MACBETH

By: William Shakespeare

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare´s most famous and critically acclaimed plays.

This is Shakespeare shortest, but most blood filled and certainly one of his
most powerful and emotional plays, providing an internal view of the personal
struggles that are brought about by ambition and guilt. A play with themes and
issues that are present in all human society. The language may not be clear at
times, but the points being conveyed could not be clearer.

All the action and happenings are a result of the choices that Macbeth makes.
Macbeth, however, does not always act upon his own free, independent
thoughts. In fact, the reason that he becomes a fearless tyrant is not because
he had it planned out in his own head, it is because of what the witches told
him. The witches are the main driving force of the play.

The play does not begin with Macbeth fighting. It does not even start by
introducing Duncan, the king of Scotland. Macbeth begins with three witches
who talk about meeting with Macbeth. They say, “When shall we three meet
again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain? When the hurly-burly’s done. When the
battle's lost and won. That will be ere the set of sun. Where the place? Upon
the heath. There to meet with Macbeth.” (Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 1-8). These
statements are made by witches and the effect is helped by the fact that the
Elizabethans were incredibly superstitious. They mention meeting up with
Macbeth, but Macbeth does not actually enter. The fact that the witches
introduce Macbeth and start the play is an example of the witches’ strong
presence and force in Macbeth.

In Macbeth, Macbeth kills Duncan. Without reading this, one could decide that
Macbeth has his own, personal motive. Actually, the witches tell Macbeth, “All
hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee,
thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” (Act 1, Scene
3, Lines, 50-53) This prophecy of future nobility made by the witches disturbs
Macbeth and makes him think. When Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth in a letter
about his encounter with them, Lady Macbeth decides that the king, Duncan,
must be killed and Macbeth must do it. “The raven himself is hoarse, that
croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements. 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!” (Act 1, Scene 5, lines 45-50) This passage
illustrates that Duncan must be killed and Macbeth must do it because of what
the witches said. In essence, Duncan is killed by the word of the witches. Once
again, the witches are portrayed as main characters with a lot of power.

Later in the play, Macbeth, Macbeth depends upon the advice that the Witches
give him. He goes to visit them and they tell him to beware of certain signs like,
Macduff, a man-not-woman born, and the Birnam wood coming near to
Dunsinane. During a type of siege, Macbeth emboldens his soldiers by telling
them, “To doubt the equivocation of the fiend, that lies like truth. Fear not, till
Birnam wood do come to Dunsinane:' and now a wood comes toward
Dunsinane. Arm, arm, and out!” (Act 5, Scene 5, Lines 49-52) This is an
example of how Macbeth stores his hope and faith in what the witches tell him.
Another example is this, “Thou losest labour: As easy mayst thou the in
trenchant air with thy keen sword impress as make me bleed: Let fall thy blade
on vulnerable crests; I bear a charmed life, which must not yield, to one of
woman born.” (Act 5, Scene 8, Lines 11-16) This line, said by Macbeth, shows
that he, in the face of death, is fearless because of the knowledge the witches
gave him. For the third time, the witches make their presence as driving forces
clear.

In Macbeth, Macbeth is focused on by the knowledge of the future that the

witches gave him. He cannot think clearly because he knows of his underlying
destiny. In short, the witches control him not through witchcraft, but through
granting him extra knowledge and wisdom. This power that they have makes
them the main driving force of the play.

Is evident that while Macbeth is capable of committing atrocious and bloody

acts, an abundance of complex forces both internal and external have heavily
influenced his decisions and actions. Macbeth´s own overpowering ambitions,
the manipulative and deceitful witches, as well as the forceful Lady Macbeth
have all played critical roles in influencing the actions and decisions Macbeth
has done and made. Macbeth is a noble person at heart, who, without these
few negative influences, would not have acted as he did. Therefore, Macbeth
should be deserving of our sympathy, to some extent.

There is no question that some themes and issues in Macbeth are present and
relevant in today´s society and all societies, from twenty years ago to two
thousand years ago .Themes like ambition and guilt are ever present in
humanity.