Macbeth maccy b6/7/2023 ![]() He is “settled” to “mock the time with fairest show”, he even dares to warn his ruthless wife to “hide what the false heart doth know”. ![]() Soon however, we are grossly engaged by Macbeth’s two-facedness which completely opposes his other character. He says, “our duties are to your throne and state, children and servants”. Our doubts arise that a man of such gentle characteristics- a “brave” soldier that submits to his wife’s words – could bring himself to kill Duncan, a man he previously vowed absolute loyalty to. He is painted by Lady Macbeth as a kind human being “full o’th’ milk of human kindness” and is a character that King Duncan could build on “absolute trust” on. At times Macbeth is depicted as loyal, courageous and kind. Ultimately Shakespeare conveys us that it was qualities of Macbeth that determined the tragic fate- more specifically, it was his contradictory nature. They may have encouraged Macbeth to commit the deeds by acting out as future messengers, at best, but the powerlessness of the witches suggest that those prophecies could have changed depending on how Macbeth had acted throughout the play. This confirms the idea that Macbeth’s fate was not determined by the agents of evil because the witches were not held responsible for any of the prophecies coming true, it was only through his actions of bravery. Captain highly praises of “brave Macbeth” in Act 1, Scene 2 who has fought, “disdaining Fortune”, with his “brandished steel” which “smoked of bloody execution”. But as the audience, we know that it was his bravery on the battle that had earned him of this title. He says “This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good”. Macbeth is dumfounded because he believes that it is the supernatural power of the witches that have caused this event. In the opening scene the witches tell Macbeth that he shall be Thane of Cawdor amongst one him becoming king and soon their prophecy is confirmed by Ross that he has indeed gained the title the witches have foretold. They only tell what is about to happen, but they cannot change the course of Macbeth’s fate. While the witches in “Macbeth” seem to hold great power over Macbeth’s fate, we see eventually that they hold not much control at all. Shakespeare conveys to us that with Macbeth’s character only – a disposition Lady Macbeth describes as “too full o’th’ milk of human kindness”-Macbeth would not have been able to carry his dark ambitions to reality and his fate may have been a kinder one. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, confidently declares that “little water clears us of the deed”. He says “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” He even wishes that he could “wake Duncan” from death if he could. We also see that Macbeth shows signs of regret and guilt after King Duncan’s murder, who’s tortured by the blood on his hands. However, it is Lady Macbeth who draws affirmation from Macbeth by questioning his manhood. He says that Duncan is resting in his house on “double trust”- first reason is that he is a kinsman and his subject, the second is that as a host, Macbeth should “shut the door” on murders, not “bear the knife himself”. In some instances, we see Macbeth as a loyal and true character who questions the morality of designing King Duncan’s murder. Macbeth embodies the ambition but he seems to need his wife’s challenge, where she depicts him not as a man but a “poor cat I’ adage”, to commit the deeds. After all, Lady Macbeth acted out as the final push for Macbeth’s evil deeds. It would be imprudent to say that Macbeth’s fate was wholly determined by his character only.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |