“If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me
Without my stir.”
This decision changes suddenly in scenes 4 and 5. Whilst Duncan completely trusts Macbeth, his announcement that his son Malcolm is to be heir, changes Macbeth’s attitude to the murder. Macbeth now sees Malcolm as an obstacle between himself and the throne and in a short soliloquy admits that he has “black and deep desires”. He decides to kill Duncan. He writes to Lady Macbeth, telling her what has happened and of Duncan’s forthcoming visit. As Lady Macbeth herself is ambitious, she vows to influence Macbeth to kill the king. Although Macbeth may have feelings of conscience and Lady Macbeth may drive him on, we should remind ourselves that it was Macbeth himself who first had the idea of seizing power.
In Macbeth’s second major soliloquy, he describes the doubts and fears, which torment him. “Might be the be-all and the end-all!” He wrestles with his conscience. In physical activity, Macbeth is always decisive, but in moral problems he hesitates. He knows that he will be condemned to “deep damnation” but he is prepared to “jump” the life to come if he can get away with the murder in this life. He admits that the only thing driving him on is his selfish ambition. When Lady Macbeth comes in, he has become less confident of purpose and tells her he is not going to murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth attacks his courage and manhood – the very things he had been praised for earlier in the play – and persuades him to change his mind again. He takes some comfort from the thought that one blow would end the matter, and the deed would be accomplished quickly,
“If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well
It were done quickly.”
little knowing that he would have to commit more murders.
After Macbeth has killed Duncan in his sleep, he immediately becomes lost in terrifying guilt. He is unable to say the word “Amen” and is in such a state that he is unable to return the dagger to plant it on the drugged guards to implicate them in the murder. At this stage, Macbeth is not hardened to his crimes.
Macbeth soon realises that if the guards are questioned, he may become a suspect and his murder of Duncan will have been in vain – his ambition to be king would not be realised and he quickly kills the guards. His ambition therefore has driven him onto two other murders. He pretends that he killed them because
“The expedition of my violent love
Outrun the pauser reason.”
Shortly after this Macbeth achieves his ambition to become king.
Some time later, Macbeth decides that because the witches predictions have so far come true, he wants to prevent the prediction of Banquo’s children becoming kings and plans to do this by killing Banquo and Fleance. Macbeth’s rise to power would be pointless if his line were to stop when he died. Becoming king has not dampened his ambition, he now wants more than the original prophesy promised. Nobody can be blamed for this, other than Macbeth.
The depths to which Macbeth has sunk are shown clearly in his conversation with the murderers:
“‘Tis better thee without than he within.
Is he dispatched?”
The great hero and warrior is now reduced to meeting men he despises, in secret. He partly reveals his plans to Lady Macbeth, who is impressed. Again this is Macbeth’s own ambition that keeps driving him along this route. Macbeth is becoming the more dominant partner. “Things bad begun to make strong themselves by ill.” Whilst at a banquet Macbeth is told by one of the murderers that Banquo is dead, but is disturbed upon being told that Fleance escaped – Macbeth’s ambition may yet be stopped. Macbeth is further upset by the appearance (only to him) of Banquo’s ghost at the banquet and loses his nerve. As he now mistrusts everyone, he resolves to revisit the witches. He no longer talks of including Lady Macbeth, but of himself alone
“For mine own good
All causes shall give way”
By Act 3 Scene 6, several people are plotting to overthrow Macbeth, as he is suspected of the murders. When Macbeth next meets the witches, he becomes threatening and demanding and afterwards having been told to “Beware Macduff!” he is determined to attack Macduff’s castle. He is not even worried about the expected murder of the women and children in the castle. Macbeth does not seek justification in his mind for murdering Lady Macduff and her son; his desire to eliminate all that “trace him in his line” is all that matters to him. He no longer has a conscience nor gives into normal human feeling. Macbeth is fearless once again – this time because the witches’ latest prophecies lure him into a false believing that
“… none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.”
Macbeth now believes that whatever the witches say is true and doesn’t think things through logically. He begins and ends Act 4 Scene 2 by reciting the prophecies, as they have become like a prayer to him. In Scene 5, when a messenger informs him that Birnan Wood is advancing – part of the prophecy he felt could never happen –
“Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until
Great Birnan Wood to high Dunsinane Hill
Shall come against him.”
he is hurried into attack, abandoning the security of the castle that would “laugh a siege to scorn”, despite knowing that his troops could not possibly win and therefore ensures that prophecy comes true.
In the final Scene we are reminded of Macbeth’s true strength and that he is first and foremost a warrior. Even when he discovers from Macduff how false the prophecies were,
“Though Birnan Wood be come to Dunsinane
And thou opposed, being of no woman born,”
his courage does not falter, taking on fate as well as Macduff – “Yet I will try the last.”
Ambition is the fundamental theme in this play because it is the driving force of Macbeth’s life. His main weakness is ambition. Macbeth himself admits when he is attempting to resist the murder of Duncan:
“I have no spur…but only
Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself”
- this is the only argument that overrules his troubled conscience. Whilst the influence of the witches and Lady Macbeth strengthen any decision of Macbeth’s to commit murder, they are only able to succeed in this because his ambition is already present within him. Macbeth is a hero, but it is his ambition that leads the witches to Macbeth – they did not have the same effect on Banquo. Once Macbeth has finally decided to kill Duncan, he is determined to overcome all further obstacles in the way of him realising his ambition. Through allowing his ambition to suppress his good qualities he becomes a “tyrant” a “dwarfish thief” and a “hellhound”.
