to ‘stay…and tell him more.’ This would suggest that he likes what he hears and
wants to know more about the fair things that shall befall him, but this reaction is a
natural one, and he is bound to want more intelligence than the ambiguous witches
are prepared to give.
Next follows a powerful soliloquy, in which Macbeth reveals to the audience his
thoughts about what the witches have said His ambition is here introduced, because
he likes the sound of what he’s heard and wants the prophecies to be realized but
the thought of really murdering someone, especially the King, terrifies him. Here
also is a glimmer of his weakness that Lady Macbeth later plays on. He is terrified
of the temptation he feels to murder Duncan, and the very thought of committing so
unnatural and vile an act makes him afraid too. He describes himself as ‘yielding to
that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair, and make my seated heart
knock at my ribs.’ He also says ‘my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical.’
This informs us that he has considered murder but only in his imagination and he
has not previously thought seriously of killing Duncan. Macbeth goes on to say ‘If
chance will have me King, why chance may crown me without my stir.’ Here
Macbeth seems to be saying that if chance, or fate, makes him King, then it will
happen without him doing anything. This thought may comfort him, as he would still
get the crown but without having to do that thing which terrifies him so much- killing
Duncan. After that, Macbeth says ‘Come what come may, time and the hour runs
through the roughest day.’ This is Macbeth saying he is just going to let things take
their natural course, and it gives the impression that however much Macbeth wants
the crown, the thought of killing Duncan is too much for him
At the beginning of scene four, Duncan is talking to Malcolm about the treacherous
Thane of Cawdor, and is enquiring whether he has been executed yet. Duncan says,
‘There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face. He was a gentleman on
whom I built an absolute trust.’ Duncan is saying this in reference to the previous
Thane of Cawdor, but it is ironic how fitting this is for the new Thane of Cawdor too,
especially as directly following this Macbeth, accompanied by Banquo, Ross and
Angus, enters. Duncan begins a speech of gratitude and humility to Macbeth. He
says, ‘More is thy due than more than all can pay.’ This emphases once more the
very great and ironic love Duncan has for Macbeth. Macbeth replies that serving and
being loyal to the King is payment itself. Macbeth says ‘our duties are to your throne
and state, children and servants.’ This is again ironic as Macbeth is saying it is his
duty to protect the King. From this speech we get the impression that Macbeth is
overcompensating for his plans to kill Duncan by being overly humble, dutiful and
good. Later Duncan reveals he has made his son Malcolm his heir to the throne and
has given him the title Prince of Cumberland. Then he says that they should all go to
Macbeth’s castle at Inverness. The naming of Malcolm as heir is another obstacle
for Macbeth in the way of the crown, as Macbeth himself owns during another
soliloquy. Macbeth says to himself, ‘The Prince of Cumberland- that is a step, on
which I must fall down, or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies.’ From this we
understand that Macbeth has determined to try to get the crown and from what he
says next, it is obvious that the apparent hindrance of Malcolm has awakened in
Macbeth his evil longings, ambition and greed; ‘Stars hide your fires, let not light
see my black and deep desires.’ This also shows that from while he knows that the
deed is evil and while he is ashamed of doing it, he will not be diverted from his
purpose by anything. This shows a determination and strength of mind that we have
not seen before, and might not see again. Macbeth is driven by his own ambition
but it wasn't the only factor, his wife also had an influence upon him, a lot of evidence
that shows this is present is in Scene 5;
At the beginning of this scene Lady Macbeth is reading a letter sent to her by her
husband. It is informing her of the prophecy of the witches, and how one element of it
has come true. The fact that Macbeth has written his wife a letter informing her of
these happenings shows how much he loves and respects her, and sees her as his
equal. This is very unusual, because at this time the wife was greatly inferior to her
husband and didn’t have any power at all. Her husband was her lord and master.
This unnatural equality has probably derived from Macbeth’s mental weakness and
his wife’s dominating strength. In his letter, Macbeth addressed his wife as ‘my
dearest partner of greatness’. This again indicates how much he esteems her, and
this is a powerful weapon for Lady Macbeth to use against him. Macbeth also says,
‘…what greatness is promised thee.’ This shows that he is not only doing it for
himself, but for her, and this again intimates his love, which is what seems to be his
weakness. Lady Macbeth says, ‘Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what
thou art promised.’ This shows she has complete faith in him becoming king, but
then she goes on to say, ‘Yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’ th’ milk of human
kindness…’ This shows that she does not totally trust that Macbeth will be able to do
the deed because he is too nice. It is as though his goodness is his weakness in a
world where you need to be ruthless, cunning and merciless to get anywhere, and
Lady Macbeth realizes this. This also gives us the impression that before Macbeth
became overpowered and wholly governed by ambition. He was a good and kind
man.
When Macbeth arrives at the castle ahead of Duncan and everybody else, Lady
Macbeth greets him very excitedly, and Macbeth meets her with the news that
Duncan comes there that evening and leaves the following day. Lady Macbeth
implies that Duncan won’t see the next morning, and goes on to give Macbeth
advice about how to look and refers to the murder as ‘this night’s great business’.
Up to the murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth never actually uses the word ‘murder’ to
Macbeth; she constantly uses euphemisms to disguise the truth. This must be
because she thinks Macbeth wouldn’t be able handle it, so she needs to protect
him. Again, we get the impression he is weak. Lady Macbeth says he should put the
murder ‘into dispatch’. Lady Macbeth finishes the scene with ‘Leave all the rest to
me.’ These two lines clearly show us how she dominates Macbeth and is the one in
control. She is managing the murder because she believes he is too weak.
Macbeth opens scene seven with a meaningful and powerful soliloquy wherein he
weighs up the reasons for murdering Duncan and finds he has six reasons against
doing it and one reason for, namely his ‘vaulting ambition.' Lady Macbeth enters and
interrupts the soliloquy Macbeth fires two short questions at her in immediate
succession; ‘How now? What news?’ This suggests that Macbeth is uneasy with
Duncan in the castle. Macbeth goes on to say in a brusque, forthright manner, ‘We
will proceed no further in this business.’ Macbeth’s acknowledged reason is that
Duncan ‘hath honored of late’(him of late) and that he ‘ha bought golden opinions
from all sorts of people , which would be worn now in their newest gloss, not cast
aside so soon.’ In this short dialogue we see two new dimensions to Macbeth’s
character. The first is that he is attempting to control Lady Macbeth, something we
haven’t seen him do before. The second new point is that he is concealing
something from her. Before, he has always acknowledged everything to her openly,
but now heis hiding from her all the reasons he thought of only moments ago. This
shows how he is trying to make himself transcendent and superior to Lady Macbeth,
by not allowing her to know his mind, but she thwarts him by simply sneering at him.
She replies in a contemptuous manner, and starts to employ many methods to
manipulate him. To start with, Macbeth stands firm against her entreaties saying, ‘I
dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none.’ Lady Macbeth
tries to make him feel guilty and then questions his manhood. Macbeth starts to be
swayed, and he asks, ‘If we should fail?’ He is thus indicating that that is what he is
afraid of: not killing a good and noble king, but of being caught, or of killing Duncan
but still not managing to get the crown. This is another form of his weakness.
Macbeth is swayed, and we are left in no doubt who the stronger partner is; in three
speeches we have seen Lady Macbeth bring her husband full circle to do the deed
he was adamant he would not. The scene ends with a couplet from Macbeth, ‘Away,
and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth
know.’ This has the air of summing up the scene, with Macbeth sounding resigned
to his fate.
As Macbeth's Ambition and lady Macbeth's persuasion are factors of Ducan's
murder so are the witches prophecies. The play opens on a ghostly, supernatural
note with the three witches brewing a spell amidst thunder and lightning. During this
short scene, we hear Macbeth’s name for the first time, and it’s spoken by one of
the witches. This indicates that they will play a momentous part in the life of Macbeth
throughout the play. And they do, as Macbeth’s heralds of all things good and bad,
fair and foul. We have the witches who have given him an incentive to try and gain
the throne, by telling him he will become king, although they didn’t tell Macbeth how,
and it was up to him how he interpreted their prophecies. There is the possibility that
the witches could have some sort of supernatural control, over Macbeth, although
that is uncertain. In Conclusion there were three major factors that affected
Macbeth's judgment, His ambition, The witches and Lady Macbeth. It was not just
one of these that drove Macbeth to kill Duncan. His ambition played an important
part but so did the witches and Lady Macbeth. I Believe Macbeth would not of
committed regicide if one of these factors were missing.
By Aaron Evans
