By referring closely to Act 1 and Act 2, scene 1, examine how ‘noble Macbeth’, ‘a peerless kinsman’ turns into Duncan’s murderer.
By referring closely to Act 1 and Act 2, scene 1, examine how 'noble Macbeth', 'a peerless kinsman' turns into Duncan's murderer.
Macbeth was written in 1606 for King James 1st. It was, politically, an excellent play for James because it showed how heinous the crime regicide was. Even though James was the first monarch of the Stuart dynasty, the play frequently refers to the Tudor Chain of Being, which laid out the importance of someone, in comparison to everyone else. It started with the King (at the top) and worked its way down to the ants.
When someone upset the Tudor Chain of Being, which Macbeth does, the whole natural order was overthrown. For example, directly after Duncan's murder, there is a reference to a falcon being killed by an owl:
"A flacon...was by a mousing owl...killed." Act 2, Scene 4, lines 12-13.
The 16th century people were very superstitious and would not have dared to try and upset the Tudor Chain of Being because they would have directly usurped God's decision and would, therefore, bring about his wrath.
James also believed in the Divine Right of Kings. This simply meant that the King was God's representative on Earth and whatever he did was Divinely influenced.
"The Lord's anointed temple..." Act 2, Scene 3, line 65.
The play revolves around the fact that Macbeth committed regicide. In the end when he is brutally slain by Macduff, the social and political messages that are communicated to the audience are that: crime never pays, and that even if you dare commit a crime as heinous as regicide, vengeance shall be had, in this life or the next.
Shakespeare had to change many things in order to keep James happy. In the play, Duncan was a good king and Macbeth was a tyrant who ruled for a few months. However, in real life, Duncan was a bad king and Macbeth was a strong one who ruled for 17 years. Shakespeare had to change little details like this because James was directly related to the real Duncan and in order to keep the Kingdom happy, unity after Bloody Mary's reign was vital.
The opening scene of Macbeth is of three witches casting a spell and contains the famous line,
"Fair is foul an foul is fair..."
This may not be particularly shocking to us but to a 16th century audience it would be terrifying. During the reign of Bloody Mary there were many witch trials, hunts and burnings. Never, since her reign, as England seen anything like it. A 16th Century audience would be very scared of them. Only seven lines into the play and many might believe the tragic hero of the play doomed from the outset.
When Macbeth actually meets the witches, (Act 1, Scene3), they each greet him differently. The first called him Thane of Glamis, the second, Thane of Cawdor and the third "KING THAT SHALT BE HEREAFTER". From this Macbeth's mind is thrown into turmoil. The language used here his vital. From lines 14 to 25, for the most part, the witches speak in seven syllables and in rhyming couplets. Seven was supposed to be a very mystical number, like three, and the language reinforces the witches' behaviour.
The witches talk of vengeance against a sailor and the spell they will put on him. Half way through they mention Macbeth.
"A drum, a drum! Macbeth doth come."
Again, it is another sign that Macbeth is already doomed. An important point to notice is that the witches do not have power over men's lives but can spark off the events that will, eventually, end them. Macbeth's first lines in the play echo those of the witches in the previous scene and the audience might well believe that he is now inextricably joined to the witches:
"So fair and foul a day..."
Line 48, where they each greet Macbeth with a different title, really gets the action going. Not only do the say that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and King, they also say that Banquo's children shall be kings as well. Macbeth is instantly curious but Banquo wants nothing to do with it.
Line 87 is a dramatically important moment because Ross comes and announces Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor. Banquo says instantly:
"Can the Devil speak true..."
He then goes on to say that the forces of evil encourage us to bring about our ...
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Line 48, where they each greet Macbeth with a different title, really gets the action going. Not only do the say that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and King, they also say that Banquo's children shall be kings as well. Macbeth is instantly curious but Banquo wants nothing to do with it.
Line 87 is a dramatically important moment because Ross comes and announces Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor. Banquo says instantly:
"Can the Devil speak true..."
He then goes on to say that the forces of evil encourage us to bring about our own destruction, by giving us accurate information on things that are trivial, and misleading us on important matters. It is here that Macbeth has his first soliloquy. His mind is in turmoil and the questions he asks reflect the turmoil in his mind:
"If ill, why hath it given me...success?"
He contrasts between good and evil:
"Cannot be ill, cannot be good"
Very short and long sentences reflect that turmoil in his mind and, eventually, Macbeth builds his speech up into IAMBIC PENTAMETRE, which means that he speaks in ten unrhymed beats. When Macbeth does rhyme, it is always in a couplet and he is usually making a conclusion. At the end of this scene, he concludes not to act on what the witches have told him. This makes him a moral character with a conscience.
It is my opinion that the witches have tempted him and opened his eyes to the black desires of his soul and that are the catalyst to the action that eventually takes place. We do not see them after this for a long time because we do not need to. They have set off the motions that will eventually lead to Macbeth's actions.
Finally, why were witches even used in the play if they were feared and reviled so much? They were used mainly because the audience would fear and revile them. They would be seen as evil incarnate, and bring a sense of hopelessness to Macbeth's moral battle not to kill Duncan. Also, Shakespeare knew that James 1st had a fascination with witches and even wrote and published a book on witches.
In Act 1, scene 2, the battle the witches spoke of is over and a captain tells Duncan of how Macbeth laid waste to the armies of the Islanders and the Highlanders. The early brushstrokes in Shakespeare's word portrait of him reveal a man whose courage and valour are beyond question:
"...for brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name..."
He amply describes Macbeth and Banquo as if they were deadly predators and their enemies were but an afternoon snack:
"As sparrows, eagles, or the hare the lion."
Shakespeare describes Macbeth as if he were a weapon himself.
" Cannons overcharged" i.e. that Macbeth was a cannon filled with gunpowder.
They even go as far to say that he could match the Goddess of War's husband in sheer destruction:
"Till that Bellona's bridegroom..."
I think Shakespeare wants us to see Macbeth as a hero. Duncan and his men are over-awed by the courage and fearlessness and gallantry that Macbeth has shown. However, at the same time, they view the ease with which he kills his victims as unnecessarily violent and repulsive. Once again, I think the message Shakespeare is trying to get across to the audience is that it does not matter how good a person or fighter you are, if you kill the King, justice will be had. Shakespeare clearly wants us to see Macbeth struggle with himself. Even when he decides to commit the murder, he is still unsure and when his wife tries to convince him, he will not listen.
In Act 1,scene 2, Duncan is telling Malcolm that Macbeth is a gentleman he holds in absolute trust. Then Macbeth enters. Shakespeare is using dramatic irony at its strongest here. Here Duncan is, telling Malcolm that he trusts Macbeth absolutely when seconds ago, Macbeth was considering murdering him! The dramatic irony continues in Macbeth's speech. He tells Duncan he was only doing his duty. He uses words like:
"Service; loyalty; duties."
Duncan says that he can never repay Macbeth's loyalty, even on, "swiftest wing" (bird imagery). Duncan also says that there is no way to look at people's thoughts, showing that he is not very shrewd and is very trusting. I do not think that Macbeth is trying to hold onto his moral character and keep his conscience, but that he is being hypocritical and nice to Duncan before he kills him while being truthful to himself. After Duncan is killed, he could not care less, but up till then, then he does indeed have a real struggle with himself.
Malcolm is then named Prince of Cumberland, blocking Macbeth's path to being King. When this happens we get our first real insight to Macbeth's lust for power. He decides to do something about it. This inconvenience is but: "A step that I must o'erleap".
He now knows he has to be evil. He calls upon the stars to: "hide there fires", reflecting on blackness and evil acts. We see this mirrored when Lady Macbeth calls upon the spirits to unsex her. This is a recurring image in the play. He asks his eyes to be blind to the hand that does the deed. This entire speech is two rhyming couplets that emphasise Macbeth's decision to act. The words used are mostly punchy monosyllables, that build up speed to give the image of impending action.
The last sentence of the scene is of Duncan saying that Macbeth is: "a peerless kinsman". Shakespeare is using more dramatic irony as Macbeth has just resolved to kill him! Is Macbeth still a noble kinsman, or has he changed? I do not think that he changes until after the murder when Lady Macbeth and he trade places. Until then he is struggling with himself whether to go through with it.
He may have even considered murder before. When he firsts meets his wife and tells her he wants no part in the murder of Duncan she asks: "What...made you break this enterprise to me?" Also Macbeth's first thoughts were of murder. He even hints of murder before Lady Macbeth gets to give her input. In scene 5, Macbeth hints towards murder with these words:
"Tomorrow as he purposes."
We are concerned for him and his wellbeing. However, in Macbeth's second soliloquy, he fights with the decision. He is a warrior after all and this should be easy. He is Duncan's friend, subject and kinsman. Unfortunately, this is the hardest battle he has ever had to face. The battle against himself. There is use of alliteration. For example, in the first two lines there is repetition of W's, T's and D's. He decides at the beginning that: "if it were done quickly" then it would be all right to kill him. He is willing, however, to miss the afterlife to be King:
"Jump the life to come"
We already know that Macbeth believes in judgement. He is prepared for God to judge him but is scared of retribution in this life:
"Might return to plague th'inventor"
He is showing that he is evil and greedy and willing to sacrifice everything for the "here and now". However, the audience, who is trying to side with Macbeth, might think that he is brave to give up everything, just to be King. Yet he is still fighting his moral issues all the way through the speech. He knows that by killing the King he creates a social disorder and takes on God himself. He says that he is supposed to be protecting Duncan from murderers, not doing the deed himself. In fact, he agrees that Duncan is a good king. He uses words to describe him such as:
"Meek, clear, virtues, great office, angels, new borne-babe."
He is prepared to suffer: "deep damnation". By murdering Duncan, he is fully aware that he is aligning himself with the dark forces and that the only thing that is driving him on is his ambition. It is this soliloquy that gives him the status of the 'tragic hero'. He reveals that he does have nobility of soul. We see his moral dilemma and the full force of his imagination at work. It is this capacity for understanding the consequences and full enormity of his actions that gives him grandeur and status of a hero. He shows himself, in this speech, to have a native love of goodness. He is not a purely evil character from the outset as are Shakespeare's other evil characters, (Goneril in King Lear, and Iago in Othello).
This soliloquy is a heroic speech in both style and content. There is a nervous rhythm and taut force of imagery in the opening lines. It is a magnificent calculation. "First...then...besides..." which builds up to the full-force of: "angels, trumpet tongued" images of Divine justice versus his: "deep damnation". He knows heaven will take Duncan's part and that he is challenging God himself. The Greeks, who invented tragedy, tell you that any mortal foolish enough to tangle with the Gods, always dies a gruesome death.
Ultimately, Macbeth resolves that he will not do anything because it is only ambition driving him on. He says he has: "no spurs to prick the sides of my intent". He acknowledges his own failings and faults. The audience would probably be relieved. The hero they want to beat his desires and to remain a good kinsman might decide to do so after all. They are impressed and moved. They do not want him to fall. Unlike other soliloquies in the play, we have seen this character's soul and it is a magnificent one.
We see this scene paralleled in Act 1, Scene 3. In Macbeth's first soliloquy, just after the witches have told him that he shall be King, he says: "My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical". In essence he is saying that his thoughts were instantly to kill Duncan but that is unimaginable, even though he has just done so.
His lust for power, in my opinion, is beginning to draw its strength from Macbeth's indecisiveness, and when Macbeth says: "come what, come may, time and hour runs through the roughest day", which means time goes on, even in the worst of days. I believe this means that killing Duncan would be Macbeth's roughest day, but he acknowledges that time will continue through his deed. Macbeth's soliloquy, however, leaves us with the final image that he will not act upon what the Weird Sisters said and he remains 'a noble kinsman', with the title Thane of Cawdor.
At the same time, according to the old adage, behind every successful man there is a woman, and few women have been as cold, scheming, ruthless and unfeeling towards human life as Lady Macbeth. Obsessed with power for her husband, and power and position for herself, no obstacle is too great, no task too bloody, no person too valuable to deter her from her ultimate goal: her husband as King and herself as Queen.
In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth shows us that she is supportive to her husband. When deliberating plans surrounding the death of Duncan she says to Macbeth, "Leave all the rest to me". Lady Macbeth also regards him as: "too full o'th'milk of human kindness". She is claiming that her husband is a kind and worthy gentleman. Macbeth is very affectionate to Lady Macbeth at the beginning of the play, although this does change as the play progresses.
For instance, Lady Macbeth knows that her husband's kindness makes him weak and susceptible to guilt that will hinder the murder of Duncan. She feels that, in order for this "great business" to succeed, Macbeth will need her guts, spirits and valour and calls upon the spirits to: "unsex me here", i.e. to take away her femininity.
Lady Macbeth begins to manipulate Macbeth, challenging his feelings of guilt and pity for Duncan, replacing them with those of spite and maliciousness. "Look like th'innocent flower but be the serpent under't". Macbeth becomes so absorbed in his feelings about the murder that he withdraws from the loving relationship that he initially had with Lady Macbeth at the beginning of the play. "First, I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself". This quote from Act 1, scene 7 shows how Macbeth is in conflict with what Lady Macbeth is instructing. His loyal personality is urging him not to fulfil the "horrid deed".
When Macbeth sends her a letter, Lady Macbeth's first thoughts are to murder Duncan and how she could be Queen herself. Why does Lady Macbeth want to be queen so badly? There are teasers in the play about her possibly have given birth and have lost the child. "I have given suck, and know how tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me". Now she cannot or does not want to have another child and so the only thing left for her, in this life, is to be Queen. However, Macbeth knows exactly what he is doing and is more morally culpable than his "better half"!
Yet it is in the first scene of Act 2 that we know that Macbeth's mind is beginning to sag under the emotional baggage he placed on top of it. He sees a dagger, an apparition, leading him to Duncan's room. He says he cannot touch it but that it is a replica of: "this which now I draw".
He exclaims that thoughts of murder are playing tricks on him. He says that evil things happen in the night. "With Tarquin's ravishing strides", (Tarquin raped his hostess in the dead of night). He moves stealthily for fear of Duncan being awake when he goes to his room. A bell rings and he finishes his soliloquy by saying: "hear it not Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or hell". He is still moral in the sense that he wants Duncan never to know what took place, and the pair of rhyming couplets finishes his thoughts on the matter.
I would like to conclude that there were three major influences that turned Macbeth from a valiant and courageous warrior into a sordid low-life. The first was the witches who only tempted him to what we are led to believe he always wanted. The second was Lady Macbeth who manipulated his mind into seeing her point of view as the only point of view, and finally Macbeth's influence on himself. In all his soliloquies we see the magnificence of his soul and, every time we do, it seems to have grown less magnificent and more disturbed, more turbulent.
Macbeth is probably Shakespeare's most likeable tragic-hero because no matter what happens to him we always want him to come out all right in the end. However, Shakespeare makes it thoroughly clear that if you kill the King, or even have a hand in the plot, it will haunt you until your dying day, which will probably be very unpleasant seeing as Lady Macbeth committed suicide and Macbeth had his head chopped off.
My conclusion is that the largest influence on Macbeth was himself. The line that sums that up for me is, "Stars hide you fires, let not light see my black and deep desires".So, like Macbeth, I will finish on a pair of rhyming couplets.
