Is Lady Macbeth a more evil influence on Macbeth the Witches?

By Mathew Du Port 1/10/02

GCSE English Course work

Is Lady Macbeth a more evil influence on Macbeth the Witches?

As we read through the play of "Macbeth" we quickly find out that his character is a weak one and can easily be swayed by other characters in the play. These characters plant an idea into his mind and he will then follow it to the bitter end. There are two main characters that try to persuade and influence him, the Witches as a collective and Lady Macbeth. They both have nothing in common with each other but they both managed to lead and persuade him in the same way. The Witches plant an idea and Lady Macbeth helps the situation by persuading Macbeth that the witches’ idea is a worthy one. But there is no evidence in the play that suggests that Lady Macbeth is in any way connected to the witches apart from that she indirectly helps them.

In the very first scene, where the Witches are on a "Blasted Heath", even before they meet Macbeth they say:

"When the Hurley burleys done,

When the battles lost and won."

This implies that they will later meet him and they know what is going to happen in the future. Also in the same scene they decide upon where they will meet Macbeth,

"Where is the place?

Upon the Heath"

Then at the end of the scene they quote the famous saying,

"Foul is Fair, as fair is foul"

This implies that they have supernatural powers and are able to change the normal workings, so that things are reversed, good turns to bad and vice versa. When the Witches ...

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When the battles lost and won."

This implies that they will later meet him and they know what is going to happen in the future. Also in the same scene they decide upon where they will meet Macbeth,

"Where is the place?

Upon the Heath"

Then at the end of the scene they quote the famous saying,

"Foul is Fair, as fair is foul"

This implies that they have supernatural powers and are able to change the normal workings, so that things are reversed, good turns to bad and vice versa. When the Witches meet Macbeth and Banquo they tell them of all the events that are going to happen to them in the future. Banquo does not believe them but Macbeth takes it more seriously and the ideas that they have been planted in his head start to go round to his mind. The Witches say this to them:

"All hail Macbeth, hail to thee Thane of Glamis

All hail Macbeth, hail to thee thane of Cawdor

All hail Macbeth, thought shall be King hereafter."

But we must remember that these are only thoughts and cannot happen unless Macbeth actually does something about them. Again this shows Macbeth weakness of character and how he will follow something, not thinking it through thoroughly, which will eventually lead to his death.

In act 2 scene 3 Macbeth has just completed the murder (with the help of his wife) of the King. But now we see him as a nervous, worried and confused person.

This is another showing of Macbeth’s failure to handle himself in situations where he finds himself under pressure. He also shows how much he believes in the witches because if he didn't believe in them he wouldn't have killed the King and got himself in such a mess. Also his wife would not have been involved in it and therefore she would not have changed her life so dramatically, this we will find out at the end of the play.

After, when he has got his murderers together he orders them to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. But later he is angry because they failed to kill Fleance. This is bad for him because Fleance knows a lot of information and could get Macbeth into a lot of trouble, and he is also next in line for being king so Macbeth needs to kill him so that this vision can come true. This is another example of the Witches persuading him to do things that he would not necessarily have done before. The Witches are making him kill Fleance so he can remain in the throne. And Lady Macbeth is doing it so that she can stay in position as Queen. But we find out that Lady Macbeth does not know that Macbeth has actually killed Banquo, this is because he wants to keep it secret so that he does not have to explain all of his doing to her as he is quite a secretive man.

When we go back to near the beginning of the play, after Macbeth has brought home the news to Lady Macbeth of his encounter with the Witches, her character changes and will not stop changing until her death at the end of the play. When she first gets news of what Macbeth has heard from the three Witches, she is naturally worried for his safety, she also worries that he will be called a cheat by getting the Crown in such a terrible way. She also worries that he may get killed in the process by the bodyguards or other staff, or if someone finds out the big secret and the plot that he has carried out. She does not think that Macbeth is brave enough to carry out the task in hand, so she starts planning out ways that she may be able to help him, she does this not just for him but for herself so that she can get a certain amount of power by being the Queen.

In the opening scene she is not encouraging Macbeth, as she is not necessarily “for” the idea of what he has placed to her. But as we go through the play she begins to persuade him as she finds out about all benefits that she will get from the plot. This is ironic because, as she gains in confidence about the idea, Macbeth loses it so she says she needs to convince him even further, unlike at the beginning, where Macbeth had to convince Lady Macbeth that it might be a good idea.

Lady Macbeth’s star role is when she and her husband are planning to kill the King. But as Macbeth has made a bit of a mess about knowing what he's doing, Lady Macbeth has to organize the whole operation on her own. Also when he has made a mess of the murder she has to come in and save the day and do a proper job. I think that without this Macbeth would have not completed the murder and not become King, also he would have got him self in a lot of trouble, and would have been killed.

This is another example of the ways in which Lady Macbeth is doing the same job as the Witches without even knowing. So I would say that the Witches are definitely the greater influence on Macbeth than Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is only adding to what the Witches said in the first place, but without the Witches, Lady Macbeth would have not been able to be so influential in the whole play.