Macbeth’s.
Macbeth
His violence in the defence of Scotland, “fixed his head upon our battlements” earns him lavish praise from his king, “O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!” Which is partly responsible for making him Thane of Cawdor. Then, why does he kill Duncan, who he recognises as a great king? “…hath been So clear in his great office.”
His reactions to the witches’ prophecy confirm that he has already become intrigued by their mysterious powers. Banquo asks him, “why do you start, and seem to fear Things that sound so fair?” He then refers to Macbeth twice as “rapt”. The witches read his mind, which further intrigues him, “Against the use of nature? Present fears are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man…” The thought of the murder shakes him to the core as he knows regicide is a crime against God.
However, the witches approached Macbeth at a time when he was most vulnerable. He had just won a major battle against Norway and was fresh from the fighting. This made him quite fragile and so, what the witches told him excited him more and had a greater influence on his thoughts than it would have done if the situation was different, “Why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair, And make my seated heart knock at my ribs…” However, he would rather leave the issue to chance, “If chance will have me king…” It is Duncan’s decision to pass the crown onto Malcolm which pushes him to evil, “Stars hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires”. This is similar to when Lady Macbeth called upon the evil spirits to possess her, as they are both calling upon darkness. This leads me to believe there is a very close connection between the Macbeths and the witches.
Macbeth has gained respect and fame for his bravery along with his new title of Thane of Cawdor. This encouraged him not to go ahead with the plan to murder Duncan, “We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honoured me of late; and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon.” He doesn’t want to gamble this fame and power for even more power. However, Macbeth is easily persuaded by his wife and says, “I am settled, and bend up Each corporal agent to this terrible feat.” Lady Macbeth’s threat to stop their intimate relationship scares him. Macbeth loves his wife dearly, so he realises that if he doesn’t do what he has been told, his marriage will slowly crumble. The next day, Macbeth feels guilty and regrets ever killing Duncan, “Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time.”
The banquet was Macbeth’s first public function as King of Scotland. It was to show that he was fit to be king. Many noblemen were invited, who are potential threats to Macbeth, but this banquet was to ease them and to let them know the country is not being controlled by a fool or a murderer. However, when Banquo’s ghost appears, Macbeth panics and challenges it to overcome his fear, “What man dare, I dare… And dare me to the desert with thy sword… Hence, horrible shadow! Unreal mockery, hence – Why, so; - being gone, I am a man again.”After his wife’s death, he realises that he too, will soon die, “And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death.”
The Macbeths’ Relationship
As we see early in the play, when the Macbeths are apart, they are still able to read each other’s thoughts, “Thy letters have transported me beyond this ignorant present, and I feel now the future in the instant”. Macbeth’s letters only told her a very limited amount of information, yet her imagination has allowed her to see the future the way she would like it to be for her husband, and to view such vivid thoughts means she is intimately close to her husband.
Macbeth the warrior and Macbeth the man are almost two separate characters. He has ‘ambition’ to become king, as his wife acknowledges, yet he ‘wouldst not play false’. So, to overcome the problem of Macbeth’s conscience, Lady Macbeth pinpoints her sexuality as a potent weapon to persuade him, “I may pour my spirits in thine ear, and chastise with the valour of my tongue.” Later on she says something which deeply shocks Macbeth, “From this time such I account thy love.” This is so unexpected because of the intensity of Macbeth’s relationship with his wife. She is telling him, that onwards from that point, she will be limiting their sexual activity with each other, unless Macbeth kills Duncan. By keeping herself as the prize for killing Duncan, Lady Macbeth knew her husband would give in to her demands.
When it comes to murdering Duncan, their relationship becomes intense and almost sexual as they discuss who will actually kill him, “What cannot you and I perform upon Th’unguarded Duncan?” They turned a cold-blooded murder into an intimate event. Macbeth has won the prize of his sexual relationship with his wife, and the sense of doing wrong together gives them a sort of burst of sexual excitement and draws them close to each other. Here, their relationship is at its peak.
The first signs of them growing apart become apparent when Macbeth kills the guards. Lady Macbeth was not prepared for more murders and she begins to realise that Macbeth is becoming more violent. After the banquet in which Banquo’s ghost appears to Macbeth, he knows that he must go and see the witches. Lady Macbeth wishes to make him ‘normal’ again, but all she can do is watch as more people are killed. Macbeth plans without her and resorts to violence instead of consulting his wife for advice, which pressurises their relationship, “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, Till thou applaud the deed”. Eventually, the isolation lead to her becoming insane.
When Macbeth discovered that his wife had died, he suddenly lost all his motivation and will to carry on, “It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” He doesn’t really know why he wanted to become king in the first place and he doesn’t want to be king without his wife. Perhaps he feels this way because he thought being king would make Lady Macbeth content, but now she no longer exists, there is no point in being king.