We know that he was frightened by the witches because Banquo asks him, “Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear things that sound so fair?” This suggests that while Banquo receives the harlots’ news with great assurance and composure, Macbeth frets and seems too anxious. Banquo is like Macbeth in the sense that after the first prophecy he has ambition, but unlike Macbeth he doesn’t put these into action. He works as Macbeth’s dramatic foil, even though he and the central character are such great friends, he is the complete opposite to his ally. He has a relatively strong resolve and is not easily fazed and symbolises what the thane of Cwardor left behind. So Banquo stands as an antagonist, a conflicting force against Macbeth, once he has been killed. Therefore his and not Duncan’s spirit is the perfect choice to haunt Macbeth.
When his ghost appears at the banquet Mactbeth says, “If charnel houses and our graves must send, those that we bury back, our monuments shall be the maws of kites.” This suggests that Banquo even in death still defies Macbeth, and that Macbeth is so frustrated by this, by not having power over the intangible, he cries out in front of a host of guests. Banquo, so destined to be the undoing of his former comrade, even in death, is instrumental to Macbeth’s downfall. This was evident ever since the oracle of the witches.
The driving force, in addition to the witches’ prophecy, behind Macbeth’s decision to kill the king and the source of almost all of his torment is his wife. Though Macbeth holds much power in status and clearly shows a valiant and fearless persona on the battlefield, she is the one often the dictator in their relationship and of course in that certain epoch the thought of a woman dictating her husband was unheard of so Shakespeare was almost revolutionary in that sense, because he often had women in his play who were far from the typical demure virtuous woman, Juliet from “Romeo and Juliet”, for example was headstrong, and Goneril and Regan from “King Lear” who were sadistic and even personified evil.
Lady Macbeth herself is a very enigmatic person because we don’t know why she is so driven. Shakespeare hints at why she is so callous when the character clams that “I would have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out if...”. Of course this is hypothetical she makes reference to a baby while taunting Macbeth and describing her absolute apathy for a dead baby, because she is talking about the baby so vehemently she may once have had a child herself but lost it. It would explain a lot about her and why she is so cold and driven, but also tells us why she eventually turns maniacally depressed, which might also be down to the guilt form killing the king.
From the first moment she is in the play she is already conspiring to kill Duncan. She says that, “To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it.” In this excerpt Lady Macbeth is referring to Macbeth’s kind nature and how he lacks the, “illness to attend it” This insinuates that she has the “illness to attend it”, this shows her devious mindset she already has and a deep-seated callous nature of her. She is already has a nefarious plot ‘in the works’. This is what sealed Scotland’s fate rather than her husband acting on his own accord. The protagonist already has the idea implanted in his mind about killing the king, but on his own, with his reserves over this and his loyalty he would never have killed the king.
Lady Macbeth thinks that her husband is “too full of human kindness”. When she refers to the kindness being human this tells us that she is aware of how un-human she is and this is why might even think that she takes help from the devil or is associated with hell in some way. She calls on “you spirits that tend on moral thoughts [to] unsex me here”, she probably has done this many time when Macbeth is off at war so this may be another reason why she is so cold, by cutting herself off from reality and human nature she numbs herself preparing for if ever the news came that Macbeth was dead.
She wants to become everything that is not human and be “[filled] from the crown to the toe topfull of direst cruelty” which emphasises how evil and calculated Lady Macbeth is and gives the impression that she is like a manifestation of the devil in a person. This shows how much Macbeth’s is struggling against and what an absolute strong willed, cold shell of a person is manipulating him. Macbeth’s weak character against this stands no chance of staying sane.
This changes Macbeth; she compels him to commit regicide but also puts Macbeth through anguish and sparks off something in Macbeth which makes him fight with himself. Like a typical bully she taunts Macbeth that she, “[would] shame to wear a heart so white” making the protagonist question whether he is a man or not. Every time the opportunity arises Lady Macbeth insists that he is less of a man for having emotional reservations over murder. Believing that “thy mettle should compose nothing but males” Macbeth is forced to “dare do all that may become a man.” The alliteration of ‘m’ sounds adds to the forcefulness of her insults, provoking Macbeth’s desire to do anything to attain the throne.
In Macbeth’s first soliloquy we see what Macbeth usually is thinking. He is mainly thinking about the consequences and that “this blow might be the be all and end all here”. This could be perceived in many ways; suggesting that once he has done this, the fateful die would have been cast and he can never go retract his sin. It may also have religious connotations as Macbeth notes hopefully, “We’d jump the life to come.” This suggests that he’s thinking about the afterlife and that he fears God’s judgement via “the deep damnation of his taking off”. Also he thinks that redemption in his life would come to him and that somehow the universe would, “commend th’ingredience of our poisoned chalice to our own lips”. The imagery of the chalice denotes his enoblement to thane of Cwardor, being a “poisoned chalice”. It may even refer to the witches’ revelation being like drinking poison. It definitely is showing his apprehension about killing the king and even his regret of committing so many sins.
Then the second soliloquy is about him talking himself out of killing the king while exploring his inner conflict. By the end of the soliloquy he has effectively talked himself out of the murder. This shows how he lacks the ‘mettle’ to actually carry out the “deed”. He is beginning to “lose it”, contemplating doing it even though he is adamant about “proceeding no further in this business” and then completely talks himself out of it, this is typical of how two ideas in Macbeth’s mind clash in the play.
Then we get a manifestation of Macbeth’s mental state, through the image of the dagger. He talks to the vision as if it is a person, saying that “Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going.” This suggests that Macbeth is not even in his right mind because this isn’t even a real thing let alone a person. The dagger could represent his guilt at being about to kill Duncan, as well as a symbol of how Macbeth’s life is controlled by violence - a part of him he cannot escape. Also an important trait of the protagonist is conveyed when he s “see[s] thee still”; the dagger will not go away which shows that whatever the dagger symbolises cannot be removed (just as Macbeth cannot change his blood-thirstiness and revoke his “god of war” personality), it might show how what he is about to commit will not go away: the consequences of the murder will linger or it may be that his guilt will never go away. It may show how he is in a sort of limbo between reality and surreality: he can see the dagger and he desperately wants it to be real but it remains intangible, elusive and infuriatingly insistent.
Mainly in this soliloquy Macbeth uses many pauses (i.e. commas) and uses short sharp sentences. For example he says, “Witchcraft celebrates pale Hecate's offerings, and withered murder, alarumed by his sentinel, the wolf, whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace, with Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design moves like a ghost.” This shows stuttering speech and fractured syntax which mirrors the dissolution of his identity, and his hesitation. He is so unsure of his actions and himself that he has to justify it with an effectively pathetic excuse, being because it is night-time. He seems now to be engrossed in the world of surrealism he even goes as far as to parallel himself to Death, while personifying how it moves through the night. Also being that death needs a sentinel, a watchman to tell him when to kill shows how Macbeth is trying to qualify his act, by saying that, Death is bound by duty meaning fate is unavoidable and Death’s list is set in stone. Him comparing himself to Tarquin (the names of the kings in an extensive roman dynasty), may hint at his superiority complex and in hope of becoming like a Tarquin with his lineage doing the same.
This soliloquy is conveying the inner battles Macbeth has previously had about deciding whether to kill his king, but in the presence of his wife his objections are always overpowered so he doesn’t fight himself and go through so much anguish. This deed acts as a watershed and from then on he goes against many universal morals with no qualms, it’s as if, in this soliloquy, his conscience is being destroyed. In order to become soulless and cold-hearted, like his wife, and kill the king with a lighter heart, and enter the hallowed chamber of the king.
Throughout the play Macbeth uses the elision technique. This helps maintain the play’s swift pace, while also leaving certain events inferable to a certain degree. These events are only recounted, like after the battle when the kinsman is describing what happened, this is only a recount and does not tells us about specific things. This was done by Shakespeare to make an event undistinguished not to ruin the actual passion of the incident, and adding to the dramatic effect of the act itself, using the power of suggestion. Shakespeare may have acquired this from the classical Greek tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles. This technique used in very violent plays, making Macbeth’s decision and actions more accentuated and seem even more despicable.
Duncan’s chamber becomes like a hidden cloister in which an immense presence vastly alters the characters personae and conscience. After dissimilating his principles in the second soliloquy in order to summon the courage to commit regicide, they appear to have returned. Macbeth after returning from the king’s bedroom asks “wherefore could not I pronounce “Amen”? I had most need of blessing, and “Amen” stuck in my throat.” This could imply that Macbeth is now so guilty his conscience is harassing him and not letting him speak to god (say Amen). Or this might be because there was a holy or unholy presence in the room, he has become so affiliated with the devil he can sense the evil in the room and is traumatised stiff unable to say god’s name in fear of divine retribution.
Then after his wife enters the chamber she reverts to a vulnerable state one which we have yet to see in the play she says, “Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done 't.” This shows that Lady Macbeth is, however apathetic, still only human and one of the reasons why she asks, “spirits to unsex me here”. She also probably is loyal to the king which was what everyone believed, because the king was supposed to be on his throne due to divine right. So this may show Lady Macbeth’s fear of defying god himself and that she doesn’t wield enough power (in terms of status) to kill the king and attain the throne, so due to this she too needs her husband.
The exchange between Macbeth and his spouse is immediately after the murder and their hastened speech is indicative of their panic. An extract goes:
LADY MACBETH: Did not you speak?
MACBETH: When?
LADY MACBETH: Now.
MACBETH: As I descended.
LADY MACBETH: Ay.
MACBETH: Hark! Who lies i' th' second chamber?
LADY MACBETH: Donalbain.
MACBETH: (looking at his hands) This is a sorry sight.
LADY MACBETH: A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight.
This scene is generally the Macbeths’ realisation of the murder and their naive negligence of the consequences of committing high treason, also the audience’s. The grave knocking at the door is symbolic of God’s anger and punctuated the gravity of their crime. he now seeks reckoning, it is the suiting then that the person knocking is Macduff, the eventual avenger of Duncan.
This scene also offers us a juxtaposition of their personas in a pressurised situation. Lady Macbeth keeps composed and seems shockingly indifferent to their actions, saying that only, “A little water clears us of this deed”, and this implies that she thinks of the deed as so easy even some water can “quench” her guilt. Meanwhile Macbeth stresses over the same thing water can cleanse and that not even, “all great Neptune's ocean wash[es] this blood clean from my hand[?] [No], this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine.” Shakespeare uses imagery of a vast ocean turning red to emphasise how terrible Macbeth sees this act that it will stain every sea red, again deity is linked in saying “Neptune’s ocean” saying that not even a god can redeem his sin now. The sea is symbolising their humanity (because all human life cannot live without water), Lady Macbeth’s is only a small drop in an ocean, and she has no compassion for other beings if they get in her way of her ultimate goal. Macbeth’s, however, is a vast ocean, now stained red with the guilt and burden of this evil deed.
This scene fervently marks the point of no return and the protagonist’s ultimate regret. In realising his atrocious decision he laments in the knowledge of his ultimate fate and that, “To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself.” This is showing that Macbeth now fully realises that he has committed murder of the highest treachery and sacrilege and because of this he wants to completely remove himself from his body. Possibly in order to become more inhuman to withstand trials like these and to become more suited to his upcoming tribulations. All of his uncertainties are revealed now because Lady Macbeth has no more reason to coerce her husband, and throughout his persona is collapsing.
After all of this Shakespeare supplies some perspective for his audience in the form of the porter. His drunken ramblings relive the audience and lull them into a false sense of security, that because there is comedy, tragedy is avoided. His soliloquies still set a tone to the play and after the murder of the king he assumes the façade of a, “porter of hell-gate” this is adding to the effect of the murder by reminding the audience this is where Macbeth is headed once he is dead. The gate of hell is signifying the path of the storyline, the story has now descended into madness, and the porter’s word seems to be the only ones that actually make sense. He says,” Faith, here's an equivocator that could swear in both the scales against either scale, who committed treason enough for God's sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven.” This equivocator is an embodiment of the witches and how they speak in nuances to fool their visitors. Therefore, “could not equivocate to heaven” may mean that the witches could not fool someone untainted but, without god’s divine protection, Macbeth is lead by the witches straight to the gates of hell.
In the scenes leading up to and immediately following Duncan’s murder we see a mental decay. Shakespeare is teaching the difference between kingship and tyranny, by showing that tyranny always ends in depression and anguish. A conversation between MacDuff and Malcolm clearly portrays this message that no matter how much power one desires a love for their people and country will always guard against tyranny.