macbeth's state of mind while going to kill duncan

by quorra (student)

International Baccalaureate World Literature

Macbeth’s state of mind as he went to kill the king.

Knowledge is power yet mankind is not any closer to figuring the enigma that is life or the entity that is the human mind or the ambiguous soul given the information we now possess. Macbeth is a decorated war hero who comes to commit regicide under the cloak of his ambitious wife challenging his manhood, the half-truth prophecies of beady-eyed witches for a shield and a dagger thickly coated with unadulterated ambition. Shakespeare’s motives of writing the play may be numerous but it does put forward the question; how far are you willing to go to achieve your deepest, darkest desires, that is, if they are ever realized? The killing of King Duncan is the apex of Macbeth’s fall from grace, a downward spiral to a taunted mind and inflating insecurities on his pedestal of power. It is what he wanted, right? I will explore Shakespeare’s use of language, plot and other characters to vividly portray Macbeth’s final hour of humanity.

At first, Macbeth is taken back by the prospects of his future that the witches propose to him at their first meeting when he demands they speak. They address him directly, hailing him as Thane of Glamis(which he is), Thane of Cawdor(an aspect of dramatic irony for we as the readers already know that the title was already given to him, the previous one being a traitor) and King, sometime in the future. This renders him speechless and Banquo, his companion, points out “Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear things that do sound so fair?” Banquo is wondering why Macbeth was not amused or at least cynical of such great prospects after prodding them. This is answered when he regains speech and tries to interrogate the witches for more information as to how he is to gain any of the titles and where they came by such information. At this point, Macbeth is simply juggling the information he was just bombarded with, trying to make sense of it, making his present state one of confusion and wonder.

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Then, the bombshell is dropped. Ross and Angus arrive to declare Macbeth Thane of Cawdor. The witches have now sown a seed of ambition or simply unearthed what was already there. This is evident with his remarks, “Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor! The greatest is behind.” Meaning that he does expect ‘the greatest’ (becoming King) to happen in the near future. This is further emphasized with yet another echoing statement of, “Two truths are told as happy prologues to the swelling act of imperial theme.” The titles he now has are simply ‘happy prologues’, short introductions holding in them promise of the epitome of all his life’s moments, becoming King. His hopes for the imminent future are further shown when he refers to them as a ‘swelling act of imperial theme’ meaning he is bound to become King someday. In this statement, Shakespeare seems to be making an analogy between Macbeth’s life and a book which usually has a prologue preceding the story to give some background to the story or foreshadow coming events. This shows that Macbeth is envisioning the enjoyment of fruits he has not labored for, whetting his appetite.

However his train of thought is interpreted by reality. He becomes disoriented with the thoughts that cloud his plane of imagination when he says, “If good (the supernatural soliciting), why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair, and make my seated heart knock at my ribs against the use of nature?” He realizes what he may have to do to achieve his goal; an act that is nature’s abomination making his own body react at the very thought; the unfixing of his hair-getting goosebumps-and the unnatural rhythm of his heart are both signs of an anxious or fearful person. This unnatural state is further witnessed when he says “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man, that function is smothered in surmise.” This summarizes the state that his thoughts are leaving him that he is rendered incapable of action. He decides that if fate is to crown him then it would without him having to do anything. All this changes when the King’s son, Malcolm, is named the future King. All thoughts of leaving it to chance are abandoned and the former thoughts resumed. These thoughts are later echoed during his soliloquy, before planning Duncan’s death with his wife, weighing his options against each other. He says that Duncan has been a more than just ruler for he ‘Hath borne his faculties so meek’. Yet he has nothing else but ‘vaulting ambition’ to drive him to commit the crime. He knows that what he thinks when he asks the stars to hide their fires-a hyperbole as stars are not as bright as the moon or the sun- so as not to illuminate his dark desires. He is pushed further to commit the murder with the wife putting his manhood into question by saying that if he does the act he ‘would be so much more the man’. She even goes further to call him a coward by comparing him to ‘the poor cat i’the adage’ that wanted to have the fish in the bowl without getting its paws wet. This blow to his manhood is the final push that drives him to kill Duncan. In a fleeting moment the nature and consequence of the act and ambition are forgotten in order to cater for the idea of proving to either himself or Lady Macbeth that he can against his better judgment.

This is the availing of opportunity at its best. Shakespeare clearly conveys Macbeth’s turning point by creatively using language, structure of the plot and the aid of other characters. The witches unveil the idea, Macbeth has the ambition, Malcolm’s naming as future King provides the push and Lady Macbeth further fans the fire to an inferno. Shakespeare shows that humans need both the supernatural and human (internal or external) factors to facilitate the occurrence of a sin or evil. Which begs the question, is Macbeth responsible for Duncan’s death? If so, are we humans evil by nature or is it socially or culturally premeditated? And if it is cultured and not innate, the what makes an act good or bad? Is it the consequence suffered for it or the outcome intended?

BY: SYLVIA WANJOHI