“If you can look into the seeds of time and say which grains will grow and which will not”.
This suggests that he is weak morally and maybe mentally he feels threatened by the witches. Shakespeare creates great imagery by Macbeth’s clothing in the first scenes. In the first scenes Macbeth changes from a courageous soldier to a Thane of Cawdor. This part of the play shows the good, courageous and loyal Macbeth. However, as the play progress Macbeth goes from the clean Thane of Cawdor to the “bloody” King of Scotland.
In Act 1 Scene 4 Macbeth returns to the King’s Castle and Duncan gives Macbeth his honour of being the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth knows that the witches said this will come true and it has, so Macbeth now thinks that kingship will happen as well. “If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me”. This is how the witches work; they plant a seed in your head and know that weak people will fall into their trap. This shows us Macbeth’s weakness which is mental. We know that he is physically strong but is morally very weak.
Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth about his experience with the witches and she feels very strongly about the idea and tells Macbeth that he will have to kill King Duncan to become King. Macbeth backs out of the idea. “I will proceed no further with this business”, but Lady Macbeth assures him that they will succeed. Macbeth is now feeling the pressure from his wife and now feels that he is committed to carrying out the job. This shows us how much of an influence Lady Macbeth has on Macbeth and again shows his moral weakness. This is a scene were we can take pity on Macbeth and maybe put part of the blame on Lady Macbeth for her powerful control over him.
In Act 1 Scene 5 Macbeth has invited King Duncan to his castle to celebrate his honour of victory in battle but is really planning to kill him. Macbeth backs out of the plan again “He’s here in double trust: First, as I am his Kinsman and his subject”, but once again Lady Macbeth convinces him to carry out the task. “When you durst do it, then you were a man”. Beforehand Lady Macbeth had been praying to the devil, this really shows her character and what she has become. “His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt of our great quell?” Macbeth is astounded by the evil she possesses, “bring forth men-children only, for thy undaunted mettle should compose nothing but males”, He is saying she is too evil and malicious to bear girls as children. Macbeth carries out the murder and is regretting it, “false face must hide what the false heart don’t know”. For anyone to carry out a murder they have to possess some evil in them to have the guts to end someone’s life but Macbeth regrets deeply what he has done. Lady Macbeth says, “Go get some water and wash this filthy witness from your hands” but Macbeth is not convinced and replies, “Not even all the oceans of the world will take this blood from my hands”. This again shows that Macbeth is not all malicious and does possess some good qualities and maybe Lady Macbeth is taking over him.
During Act 2 Scene 1 Macbeth has been announced as King and decides to return to the witches to find out of any more prophecies, “How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags! What is’t you do?” He is told, “Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth: beware Macduff, beware the Thane of Fife”. The witches also tell Macbeth, “The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” Macbeth again takes these prophesies on board.
After hearing this Macbeth does everything in his power to stay on the throne and starts to go into a murdering frenzy wiping out Macduff’s whole family by hiring murderers to carry out the job. When the murderers confront Macduff’s wife they say, “Where is your husband?”, Lady Macduff replies, “I hope in no place so unsanctified, where such as thou mayst find him”. This shows that Macbeth is not well thought of and by murdering King Duncan he removed Scotland’s holy leader and became a tyrant who committed treacherous murderers.
In Act 3 Scene 4 Macbeth has just ordered the murder of Banquo and is at a Banquet with all the important members of society. Macbeth is having illusions of Banquo’s ghost sitting in his chair; he blames one of the Lords for playing a prank on him. “Which one of you have done this?” Everyone at the Banquet is astounded by what Macbeth is saying, “Thou canst not say I did it; never shake thy gory locks at me!” Lady Macbeth has to calm the situation and get everyone out of the Banquet hall, “My worthy lord, your noble friends do lack you”. This shows again Lady Macbeth’s moral strength and Macbeth’s weakness in moral strength.
Shakespeare uses soliloquies very well throughout Macbeth to create a light and darkness within the play. “Tomorrow creeps in this pretty pace”. Macbeth shines in the light in the first scenes but slips away and is dragged into the darkness by the witches and by Lady Macbeth. Nearing the end of the play in the last scenes Macbeth is contemplating whether or not to kill him self, “why should I play the Roman fool and die on my own sword”. The witches and Macbeth’s greed for kingship have left him a murderer and a tyrant.
In Act 5 Scene 8 near the end of the play Macbeth realises that his life is coming to an end as he finds out that Macduff had been surgically removed from the womb. “Untimely ripped from my mother’s womb”. We start to see the old courageous Macbeth again and not the weak treacherous one we saw throughout the play. “Of all men else I have avoided thee, but get thee back, my soul is too much charged”. I felt Lady Macbeth was the driving force behind Macbeth and that she was mostly to blame for Macbeth’s downfall as Macbeth has a weak personality and she a very strong one. She took advantage of this weakness to get what she wanted. I feel a lot of sympathy for Macbeth but we do have to realise that he did commit so many murders and this is the reason why he was described by Malcolm as a “bloody tyrant”.
