When Macbeth appears, he echoes the words of the witches, ‘So foul and fair a day I have not seen’. He unknowingly associates with their language and sets a theme for the whole play. Often what we see is not as it seems. Later we meet Lady Macbeth and King Duncan calls her his ‘honoured hostess’. Little does he know that she is plotting his murder and ironically gives her a diamond that in those days was meant to ward off witchcraft and evil spirits.
When the witches inform Macbeth that he will be Thane of Cawdor and King, he is surprised but when Ross greets him with Cawdor’s title Macbeth believes that ‘the greatest is behind’. His conscience makes him question the witches and their prophecy.
‘This supernatural soliciting
Cannot be ill, cannot be good’
He suspects that there is something sinister in their message but still he is intrigued and in an aside he admits that he is considering murdering the king to seize the throne. The thought of such a crime terrifies him and the ‘horrid image doth unfix my hair’. Like all tragic heroes he battles with his conscience but realises however that it is merely his thoughts that are frightening and decides to leave the matter to chance.
It is Lady Macbeth who proves to be a powerful force upon her husband. She is the one who plots the murder of Duncan and makes Macbeth believe that it is possible. She is a strong minded and forceful woman who manipulates Macbeth by questioning his love for her and his bravery. She is convinced that Macbeth is,
‘…too full o’ th’milk of human kindness’
to commit the murder and when he questions that they may fail she naively reassures him that this is impossible and remarks, ‘screw your courage to the sticking place’. The audience would have been shocked as they watched her call upon evil spirits to ‘unsex’ her. She gladly welcomed evil into her life and wishes to rid herself of all feminine qualities. We feel that Macbeth has a greater awareness that what he is doing is wrong. He thinks of the consequences and even states that a good king and he should be loyal.
‘Who should against the murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself’
He battles with his thoughts and imagines a dagger before him. The hallucination shows him what he is about to do and clarifies his inner thoughts but at any moment he can refuse to continue. If he had no choices then he would not be a Tragic Hero he would merely be out of control.
After the murder is committed, Macbeth seems to have an acute awareness that there is no turning back. The horror of the crime is so great that he is unable to pray; a sure sign that he has now turned away from God and all that is good. He also feels certain that he is now doomed and has sealed his fate,
‘Macbeth hath murder’d sleep’
Lady Macbeth is far more naïve in her reaction and foolishly believes that a little water can wash away the crime. It is ironic that she is driven insane by the constant thoughts of blood on her hands and crumbles under the pressure of concealing such a terrible crime. She tries to be the ‘innocent flower’ but the ‘serpent underneath’ reveals its ugly head in a series of sleepwalking incidents and she reveals her crime to a Doctor and gentlewoman.
On the night of the murder the mood is ominous and the moon is down. ‘Heaven’s stars’ are out and evil seems to dominate. It is later reported that ‘strange screams’ and ‘lamentings’ were heard in the air and the ‘earth seemed feverous’. The natural order is threatened by Macbeth’s killing of the king. The Elizabethans believed in the Divine Right of Kings and that the world was ordered according to some divine rule. The King was naturally in the highest ranking position and people regarded him as God’s representative on earth. To kill the king was a crime against God and a threat to order and morality. When Macbeth butchered Duncan he upset the natural order and Shakespeare uses the image of the owl swooping on the falcon to symbolise the unnaturalness of Macbeth’s actions.
Having been appointed as King, Macbeth seeks to secure his title. In true tragic style he becomes suspicious of all those around him and relies heavily on the prophecy of the witches. Macbeth had entered upon his course from sheer personal ambition. Ironically it is the more human part of Macbeth – his desire to have more than a limited personal satisfaction – his desire to pass the royal position to later generations, which prompts him to dispose of Banquo. He also gives orders to have Macduff’s family brutally murdered. He is no longer the loyal warrior but a suspicious and ruthless tyrant. His friends and comrades desert him and he feels that his position as King is shallow and empty. He sees himself as the winter-stricken tree,
‘I have lived long enough….my way of life is fall’n into the sear, the yellow leaf’
As the Burnham wood draws closer to Dunsinane, Macbeth realises that the witches have been speaking in ambiguous terms. He realises that death awaits him as Macduff reveals that he was a caesarean baby. The audience see a glimmer of Macbeth’s former self as he wishes to die bravely in battle but know that he has to die in order for Scotland to be purged. Macbeth’s reign was seen as an infection, slowly spreading across the whole of the country; with his death moral order can be restored and there is a sense of Divine Justice. God has once more intervened and the audience can leave the theatre with a sense of relief. They also feel a sense of pity that the man that could have been so great fell so tragically to become a ‘dead butcher’.