It is obvious then that the seeds of ambition were planted before Lady Macbeth enters the play. So is it the witches that create his royal ambitions or do the witches merely give Macbeth’s secret desires conscious formulation and provide him with the access to evil? The prophecies in themselves are not good or evil (though they are brought by evil means) until they are subjected human interpretation. The witches do not invite Macbeth to murder Duncan but are they offering him a challenge? They ambush Macbeth when pride of his success has made him most vulnerable by telling him he will be king are they questioning his ability to be ruthless enough to fulfil the prophecies? This idea of Macbeth not being able to fulfil the prophecies is later raised by Lady Macbeth when she says he is ‘too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness’ to murder Duncan.
Why does Lady Macbeth question Macbeth’s ability to murder Duncan, he is a soldier who has killed many times before. However this death will be different, there will be no honour in the murder of Duncan. By killing him Macbeth would be committing High Treason, challenging the divine right of kings. It was believed at the time of writing that the sovereign was appointed by God so murdering him would not only be treason but also heresy. Lady Macbeth has no concerns about this dishonourable murder or incurring the wrath of God. She calls to the darkest night to prevent heaven from peeping through ‘the blanket of the dark, to cry ‘Hold, hold!’’ Lady Macbeth doubts her husband’s ability to commit the murder but she calls on the evil spirits to give her the strength to do it. She asks them to take away everything that makes her feminine ‘unsex me here’ and ‘take my milk for gall’. She wants to be filled top to toe with ‘direst cruelty’ and thus be able to commit this murder like a man could. This is another disparagement of Macbeth’s masculinity she wants to be able to commit the murder like a man yet Macbeth is not capable of doing it. Though any concerns Lady Macbeth has about Macbeth not wanting to challenge god are misplaced as he also calls on the evil sprits to hide his ‘black and deep desires’.
Lady Macbeth is a practical woman, and in the beginning of the play, she acts as a confidant and advisor to Macbeth, planning the murder and spurring him on when his own ‘vaulting ambition’ starts to falter. Macbeth’s desires are tame when compared with Lady Macbeth’s unquenchable aspiration for her husband to ascend the throne. She lacks the morals that cause Macbeth to have doubts. Though he initially agrees to the plan when left to his own devices without the influence of Lady Macbeth or the supernatural he decides not to go through with the murder. It is only Lady Macbeth’s goading and ridiculing of his manhood ‘When you durst do it, then you were a man’ that pushes him to go through with it. This is important, it strongly implies that without pressure from Lady Macbeth the murder of Duncan would not have taken place. So why when Lady Macbeth says she cannot commit the murder as Duncan reminded her too much of her father does Macbeth instantly take over? Lady Macbeth has bound him to the task with her own ‘vaunting ambition’ and questioned his masculinity. By committing this murder, he is proving his love for her as well as confirming his manly ruthlessness.
We see an immediate change in both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth from the moment of the murder. The regret they feel is instant but Lady Macbeth is able to be rational and cover up the murder. While Macbeth is driven mad by the horror of what he has done. However in spite of Lady Macbeth’s rational thinking directly after the murder the statement ‘Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t’ shows a humane kindness previously not seen in her. This makes her eventual breakdown seem inevitable in spite of the strong words and vicious tongue with which she taunted Macbeth before the murder. There is also a sudden change in the relationship between Macbeth and his wife. She is the main instigator of the first murder but she quickly loses this role of confidant and advisor. Macbeth, now obsessed with securing his throne needs no encouragement to commit more murders. His next crimes are committed with no reference to Lady Macbeth. The love and trust that are so obvious in the beginning dwindle as his black desires subjugate his character to the extent that he shows no signs of remorse or sadness when he hears of her death.
After the murder of Duncan Macbeth becomes desensitised to the horrors he commits. To secure his throne Macbeth murders the suspicious Banquo and attempts to murder Fleance. This is decision is made by Macbeth without consultation with his wife or insight from the witches. The murder of Macduff’s family represents the worst of his crimes. The witches have given him no hint that Macduff’s wife and children are a threat; this is a murder without logic or reason. Macbeth is so overcome by evil and madness he can no longer tell who is innocent in the struggle for political power. Lady Macbeth plays no part in this decision.
Macbeth is now caught in a downward spiral he has moments of sanity where he is able to reflect on his actions and recognize the horror of then but he seems unable to stop himself. However, Macbeth is not repentant on hearing that Birnam wood has come to Dunsinane he invokes the storms, the symbol of disorder and chaos in the universe and says ‘At least we’ll die with harness on our back.’ This shows he is prepare to die fighting though his inconsistencies later surface and he tells Macduff ‘I’ll not fight with thee’. Again, it is a questioning of Macbeth’s manhood and bravery that gets him to break this resolve. Macduff calls him a coward and offers him his life and this throws Macbeth into a rage he says he ‘will try the last’ is this a test of the last prophecies or Macbeth’s decision to die fighting?
The witches’ prophecies allow Macbeth to realise his deep desires and Lady Macbeth’s naked ambition drove him towards the first murder, binding him to the crime with her taunting words. Without both of these factors the evil in Macbeth that caused him to commit his other crimes would not have been awakened and this is truly what Macbeth is about. Shakespeare is commenting on the religious philosophy present at the time, that all humans are innately evil and only need to be provided with the access to it. He is suggesting that it is possible that evil qualities are something that can be taken on during life if the person is subjected to evil influences. In Macbeth’s case, these influences were Lady Macbeth and the witches. The witches symbolize all that is disorder, chaos, and evil in the universe and in the time the play was written when fears of witches and the supernatural were experiencing a rebirth the audience would have had no trouble believing in the wicked powers of the witches and their ability to manipulate Macbeth. The audience is left with the question would Macbeth have become king if he had not heard the witches prophecies and fate had been allowed to run its course and this, was Shakespeare’s intention.
Would Macbeth have committed the crimes he did without the influence of Lady Macbeth?
By Beth Martin 11G
