“What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won,”
Macbeth is a very ambitious man, and his main ambition is to become the King of Scotland. Macbeth’s reaction to the witches’ prediction is one of shock because it has touched upon his secret ambition to become the King of Scotland. Banquo says:
“he seems rapt with all.” Macbeth is in a daze, he is thinking of how he will be King. To do this, he must find a way to dispose of King Duncan. From this point on, his character begins to flaw, and mentally Macbeth starts to deteriorate, battling with his conscience and eventually hallucinating.
After informing Lady Macbeth of the prediction, she devises a plan of how she wants to murder Duncan. He is then torn, and battles with his conscience. Macbeth knows that there are reasons not to murder Duncan, including not wanting to ruin his reputation, or not risking being caught because then he will be killed for murder. He also doesn’t want to murder Duncan because of the relationship he has with him.
“We will proceed no further in this business”. This indicates to me that although he has thought about it, he has wrestled with his conscience, but wants to enjoy his promotion. However, to manipulate Macbeth, Lady Macbeth uses horrific images to try and get him to change his mind,
“Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done this.” She says this, yet nowhere has he promised her anything.
Macbeth is then concerned about whether if he goes through with the murder if he will be discovered and if Lady Macbeth and him would get the blame. He is more worried about that, than the fact that it is morally wrong however, he gives in to Lady Macbeth’s pressure and says:
“ I am settled”, when he finally is convinced that the plan is full proof.
Having murdered Banquo and Duncan, Macbeth starts to suffer a bit, and is starting to get a guilty conscience. He initially hid it well, but when he sees Banquo’s ghost he can no longer hide it. He also feels that he is a prisoner of his own insecurities;
“Then comes my fit again; I had else been perfect”.
Once men would die and remain dead new ghosts arise to haunt Macbeth and to threaten his place on the throne. “And push us from our stools. This is more strange than a such a murder is.” ‘Stools’ is used metaphorically to represent the throne.
Macbeth has brought suffering upon himself because he clearly shows regret for his actions. Going back to Act 2 Scene 2 Shakespeare shows that Macbeth realises that he can wash off the blood of from Duncan, but cannot clear his guilty conscience:
“Will all Neptune’s oceans wash this blood clean from my hand?” Macbeth feels the guilt because he is asking the God of water Neptune if he can hide the blood stains on his hands.
Macbeth’s actions also affect Macduff’s family, because he feels that they are a threat to his throne.
“The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife; give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword. His wife, his babes”. Even though Macbeth can’t take revenge on Macduff because he has fled to England, he still plans to murder the rest of Macduff’s family. This quote shows how barbaric Macbeth has become. Shakespeare uses ‘babes’ as an emotive word to show he is even killing innocent infants.
Malcolm also suggests that Macbeth’s actions are making Scotland a horrific place;
“I think our country sinks beneath the yoke; it weeps it bleeds, and each new day a gash is added to her wounds.” Scotland is personified as a slave who is slowly dying from its wounds, which are inflicted by Macbeth’s actions.
Perhaps the most psychologically affected person is Lady Macbeth; her guilty conscience has completely taken her over mentally. The doctor who tries to help her realises that she cannot be medically helped, but can only be helped by God’s forgiveness.
“Foul whisp’rings are abroad are abroad; unnatural deeds do breed unnatural trouble; infected minds to their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets. More needs she the divine than the physician. God, God forgive us all.” So Macbeth’s actions affect Scotland, and the population turn against Macbeth.
“Those he commands, move only command.” This shows the Scottish people are no longer loyal to their king.
At the end of the play, I don’t feel any sympathy for Macbeth because even though he was put under immense pressure from his wife Lady Macbeth, he did not have to go through with the murders. I feel he should have sustained his reputation as a great man, because if the witches’ predictions were correct, he would have eventually become king anyway.
Having now gone through the play I can now conclude that Macbeth is A.C Bradley’s Shakespearean tragic hero, because he starts off a man with a very high reputation, and is a man of high status being a Thane, to then becoming king, and slowly his character flaws, until he dies at the end of the play.
