Stalin 3 Essay, Research Paper
It has been said of Macbeth Himself that Within his own soul, his Chain of Murders Diminishes him until he reaches the hell of his own Creation . To what extent is this true.
At the start of the play, Macbeth, a respectable Lord is a very honourable man. He starts the play as the Thane of Glamis, and is soon made the Thane of Cawdor also. He is described as brave friend and worthy gentleman . He is said to be a lion and an eagle by the captain (I, ii, l.35). Despite all the compliments that he gets from the lords and even the king, there is symbolism that he has the potential to be a very bloody person. When he kills the treacherous Thane of Cawdor, not by simply stabbing him with his sword, but he unseamed him from the knave to the chops (I, ii, l.22). He is already associated with blood and death as his sword which smoked with bloody execution (I, ii, l.18). This is a very powerful statement as he is to kill many more people throughout the course of the book, men, women and children too. This sort of execution could quite easily be described as bloody execution as it is done out of cold blood. There is also a link with Hell, even at this early stage of the play. The Captain makes a connection between Macbeth and Golgotha . This idea is later to be expanded by Macbeth as he reaches the hell of his own creation.
The big question associated with the early descriptions of Macbeth is did he choose evil, or was he already evil. He appears on the outside to have the potential of evil association from the very first scene, when the witches cast a spell on him. This question is raised again, when Macbeth meets the witches for the first time. It raises the issue of whether he is already evil in some way or another because when the witches tell him that he shalt be King hereafter (I, iii, l.49) he starts, and is describes as being rapt . This could indicate that he has already thought about this possibility and how it can be achieved. It would be thought that if Macbeth had no feelings and was not at all tempted, he would condemn the witches immediately. The start could be down do a slight feeling of guilt on his behalf after his previous thoughts of this. He may be concerned that he has been found out. Instead of condemning the witches, he asks them to speak then to me (I, iii, l.60) and tell him more. This point of the play could be the real turning point of his character. He may be seriously considering his options now if he believes that he could be King of Scotland. This is particularly possible when he finds out that he has been made Thane of Cawdor , just as the witches prophesised. He says to Banquo, can the devil speak true (I,ii, l.107). He obviously knows that the witches are evil, and does nothing about it. This could be the start of his degeneration.
When he returns home to Lady Macbeth at the castle, she presses him into trying to kill the King when he visits their home. Lady Macbeth obviously has some connections with evil, because she beckons the evil spirits, for instance the murdering ministers and tries to get them to make her more powerful and stronger to kill the King, Duncan.
Macbeth s soliloquy in scene 7 comes before he kills Duncan, and he is examining the reasons that he has for not killing him. His is selfish in his thoughts, and does not consider that the action is wrong, but just worries that if he kills Duncan, th` assassination could trammel up the consequence (I, vii, l.3). This means that Macbeth is only worries that if he kills the King and teaches bloody instructions (I, vii, l.9) someone else will kill him too. He seems to be more concerned with whether he can get away with the murder or not than if it is the right thing to do. This shows that he is getting more evil thoughts as the play goes on. He then shows that he still has some goodness in him, as he thinks more of the moral issues and reasons not to kill him. He realises that he has three main reasons not to kill the king, the fact that he is his kinsman and his subject (I, vii, l.13) and also his host . He has not completely degenerated yet, as this illustrates, and he still has some respect in his character. However, he soon chooses to ignore all these moral reasons because of his vaulting ambition (I, vii, l.27). This means that he is so set on the idea of becoming king, he is prepared to do anything necessary in order to get that title.
Upon talking to Lady Macbeth, Macbeth tells her that he is perfectly satisfied with golden opinions , or the respect of others as opposed to the golden crown and no friends or respect. He has not yet lost his soul, but Lady Macbeth does not share this view. She says to him that Letting `I dare not` wait upon `I would` makes him a coward and like the poor cat . This is her view on the matter, yet in reality, killing Duncan would make him less of a man and even just an instrument of evil. Macbeth realises this and tells her that I dare do all that may make me a man; who dares do more is none (I,vii, l.46-47). He is actually sounding as if he will not commit the murder after all. Lady Macbeth here makes a sarcastic comment, but does not realise just how true it is. She asks Macbeth, What beast was t then that made you break this enterprise to me (I, vii, l.47-48). She is unaware that this beast was almost the devil speaking through the three witches. This may also mean that Macbeth has begun his degeneration and has turned into a beast.
Any sort of kindness on the part of Macbeth soon goes, as he decides that after all, he will in fact kill Duncan. He says to his wife I am settled meaning that he has made his decision and will not now change his mind. He also tells Lady Macbeth that the two of them with False face must hide what the false heart doth know (I, vii, l.82). This means that they must appear innocent and completely normal in order to evade suspicion after the murder has been committed. By this point in the play, Macbeth has lost his soul, but on the outside he still looks like a normal man. This point is the start of false appearances, anticipated by the witches when they said fair is foul and foul is fair .
Macbeth proceeds to kill the king, an action which leads to further murders as he is hardened to any sort of emotions. When the body of Duncan is discovered by Macduff, Macbeth says that Renown and grace is dead (II, iii, l.87). Although this is true, Macbeth does not mean what he is saying. He is merely trying to stop people from thinking that he could be the murderer. He knows that what he has done is wrong, as he says the wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees is left this vault to brag of (II, iii, l.88-89) He is saying that symbolically, the best wine from the barrel has gone, meaning Duncan, and all that is left are the dregs, meaning Macbeth himself. The degree of hardness and evil that Macbeth reaches is shown by a comment that he makes. He says the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my heart (IV, I, l.147-148). He is saying that in future, if his heart thinks that there is any doubt about any person, he will just murder them. This is demonstrated earlier in the book than when he says this. Macbeth stoops so low in his actions that he murders his best friend Banquo, and attempts to kill his son, Fleance too.
Macbeth is scared of Banquo, not because he is a good warrior, but he is an honest and truthful individual. Banquo was the only person with Macbeth when the witches prophesised the future of Macbeth, and he therefore worries that Banquo will tell someone what the witches said and he will get caught. He says Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared (III, I, ll.48-50). Macbeth feels diminished in the opinion of the world and is concerned that people will follow Banquo and not him when they find out what he has done. This statement is very ironic, as Macbeth is royalty, but he has no royalty of nature, unlike Banquo. He feels threatened by Banquo because of his good nature, and therefore degenerates himself by murdering him in cold blood. Although Banquo is killed by Macbeth, he is portrayed as the honest man that he is because he is a mythical ancestor of James 1st. Therefore, he is pleased that the character of Banquo is one of an honest man and a good man in a country of hellish activity. Besides this, when Duncan is killed, the natural world goes into disorder. The kings horses try to eat each other and the night sky clouds over. This use of the disorder is an attempt to please James 1st. James 1st believed in the divine right of kings, and would therefore take pleasure in the view that when a king is murdered, the whole world turns upside down.
The most evil action of Macbeth s is the murder of all of Macduff s family. This action show that Macbeth is so diminished that even children are no longer safe from the brutality of Macbeth. The sort of actions that he is taking is so horrific that in his soliloquy earlier in the book, Macbeth says that if he was to kill the king then there would be so much horror in the world that a babe will appear in the sky to make everyone feel the pity that Macbeth will not. If this is the consequence of killing the king, then the consequences of killing an innocent child would put the heavens into uproar.
Macbeth commits this brutal act because Macduff has escaped to England, and Macbeth is angry about this. He does not want anyone to escape him and tell of the atrocities that he is committing. He therefore diminishes himself and kills Macduff s entire family. This is an example of Macbeth after he has said that the very firstling of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand . He does not consider his action, he just does it.
By this point Macbeth has degenerated so much that there is no loyalty left, and he cannot trust anyone. He says of himself, that he is in blood, stepped in so far that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o`er (III, v, ll.136-138). What he means by this is that he has become so evil and bloody, that he is up to his feet in the blood of his victims. He says that it is just as easy to continue the way it is as to stop and go back. This is a very powerful description of his level of degeneration. He has identified himself as an evil being and he is so evil that when the opportunity to go back comes along, he rejects it, and chooses to continue.
He has lost his soul and his normal living body as he has become so evil that he is unable to do a normal, natural activity like sleeping. This is the extent to which he has diminished as a person, and the level of horror that he has caused through his actions. Lady Macbeth has this problem also, and she eventually loses her mental health and kills herself.
By the end of the play, Macbeth has turned from an eagle and a lion, to a tyrant and a hell-kite . He has degenerated to such an extent that he has lost all friends that he originally had, and he no longer has any support from the people of Scotland. He has diminished simply into an instrument of nature. It is however, the fault of Macbeth himself that he has got to this point in his life. He had many opportunities to avoid the situations that he put himself in, and therefore has only himself to blame for the loss of his soul.