Macbeth: Darkness, Evil and TragedyMacbeth is a play full of darkness, evil, and tragedy. It is the story of aman who goes against his conscience and commits a horrible deed which leads tohis destruction and loss of everything he has around him. This includes therelationship he has with his wife, Lady Macbeth. In the end, he can blame no onebut himself.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have a very strongrelationship and this deteriorates later.
Act 1 Scene 5 is a key scene which shows just how close Macbeth and Lady Macbethwere at the beginning of the play; it shows their original relationship. Macbethhas written a letter to Lady Macbeth telling her of everything and in thisletter states algo that she helped him to get everything for him. The followingspeech where Lady Macbeth doubts that he can get to the title of King “he is toofull of the milk of human kindness” shows just how close they were. Itestablishes the fact that she knew him so well, she knew what he was like and itemphasises the closeness of their relationship. She speaks of how he has enoughambition but not enough courage. His “overiding ambition” is not enough. WhenMacbeth and Lady Macbeth speak, they speak to eachother with such closeness andbond; he calls her his “dearest chuck”, his “partner of greatness”. She knowsthat he is too weak to do anything and states her position in the murder “leavethe rest to me”.
In Act 1, Scene 7 establishes the force and power that Lady Macbeth possesesover her husband. Upon hearing of Macbeth’s decision not to kill Duncan, she isoutraged and starts to work her force and power upon him. She knows where he ismost vulnerable and attacks him at his weak spot. She strikes him at his manhoodand courage. This of course works on Macbeth and she knows that it will. No onecalls Macbeth a coward. She says that he is a coward and attacks his manliness.
“to be more than what you are, you would be so much more the man”. Shechallenges his love for her and says that she would rather “dash the brains out”of her own child than break such a promise as Macbeth has to her. Whether shewas bluffing, the imagery that Macbeth would have had in his mind at this pointwould have been frightening. To have the brains “dashed out” of his own child.
Macbeth is so awed by this woman who is his wife, who has so much power that hecannot believe it. At this point in the play, Shakespeare re-confirms just howclose the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is and that she has thepower and he listens to whatever she has to say. Lady Macbeth is s majorinfluence on Macbeth, but this of course changes later.
After the murder, Macbeth is still carrying the daggers and he seems to be quietand uneasy. Lady Macbeth has to clean up what he has done wrong and has toreturn the daggers herself. Lady Macbeth is still very much in control. Here,Shakespeare defines both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s strong and weak characters.
Lady Macbeth being the strong one yet as a duo, he tones them down to be nothingbut two whispering, frightened villains.
Later on, when Macduff discovers the body of Duncan, Macbeth acts suspiciouslyand draws attention to himself. It is then that Lady Macbeth has to help him outand draw the attention away from him and to her by fainting. She does this latertoo, during the banquet scene. Lady Macbeth is always there to clean up afterMacbeth and it shows that she is very concerned with him and he must not revealhimself. She tells him not to let himself be revealed.
In Act 3 Scene 2, the further deterioration of Macbeth and in particular, hisrelationship with Lady Macbeth is emphasised. Here, Lady Macbeth’s character isshown to be a lonely woman who once knew everything that was going on in herlife with Macbeth; she played a part in everything. She longs once again to havethe relationship that she had with her husband, having a strong influence on him.
She wants to know what is going on. He does not specifically tell her what is tobe done but just hints that a “deed is to be done”. This scene clearly showswhat has become of their relationship. It is on a decline. They are no longerpartners as Macbeth once said; his “dearest partner”. They have swappedpositions. She has lost the power that she once had and Macbeth has gained apower which he never had.
The banquet scene, apart from showing the guilt that Macbeth carries with himpresents once again that Lady Macbeth is very alert and knows how to drawattention away from Macbeth, who fears the ghost of Banquo. She tells them toleave and she has once again saved himself from revealing himself, she hasprotected him again and this presents us with the fact that she still loves himand cares for him and wants to protect him. Something that Macbeth cannot giveto her in return.
The sleepwalking scene in which Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and reveals her guiltand terror of what she has done is a contrast to what her character was likebefore. She was powerful and now she is so guilt ridden that she is at the stateof sleepwalking. It presents us with an irony. In Act 2, where they havemurdered Duncan she states that “a little bit of water shall clear us of thisdeed” and yet during her sleepwalking she says “out damn spot, out” and tries sohard to remove the blood. It proves the point that everything is not as easy asit seems. This woman who was once so powerful is now nothing more than a scaredvillain and although Lady Macbeth knew this about Macbeth, he doesn’t seem torealise it about her.
The major scene in which the changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationshipis shown is in Act 5 where he is told of Lady Macbeth’s death. This scene showsjust what the relationship has resulted to and the grief that he feels. Thequote “she should have died hereafter” tells us that Macbeth is grieving andthat he has lost all that he has. His wife, his “dearest chuck” and “dearestpartner in greatness” has just died and he feels nothing. In contrast toMacduff’s reaction to hearing of his wife’s death, Macbeth is mild. Hisfollowing speech “tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow” shows his weariness and hisrealisation that he has no future and that he has lost everything he ever had.
He uses two metaphors about life. One of a “flickering candle” and the other”that life is just a series of phases”. Shakespeare uses these to show whatMacbeth’s life has become.
Macbeth is a play that shows just what can happen when evil and strong ambitionget involved. You deteriorate and in the process, can lose everything you have,including the relationship with that of your dearest wife.
