The play begins with equivocation, "Fair is foul and foul is fair....

" In other
words, the play is filled with the idea of contradiction. aka equivocation.
Nothing is what it appears to be.
For your essay, choose three examples of things that are not what they
appear to be.
For example, it would appear that Macbeth is a good and loyal subject of
the king. Explain how this is not so.
It would appear that Malcolm and Donalbain hired the guards to kill their
father. Explain how this is not so.
It would appear that Fleance, too, was responsible for Banquo's death.
Explain how this is not so.
It would appear that Macduff is a traitor. Explain how this is not so.
It would appear from what the witches tell Macbeth, that he cannot be
defeated. Explain how this is not so.
In other words, there are many examples in the play. Choose three of
them and then support what you say by using an example from the play.
It is interesting to note that the Porter speaks of an equivocator who
committed treason. This is a reference to Father Garnet who confessed
several members of the Gunpowder Plot before the attempt but said
nothing. This was treason according to the courts despite the fact that he
was bound by the confessional. The only recognized church in England
was The Church of England. It was illegal to be a Roman Catholic. As a
result of his defense of the confessional, he was known as the Great
Equivocator.
Remember, "Nothing is but what is not."
Equivocation is language of confusion; ambiguity; double meanings; halftruths; paradoxes; riddles
The editor above does an excellent job illustrating the most famous: "Foul
is fair; fair is foil." These lines turn the world of Macbeth inside out: good
is evil, and evil is good. The murderous become king, and the king gets
murdered. The natural becomes unnatural. The witches have established
a world with no moral center in which things fall apart.
Equivocal Morality: How do you know whats good, or whos good, if
theres overlap between good and evil? The play does away with the old
Medieval concept of morality in which there is clearly good and clearly evil
with little in between. The play presages the modern concept of relative
morality which says that good and evil are not fixed, but change over time
and situation. This concept is revolutionary because it says a man like
Macbeth can be both good and then evil, given the choice, almost
overnight. It is the existential choice to change that empowers Macbeth.
Other examples:
Lesser than Macbeth and greater.
These solicitings cannot be evil, cannot be good
I would add the fact that Malcolm says he is a lascivious, greedy, evil man
(when he's talking with Macduff), but he is not. A wood (forest) cannot
move, yet it does. Water washes away blood, but obviously it does not
wash away the sin. An interesting area to study in Macbeth.

in Macbeth, Shakespeare adds a supernatural dimension that purposively

conspires against Macbeth and his kingdom. In the tragedy ofLear, the
distraught king summons the goddess of Chaos, Hecht; in Macbeth,
Hecate appears as an actual character.
On the level of human evil, Shakespeare's Scottish tragedy is about
Macbeth's bloody rise to power, including the murder of the Scottish king,
Duncan, and the guilt-ridden pathology of evil deeds generating still more
evil deeds. As an integral part of this thematic web is the play's most
memorable character, Lady Macbeth. Like her husband, Lady Macbeth's
ambition for power leads her into an unnatural, phantasmagoric realm of
witchcraft, insomnia and madness. But while Macbeth responds to the
prophecies of the play's famous trio of witches, Lady Macbeth goes even
further by figuratively transforming herself into an unnatural,
desexualized evil spirit. The current trend of critical opinion is toward an
upward reevaluation of Lady Macbeth, who is said to be rehumanized by
her insanity and her suicide. Much of this reappraisal of Lady Macbeth has
taken place in discussions of her ironically strong marriage to Macbeth, a
union that rests on loving bonds but undergoes disintegration as the
tragedy unfolds.
One of the central questions of power in Macbeth deals with control over
an individuals fate. Throughout the play, Macbeth struggles to for control
over himself, both in an emotional way and over his own destiny. The first
report of Macbeth is of a captain speaking about him as a brave warrior in
complete control of himself. Brave Macbethwell he deserves that name
/Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,/which smoked with
bloody execution,/Like valors minion carved out his passage (Act 1,
Scene 2, Lines 16-19). He is depicted in a straightforward, unambiguous
way as a great fighter who cuts through his enemies with strong
ruthlessness. However, when Macbeth is introduced in person, he is
depicted quite differently. He is unable to deal with the strangeness of the
Weird Sisters, and reacts in an ambiguous, emotional way. This
supernatural soliciting/Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill,/Why hath it
given me earnest of success (Act 1, Scene 3, Lines131-3). He is unable
to decide whether or not the witches prophecy is good or bad, and he
reacts physically. If good, 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? Present fears/Are less than horrible
imaginings (Act 1, Scene 3, Lines 135-9). His whole mental and physical
functioning is shut down because of an inner struggle. Interestingly, at the
end, when Macbeth has committed so many cruel and bloody crimes that
he has become numb to them, he loses this uncontrolled physical
reaction. I have almost forgot the taste of fear/The time has been my
senses would have cooled/To hear a night-shriek, and my fell of hair/Would
at a dismal treatise rouse and stir/As life were int. I have supped full with
horrors;/Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts,/Cannot once start
me (Act 5, Scene 5, Lines 9-15). Furthermore, Macbeth struggles for and
against his own fate throughout the play. Several times, he attempts to
alter fate. Come fate into the list,/And champion me to thutterance!

(Act 3, Scene 1, Lines72-3). He literally wants to fight fate in physical

combat. He does this by ordering the murders of Banquo and Fleance, and
later, after visiting the Weird Sisters for answers, he also orders the
deaths of Macduffs family. The struggle for power, it seems, begins with
an inner struggle.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the theme of equivocation to effectively
illustrate the evil nature of the witches. Equivocation is the use of
ambiguous expressions in order to mislead. The prophecies of the witches
play a mischief in this play, as they are a form of deception that at times
use vague language to dodge an issue. The three influential prophecies,
which the witches make in this play, are that the protagonist Macbeth will
become the king of Scotland, Banquo will be the father of the king of
Scotland, and Macbeth will not be killed until the Birnam wood moves to
Dunsinane hill. The sources of these prophecies are the witches who put
together the devious words into Macbeth's mind, which demonstrates the
evil nature of the witches.
In Macbeth, one of the earliest prophecies that the witches make is that
Macbeth will become the king of Scotland. "All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be
king hereafter!"(I.iii.50) is the prophecy in which no indication of the doom
of Macbeth is present. The literal meaning of this apocalypse is that
Macbeth will become the king of Scotland. Thus, his ambition to take the
pursuit of breaking the natural order to become the king becomes
ungovernable. This is evident when Macbeth is shown hallucinating of a
dagger before he kills Duncan, the real king of Scotland. Macbeth says, "Is
this a dagger, which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come
let me clutch thee"(II.i.33-34), which shows that he is in a great doubt on
whether to assassinate Duncan or not. The metaphorical meaning of the
revelation disclosed by the witches is that Macbeth will ultimately be
ruined in the future after he reaches his ambition of becoming the king, as
he will have to face the resistance of the loyal nobles of king Duncan
including Banquo, Macduff, Malcom, etc. Macbeth is greatly affected by
this prophecy and becomes the target of the mendacious and perplexing
words spoken by the witches and kills the king. Hence, the witches are of
evil nature because they indirectly ruin Macbeth's life.
Another evil prophecy of the witches is that Banquo is to be the father of
the king of Scotland. This lies in conflict with the prophecy described
above, which states that Macbeth will be the king, because he is not the
son of Banquo. The emblematic meaning of this prophecy is that Banquo
will die, as he would create potential resistance for Macbeth, and Macbeth
will not let his ambition let down, therefore, Banquo's life is at high risk.
Later in the play, Macbeth conspires to kill his best friend, Banquo, and
the latter tells his son, Fleance, that he would take revenge for father's
death. Banquo says, "O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! / Thou
mayst revenge. O slave!"(III.iv.18-19). The misleading and ambiguous
nature of the witches is very well reflected in this prophecy.
Third Witch: Hail!

First Witch: Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.

Second Witch: Not so happy, yet much happier.
Third Witch: Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:
So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo! (I.iii.64-68)
The words "Lesser" and "greater", and "Not so happy" and "happier" are
total contrast to each other, and they imply cryptic meaning which has
been explained above. The witches use supernatural powers to prophesize
the hidden meaning that evinces their evil nature.
Another major prophecy that the witches make after Macbeth becomes
the king of Scotland is that he cannot be killed until the great Birnam
wood moves to Dunsinane hill. Again, Macbeth takes the literal meaning
and believes that the Birnam wood has to move to Dunsinane hill
supernaturally, which is not possible under normal circumstances; hence,
he becomes carefree and jovial. The irony is that the trees of Birnam wood
could be cut and held onto hands to help hide the enemies of Macbeth,
which would assist them to kill him, and simultaneously, cause the Birnam
wood to move to the Dunsinane hill as prophesized by the witches. The
prophecy, "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until / Great Birnam wood
to high Dunsinane hill / Shall come against him." (IV.1.92-94), is not very
much explicit. Macbeth fell into his tragic flaw of ambition and ignored the
metaphorical meaning of the prophecy. He says, "That will never be: / Who
can impress the forest, bid the tree" (IV.i.94-95). Macbeth is finally killed at
the end of the play, and Malcom becomes the king of Scotland, which
signifies the return of order. In this tragic play, the witches ruin brave
Macbeth's life by setting a trap that exploits his tragic flaw of ambition
through the use of equivocal language. The indulgence of the witches in
his life by making prophecies remarks for their supernatural evilness.
Equivocation is found in the prophecies of the witches. Macbeth revolves
around these prophecies; hence, equivocation plays an important role in
this play. It is due to equivocation in these prophecies that Macbeth
becomes disoriented and looses his balance, which makes this play a
successful tragedy. Hence, the theme of equivocation extensively
demonstrates the evil nature of the witches.
Fortune's Fool
When Macbeth hears the witches' prophesy, he's super interested in what
they have to sayobviously, since they're saying that he's about to
become king. But he's also terrified by his "horrible imaginings" his hair
stands on end and his heart races, "knock[ing] at [his] ribs." "My thought,
whose murder yet is but fantastical," says Macbeth, "Shakes so my single
state" (1.3.152-153).

This doesn't sound like a man who's excited to start busting out with the
treachery. In fact, he sound like he's horrified by his own thoughtsand
haven't we all had some horrifying thoughts now and then? (Okay, maybe
not as horrifying as regicide.) The difference is that most of us don't act on
those horrifying thoughts. So why does Macbeth?
Maybe he's simply controlled by outside forces. After all, the three witches
prophesize that Macbeth will become king, and they also know the exact
circumstances of Macbeth's downfall, which suggests that Macbeth has no
control over his own fate. What's more, the weird sisters' words clearly
prompt Macbeth into action and we often get a sense that Macbeth is
acting against his own will, as though he's in a trance. Think about the
first time Macbeth encounters the witches he's twice described as being
"rapt" (1.3.56,60).
Even after this encounter Macbeth, at times, seems to move through the
play in a dreamlike state, as when he follows a "dagger of the mind"
toward the sleeping king's room just before he commits his first murder
(2.1.50). So, maybe Macbeth is nothing more than a victim of fate: his fate
made him a murderer. It's similar to saying that your brain tumor made
you do it, or the evidence that some criminal behavior has genetic roots.
Free to Be You and Me
On the other hand, maybe not. In the play, we clearly see Macbeth
deliberate about murder, and the witches, we should point out, never say
anything to Macbeth about murdering Duncan. When Macbeth first hears
the sisters' prophesy, his thoughts turn to "murder" all on their own. So,
perhaps Macbeth has had inside him a murderous ambition all along and
the three witches merely a dormant desire.
More proof? Take the moment when he thinks about whether to kill
Banquo: "To be thus [king] is nothing;/ But to be safely thus.Our fears in
Banquo/ Stick deep" (3.1.52-54). Here, we see him having already
accomplished his goal but still deciding to kill more. Again, is this fate? Or
is this now his very own choice?
The beauty of literature is that it doesn't have to be black or white. Maybe
Macbeth is "fated" to become king, but how he comes to the crown is
entirely up to him. Or, may Macbeth is simply a figure to dramatize the
ambiguity of human will and action. Why do people do the things they do,
even when they know their actions are wrong?
She'll Make a Man Out of You
On the other hand maybe Macbeth is propelled by fate, maybe by his
own dark desires, or maybe just by his nagging wife.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth treats Lady Macbeth as an equal, if
not more dominant partner. In fact, when Macbeth waffles and has second
thoughts about killing Duncan, his ambitious wife urges him on by
attacking his masculinity. (Apparently, that's a strategy that never gets
old.) When Macbeth says "we will proceed no further in this business"
(1.7.34), Lady Macbeth responds by asking, "Art thou afeard / To be the
same in thine own act of valour / As thou art in desire?" (1.7.43-45).
In other words, Lady Macbeth asks if Macbeth is worried that his
performance of the act of murder will be as weak as his "desire" to kill the
king. There's also a dig at Macbeth's sexual performance at work here

because Lady Macbeth implies that Macbeth is afraid his performance of

killing the king will be just as weak as his performance in the bedroom (his
sexual "desire").
Either way, Lady Macbeth insists her husband is acting like an impotent
"coward" (1.7.47). Killing the king, like satisfying one's wife, says Lady
Macbeth, will confirm Macbeth's masculinity: "When you durst do it, then
you were a man" (1.7.56).
Macbeth, as we see, buys into this notion that "valour," however cruel, is
synonymous with masculinity. "Prithee peace," he says, "I dare do all that
may become a man" (1.7.50-51). Macbeth clearly associates manhood
with the capacity for murder (and the ability to satisfy his wife). Perhaps
this is why Macbeth assumes the dominant role in his marriage only after
he kills Duncan. (It's also interesting that, when Macbeth plans the murder
of Banquo rejecting his wife's input in the matter altogether he taunts
his henchmen about proving their manhood (3.1). We can't help but
wonder if Macbeth's ideas about what it means to be a "man" ultimately
contribute to his downfall.
Ain't Interested in Fame
Macbeth may be satisfied to be a mighty warrior when the play starts, but,
once he murders Duncan, he's willing to do anything necessary in order to
secure his position of power. It gets easier and easier for Macbeth to
commit heinous crimes. Killing a grown man (or two) is one thing, but then
he orders the murders of Macduff's family, including his children. But he's
just looking out for his own best interests, right? As he says:
For mine own good
All causes shall give way. I am in blood
Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o'er. (3.4.167-170)
Basically, Macbeth is doubling down: you can't be a half-way murderer. It's
all or nothing. But this selfishness, Macbeth's acting for his own good,
ultimately makes him a hated "tyrant." He's come a long way from being a
beloved thane. As the play progresses, Macbeth's justifications for his
actions become increasingly thin. By the end, Macbeth is a hollow shell of
the man he once was, and the whole kingdom celebrates his death.
Fate? Or simply an ambitious man destroyed by own ego?
Existential Hero
One last thing. Our character analysis wouldn't be complete without a look
at Macbeth's super famous Act 5 speech, when he hears that his wife is
dead. We're going to quote the whole thing, because it's so awesome:
She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing. (5.5.20-31)
Here, Macbeth is summing up his life's work and concluding that it's
nothing. All this strugglethe murder, the plotting, the self-questioning,
the eternal damnationand the world ends up exactly where it began:
Malcolm will be king, and no one will remember Macbeth except as an
evil, blood-thirsty traitor. Does this make Macbeth into a tragic hero? At
end, are we able to feel sympathy for Macbeth, led astray by his ambition
and fate? Or is he callously dismissing his wife's death, and saying that we
might as well be vicious, since it all doesn't matter in the end?
Here's a final, mind-blowing moment: both Magneto and Professor X have
delivered this speech in spectacular but very different ways. One of them
seems to fit with the first interpretation, and one with the other. Which do
you agree with?
Woman Up
In fact, Lady Macbeth's whole "unsex me" speech aligns her with
witchcraft and the supernatural (calling on spirits and talking about
"smoke of hell" and "murdering ministers" [1.5.58;55] sure sounds witchy
to us). She also intends to "pour [her own] spirits in [Macbeth's] ear" when
he returns home from battle (1.5.29). Literally, she means she's going to
fill her husband's "ear" with harsh words that will help convince him to
take action against Duncan, but there's also a sense that Lady Macbeth
will "fill" her husband's body in the same way that women's bodies are
"filled" or, impregnated by men.
All of this is to say that Lady Macbeth is portrayed as masculine and
unnatural. It's pretty explicit: she asks the spirits to "unsex" her (1.5.48),
stripping her of everything that makes her a reproductive woman. She
wants her "passage to remorse" to be stopped upi.e., her vagina.
(What? Well, being a woman and a mother makes her compassionate, so
she wants the "passage" [1.5.51] of childbirth to be blocked.) She wants
her blood to be make thick, meaning both the blood in her veins but also
her menstrual blood, the "visitings of nature" (1.5.52). Finally? She asks
that her breast milk be exchanged for "gall," or poison.
In Lady Macbeth's mind, being a woman especially a woman with the
capacity to give birth and nurture children interferes with her evil plans.
Femininity means compassion and kindness, while masculinity is
synonymous with "direst cruelty" (1.5.50). When Lady Macbeth says that
her husband is "too full o' the milk of human kindness," she's implying
that Macbeth is too much like a woman in order to wield a monarch's
power (1.5.17). And she uses this notion of Macbeth's "kindness" against
her waffling husband when she pushes him to murder the king: "When you
durst do it, then you were a man" (1.7.56).
It sounds to us like Lady Macbeth is man enough for both of them.
Lady Who?
Okay, sounds like Lady Macbeth is a powerful figure and may evoke some
fears about dominant women. You know, just maybe. But what happens to
her?

Soon after Macbeth proves his "manhood" by killing Duncan and becoming
king, Lady Macbeth disappears into the margins of the story and becomes
the kind of weak, enfeebled figure she herself would probably despise.
When she learns that the king's dead body has been discovered, she
grows faint and must be carried from the room. (Hmm. It's almost as
though Lady Macbeth has literally been drained of that "spirit" she said
she was going to pour into her husband's "ear.")
Later, when Macbeth decides to murder Banquo in order to secure his
position of power, he excludes his wife from the decision making
altogether (3.2).
And by Act V, Lady Macbeth has been reduced to a figure who sleepwalks,
continuously tries to wash the imaginary blood from her hands, and talks
in her sleep of murder (5.1). She's grown so ill that the doctor says there's
nothing he can do to help her. "The disease," he says, "is beyond" his
"practice," and what Lady Macbeth needs is "the divine" (a priest or, God),
not a "physician" (5.1.62,78).
Would could easily read this as a kind of psychological breakdown. Lady
Macbeth is so consumed by guilt for her evil acts that she eventually loses
her mind. But we could also say that her transformation from a powerful
and "unnaturally" masculine figure into an enfeebled woman reestablishes
a sense of "natural" gender order in the play. In other words, Lady
Macbeth is put in her place, sleepwalking through the palace while her
man makes all the decisions.
However we read Lady Macbeth's transformation, one thing's certain. In
the end, Lady Macbeth is all but forgotten. When Macbeth learns of her
death, he says he has no "time" to think about her "She should have
died hereafter; / There would have been a time for such a word" (5.5.2021).
Star Performance
Depending on the production, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a virago (a
brazen, war-like woman) and a manipulator, as the seed of Macbeth's evil
thoughts, or as his devoted queen. In some productions she weeps
incessantly, in some she sneers, and in some no one's really sure what
she's doing. In some interpretations, she uses sexuality to convince
Macbeth to do the murder the King.
We're partial to Judy Dench's powerful and nuanced performance in Trevor
Nunn's
CAPTAIN
And Fortune, on his damnd quarrel smiling,
Show'd like a rebel's whore. But all's too weak;
For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)
Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution, (1.2.16-20)
Basically, the captain says here that Macbeth should have died in battle
but he was stronger than his fate. If this is true, then Macbeth has no one
to blame but himself. But notice that the captain calls Macbeth "damned
quarry": Macbeth may escape fortune this time, but that "rebel's whore"
will get him in the end. (Hey, Shakespeare's words, not ours.)

FIRST WITCH
All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!
SECOND WITCH
All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!
THIRD WITCH
All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! (1.3.51-53)
Million-dollar question: are the witches (1) playing on Macbeth's ambition
and planting the idea of murder in his head; (2) really privy to some secret
info about the way things are going to go down; or (3) actually controlling
fate in some way?
BANQUO
Look, how our partner's rapt. (1.3.156)
"Rapt" comes from the Latin word "raptus," which means to be "seized" or
"kidnapped." (Brain snack: It's the same word that gives us "rape," which
clues you into the way that women were viewed as propertyrape was a
crime against a man's property rather than a crime against a woman.) But
back to the play: if Macbeth is "rapt," then he's been "seized" by
something outside of his control. Does that mean we let him off the hook?
MACBETH [Aside]
If chance will have me king, why, chance may
crown me,
Without my stir. (1.3.157-159)
Here, Macbeth briefly decides to let "chance" take its course rather than
fighting things, or, you know, murdering his noble king. Piece of advice,
Macbeth: go with this line of thought. But if "chance" is the same as
"fate," then it seems to amount to the same thingand it's not good for
Macbeth. Or Duncan. (Decent for Malcolm, however.)
MACBETH [Aside]
The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires:
The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be,
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. (1.4.55-60)
Uh-oh. Once he learns that King Duncan has named Malcolm the Prince of
Cumberland and heir to the crown of Scotland, Macbeth isn't content to
wait around for "chance" to intervene. He decides that he must take
action, or "o'erleap" the obstacles in his path to the throne. By murder.
Well, this seems pretty willful to us.
MACBETH
Prithee, peace:
I dare do all that may become a man;
Who dares do more is none. (1.7.50-52)
When Macbeth tries to insist that the murder plot is off, Lady Macbeth
needles him (and makes a few impotence jokes) until he finally gives in.
That's rightgives in. Saying "I dare do all that may become a man"
sounds a lot like he's made a decision.
MACBETH
Is this a dagger which I see before me,

The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.

I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use. (2.1.44-55)
"The dagger made me do it" isn't a defense we've heard before, but it
seems to work for Macbeth. Look at that "Come, let me clutch thee": it
sounds a lot like he doesn't have a choice.
MACBETH
If't be so,
For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind,
For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered,
Put rancors in the vessel of my peace
Only for them, and mine eternal jewel
Given to the common enemy of man,
To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings.
Rather than so, come fate into the list,
And champion me to th' utterance! (3.1.69-77)
Well, this is interesting. Here, Macbeth is calling fate to his aid, asking it to
"champion" him, or fight for him, in the "lists," or the tournament grounds.
This doesn't sound like a fate-or-free-will situation; it sounds like a fateand-free-will deal.
THIRD APPARITION
Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care
Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are.
Macbeth shall never vanquished be until
Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill
Shall come against him. [Descends]
MACBETH
That will never be.
Who can impress the forest, bid the tree
Unfix his earthbound root? Sweet bodements, good!
Rebellious head, rise never till the Wood
Of Birnam rise, and our high-placed Macbeth
Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath
To time and mortal custom. (4.1.103-114)
When Macbeth comes knocking on the three witches' doors again, he
wants another glimpse into his future. They give him riddles. (Thanks,
gals.) But look at those riddles: they're designed so Macbeth interprets
them to mean that he's safe, which obviously affects his decision-making.
Is his death fate? Or is just savvy manipulation?
Are things as they seem?

All things have an appearance, usually a good or a bad one. Depending

on the appearance something has we form an opinion about it.
Sometimes the appearance something has can mislead one in forming an
accurate opinion about it. In Macbeth, Shakespeare shows us that things
are not always as they appear to be. This is shown through the duplicity
of Macbeth and his wife, the kings sons and the servants being blamed for
Duncan's death and King Duncan's inaccurate opinions.
In the beginning of the play Macbeth is a well respected hero who
appears to be a great guy. However, by the end of the play it is clear that
Macbeth is a selfish, troubled man with a conscience that seems to serve
no purpose. In lines 81-82 on page 240, Macbeth tells how he must
mislead the world and hide his dark side from it. "Away, and mock the
time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth
know." On page 249 Macbeth does a good job of hiding his dark side
before finding the dead king with Macduff. "Is the king stirring, worthy
Thane?" asks Macduff.
"Not yet," replies Macbeth.
"Goes the king hence today?" asks Macduff.
"He does: he did appoint so," answers Macbeth. Although Macbeth has
full knowledge of the king's death, he plays it off well and appears to know
nothing. Lady Macbeth appears to be a nice hospitable woman.
However, her heart is dark and full of evil. On page 236, the king talks to
Lady Macbeth, telling her of the honor and love that he has for her. "See,
see, our honored hostess! The love that follows us sometime is our
trouble, which still we thank as love. Herein I teach you How you shall bid
God 'ield us for your pains And thank us for your trouble." His opinion of
Lady Macbeth highly exceeds that of which it should. He has such a high
opinion of Lady Macbeth because he is mislead by her good appearance.
It is ironic that Duncan thinks so highly of Macbeth and his wife, as on
page 232 when he says "There's no art To find the mind's construction in
the face:" This is ironic because it directly applies to the king and
Macbeth. (The king does not know Macbeth's true mind construction. If
he did, Macbeth would most likely get his head chopped off.) It is also
ironic that he gets a good feeling about being at Macbeth's castle and that
Banquo sees a temple-haunting martlet outside of the castle, the martlet
suggesting heaven's invitation to the castle. This is ironic because
Macbeth and his wife are inside planning Duncan's murder as he sits
outside with Banquo talking about his good feelings regarding the castle.
Macbeth's castle appears to be a good, safe place to Duncan, when in
reality it is the place where he will be slain.

There are some characters in Macbeth who appear to be guilty of

something although they are not. The two servants are found disoriented
and covered with the king's blood in the morning which makes them
appear to be the murderers. (Courtesy of Macbeth and his nutty wife.)
Malcom and Donalbain are next in line to the throne, so they appear to be
the ones who had the servants kill the king. Although the king's sons and
the servants appear to be the murderers, they are not. They are
completely innocent because Macbeth and his wife are the murderers.
Macbeth and his wife appeared to be honorable people. Even so, they
had wicked hearts. The castle appeared to be a safe place, but it actually
turned out to be the king's meeting place with death. The king's sons
appeared to be the murderers though they had done nothing wrong. From
the evidence gathered it is clear that things aren't always as they appear
to be. Because of this, it is important that we take care in forming
opinions which are based on appearance alone. More importantly, we
should not weigh appearances too heavily because of the inaccuracy that
our opinions may have.
Lady Macbeth is one of William Shakespeares most famous and
frightening female characters. As she is Macbeths wife, her role is
significant in his rise and fall from royalty. She is Macbeths other half.
During Shakespearean times, women were regarded as weak insignificant
beings that were there to give birth and look beautiful. They were not
thought to be as intelligent or equal to men. Though in Shakespeare's
play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the highest influence in Macbeths life.
Her role was so large; in fact, that she uses her position to gain power,
stay strong enough to support her unstable Lord, and fails miserably while
their relationship falls apart. Everything about Lady Macbeth is enough to
create the perfect villain because of her ability to manipulate everyone
around her. It appears that even she cant resist the perfect crime.
Lady Macbeth is a dominant character as soon as she is introduced into
the play. A.C. Bradley wrote about her as the most commanding and
perhaps the most awe-inspiring figure that Shakespeare drew from his
article titled Lecture X. She became a image known for her ambitious
nature. Her thirst for power and disregard for life was shocking to the
audience, as to her own husband. The moment she learns of the
prophecies, she decides to stand behind Macbeth and see him to the
throne. She is immediately set on her quest for more power. As it reads
Glamis thou art, and Cowador, and shalt be/ What thou art promised
(1.5.13-14) This moment is crucial because it is the turning point where
Lady Macbeth decides that she might have to kill to fulfill her quest for
royalty. Macbeth is doubtful about their plan to kill King Duncan; however,
she bombards him with comments that question his courage. She goes as
far as telling him his love his worth nothing if he refuses, which proves her
to be dominant and controlling using his own weakness against him. His

love for her. The fact that she belittles his confidence, insults his abilities,
and questions his manhood is so manipulative, but also wise because it
worked in her favor. She said to him Screw your courage to the sticking
place (1.7.60). She was confident that her ridicule could gain her control
over her husband. There is no doubt that she manipulates her close
relationship to Macbeth to get them both the power they covet. She uses
mockery and persuasion to pressure him into murder. He is left feeling as
if he must commit the murder with the intention of proving himself to her.
Lady Macbeth appears evil, but this is proof of her devotion and drive to
assist Macbeth rise to the throne. She is strong woman and acts as a
powerhouse towards her pursuit for power.
Macbeth becomes paranoid and nervous after he murders Duncan. Lady
Macbeth proved to support her husband by using her strengths to make
up for his weakness by consoling him during the decline of his insanity.
Lady Macbeth becomes fearful that could perhaps expose their devilish
doings through his acts and facial expressions. She tells him, Look like
the innocent flower but be the serpent undert. (1.5.65). It is clear that
Macbeth needs support, and without insurance and control from his wife,
Macbeth would have fallen apart sooner than later. Although Macbeth
committed the murder, it is actually Lady Macbeth who is in control of the
assassination. She assures him, Infirm of purpose! / Give me the daggers
The sleeping and the dead/ are but as pictures (2.2.50-51).
Macbeths guilt develops further and his sense of judgment becomes an
issue for him. At a banquet, Macbeth is certain he sees the ghost of his
murdered former companion, Banquo. Macbeths mental state is declining
and Lady Macbeth takes strength where her husband lacks. Lady Macbeth
says to their guests, my lord is often thus/ And hath been from his youth/
pray you, keep seat/ The fit is momentary (3.4.52-54). If Macbeth spoke
any further, he could be exposed of his secrets of murder, but Lady
Macbeth conceals for his burst of indecorous behavior. A.C. Bradley wrote
about this moment as, In presence of overwhelming horror and dagger,
in the murder scene and the banquet scene, her self control is perfect.
She leans on nothing but herself. However appalling she may be, she is
sublime. Lady Macbeth is then proven to be the strong and supportive
wife. Thus, without her constant support, they could have been uncovered
in their wrongdoings.
Lady Macbeths skill throughout the play was to compensate for her
husbands shortcomings as well. While being questioned for the killing of
the servants for the brutal murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth pretends to
faint as an attempt to draw attention away from her husband.
Shakespeares day was one of continued chivalry, and men felt obliged to
help women in distress. Lady Macbeths calculating trick succeeded by
drawing chaos towards herself, ironically it was Macbeth who was actually
in distress.
As they rise to royalty, they face a downfall in their relationship. Macbeth
gains knowledge of the witches prophecies and writes to Lady Macbeth to
tell her of what he has learned. This is an important scene that proves his
dedication and love for her. This scene can prove that they were at once
happy, trusting, and devoted to one another. She tries her best to

persuade Macbeth to change his mind when he experiences fear. This

becomes a pivotal point in their relationship. They are still close, but it is
the conspiracy that holds them together now. They are kept close because
of their secret. Their relationship is then focused on their obsession for
power, and less for their love for one another. The imaginary blood in Act
2 Scene 2 held them together. A.C. Bradley records her transformation as,
When we first see her, Queen of Scotland, the glory of her dream has
faded. She enters, disillusioned, and weary with want of sleep: she has
thrown away everything and gained nothing. Lady Macbeth goes on to
say:

The relationship declines further in Act 3 Scenes 1-3. As time prevailed,

she has lost much of the power she once had over Macbeth. He fails to
inform her of other murders, simply because she is no longer needed and
he has become stronger than she.
The murder of Duncan has had everlasting effects on Lady Macbeth,
which destroyed her relationship with her husband. Her toughness had
since faded as the guilt eats away at her conscience. She sleep-walks and
attempts to remove imaginary blood stains off her hands. The insanity
shows evidence of her feminine weakness. Although, she requested for
the spirits to unsex her in the beginning, she cannot escape the guilt from
these horrendous acts. She comes to realize that the crown has not
brought her happiness. Lady Macbeth becomes weak and looses control
over Macbeth. She is no longer able to tell him what to do. They no longer
bond or confide in one another; she becomes shut out on the man she
molded. She was strong-willed and confident when she said, Whats done
is done (3.2.12). Which will only bring significance to her last words
spoken, Whats dont cannot be undone (5.1.46-47).
Lady Macbeth was a chief character who played a strategic role. Her
character plays a major role in operating Macbeth for his own downfall.
Her passion for position and power led Macbeth to push forward when he
was hesitant. Although she wished to be unwomanly - she actually used
her femininity to her advantage to manipulate everyone around her. Lady
Macbeth was a strong supportive partner and was able to stay loyal to her
lord, until she becomes unstable. Their on going quest for power within
the kingdom caused them to eventually loose power within their own lives
and relationship. They become victims from their crimes visibly suffering
from the damage it has left on their heart. Nonetheless, Lady Macbeths
role in Macbeth was crucial to the development of the plot, and is proved
to be one of the most important characters in the play. and She finally
realizes that the crown has not brought her happiness.
The Triumph of the Witches in MacBeth by William Shakespeare
There are many different characters in MacBeth trying to accomplish
different things for themselves. However, in my opinion, the only
characters who really profited from and got what they wanted out of the

whole situation were the witches. They are the ones who basically caused
the majority of the problems in MacBeth and I think that they knew what
was going to happen the entire time. Even though it may look as though
they gained nothing from everyone else's misfortune they actually
succeeded in making MacBeth do evil deeds and winning him over to their
side.
MacBeth may have gotten what he was after in the beginning when he
was crowned king, but afterwards of course he lost everything he had.
First, he lost his wife, then he lost his friends, and finally he lost his life.
The witches are the ones who put the idea into his head about being king,
and actually caused him and his wife to kill the king. This is what started
everything bad that he did. Even having his best friend, Banquo, killed.
MacBeth's wife had a similar situation. Things went well for her in the
beginning but soon changed. After MacBeth told her the prophecies and
she convinced him to kill the king she became queen, and MacBeth
became king just as she wanted. But soon things changed and she slowly
went insane trying to protect MacBeth and herself at the same time, until
she finally died.
The king, obviously, did not prophet too entirely much from dying.
However, his sons too, really didn't gain anything out of the whole ordeal.
Foremost, they lost their father, but also they had to leave their kingdom
because they were afraid that they might be next in line to be slain.
Furthermore, by fleeing they made themselves look guilty of killing their
father to get to the throne quicker.
Overall, this is why I think that the witches were the only ones who
profited from the whole ordeal, and that it had the exact outcome that
they had either hoped for, or knew was going to happen. By telling
MacBeth the prophecies they caused him to become a very wicked person
and do things that he would not have normally done. Therefore, they were
successful in bringing MacBeth to the other side which I think was their
intent in the first place.
In the play Macbeth, many different major choices are brought forth to a
certain character and the decision that is chosen affects the entire play.
The results of these actions or decisions can be a positive or negative
outcome towards the character. Does justice always prevail in the
play Macbeth? If a character decides to commit a crime, will he/she be
punished? If a character does a noble deed, will he/she be rewarded? As is
represented in the play Macbeth, justice always prevails due to the guilty
character's developing sense of remorse and/or the character
receiving fair punishment. For every action there is a reaction and
whatever the result is, it is meant to happen and it is just.

The first malevolent decision chosen by Lady Macbeth and her husband
Macbeth was to kill King Duncan. The death of Duncan would mean the
birth of a new Macbeth, King Macbeth. Lady Macbeth decided to have her
husband kill Duncan and said in Act I scene 5, "He croaks the fatal

entrance of Duncan." (p.33) This quote says how the presence of Duncan
would turn fatal once Macbeth kills him. Once Duncan is killed, Macbeth
has second thoughts about the murder of Duncan and his conscience
starts to kick in. His wife then puts his conscience at ease. The wife was
being immoral by persuading Macbeth to kill Duncan and trying to soften
the blow of Duncan's death by reassuring her husband that everything
was going to be all right. Macbeth was being immoral by actually killing
King Duncan. Macbeth is already starting to feel guilty, but Lady Macbeth
seems not to be affected, as of now.

The second malicious decision chosen by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth was
to have Banquo and his sons killed. This would cancel out the possibility of
Banquo's sons becoming kings. In Act III scene 1, Macbeth states that
Banquo and his sons would be murdered by saying, "Banquo, thy soul's
flight, if it find heaven, must find it out tonight." (p.91) The consequence
of the decision to kill Banquo and his sons started when Macbeth felt more
guilt and developed a worried conscience in the form of a vision of
Banquo's ghost. This vision terrifies Macbeth and he starts to break down
emotionally.

Throughout most of the play, Lady Macbeth has been that little devil
sitting on her husband Macbeth's shoulder. Lady Macbeth was the one
who persuaded Macbeth to kill Duncan, and then to have Banquo and his
sons killed, and then have Macduff's wife and children killed. Lady
Macbeth didn't actually kill any of these people, but had them killed by
convincing her husband to kill them. Lady Macbeth seems not to be
affected by any of her actions. When you hold something in for so long, it
will increase until it finally bursts and explodes. This is exactly what
happened to Lady Macbeth in Act V scene 1 when she says that famous
line, "Out, damned spot, out I say!" (p.163) Let's just say that Lady
Macbeth is a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Lady Macbeth let the guilt of
the murders she has caused overpower her and she killed herself. Justice
has been prevailed and she got what she deserved.

If Lady Macbeth went crazy and killed herself for having Macbeth kill
Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff's wife and children, imagine how Macbeth
must feel. Of course Macbeth is filled with guilt, but that is not what kills
him. Macduff slays Macbeth by cutting off his head in Act V scene 8.
Macduff declares that he has killed Macbeth by saying, "Th' usurper's
cursd head. The time is free."(p.189) Now Macbeth is dead, Macduff cut
off his head, Malcolm is king, fairness is everything, now you know, not to
overthrow, because you reap what you sew.

The Personality of Macbeth

Macbeth is first presented as a mature man of definitely established
character, successful in certain fields of activity, and enjoying an enviable
reputation. One must not conclude that all Macbeth's actions are
predictable. Macbeth's character is made out of potentialities and the
environment, and no one, not even Macbeth, can know all of his
inordinate self-love. Macbeth is determined by a desire for temporal and
mutable good.
Macbeth is driven in his conduct by an inordinate desire for worldly
honors; his self emulation lies in buying golden opinions from all sorts of
people. One must not deny Macbeth a human complexity of motives. For
example, his fighting in Duncan's service is magnificent and courageous.
Macbeth also rejoices in the success that crown his efforts in battle.
Macbeth's services are also for his own glory. Macbeth says, "The service
and the loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself." While Macbeth destroys
Duncan's enemies, such motive work but are obscured in his
consciousness by more vigorous urges. Macbeth by nature
violently demands rewards. Macbeth fights courageously so he may be
reported as a "valor's minion" and "Bellona's bridegroom." Macbeth values
success because it brings fame, new titles, and royal favor. As long as
these mutable goods fulfill his desires, which is the case until he covets
the kingship, Macbeth is an honorable gentleman. Once Macbeth's selflove demands a satisfaction that cannot be honorably obtained, he
employs dishonorable tactics to gain his selfish desires.
As Macbeth returns victoriously from battle, his self-love demands
recognition of his greatness. The demonic forces of evil that drive
Macbeth, symbolized by the witches, suggest to him to obtain the greatest
mutable good he has ever desired, the kingdom. The witches observe
Macbeth's expressions to understand the passions that are driving his
dark desires he is so valiantly attempting to suppress. The witches predict
Macbeth will be king. The witches can not compel Macbeth to do evil
deeds, but they can use Macbeth's desire to become king to pervert his
judgment of reason to corral him to choose temporal good. Macbeth's
imagination and passions are so vivid under these evil impulses that
"nothing is but what is not." Macbeth's reason becomes so impede that he
judges, "These soliciting cannot be evil, cannot be good." Still Macbeth is
provided with so much natural good that he is able to control his
imagination and decide not to attempt any act that involves criminal
actions. His decision not to commit murder is not based upon moral
grounds. As a friend and as a subject, Macbeth has feelings of loyalty
towards the king. The consequences Macbeth fears are not completely
inward and spiritual. It is to be doubted whether Macbeth ever considers
the effects of his crime and the evil upon the human soul, that he later
discovers. Macbeth's main concern is the consequences of losing the
mutable goods he already possesses and values.

After murdering Duncan, Macbeth, in committing an unnatural act, has to

relinquish his soul to the possession of the demonic forces who are the
enemy of mankind. Macbeth recognizes the acts of conscience that
torture him are expressions of an outraged natural law. Macbeth is then
reduced to the ranks of a human. Knowing he is human again, Macbeth
becomes pale and works to impede the penalties of natural law and seeks
release from this torture, "Come, sealing night... And with thy bloody and
invisible hand, Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond, Which keeps me
pale." Macbeth then conceives that a quick escape from the accusations
of conscience may be affected by the precepts of natural law. He imagines
that the execution of bloodier deeds will serve his purpose. Macbeth
instigates the murder of Banquo in the interest of personal safety and to
destroy the final piece of humanity in himself. No peace is gained from the
murder of Banquo. Macbeth's conscience obliges him to see the negative
quality of evil and the barren results of wicked action. The individual who
once prized mutable goods in the form of respect and admiration from
those about him, now discovers that even such satisfactions are denied to
him:
And that which should accompany old age,
As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but, in their stead,
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath,
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.
Macbeth is conscious of a profound abstraction of something far more
precious than temporal goods. Macbeth has shrunk to such a little
measure that he has become numb to all sense of good and evil. The
"peace" attained from this numbness is psychologically a callousness to
pain and spiritually a partial insensibility to the evidences of diminished
being. Macbeth's peace is the doubtful calm of utter negativity, where
nothing matters.
After the external and internal forces of evil have done their worst,
Macbeth remains human, and he continues to witness the diminution of
his self being. Sin does not completely deprive Macbeth of his rational
nature. Macbeth sins because whatever he does in pursuance of a
temporal good, and nothing more than to escape a present evil.
Macbeth never completely loses his freedom of choice. Since a free act is
in accordance with reason, as his reason becomes blinded, his actions
become less and less free. This accounts for Macbeth's actions becoming
more controlled as the play progresses, and the final feelings that
Macbeth has lost all free will. Macbeth violates his natural law, and his
acts establish habits of irrational doings, resulting in the loss of freedom of
choice.
The substance of Macbeth's personality is that out of which tragic heroes

are fashioned. Endowed with potential and under the impact of passions
constantly shifting and mounting in intensity, the dramatic individual
grows, expands, and develops to a point that at the end of the play he is
more understanding of the world and of his own spirituality than at the
beginning of the play. Macbeth is bound to his humanity, that reason of
order that determines his relationship with natural law, and that compels
him toward proper actions and his own end. This natural law provides him
with a will capable of free choice, and obliges his discernment of good and
evil.
Macbeth
Because we first hear of Macbeth in the wounded captains account of his
battlefield valor, our initial impression is of a brave and capable warrior.
This perspective is complicated, however, once we see Macbeth interact
with the three witches. We realize that his physical courage is joined by a
consuming ambition and a tendency to self-doubtthe prediction that he
will be king brings him joy, but it also creates inner turmoil. These three
attributesbravery, ambition, and self-doubtstruggle for mastery of
Macbeth throughout the play. Shakespeare uses Macbeth to show the
terrible effects that ambition and guilt can have on a man who lacks
strength of character. We may classify Macbeth as irrevocably evil, but his
weak character separates him from Shakespeares great villainsIago
in Othello,Richard III in Richard III, Edmund in King Learwho are all
strong enough to conquer guilt and self-doubt. Macbeth, great warrior
though he is, is ill equipped for the psychic consequences of crime.
Before he kills Duncan, Macbeth is plagued by worry and almost aborts
the crime. It takes Lady Macbeths steely sense of purpose to push him
into the deed. After the murder, however, her powerful personality begins
to disintegrate, leaving Macbeth increasingly alone. He fluctuates between
fits of fevered action, in which he plots a series of murders to secure his
throne, and moments of terrible guilt (as when Banquos ghost appears)
and absolute pessimism (after his wifes death, when he seems to
succumb to despair). These fluctuations reflect the tragic tension within
Macbeth: he is at once too ambitious to allow his conscience to stop him
from murdering his way to the top and too conscientious to be happy with
himself as a murderer. As things fall apart for him at the end of the play,
he seems almost relievedwith the English army at his gates, he can
finally return to life as a warrior, and he displays a kind of reckless
bravado as his enemies surround him and drag him down. In part, this
stems from his fatal confidence in the witches prophecies, but it also
seems to derive from the fact that he has returned to the arena where he
has been most successful and where his internal turmoil need not affect
himnamely, the battlefield. Unlike many of Shakespeares other tragic
heroes, Macbeth never seems to contemplate suicide: Why should I play
the Roman fool, he asks, and die / On mine own sword? (5.10.12).
Instead, he goes down fighting, bringing the play full circle: it begins with
Macbeth winning on the battlefield and ends with him dying in combat.
Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeares most famous and frightening

female characters. When we first see her, she is already plotting Duncans
murder, and she is stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her
husband. She seems fully aware of this and knows that she will have to
push Macbeth into committing murder. At one point, she wishes that she
were not a woman so that she could do it herself. This theme of the
relationship between gender and power is key to Lady Macbeths
character: her husband implies that she is a masculine soul inhabiting a
female body, which seems to link masculinity to ambition and violence.
Shakespeare, however, seems to use her, and the witches, to undercut
Macbeths idea that undaunted mettle should compose / Nothing but
males (1.7.7374). These crafty women use female methods of achieving
powerthat is, manipulationto further their supposedly male ambitions.
Women, the play implies, can be as ambitious and cruel as men, yet social
constraints deny them the means to pursue these ambitions on their own.
Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband with remarkable effectiveness,
overriding all his objections; when he hesitates to murder, she repeatedly
questions his manhood until he feels that he must commit murder to
prove himself. Lady Macbeths remarkable strength of will persists through
the murder of the kingit is she who steadies her husbands nerves
immediately after the crime has been perpetrated. Afterward, however,
she begins a slow slide into madnessjust as ambition affects her more
strongly than Macbeth before the crime, so does guilt plague her more
strongly afterward. By the close of the play, she has been reduced to
sleepwalking through the castle, desperately trying to wash away an
invisible bloodstain. Once the sense of guilt comes home to roost, Lady
Macbeths sensitivity becomes a weakness, and she is unable to cope.
Significantly, she (apparently) kills herself, signaling her total inability to
deal with the legacy of their crimes.
The Three Witches
Throughout the play, the witchesreferred to as the weird sisters by
many of the characterslurk like dark thoughts and unconscious
temptations to evil. In part, the mischief they cause stems from their
supernatural powers, but mainly it is the result of their understanding of
the weaknesses of their specific interlocutorsthey play upon Macbeths
ambition like puppeteers.
The witches beards, bizarre potions, and rhymed speech make them
seem slightly ridiculous, like caricatures of the supernatural. Shakespeare
has them speak in rhyming couplets throughout (their most famous line is
probably Double, double, toil and trouble, / Fire burn and cauldron
bubble in 4.1.1011), which separates them from the other characters,
who mostly speak in blank verse. The witches words seem almost
comical, like malevolent nursery rhymes. Despite the absurdity of their
eye of newt and toe of frog recipes, however, they are clearly the most
dangerous characters in the play, being both tremendously powerful and
utterly wicked (4.1.14).
The audience is left to ask whether the witches are independent agents
toying with human lives, or agents of fate, whose prophecies are only
reports of the inevitable. The witches bear a striking and obviously

intentional resemblance to the Fates, female characters in both Norse and

Greek mythology who weave the fabric of human lives and then cut the
threads to end them. Some of their prophecies seem self-fulfilling. For
example, it is doubtful that Macbeth would have murdered his king
without the push given by the witches predictions. In other cases, though,
their prophecies are just remarkably accurate readings of the futureit is
hard to see Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane as being self-fulfilling in
any way. The play offers no easy answers. Instead, Shakespeare keeps the
witches well outside the limits of human comprehension. They embody an
unreasoning, instinctive evil.
The Corrupting Power of Unchecked Ambition
The main theme of Macbeththe destruction wrought when ambition
goes unchecked by moral constraintsfinds its most powerful expression
in the plays two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish
general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply
desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better
judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the
play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth,
on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she
is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts. One
of Shakespeares most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her
husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the
murders aftermath, but she is eventually driven to distraction by the
effect of Macbeths repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case,
ambitionhelped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witchesis
what drives the couple to ever more terrible atrocities. The problem, the
play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further ones
quest for power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to
the throneBanquo, Fleance, Macduffand it is always tempting to use
violent means to dispose of them.
The Relationship Between Cruelty and Masculinity
Characters in Macbeth frequently dwell on issues of gender. Lady Macbeth
manipulates her husband by questioning his manhood, wishes that she
herself could be unsexed, and does not contradict Macbeth when he
says that a woman like her should give birth only to boys. In the same
manner that Lady Macbeth goads her husband on to murder, Macbeth
provokes the murderers he hires to kill Banquo by questioning their
manhood. Such acts show that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth equate
masculinity with naked aggression, and whenever they converse about
manhood, violence soon follows. Their understanding of manhood allows
the political order depicted in the play to descend into chaos.
At the same time, however, the audience cannot help noticing that
women are also sources of violence and evil. The witches prophecies
spark Macbeths ambitions and then encourage his violent behavior; Lady
Macbeth provides the brains and the will behind her husbands plotting;
and the only divine being to appear is Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft.
Arguably, Macbeth traces the root of chaos and evil to women, which has
led some critics to argue that this is Shakespeares most misogynistic play.

While the male characters are just as violent and prone to evil as the
women, the aggression of the female characters is more striking because
it goes against prevailing expectations of how women ought to behave.
Lady Macbeths behavior certainly shows that women can be as ambitious
and cruel as men. Whether because of the constraints of her society or
because she is not fearless enough to kill, Lady Macbeth relies on
deception and manipulation rather than violence to achieve her ends.
Ultimately, the play does put forth a revised and less destructive definition
of manhood. In the scene where Macduff learns of the murders of his wife
and child, Malcolm consoles him by encouraging him to take the news in
manly fashion, by seeking revenge upon Macbeth. Macduff shows the
young heir apparent that he has a mistaken understanding of masculinity.
To Malcolms suggestion, Dispute it like a man, Macduff replies, I shall
do so. But I must also feel it as a man (4.3.221223). At the end of the
play, Siward receives news of his sons death rather complacently.
Malcolm responds: Hes worth more sorrow [than you have expressed] /
And that Ill spend for him (5.11.1617). Malcolms comment shows that
he has learned the lesson Macduff gave him on the sentient nature of true
masculinity. It also suggests that, with Malcolms coronation, order will be
restored to the Kingdom of Scotland.
The Difference Between Kingship and Tyranny
In the play, Duncan is always referred to as a king, while Macbeth soon
becomes known as the tyrant. The difference between the two types of
rulers seems to be expressed in a conversation that occurs in Act 4, scene
3, when Macduff meets Malcolm in England. In order to test Macduffs
loyalty to Scotland, Malcolm pretends that he would make an even worse
king than Macbeth. He tells Macduff of his reproachable qualitiesamong
them a thirst for personal power and a violent temperament, both of
which seem to characterize Macbeth perfectly. On the other hand,
Malcolm says, The king-becoming graces / [are] justice, verity,
temprance, stableness, / Bounty, perseverance, mercy, [and] lowliness
(4.3.9293). The model king, then, offers the kingdom an embodiment of
order and justice, but also comfort and affection. Under him, subjects are
rewarded according to their merits, as when Duncan makes Macbeth
thane of Cawdor after Macbeths victory over the invaders. Most
important, the king must be loyal to Scotland above his own interests.
Macbeth, by contrast, brings only chaos to Scotlandsymbolized in the
bad weather and bizarre supernatural eventsand offers no real justice,
only a habit of capriciously murdering those he sees as a threat. As the
embodiment of tyranny, he must be overcome by Malcolm so that
Scotland can have a true king once more.
Motifs
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can
help to develop and inform the texts major themes.
Hallucinations
Visions and hallucinations recur throughout the play and serve as
reminders of Macbeth and Lady Macbeths joint culpability for the growing
body count. When he is about to kill Duncan, Macbeth sees a dagger
floating in the air. Covered with blood and pointed toward the kings

chamber, the dagger represents the bloody course on which Macbeth is

about to embark. Later, he sees Banquos ghost sitting in a chair at a
feast, pricking his conscience by mutely reminding him that he murdered
his former friend. The seemingly hardheaded Lady Macbeth also
eventually gives way to visions, as she sleepwalks and believes that her
hands are stained with blood that cannot be washed away by any amount
of water. In each case, it is ambiguous whether the vision is real or purely
hallucinatory; but, in both cases, the Macbeths read them uniformly as
supernatural signs of their guilt.
Violence
Macbeth is a famously violent play. Interestingly, most of the killings take
place offstage, but throughout the play the characters provide the
audience with gory descriptions of the carnage, from the opening scene
where the captain describes Macbeth and Banquo wading in blood on the
battlefield, to the endless references to the bloodstained hands of
Macbeth and his wife. The action is bookended by a pair of bloody battles:
in the first, Macbeth defeats the invaders; in the second, he is slain and
beheaded by Macduff. In between is a series of murders: Duncan,
Duncans chamberlains, Banquo, Lady Macduff, and Macduffs son all
come to bloody ends. By the end of the action, blood seems to be
everywhere.
Prophecy
Prophecy sets Macbeths plot in motionnamely, the witches prophecy
that Macbeth will become first thane of Cawdor and then king. The weird
sisters make a number of other prophecies: they tell us that Banquos
heirs will be kings, that Macbeth should beware Macduff, that Macbeth is
safe till Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane, and that no man born of
woman can harm Macbeth. Save for the prophecy about Banquos heirs,
all of these predictions are fulfilled within the course of the play. Still, it is
left deliberately ambiguous whether some of them are self-fulfillingfor
example, whether Macbeth wills himself to be king or is fated to be king.
Additionally, as the Birnam Wood and born of woman prophecies make
clear, the prophecies must be interpreted as riddles, since they do not
always mean what they seem to mean.
Symbols
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent
abstract ideas or concepts.
Blood
Blood is everywhere in Macbeth, beginning with the opening battle
between the Scots and the Norwegian invaders, which is described in
harrowing terms by the wounded captain in Act 1, scene 2. Once Macbeth
and Lady Macbeth embark upon their murderous journey, blood comes to
symbolize their guilt, and they begin to feel that their crimes have stained
them in a way that cannot be washed clean. Will all great Neptunes
ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? Macbeth cries after he has
killed Duncan, even as his wife scolds him and says that a little water will
do the job (2.2.5859). Later, though, she comes to share his horrified
sense of being stained: Out, damned spot; out, I say . . . who would have
thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? she asks as she

wanders through the halls of their castle near the close of the play
(5.1.3034). Blood symbolizes the guilt that sits like a permanent stain on
the consciences of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, one that hounds
them to their graves.
The Weather
As in other Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeths grotesque murder spree
is accompanied by a number of unnatural occurrences in the natural
realm. From the thunder and lightning that accompany the witches
appearances to the terrible storms that rage on the night of Duncans
murder, these violations of the natural order reflect corruption in the
moral and political orders.
FU LL T I TLE The Tragedy of Macbeth
AUT HOR William Shakespeare
T Y P E OF WO RK Play
G ENRE Tragedy
LA NG UA G E English
T I ME A ND PLA CE WRI T T EN 1606, England
D AT E OF FI R ST PUB LI CATI ON First Folio edition, 1623
P U BLI S HER John Heminges and Henry Condell, two senior members
of Shakespeares theatrical company
T ONE Dark and ominous, suggestive of a world turned topsy-turvy by
foul and unnatural crimes
T ENSE Not applicable (drama)
SE T T I NG (TI ME) The Middle Ages, specifically the eleventh century
SE T T I NG (PLA CE) Various locations in Scotland; also England,
briefly
P RO TAG ONI ST Macbeth
MA J OR CONF LI CTS The struggle within Macbeth between his
ambition and his sense of right and wrong; the struggle between the
murderous evil represented by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and the best
interests of the nation, represented by Malcolm and Macduff
RI SI NG A CTI ON Macbeth and Banquos encounter with the witches
initiates both conflicts; Lady Macbeths speeches goad Macbeth into
murdering Duncan and seizing the crown.
CLI MA X Macbeths murder of Duncan in Act 2 represents the point of
no return, after which Macbeth is forced to continue butchering his
subjects to avoid the consequences of his crime.
FA L LI NG A CTI ON Macbeths increasingly brutal murders (of
Duncans servants, Banquo, Lady Macduff and her son); Macbeths second
meeting with the witches; Macbeths final confrontation with Macduff and
the opposing armies
T HEME S The corrupting nature of unchecked ambition; the
relationship between cruelty and masculinity; the difference between
kingship and tyranny
MOT I FS The supernatural, hallucinations, violence, prophecy
SY MBO LS Blood; the dagger that Macbeth sees just before he kills
Duncan in Act 2; the weather

FORE SHA D OWI NG The bloody battle in Act 1 foreshadows the bloody
murders later on; when Macbeth thinks he hears a voice while killing
Duncan, it foreshadows the insomnia that plagues Macbeth and his wife;
Macduffs suspicions of Macbeth after Duncans murder foreshadow his
later opposition to Macbeth; all of the witches prophecies foreshadow
later events.
Study Questions
1.
Characterize the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. If the
main theme of Macbeth is ambition, whose ambition is the driving force of
the playMacbeths, Lady Macbeths, or both?
The Macbeths marriage, like the couple themselves, is atypical,
particularly by the standards of its time. Yet despite their odd power
dynamic, the two of them seem surprisingly attached to one another,
particularly compared to other married couples in Shakespeares plays, in
which romantic felicity appears primarily during courtship and marriages
tend to be troubled. Macbeth offers an exception to this rule, as Macbeth
and his wife are partners in the truest sense of the word. Of course, the
irony of their happy marriage is clearthey are united by their crimes,
their mutual madness, and their mounting alienation from the rest of
humanity.
Though Macbeth is a brave general and a powerful lord, his wife is far
from subordinate to his will. Indeed, she often seems to control him, either
by crafty manipulation or by direct order. And it is Lady Macbeths deepseated ambition, rather than her husbands, that ultimately propels the
plot of the play by goading Macbeth to murder Duncan. Macbeth does not
need any help coming up with the idea of murdering Duncan, but it seems
unlikely that he would have committed the murder without his wifes
powerful taunts and persuasions.
2.
One of the important themes in Macbeth is the idea of political legitimacy,
of the moral authority that some kings possess and others lack. With
particular attention to Malcolms questioning of Macduff in Act 4, scene 3,
try to define some of the characteristics that grant or invalidate the moral
legitimacy of absolute power. What makes Duncan a good king? What
makes Macbeth a tyrant?
After Duncans death, the nobles of Scotland begin to grumble among
themselves about what they perceive as Macbeths tyrannical behavior.
When Macduff meets Malcolm in England, Malcolm pretends that he would
make an even worse king than Macbeth in order to test Macduffs loyalty
to Scotland. The bad qualities he claims to possess include lust, greed,
and a chaotic and violent temperament. These qualities all seem
characteristic of Macbeth, whereas Duncans universally lauded reign was
marked by the kings kindness, generosity, and stabilizing presence. The
king must be able to keep order and should reward his subjects according
to their merits. For example, Duncan makes Macbeth thane of Cawdor
after Macbeths victory over the invaders. Perhaps the most important
quality of a true king to emerge in Malcolms conversation with Macduff is
loyalty to Scotland and its people above oneself. Macbeth wishes to be

king to gratify his own desires, while Duncan and Malcolm wear the crown
out of love for their nation.
3.
An important theme in Macbeth is the relationship between gender and
power, particularly Shakespeares exploration of the values that make up
the idea of masculinity. What are these values, and how do various
characters embody them? How does Shakespeare subvert his characters
perception of gender roles?
Manhood, for most of the characters in Macbeth, is tied to ideals of
strength, power, physical courage, and force of will; it is rarely tied to
ideals of intelligence or moral fortitude. At several points in the play, the
characters goad one another into action by questioning each others
manhood. Most significantly, Lady Macbeth emasculates her husband
repeatedly, knowing that in his desperation to prove his manhood he will
perform the acts she wishes him to perform. Macbeth echoes Lady
Macbeths words when he questions the manhood of the murderers he has
hired to kill Banquo, and after Macduffs wife and children are killed,
Malcolm urges Macduff to take the news with manly reserve and to devote
himself to the destruction of Macbeth, his familys murderer. Ultimately,
there is a strong suggestion that manhood is tied to cruelty and violence:
note Lady Macbeths speech in Act 1, scene 5, when she asks to be
unsexed so that she can help her husband commit murder. Yet, at the
same time, the audience is clearly meant to realize that women provide
the push that sets the bloody action of the play in motion. Macduff, too,
suggests that the equation of masculinity with cruelty is not quite correct.
His comments show that he believes emotion and reflection are also
important attributes of the true man.
Suggested Essay Topics
1 . The fantastical and grotesque witches are among the most memorable
figures in the play. How does Shakespeare characterize the witches? What
is their thematic significance?
2 . Compare and contrast Macbeth, Macduff, and Banquo. How are they
alike? How are they different? Is it possible to argue that Macbeth is the
plays villain and Macduff or Banquo its hero, or is the matter more
complicated than that?
3 . Discuss the role that blood plays in Macbeth, particularly immediately
following Duncans murder and late in the play. What does it symbolize for
Macbeth and his wife?
4 . Discuss Macbeths visions and hallucinations. What role do they play in
the development of his character?
5 . Is Macbeth a moral play? Is justice served at the end of the play?
Defend your answer.
6 . Discuss Shakespeares use of the technique of elision, in which certain
key events take place offstage. Why do you think he uses this technique?
The Fall of Man
The ancient Greek notion of tragedy concerned the fall of a great man,
such as a king, from a position of superiority to a position of humility on
account of his ambitious pride, or hubris. To the Greeks, such arrogance in

human behavior was punishable by terrible vengeance. The tragic hero

was to be pitied in his fallen plight but not necessarily forgiven: Greek
tragedy frequently has a bleak outcome. Christian drama, on the other
hand, always offers a ray of hope; hence, Macbeth ends with the
coronation ofMalcolm, a new leader who exhibits all the correct virtues for
a king.
Macbeth exhibits elements that reflect the greatest Christian tragedy of
all: the Fall of Man. In the Genesis story, it is the weakness of Adam,
persuaded by his wife (who has in turn been seduced by the devil) which
leads him to the proud assumption that he can "play God." But both
stories offer room for hope: Christ will come to save mankind precisely
because mankind has made the wrong choice through his own free will. In
Christian terms, although Macbeth has acted tyrannically, criminally, and
sinfully, he is not entirely beyond redemption in heaven.
Fortune, Fate, and Free Will
Fortune is another word for chance. The ancient view of human affairs
frequently referred to the "Wheel of Fortune," according to which human
life was something of a lottery. One could rise to the top of the wheel and
enjoy the benefits of superiority, but only for a while. With an
unpredictable swing up or down, one could equally easily crash to the
base of the wheel.
Fate, on the other hand, is fixed. In a fatalistic universe, the length and
outcome of one's life (destiny) is predetermined by external forces.
In Macbeth, the Witches represent this influence. The play makes an
important distinction: Fate may dictate what will be, but how that destiny
comes about is a matter of chance (and, in a Christian world such as
Macbeth's) of man's own choice or free will.
Although Macbeth is told he will become king, he is not told how to
achieve the position of king: that much is up to him. We cannot blame him
for becoming king (it is his Destiny), but we can blame him for the way in
which he chooses to get there (by his own free will).
Kingship and Natural Order
Macbeth is set in a society in which the notion of honor to one's word and
loyalty to one's superiors is absolute. At the top of this hierarchy is the
king, God's representative on Earth. Other relationships also depend on
loyalty: comradeship in warfare, hospitality of host towards guest, and the
loyalty between husband and wife. In this play, all these basic societal
relationships are perverted or broken. Lady Macbeth's domination over
her husband, Macbeth's treacherous act of regicide, and his destruction of
comradely and family bonds, all go against the natural order of things.
The medieval and renaissance view of the world saw a relationship
between order on earth, the so-calledmicrocosm, and order on the larger
scale of the universe, or macrocosm. Thus, when Lennox and the Old Man
talk of the terrifying alteration in the natural order of the universe
tempests, earthquakes, darkness at noon, and so on these are all
reflections of the breakage of the natural order that Macbeth has brought
about in his own microcosmic world.
Disruption of Nature

Violent disruptions in nature tempests, earthquakes, darkness at noon,

and so on parallel the unnatural and disruptive death of the monarch
Duncan.
The medieval and renaissance view of the world saw a relationship
between order on earth, the so-called microcosm, and order on the larger
scale of the universe, or macrocosm. Thus, when Lennox and the Old Man
talk of the terrifying alteration in the natural order of the universe
(nature), these are all reflections of the breakage of the natural order that
Macbeth has brought about in his own microcosmic world (society).
Many critics see the parallel between Duncan's death and disorder in
nature as an affirmation of the divine right theory of kingship. As we
witness in the play, Macbeth's murder of Duncan and his continued
tyranny extends the disorder of the entire country.
Gender Roles
Lady Macbeth is the focus of much of the exploration of gender roles in
the play. As Lady Macbeth propels her husband toward committing
Duncan's murder, she indicates that she must take on masculine
characteristics. Her most famous speech located in Act I, Scene 5
addresses this issue.
Clearly, gender is out of its traditional order. This disruption of gender
roles is also presented through Lady Macbeth's usurpation of the
dominate role in the Macbeth's marriage; on many occasions, she rules
her husband and dictates his actions.
Reason Versus Passion
During their debates over which course of action to take, Macbeth and
Lady Macbeth use different persuasive strategies. Their differences can
easily be seen as part of a thematic study of gender roles. However, in
truth, the difference in ways Macbeth and Lady Macbeth rationalize their
actions is essential to understanding the subtle nuances of the play as a
whole.
Macbeth is very rational, contemplating the consequences and
implications of his actions. He recognizes the political, ethical, and
religious reason why he should not commit regicide. In addition to
jeopardizing his afterlife, Macbeth notes that regicide is a violation of
Duncan's "double trust" that stems from Macbeth's bonds as a kinsman
and as a subject.
On the other hand, Lady Macbeth has a more passionate way of
examining the pros and cons of killing Duncan. She is motivated by her
feelings and uses emotional arguments to persuade her husband to
commit the evil act.
Macbeth A captain in Duncan's army, later the Thane (Lord) of Glamis
and Cawdor. When Three Witches predict that he will one day be king of
Scotland, he takes his fate into his own hands, allowing his ambition and
that of his wife to overcome his better judgement. His bloody reign
culminates in a battle against Malcolm and the English forces.
Lady Macbeth The devilish wife of Macbeth, whose ambition helps to
drive her husband toward the desperate act of murder. Subsequently, her

husband's cruelty and her own guilt recoil on her, sending her into a
madness from which she never recovers.
Banquo A fellow-captain and companion of Macbeth, who also receives a
prophecy from the Witches: that his children will one day succeed to the
throne of Scotland. This information is sufficient to spell his death at the
hands of the resentful Macbeth, who is later haunted by Banquo's ghost.
Duncan King of Scotland. His victories against rebellious kinsmen and the
Norwegians have made him a popular and honored king. His decision to
pass the kingdom to his son Malcolm provokes his untimely death at the
hands of Macbeth.
Fleance Banquo's son, who, by escaping Macbeth's plot on his life, will go
on to be father to a line of kings.
Donalbain and Malcolm Duncan's two sons. Fearful of implication in
their father's murder, they flee Scotland, Donalbain to Ireland and
Malcolm to England, where he raises a large army with the intention of
toppling the tyrant Macbeth.
Macduf A thane (nobleman) of Scotland who discovers the murdered
King Duncan. Suspecting Macbeth and eventually turning against him,
Macduff later flees to England to join Malcolm. When Macbeth arranges
the murder of his wife and children, Macduff swears personal revenge.
Lennox, Ross, Menteth, Angus, Caithness Thanes of Scotland, all of
whom eventually turn against the tyrannical Macbeth.
The Porter, the Old Man, the Doctors Three commentators on events,
all of whom have a certain degree of wisdom and foresight. The Porter
hints at the Hell-like nature of Macbeth's castle; the Old Man associates
the murder of King Duncan with the instability of the natural world; the
Doctors recognize disease and disorder even though they cannot cure it.
The Witches Three agents of Fate who reveal the truth (or part of it) to
Macbeth and Banquo and who later appear to confirm the downfall and
tragic destiny of the tyrannical Macbeth.
Macbeth is introduced in the play as a warrior hero, whose fame on the
battlefield wins him great honor from the king. Essentially, though, he is a
human being whose private ambitions are made clear to the audience
through his asides and soliloquies (solo speeches). These often conflict
with the opinion others have of him, which he describes as "golden" (I:7,
33). Despite his fearless character in battle, Macbeth is concerned by the
prophecies of the Witches, and his thoughts remain confused, both before,
during, and after his murder of King Duncan. When Duncan announces
that he intends the kingdom to pass to his son Malcolm, Macbeth appears
frustrated. When he is about to commit the murder, he undergoes terrible
pangs of conscience. Macbeth is at his most human and sympathetic
when his manliness is mocked and demeaned by his wife (see in particular
Act I, Scene 7).
However, by Act III, Scene 2, Macbeth has resolved himself into a far more
stereotypical villain and asserts his manliness over that of his wife. His
ambition now begins to spur him toward further terrible deeds, and he
starts to disregard and even to challenge Fate and Fortune. Each
successive murder reduces his human characteristics still further, until he

appears to be the more dominant partner in the marriage. Nevertheless,

the new-found resolve, which causes Macbeth to "wade" onward into his
self-created river of blood (Act III, Scene 4), is persistently alarmed by
supernatural events. The appearance of Banquo's ghost, in particular,
causes him to swing from one state of mind to another until he is no
longer sure of what is and "what is not" (I:3,142).
But Macbeth's hubris or excessive pride is now his dominant character
trait. This feature of his personality is well presented in Act IV, Scene 1,
when he revisits the Witches of his own accord. His boldness and
impression of personal invincibility mark him out for a tragic fall.
Lady Macbeth
Macbeth's wife is one of the most powerful female characters in literature.
Unlike her husband, she lacks all humanity, as we see well in her opening
scene, where she calls upon the "Spirits that tend on mortal thoughts" to
deprive her of her feminine instinct to care. Her burning ambition to be
queen is the single feature that Shakespearedeveloped far beyond that of
her counterpart in the historical story he used as his source. Lady Macbeth
persistently taunts her husband for his lack of courage, even though we
know of his bloody deeds on the battlefield. But in public, she is able to
act as the consummate hostess, enticing her victim, the king, into her
castle. When she faints immediately after the murder of Duncan, the
audience is left wondering whether this, too, is part of her act.
Ultimately, she fails the test of her own hardened ruthlessness. Having
upbraided her husband one last time during the banquet (Act III, Scene 4),
the pace of events becomes too much even for her: She becomes
mentally deranged, a mere shadow of her former commanding self,
gibbering in Act V, Scene 1 as she "confesses" her part in the murder. Her
death is the event that causes Macbeth to ruminate for one last time on
the nature of time and mortality in the speech "Tomorrow and tomorrow
and tomorrow" (Act V, Scene 5).
Duncan
The king of Scotland should be a figurehead of order and orderliness, and
Duncan is the epitome, or supreme example, of this. His language is
formal and his speeches full of grace and graciousness, whether on the
battlefield in Act I, Scene 2, where his talk concerns matters of honor, or
when greeting his kind hostess Lady Macbeth in Act I, Scene 6. Duncan
also expresses humility (a feature that Macbeth lacks) when he admits his
failure in spotting the previous Thane of Cawdor's treachery: "There's no
art to find the mind's construction in the face" (I: 4,11).
Most importantly, Duncan is the representative of God on earth, ruling by
divine right (ordained by God), a feature of kingship strongly endorsed by
King James I, for whom the play was performed in 1606. This "divinity" of
the king is made clear on several occasions in the play, most notably
when Macbeth talks of the murdered Duncan as having "silver skin lac'd
with . . . golden blood" (Act II, Scene 3). The importance of royal blood,
that is, the inheritance of the divine right to rule, is emphasized when, in
the final scene, Duncan's son Malcolm takes the title of king, with the
words "by the grace of Grace / We will perform."
Macduff

Macduff is the archetype of the avenging hero, not simply out for revenge
but with a good and holy purpose. Macduff is the character who has two of
the most significant roles in the play: First, he is the discoverer
of Duncan's body. Second, the news of the callous murder of his wife and
children (Act IV, Scene 3) spurs him toward his desire to take personal
revenge upon the tyrannical Macbeth. When he knocks at the gate of
Macbeth's castle in Act II, Scene 3, he is being equated with the figure of
Christ, who before his final ascension into Heaven, goes down to release
the souls of the damned from hell (the so-called "Harrowing of Hell").
Like Macbeth, Macduff is also shown as a human being. When he hears of
the death of his "pretty chickens," he has to hold back his emotions. Even
when (in Act IV, Scene 3) Malcolm urges him to "Dispute it like a man,"
Macduff's reply "I will do so. But I must also feel it as a man" enables the
audience to weigh him against Macbeth, an unfeeling man if ever there
was one. In the final combat between hero and anti-hero, this humanity is
recalled once more when Macduff cries out, "I have no words; my voice is
in my sword." It is his very wordlessness that contrasts with Macbeth's
empty rhetoric.
Banquo
Banquo's role in the original source for Macbeth was as Macbeth's coconspirator. In Shakespeare's play, he is depicted instead as Macbeth's
rival; the role of fellow plotter passed to Lady Macbeth. Like Macbeth,
Banquo is open to human yearnings and desires: He is, for example, just
as keen to hear what the Witches have in store for him in Act I, Scene 3.
He is kept from sleep by his dreams of the Witches (Act II, Scene 1). And in
his soliloquy at the start of Act III, Scene 1 "Thou hast it now . . . "
there is more than a hint of resentment and, possibly, of the same naked
ambition that leads Macbeth astray. Nevertheless, Banquo is a
sympathetic figure for several reasons. First, he is ignorant of what the
audience knows concerning the murder of the king and of his own
impending doom. Second, he is a father whose relationship with his son is
clearly an affectionate one.
Malcolm
With his brother Donalbain, Malcolm quickly ascertains the danger of
remaining in Scotland and flees the country (Act II, Scene 3). By the time
he reappears, in Act IV, Scene 3, he has won the support of Edward the
Confessor (king of England), he has mobilized troops under
Northumberland and Siward, and (to borrow a phrase from King Lear) he is
"every inch a king."
If Macduff is the stereotypical revenger, Malcolm is the embodiment of all
that is good in kingship, and this is seen particularly in Act IV, Scene 3, in
which he tests the allegiance of Macduff. His testing of Macduff, although
dramatically longwinded, is psychologically accurate. By pretending to be
what he is not, he hopes to coax from Macduff a confession of his loyalty.
This feature of his character playing a part in order to strengthen the
prospect of good is in stark contrast to Macbeth, who plays a part in
order to advance his own evil. In the final scene of the play, Malcolm is
presented as the future king. His use of the phrase "by the grace of
Grace" indicates the importance that he attaches to the service of good

and reminds the audience of his direct descent from one who ruled by
divine right, as opposed to Macbeth, who usurped the throne. Like his
father Duncan, Malcolm is the representative of order.
Shakespeare coined many popular phrases that are still commonly
used today. Here are some examples of Shakespeare's most familiar
quotes from Macbeth. You just might be surprised to learn of all the
everyday sayings that originally came from Shakespeare!
"Fair is foul, and foul is fair." (Act I, Scene I)
"When the battle's lost and won." (Act I, Scene I)
"When shall we three meet again in thunder, lightning, or in rain? When
the hurlyburly 's done, When the battle 's lost and won." (Act I, Scene I)
"If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me." (Act I, Scene
III)
"Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it; he died as one that had
been studied in his death to throw away the dearest thing he owed, as 't
were a careless trifle." (Act I, Scene IV)
"Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness." (Act
I, Scene V)
"Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't." (Act I, Scene
V)
"I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none." (Act I,
Scene VII)
"Screw your courage to the sticking-place." (Act I, Scene VII)
"I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition,
which o'erleaps itself, and falls on the other." (Act I, Scene VII)
"Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my
hand?" (Act II, Scene I)
"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No,
this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the
green one red" (Act II, Scene II)
"There's daggers in men's smiles." (Act II, Scene III)
"What's done is done." (Act III, Scene II)
"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes." (Act
IV, Scene I)
"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." (Act IV,
Scene I)
"Out, damned spot! out, I say!" (Act V, Scene I).
"All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." (Act V, Scene
I)
"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that
struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a
tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."(Act V,
Scene V)
"I bear a charmed life." (Act V, Scene VIII)
Topic #1
The term tragic hero refers to a central character who has a authoritative
status in the drama, but through a flaw in his or her character brings
about his or her demise. The flaw may consist of a poor decision that is
made and creates a situation the character cannot change or control. The

tragic hero recognizes his or her flaw, however there is nothing that can
be done to avert tragedy. Macbeth is seen as a tragic hero. Write a paper
tracing the sequence of events that contribute to Macbeths demise and
tragic end.
Outline
I. Thesis Statement: Macbeth is seen as a tragic hero. He compromises his
honor and negates moral responsibility to attain power and position which
result in his tragic end.
II. Definition and characteristics of a tragic hero
1. Fate
2. Weakness
3. Poor decision making resulting in a catastrophe
4. Realization of flaw but unable to prevent tragedy
III. The Witches
A. Plan to meet Macbeth
B. Statement that fair is foul, and foul is fair
IV. Allegiance to Scotland and Duncan
A. Battle with Macdonwald
B. Battle with the King of Norway
C. Duncans Response
1. Honor bestowed on Macbeth
2. Duncans opinion of Macbeth
V. Witches on the battlefield
A. The prophecy
B. Macbeths Response
C. Banquos Response
VI. Macbeths meeting with Duncan
A. Duncan greets Macbeth with respect
B. Macbeths reaction to Duncan naming Malcolm as his successor
VII. Decisions made before Macbeth is king
A. Lady Macbeths plan
1. Macbeths response
2. Lady Macbeths Influence on Macbeth
3. Macbeths decision
B. Eve of the Murder
1. Floating Dagger
2. Macbeths reaction
C. Duncans Murder
1. Murder of the guards
2. Response
D. Discovery of Duncans body
1. Macbeths reaction
2. Duncans sons
3. Macbeth named as king
VIII. Decisions made as King
A. Banquo
1. Fear of prophecy
2. Hires Murderers
B. Banquet

1. Reaction to Murderers
2. Ghost
C. Meeting with the Witches
1. Response to Prophecy
2. Macduff and family
3. Leaving for Dunsinane in England
D. Battle with Malcolms forces
1. Dunsinane prophecy
2. Young Siward
3. False sense of security
E. Reactions to Lady Macbeths illness and death
F. Meeting Macduff
1. Guilt
2. Revealing prophecy to Macduff
3. Macbeths realization that the Witches told him half-truths
IX. Macbeths tragic end
A. Macduffs victory
B. Malcolms speech
Topic #2
Lady Macbeth is seen as a controlling factor in Macbeths life. She is able
to control his actions and events. However, she loses control of Macbeth.
Write a paper describing what control she has in Macbeths life and how
the loss of that power contributes to her demise.
Outline
I. Thesis Statement: Lady Macbeths desire for power prompts her interest
in controlling Macbeths actions. However, she loses control which
contributes to her tragedy.
II. Introduction of Lady Macbeth
A. Reading Macbeths letter
B. Witches prophecy fulfilled
C. Opinion of Macbeth
D. Desire for Power
1. Strength needed
2. Her plan
III. Meeting with Macbeth
A. Affection towards each other
B. Lady Macbeths plan
IV. Power over Macbeth
A. Macbeths Decision about Lady Macbeths plan
1. Lady Macbeths response to Macbeth
Themes
link Link
In Macbeth, ambition conspires with unholy forces to commit evil deeds
which, in their turn, generate fear, guilt and still more horrible crimes.
Above all, Macbeth is a character study in which not one, but two
protagonists (the title character and Lady Macbeth) respond individually
and jointly to the psychological burden of their sins. In the course of the

play, Macbeth repeatedly misinterprets the guilt that he suffers as being

simply a matter of fear. His characteristic way of dealing with his guilt is to
face it directly by committing still more misdeeds, and this, of course, only
generates further madness. By contrast, Lady Macbeth is fully aware of
the difference between fear and guilt, and she attempts to prevent pangs
of guilt by first denying her own sense of conscience and then by focusing
her attention upon the management of Macbeth's guilt. In the scene which
occurs immediately after Duncan's death, Lady Macbeth orders her
husband to get some water "and wash this filthy witness from your hand"
(II.i.43-44). He rejects her suggestion, crying out, "What hands are here.
Ha! they pluck out mine eyes! / Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this
blood / Clean from my hand?" (II.i.56-58). But she in turn insists that the
tell-tale signs of his crime cannot be seen by others, that "a little water
clears us of this deed" (II.i.64). But midway through the play, Lady
Macbeth loses both her influence over her husband and the ability to
repress her own conscience. Once her husband has departed to combat
against Macduff's forces and Lady Macbeth is left alone, she assumes the
very manifestations of guilt that have been associated with Macbeth,
insomnia and hallucinations, in even more extreme form.
As for the motive behind the theme of guilt, it is ambition for power, and it
does not require much for Macbeth to embrace the weird sisters' vision of
him as the ruler of all Scotland. Macbeth is ambitious, but it is Lady
Macbeth who is the driving force behind their blood-stained rise to the
throne(s) of Scotland. Lady Macbeth is awesome in her ambition and
possesses a capacity for deceit that Shakespeare often uses as a trait of
his evil female characters. Thus, when she greets her prospective victim in
Act I, she "humbly" tells King Duncan that she has eagerly awaited his
arrival and that her preparations for it are "in every point twice done, and
then double done" (l.vi.14-18). The irony here is that double-dealing and
falsity are at hand, and Lady Macbeth's ability to conceal her intentions
while at the same time making hidden reference to them has a startling
effect upon us.
Beyond the evil that human ambition can manufacture, Macbeth has a
super-natural dimension to it; indeed, the play opens with the three
witches stirring the plot forward. Even before his encounter with the three
witches, Macbeth finds himself in an unnatural dramatic world on the "foul
and fair" day of the battle (I.iii.39). Things are not what they seem. After
his first conclave with the witches, Macbeth is unable to determine
whether the prophecy of the witches bodes "ill" or "good." He then begins
to doubt reality itself as he states that "nothing is / But what it is not"
(I.iii.141-142). The prophecy, of course, is true in the first sense but not
what Macbeth takes it to be in the second. In like manner, the three
predictions made to Macbeth in the first scene of Act IV seem to make him
invincible; but the "woods" do march and Macbeth is slain by a man not
("naturally") born of woman.
Macbeth
Macbeth (mak-BEHTH), thane of Glamis, later thane of Cawdor and king of
Scotland. A brave and successful military leader, and potentially a good

and great man, he wins general admiration as well as the particular

gratitude of King Duncan, his kinsman. Meeting the Three Weird Sisters,
he succumbs to their tempting prophecies, but he also needs the urging of
his wife to become a traitor, a murderer, and a usurper. He is gifted, or
cursed, with a powerful and vivid imagination and with fiery, poetic
language. Gaining power, he grows more ruthless, until finally he loses
even the vestiges of humanity. He dies desperately, cheated by the
ambiguous prophecies, in full realization of the worthlessness of the fruits
of his ambition.
Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth, the strong-willed, persuasive, and charming wife of
Macbeth. Ambitious for her husbands glory, she finds herself unable to kill
King Duncan in his sleep because he resembles her father. As Macbeth
becomes more inhuman, she becomes remorseful and breaks under the
strain. In her sleepwalking, she relives the events of the night of the kings
murder and tries to wash her hands clean of imaginary bloodstains.
Banquo
Banquo (BAN-kwoh), Macbeths fellow commander. A man of noble
character, seemingly unmoved by the prophecy of the Three Weird Sisters
that he will beget kings, he is not completely innocent. He does not
disclose his suspicions of Macbeth, and he accepts a place in Macbeths
court. After being murdered by Macbeths assassins, Banquo appears at a
ceremonial banquet. His blood-spattered ghost, visible only to Macbeth,
unnerves the king completely. In the final vision shown to Macbeth by the
Three Weird Sisters, Banquo and his line of kings appear.
The Three Weird Sisters
The Three Weird Sisters, three witches, sinister hags who seem more
closely allied to the Norns or Fates than to conventional witches. They
make prophetic statements to Macbeth that are true but deceptive. Their
prophecy of his becoming thane of Cawdor is fulfilled immediately,
tempting him to take direct action to carry out the second prophecy, that
he shall be king. They lull him into false security by telling him that he has
nothing to fear until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane and that he cannot
be killed by any man born of woman.
Macduf
Macduff (mak-DUHF), thane of Fife. He and Lennox arrive at Macbeths
castle just after the murder of King Duncan, and Macduff discovers the
body. A brave but prudent man, he flees Scotland and offers his help to
Malcolm. Underestimating the villainy of Macbeths character, he is
thunderstruck at hearing of the atrocious murder of his wife and children.
He becomes a steel-hearted avenger. Before killing Macbeth, he deprives
him of his last symbol of security, for as a cesarean child he was not
actually born of woman. He presents Macbeths head to Malcolm and
proclaims the young prince king of Scotland.
Duncan
Duncan, the king of Scotland. Gentle and trusting, he shows great
kindness to Macbeth. His murder by Macbeth is therefore almost
incredibly fiendish.
Malcolm

Malcolm (MAL-kuhm), King Duncans eldest son. Far more cautious and
shrewd than his father, he leaves for England to escape possible
assassination. He is reluctant to give his trust to Macduff but finally,
realizing his loyalty, accepts his aid in taking the throne of Scotland.
Donalbain
Donalbain (DON-ahl-bahn), King Duncans younger son. After consulting
with Malcolm, he agrees to take a separate path, going to Ireland so that
the potential heirs to the throne would not be accessible to a common
assassination.
Fleance
Fleance (FLEE-ahns), the son of Banquo. He escapes the murderers who
kill his father and lives to haunt Macbeth with the Three Weird Sisters
prophecy that kings will spring from Banquos line.
Ross
Ross, a nobleman of Scotland. He is Duncans messenger to Macbeth,
bringing him word of his new title, thane of Cawdor. He also bears news to
his kinswoman, Lady Macduff, of her husbands departure from Scotland.
His third office as messenger is to carry word to Macduff of the destruction
of his entire family. He fights in Malcolms army against Macbeth.
Lennox
Lennox, a nobleman of Scotland. He is Macduffs companion when the
latter brings the message to King Duncan at Macbeths castle. He also
deserts Macbeth and joins forces with Malcolm.
Lady Macduf
Lady Macduff, a victim of Macbeths most horrible atrocity. She is human
and pathetic.
Macdufs son
Macduffs son, a brave and precocious child. He faces Macbeths hired
murderers without flinching and dies calling to his mother to save herself.
Siward
Siward (SEE-wurd), the earl of Northumberland, the general of the English
forces supporting Malcolm. He is the type of the noble father accepting
stoically the death of a heroic son.
Young Siward
Young Siward, the generals courageous son. He dies fighting Macbeth
hand to hand.
A Scottish doctor
A Scottish doctor, called in to minister to Lady Macbeth. He witnesses her
sleepwalking in which she relives the night of the murder.
A gentlewoman
A gentlewoman, an attendant to Lady Macbeth. She is with the doctor and
observes Lady Macbeth during the sleepwalking scene.
A sergeant
A sergeant (also called captain in the folio text), a wounded survivor of the
battle at the beginning of the play. He reports to King Duncan the heroism
of Macbeth and Banquo.
A porter
A porter, a comical drunkard. Roused by the knocking on the castle door,
he pretends to be the gatekeeper of Hell and imagines various candidates

clamoring for admission. The audience, knowing of Duncans murder, can

realize how ironically near the truth is the idea of the castle as Hell.
Hecate
Hecate (HEHK-eh-tee), the patroness of the Witches. It is generally
accepted among Shakespearean scholars that Hecate is an addition to the
play by another author, perhaps Thomas Middleton.
A messenger
A messenger, who brings word that Birnam Wood apparently is moving.
His message destroys one of Macbeths illusions of safety.
Seyton
Seyton, an officer attending Macbeth. He brings word of Lady Macbeths
death.
Menteith
Menteith,
Angus
Angus, and
Caithness
Caithness, Scottish noblemen who join Malcolm against Macbeth.
Macbeth, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 17th century,
expresses clearly the strong pull that desire for power can have over a
man. Macbeth, the title character of the play, is often expressed as being
the villain of the tragedy. However, through studying the play closely it is
clear to see that, rather than being an innately evil character, Macbeth is
in fact a tragic hero, doomed by fate from the start to descend into the
madness which he did. Had it not been for his hamartia and his interaction
with the witches and his wife then the play would have had a very
different ending.
Like every tragic hero in literature Macbeth suffered from a tragic flaw, or
a hamartia. In his case, his flaw was his vaulting ambition, combined with
a lust for power. Macbeth himself recognises this ambition in act I, scene 7
where he states in a soliloquy I have no spur to prick the sides of my
intent but only vaulting ambition. This comment suggests that he knows
that the only thing that prompts his actions is his ambition. While ambition
alone is not in fact a bad trait, when added with a lust for power, this
ambition can become dangerous. Did having these qualities mean that
Macbeth was indisputably corrupt? No, they simply meant that he, like all
human beings, had a flaw and a weakness. Indeed, at the start of the
play, Macbeth was seen as the hero, being described as brave Macbeth
in act I, scene II, and shown as a loyal and brave solider on the battle
field. He is also frequently referred to as valiant by Duncan throughout the
first act. That ambition always resided within him but did not cause a
problem until the prophecy was made by the witches in act I.
It was essentially the moment that the witches first cast the prophecy
over Macbeth that sealed his fate forever. Without the witches foretelling
his rise to power as Thane of Cawdor and furthermore as the future king of
Scotland, the idea would never have occurred to him. He was initially a

modest character, grateful of his position in life. However, once the

witches planted the seeds in Macbeths mind they started to flourish and,
given his hamartia, the idea wholly consumed him. Though initially he did
not believe what they said, once he was granted the title Thane of
Cawdor, he started to consider that it could possibly be true. There is a
noticeable difference in his attitude toward the prophecy before and after
he is made Thane of Cawdor. Before, there is a clear disbelief in his
approach, though its obvious that he hopes for it to be true. Where as
afterwards Macbeth is starting to view his promotion to King as not just a
possibility, but rather an inevitable truth. His desire for this power arose
and his ambition started to take control. It was this moment that started
his transformation from hero, to tragic hero.
However, the alteration was a slow one and throughout the tragedy the
Witches continued to contribute to Macbeths growing insanity. Their
prophecies begun to dictate his every move. This reliance on the witches
is seen in the final scenes of the play, where Macbeth shows increasingly
reckless behaviour in the battle scene due to the witches prophecy that
none of women born would harm Macbeth (act IV, scene I). He became
enraptured by a longing for power, a desire that would not have
consumed him so, had it not been for his interaction with the witches. For
if the Witches had not come along, than it is certain that Macbeth would
not have fallen victim to the clutches of madness like he did. However, it
was not only the Witches who contributed to his mighty fall. For it was not
until he wrote to his wife that the ambition fully started to form.
If it was the Witches who planted the seeds, then it was Lady Macbeth
who helped them to grow. In many ways, Lady Macbeth can be described
as the driving force behind the murder of Duncan and thus also Macbeths
transformation. It was initially Lady Macbeth who created the idea for the
murder of the King. Whiles Macbeth had previously considered it, he had
never come to a conclusion and had simply left things to see how they
turned out. Lady Macbeth was the one who voiced the idea and who
pushed it. In act I, scene 7 Macbeth had decided that he would not go
through with the act, however he was convinced otherwise by his wife,
who questioned his manhood through quotes such as When you durst do
it, then you were a man; And, to be more then what you were, you would
be so much more the man (act I, seven 7). She worked on Macbeths
ambition and filled his mind with ideas of power. Combined with his tragic
flaw, it was almost impossible for Macbeth to resist that temptation. It was
ultimately Lady Macbeth who spurred him to murder Duncan.
Update: Macbeth was not a typical villain, for whiles he did kill people he
felt guilt and remorse for his acts. In the scene following the discovery of
Ducans murdered body (act II), Macbeth showed great difficulty in hiding
his remorse. This contrasted with his wife, who could easily hide the truth
and forge innocence. He was also aware of the consequences that could
arise from his actions, as seen in the if it were when tis done soliloquy in
act I, scene 7. Most other villains created by Shakespeare did not suffer
from this same form of guilt as Macbeth, guilt that eventually drove him
crazy. This emotion is shown in the scene where Macbeth sees an

apparition of Banqo at the banquet. This apparition was a reflection of his

remorse for the crime he had committed and his fear of being caught. This
guilt and knowledge of the consequences of his actions is one of the main
things that separates Macbeth from a typical villain and helps make him a
tragic hero.
INTRODUCTION
In 'Macbeth,' the eponymous character fulfils his own overwhelming thirst
for power by committing what was viewed to be worst possible crime:
regicide. This initial murder of King Duncan acts as a starting point for
Macbeth's reign of terror, and results in him no longer being viewed as a
courageous warrior, but instead a fraudulent tyrant, eventually leading to
his death at the hands of Macduff. Shakespeare uses the crime, its initial
aftermath and its long-term consequences to develop the main characters
of the play, deepening the audience's understanding primarily of Macbeth
but also of Lady Macbeth and Banquo.
According to the Medieval Scottish society in which the play is set, King
Duncan is the representative of God on Earth; to kill Duncan is to betray
the deity himself, resulting in damnation to an eternity in hell. Where
Duncan represents the light of God, the Witches represent the powers of
darkness. In this way, it is not solely the act itself which alienates Macbeth
from God; in committing the murder, Macbeth is also fulfilling the
prophecies of evil. Macbeth later actively seeks out the help of the
Witches, certifying his kingship not as a rule by divine right, and not even
simply as the rule of a...
Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a play in which great contrasts lie
between its main characters. Macbeth is a tragic play, set in eleventh
century Scotland, which explores the psychological and political effects of
the eponymous character, who commits regicide in order to fulfil his own
ambition and is eventually killed as a result of his tyrannical actions.
Macbeth is a profound character and an exceptional one; in itself, his
place at the heart of Shakespeares play ensures this. The strength of his
nature, both positive and negative, is stressed through Shakespeares
comparison of him with other key characters: primarily his co-commander,
Banquo and his wife, Lady Macbeth. Where relation to Banquo reveals the
weakness of his mortality, comparison with his own wife and his own
reflection on his evil deeds renders him thoughtful and profound.
From the very beginning of the play, Shakespeare illustrates the contrast
in the character and consciences of Macbeth and Banquo. This initial

difference in reaction is very important, marking the beginning of the

different paths on which the two characters proceed throughout rest of
the play. It is a meeting with three witches which sparks a yearning for
kingship in Macbeth, after...
In the play Macbeth, some of the most significant characters rely upon
their ability to equivocate, in order to hide their treacherously covetous, or
purely malicious intentions. Most characters take part in these acts of
subterfuge, but the three witches, the porter and above all, Macbeth are
the most significant. While Macbeth employs these tactics of speech
manipulation and ambiguity as the others do, he eventually falls victim to
this game of trickery himself, a captive of his own inability to see the
deception hidden in the witches words.
When Macbeth is introduced, he is undoubtedly a respected and noble
Thane, with blatant loyalty to his country. It is not until the witches
prophecies tempt him with the possibility of a future kingship that he
becomes the deceptive, dishonest murderer that plagues Scotland in the
later acts of the play. Macbeths skill at deception is first put to the test
after his murder of Duncan, when, with the intent of appearing innocent,
he attempted to mislead Banquo, Macduff, Malcolm, and the other nobles
into believing he was nothing more then his kings loyal subject. He
strived to appear just as appalled and surprised as they were by this
brutal and unforeseen murder. In an effort to...
Shakespeare frequently makes use of the adjective weird in his tragedy
Macbeth. Along with bringing to mind the supernatural and unearthly, the
word also forces one to consider the nature of the words antonym what
is normal? Macbeths emotions and actions become progressively more
disjointed through the course of the play. When ultimately he loses his
ability to feel emotion, Macbeth also loses his humanity; in other words,
he becomes weird.
The prophecy catalyzing Macbeths demise comes from the Weird
Sisters, and weirdness is prevalent throughout the play. For example,
Ross says: Threescore and ten I can remember well: Within the volume of
which time I have seen hours dreadful and things strange; but this sore
night hath trifled former knowings (2:4:1-4). Ghosts appear frequently in
Macbeth, as do paranormal occurrences. Shakespeare does not use
supernatural elements merely to drive the plot, however; elements of
weirdness help elucidate Macbeths tragic flaw by forcing the reader to
define normalcy.

In order to fully understand the importance of weird, one must also

examine the plays other themes and symbols. The plays opening lines
are full of dialectic speech and paradox. The Weird Sisters speech is full
of...
Shakespeare's Macbeth is a male dominated play. Most of the noticeable
characters in Macbeth are male, including Macbeth, Macduff, Banquo, King
Duncan, and Malcolm. Despite the lack of female power by numbers, Lady
Macbeth proves to be a formidable force of influence. She accomplishes
this by psychologically switching genders when the situation is more
favorable to a particular sex. Each gender switch brings Lady Macbeth
closer to what she thinks she wants. However, switching genders is a feat
which requires immense mental strength and towards the end of the play,
Lady Macbeth's mental power wanes with guilt and eventually leads to an
untimely death.
Lady Macbeth's first mental gender transformation occurs after she reads
the letter sent to her from Macbeth and hears of King Duncan's intended
visit. She pleads to spirits in Act 1, Scene 5, "Come, you spirits // that tend
on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, // And fill me from the crown to the
toe top-full // Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood." Lady Macbeth is
aware that her intentions of murdering King Duncan are not considered
lady-like. Hence, she commands the spirits to "unsex" her, or to strip her
of her female sex and replace it with...
Come you spirit,
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here.
--Lady Macbeth
More so than any other Shakespearean play, Macbeth functions the most
vividly as a psychoanalysis of the state of humanity's development of a
sense of sexual self. Now, in a time where terms such a transgendered,
pansexual, or heteroflexible are integrated into daily conversation as
much as articles of political dispute or details of the latest Yankees outing,
the play is all the more fascinating because it validates both
Shakespeare's breadth of genius and our developing notion of what it
means to be a sexual human. The play functions in essence as a looking
glass for any age into which one might peer to observe the manner in
which we have grown or perhaps not grown; it is an honest reflection of
society and socio-sexual prescriptions in all of their positive and negative
ramifications. The play compels us explicitly to challenge those and

implicitly all social prescriptions that limit our humanity because of ideas
engendered by imperfect cultural evolution.
Specifically, the play is about social pressures and the consequent fissures
within sexual identity. Readings of the line quoted above may eventually
lead some or even many readers to...
Starting with the witches' assertion that fair is foul, and foul is fair,? it is
clear that Macbeth is a play in which appearances will be deceiving and
morality will be muddled. From the dialogue between King Duncan,
Malcolm, and the wounded sergeant in Scene 2, it would appear that
Macbeth is the most fair? of all of the figures mentioned, while
Macdonwald the Thane of Cawdor, who betrayed the Scots, is most
foul.? This can be inferred mainly from the sergeants conversation with
Duncan in Scene 2, in which he describes Macbeths valor in combat
against the merciless? Macdonwald. The wounded sergeant describes
Macbeth as brave,? and then tells the king that well he deserves that
name.? King Duncan echoes the sergeant's admiration with his reply: o
valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!? In the next few lines, the sergeant
describes Macbeths unrelenting assault on the enemy, and compares the
magnitude of his slaughter to another Golgotha,? which is the place
where Christ was crucified. On the other hand, Macdonwald is spoken of
with disgust, and since the reader is given only the Scots point of view,
we share in their disdain. According to the wounded sergeant,
Macdonwald is worthy to be a rebel,? which...
In Greek tragedy, inevitability plays an important role, portraying the
protagonists as pawns of the fates, whose roles in the tragedy are
distributed arbitrarily and without justice. The outcomes of these roles are
decided before the play even begins, for example in Sophocles' Antigone,
and thus any actions of the characters during the play are futile, as they
cannot affect the outcome. In the worst tragedy of all, the characters must
return again and again to play out the same roles, as the wheel turns.
Of course, Shakespeare and the other Jacobean playwrights were not
subject to the conventions of Greek tragedy, but nevertheless would have
been aware of it and been influenced by it. Inevitability is important in
Shakespeare's tragedies too, both as a dramatic device and as a tool in
conveying the play's message. A feeling of inevitability keeps the
audience enthralled as it watches apparently hopeful events in the
knowledge that there is an inexorable downturn sometime in the near
future. This leads the audience to sympathise more with the tragic hero,
as one caught up in circumstances beyond his control, although of his own

making (I will return to this point later). There is an important difference

between...
There is truth to Duncan's line "There's no art to find the mind's
construction in the face," for throughout Shakespeare's play Macbeth,
both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are not what they most often appear to
be. Even Macbeth does not know the extent to which Lady Macbeth's
"heart is sorely charged" (p.163). To other characters in the play, Lady
Macbeth is merely a 'woman'- one who faints at the word 'murder' and
cannot withstand the pressures a 'man' can. Macbeth is seen as a butcher,
though in actuality he is "a coward in [his] own esteem" (p.41). Macbeth is
a man and Lady Macbeth a woman, yet we see that just as "fair is foul,
and foul is fair (p.7), Macbeth plays the role of a 'woman', as Lady
Macbeth acts as a 'man'.
Lady Macbeth wants to replace every ounce of compassion and kindness
with "direst cruelty", hoping that the dismissal of all her gentle virtues will
"stop [the] passage to remorse" (p.33). She calls upon the evil spirits to
"unsex" her so that she can rid herself of all signs of femininity (p.33).
Lady Macbeth commands the "murd'ring ministers" to "make thick [her]...
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth undergoes a profound and gradual
evolution throughout the play. He regresses from a logical, compassionate,
caring, and conscientious man, to an entirely apathetic, amoral paradigm
of cynical numbness. Macbeth's erosion from logical to irrational, from
compassionate to indifferent, progresses slowly but definitively. At his
peak, Macbeth proves that he is capable of both rationality and love as he
contemplates murdering Duncan. His final decision in this matter
illustrates this ethical peak perfectly. Later, we see evidence of a descent
from this when he is deciding to kill Banquo: his motives change, and he
becomes less logical, less able to see the reasons "against the deed."
Finally, Macbeth shows that he has lost it all. Sanity, compassion, logic,
everything is gone that once had been so evident at the beginning of the
play. Macbeth becomes jaded and cynical, apathetically hopeless, a mass
of entity that had once lived in honor.
In trying to decide whether or not to murder Duncan in his soliloquy in Act
I Scene VII, both the process by which Macbeth makes his decision (a
thoughtful pro-con list) and the final adamant decisionthat he will not
murder his kingare indicative of...
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