Have you ever let your ambition get the best of you? Have you ever felt peer-pressured? Has your loyalty ever been tested? Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a play where the characters' actions revolve around all these questions.
Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, and his friend, Banquo, hear a prophecy by three witches. They tell Macbeth that he will not only be Thane of Cawdor but eventually king and Banquo’s son Fleance will be king too. Macbeth is startled and intrigued by the prophecy. When Lady Macbeth, his wife, hears about the prophecy, she is unshakeably determined to help him to the top. Lady Macbeth persuades him to have the courage to kill King Duncan. After he does, Macbeth feels quite guilty, but Lady Macbeth, ruthless and completely undisturbed by their murder, wants him to go further for the promise of power. Once the death of the king is discovered, Macbeth then quickly kills two more servants, who would otherwise be the prime suspects of the murder, much to the confusion of the other royal officials, including Macduff and Duncan’s son, Malcolm. As they become increasingly suspicious of Macbeth, Macbeth becomes less and less guilty. His wife’s encouragement for him to kill for power launches him into an extensive killing spree. In an attempt to secure his position as king, he hires murderers to kill his best friend, Banquo, and Banquo's son Fleance, projected to be king by the witches’ prophecy. As Macbeth takes the throne, Banquo’s ghost haunts Macbeth at a dinner with other royal officers, making him appear insane because he is talking to himself. Macbeth’s mental health declines severely from his obsession with obtaining the throne.
Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth is racked with guilt. No longer the ruthless, power-hungry, stone-cold killer she was before, Lady Macbeth knows she is the true cause of her husband’s tyranny and inhumanity. In this way, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth swap personalities throughout the play.
Macbeth decides once more to visit the witches. After everything he has done due to their initial prophecy, he wants the truth-- the whole truth. The witches tell Macbeth that his position as king is secure except for one threat, Macduff. As a response, knowing Macduff has fled to England, Macbeth orders the execution of Macduff’s wife and children. Macduff is so upset about the death of his family that he immediately realizes he must avenge Macbeth. At the height of the play, Macduff and Malcolm team up and summon an army to fight against Macbeth. But Lady Macbeth cannot handle it. Before Macbeth goes to battle with Macduff and Malcolm, he is told that Lady Macbeth has killed herself. Though sad, feeling secure that the witches’ prophecy must be true, Macbeth goes to battle, where he is beheaded by Macduff. Malcolm, Duncan’s son, takes his rightful place as king.
Often overlooked, the witches are the most central part of the play. If they had not told Macbeth his prophecy, would he have been king, and would he have acted on his desire to be king? If Macbeth would not have been king had he not been told, to what extent are the witches’ prophecies even true, or are they just for manipulation? In this way, Macbeth can relate to my previously reviewed book, Frankenstein, for demonstrating what happens when one disrupts the flow of nature by supernatural means.
Lady Macbeth is certainly the most interesting character. After being completely ruthless, we see her (and almost every other character) completely change throughout the play. Initially, Lady Macbeth’s stability is in contrast to many of the younger female Shakespeare characters, such as Miranda from The Tempest, but is similar to other Shakespeare characters like Portia from Julius Caesar, a correlation to further emphasize her wisdom and life experience.
Ultimately, Macbeth is a play that reveals the effects of power. Power can lead to betrayal, change, character evolution, and death. The key question remains: To what extent would you go to get what you want?
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