How does Shakespeare invoke a sense of evil in Macbeth? Essay

Narrating the climactic downfall and eventual death of a Scottish thane, â€Å"Macbeth† is widely regarded as one of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies, alongside â€Å"Hamlet†, â€Å"Othello† and â€Å"King Lear†. â€Å"Macbeth† is typical of the other three tragedies through several key factors, the first of which is the qualities of the protagonist. As with the other tragedies, Macbeth is a notable man of high status who bears many heroic qualities, including extreme valour and honour. However, much like with Othello and his jealousy, Macbeth is undone by his greed and ambition, his fatal flaw, or â€Å"harmartia† in the Greek. These flaws play a role in the hero’s fall from grace and eventual death, and these occurrences imbue the audience with a sense of loss and waste; thus the genre is deemed a ‘tragedy’. If the protagonist was solely brought down by his own flaws the piece would cease to be a tragedy, as there would be no sense of loss or waste upon the hero’s demise, as they would appear to be malevolent and deserving of their downfall. Instead, Shakespeare also incorporates external factors contributing to the downfall; in the case of â€Å"Macbeth†, Lady Macbeth and the Witches are used, coaxing Macbeth into regicide. If the protagonist were to be influenced too heavily by the separate circumstance then the hero would begin to appear as a puppet, completely corrupted and controlled. A fine balance is found during Shakespeare’s four great tragedies between character-based flaws and external circumstances’ influencing the hero’s actions, and subsequently the feeling of tragedy is massive. This is perhaps a defining factor as to why these four tragedies have received so much acclaim, after all a tragedy is defined by the effect it has on the audience. â€Å"Macbeth† however makes one large departure from the generic formulae in that throughout the play Shakespeare conveys a sense of concentrated evil, not seen in the other tragedies. Concentrated evil is achieved through various characters in the play including the witches, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Indeed, evil is commonplace throughout â€Å"Macbeth†, with children being slaughtered and various assassinations. Shakespeare’s acclaimed inclusion of the witches is a prominent factor in the suggestion of evil throughout the piece. Indeed, immediately in the first scene, you are instantly submerged into this dire, supernaturally influenced world, plagued by the presence of these malevolent witches. Consequently, the sense of evil is evoked right from the opening of the curtains. An aspect of the witches which grabs our attention immediately is the intermittent rhyme and riddle of their dialogue. As the second witch answers â€Å"when the hurley-burley’s done, when the battles lost and won† this unconventional rhyming speech supplements the witches’ already alien nature, as well as adding confusion as to what these riddles portend. Also, as the witches chant in unison â€Å"†¦hover through the fog and filthy air† it seems they share a magical link by which they may indulge in the same evil thoughts. This, for the audience of the time, would be a disturbing piece of imagery. At times what the witches say may be paradoxical, adding to the dialogue’s riddling nature, for example when they drone â€Å"fair is foul and foul is fair†. The aberrant speech style of the witches is used by them throughout the play, with the exception of ‘Act 3, Scene 5’ which will be discussed later. It is also evident from this first scene that the witches have an unholy alliance or affiliation with the future and time. The third witch proclaims â€Å"that will be ‘ere the set of sun† displaying her knowledge of future events, and so augmenting the witches already supernatural, malevolent image. With this development the sisters seem all the more potent as with their knowledge of the future comes also the ability to meddle and pervert it. Displayed also is the witches’ association with the elements as the first witch questions â€Å"in thunder, lightning or in rain?†, as though they have a slight mastery over the elements. The thunder and lightning of the scene is more evidence of their power over the elements. We see the witches’ use of familiars when the first witch says â€Å"I come, Graymalkin†, a tool with which the sisters may communicate to the devil. Again, the application of this familiar, in this case a cat, adds further to the witches’ malevolent aura, and the sense of concentrated evil. Over the years, different directors have added various features in order to maintain the scene’s originality. For example, Polanski’s version saw the witches on a beach burying a severed arm, whilst, in contrast Frain’s version depicted the witches as children on a council estate. As the play progresses, the witches’ spiteful, vindictive nature becomes ever more apparent, as they display their malevolence during various scenes. Notable for exhibition of evil is Act 1, Scene 3 in which the sisters describe how they deprived the hapless sailor of sleep, stating â€Å"sleep shall neither night nor day, hang upon his penthouse lid†. This shocking image is made doubly repulsive by how the witches seem to be thoroughly enjoying the whole scenario. Moreover, in the same scene, the witches brandish a severed â€Å"pilot’s thumb†, another revolting image, which is indeed evident of their malicious nature. An example of them dabbling in the dark arts is seen in Act 4, Scene 1 where they brew the vile potion, chanting the theatrically legendary lines â€Å"double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble†. With repulsive detail, they describe the ingredients of the potion, one such being a â€Å"liver of blaspheming Jewâ €  and a â€Å"finger of birth-strangled babe†. This horrific concoction is indicative of their very nature: vile and against society and nature. Due to these malevolent acts, the witches are often referred to as and associated with, agents of evil, for example in Act 4, Scene 1 Macbeth refers to them as â€Å"you secret, black, and midnight hags!†. Another example can be found in Act 1, Scene 3 where Banquo calls the witches â€Å"the instruments of darkness†. They influence the characters to such an extent that they refer to them with such titles; this is further evidence of the witches’ concentrated malevolence. It must not be forgotten also that the witches were the ones who originally ensnared Macbeth with promises of greatness, which were partially accountable for him committing regicide. This can be seen in Act 1, Scene 3 as the third witch greets Macbeth, saying â€Å"All hail Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter†. Had the witches not tainted the noble Macbeth, he may have never fallen and so the evil of the witches can be held partially responsible. The witches can be seen meddling once more during Act 4, Scene 1 where they blind Macbeth into believing he is nigh on invincible with several prophecies. And so, Macbeth becomes complacent, fooled by the witches’ misleading prophecies. Their malevolence is clear to see through their misguiding of Macbeth, as well as the other example given. The witches are depicted as having a haunting physical presence, both through their actual physical appearance and through their chilling language. In terms of their physicality, the witches are only described once during the play by Banquo in Act 1, Scene 3. He describes them as being â€Å"withered and so wild in their attire†, telling directly of their abnormal manifestation. Also, Banquo tells of how the witches â€Å"look not like the inhabitants of the earth†, showing how they are supernatural to such an extent that even their appearance makes us question whether they of this world. Disturbingly, the witches’ appearance is so distorted that their very gender is ambiguous, as Banquo describes how their sex â€Å"man may question†. Their strangeness in appearance would immediately show to the audience the witch’s malevolence, as well as encouraging a sense of foreboding towards them. Along with their appalling appearance is their unorthodox and seemingly corrupting language. As discussed before, their language generally is spoken like a rhyming chant, further supporting their supernatural image. Implementing this chant-like dialogue enhances the threat which the witches impose on the audience, such as during Act 4, Scene 1 where a witch drones â€Å"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes† , far more chilling then a non-rhyming alternative. As the play progresses, Macbeth’s mind seems to be defiled by the witches, so far that at times even his language seems tainted and so echoes theirs at regular intervals. For example, during Act 3, Scene 4 Macbeth cries â€Å"It will have blood they say, blood will have blood† and in Act 4, Scene 1 he declares â€Å"I conjure you by which you profess†. Both these quotations bear a resemblance to the dialogue adopted by the witches and as such it seems as though Macbeth is either tainted by their influence or just obsessed with them. This is further suggestion of their evil, as their malevolence is such that their influence seems to have corrupted Macbeth’s mind. In complete contrast, during the scene of ‘dubious authorship’ (or Act 3, Scene 5), the suggestion of evil through the language is comparatively tame and the established speech conventions adopted by the witches are neglected. Shakespeare cleverly omits the witches’ usual language style in order to highlight their angst at having angered Hecate. Rather then using the typical chanted rhyming style, instead what little the witches do say is blunt and concise, as when a witch says â€Å"come, lets make haste; she’ll soon be back again†. Aside from the lack of rhyming, the witches’ speech lacks its usual dark and evil content; for example a witch simply questions â€Å"why how now, Hecate, you look angerly?† This is heavily altered from their previous dialogue, for example during Act 1, Scene 3 when a witch declares â€Å"like a rat without a tail, I’ll do, I’ll do and I’ll do†. This quotation contains various dark themes, for example the disfigured rat, and is vastly different from the dialogue seen in Act 3, Scene 5. The speech in this scene also lacks the usual complexity used in other scenes, instead adopting a far more concise and simple language. However, because the witches make no reference to evil during this scene, this does not mean that their characters become less malevolent in nature. This is because they make no reference to evil as they are so fearful for their own safety, thus they still seem as vindictive and malicious as ever, only with self-preservation as a priority. â€Å"Macbeth† includes various themes which were relevant to the audience at the time; thus the play bore a higher significance to them, one such being the inclusion of the weird sisters. James I, King of England at the time, had a particular obsession with the hunting and executing of witches, caused by having nearly been killed during a storm, which he believed to have been caused by witches. This hate for witches filtered through the kingdom, meaning the persecution of witches or witch sympathisers was commonplace. James’s paranoia went so deep that he even wrote a book entitled â€Å"Daemonologie† inciting hate towards witches and other like creatures. Thus witches were widely regarded as a threat to the contemporary Renaissance audience and so when Shakespeare included the â€Å"three weird sisters† in â€Å"Macbeth† the audience became more emotionally invested in the performance. Also, the prevailing theme of regicide, central to the play, w ould hold significance to the somewhat paranoid king, thus further immersing him in the drama. Although the witches are certainly responsible for triggering the eventual decision to commit regicide, it must be acknowledged that Macbeth himself is culpable and so may be considered partly malevolent. Highlighting his drastic choice of evil is his initial potential and heroic virtues described in Act 1, Scene 2. The Captain exclaims â€Å"brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name† telling us how his comrades admire his valour and respect his courage. We are then told how Macbeth fought â€Å"disdaining fortune†, thus fighting unafraid against the odds. Macbeth is then likened to â€Å"valour’s minion†, symbolising just how courageous and brave he is; that he is the darling or minion of courage. And so with these references, we expect great things from this protagonist when he arrives on stage. It is because of this description that Macbeth’s fall into darkness and evil seems all the more pronounced; that a celebrated soldier, of such audacity, c an fall into such a concentrated crucible of evil, killing a virtuous king, his best friend and even a helpless family. Also augmenting the perceived concentration of evil in â€Å"Macbeth† is the fact that he knows full-well the evil of his actions. Indeed, just before killing Duncan during Act 1, Scene 7 Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he no longer wishes to kill Duncan, stating â€Å"we will proceed no further in this business†. Therefore, it is discernable that he knows the consequences of his actions and so when he does eventually commit the crime it seems all the more malevolent; he knows what he is doing yet he continues nonetheless. Furthermore, throughout the play, particularly at the beginning when he is less corrupted, Macbeth uses euphemisms to hide the shocking alternative word and to an extent to stop himself hearing the reality. In Act 1, Scene 7 Macbeth says in a soliloquy â€Å"if it were done when it is done, then ’twere well† referring to the murder of Duncan as ‘it’. Again, this adds to the evil of the final crime as it is clear Macbeth knows exactly what he is doing, and the malevolent significance the murder bears. Macbeth shows, through these two media, that he has a conscience which he is choosing to ignore and so more responsibility for the crime can be placed on him, as the witches clearly didn’t influence him to the extent where he didn’t know what he was doing. Another contributor to the evil present in â€Å"Macbeth† is the heinous nature of all of the murders; first a gracious and fair king, then his long standing best friend and comrade (Banquo), then an attempted assassination on Banquo’s helpless son, and finally the murder of Macduff’s innocent family. A sensational aspect is present in each of these murders making them seem all the more shocking and repulsive. Due to the vile nature of each of these murders, the concentrated evil present in â€Å"Macbeth† becomes all the more obvious. Also, the necessity of some of the murders is questionable; for example, what was the need to murder Macduff’s innocent family? The murder of Macduff’s family seems entirely out of spite, rather than an actual requirement. With these grim murders, Macbeth is perceived to be host to an even greater concentration of evil, especially in the later stages of the play were he is arguably unaffected by his malicious ac tions. An inner evil is conveyed through the mental torture Macbeth experiences in the later stages of the performance, which defiles his mind and his sanity. Evidence of the inner torture Macbeth experiences is seen in Act 3, Scene 4 where the ghost of Macbeth’s former friend Banquo haunts him, unseen to all else. Gory to behold, this apparition is most likely an embodiment of Macbeth’s guilt at having killed his former friend, as we see Macbeth shout; â€Å"thou canst not say I did it†. This attempt to relieve himself of the blame is really only confession of his guilt. Moreover, the evil blighting Macbeth’s mind can be seen again through his inability to sleep. In Act 2, Scene 2 Macbeth tells his wife of how â€Å"Macbeth does murder sleep, the innocent sleep†, evidence of his disability. Due to the evil things he has done, Macbeth’s mind has become contaminated and so he is tormented, to the point where he can no longer sleep. Indeed, at one point Macbeth even professes to Lady Macbeth about his inner torment, saying â€Å"full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife† in Act3, Scene 2. In any case, the change in Macbeth’s thoughts as the play progresses is easily discernable; and so an inner evil corrupting his thoughts is arguably present. Throughout the play, Macbeth always appears to be preoccupied with the witches and this may be partly the reason for the corruption of his mind. Often, in his dialogue he refers to the sisters and genuinely seems beset by their deceitful words. For example, in Act 3, Scene 1 Macbeth tells a servant of how Banquo â€Å"chid the sisters when they first put the name of king upon me†. References such as this towards the witches are commonplace in Macbeth’s speech and it seems he has developed an indissoluble link with them, resulting in his obsession with them. This link can be seen also, as mentioned previously, in Macbeth’s dialogue, which often echoes that of the witches. Even the first words Macbeth utters are akin to lines of the witches, where he remarks; â€Å"so foul and fair a day I have not seen†; paradoxical language similar to theirs. At one point, during Act 2, Scene 1, Banquo even questions Macbeth as to whether his mind still lingers over the witches and he replies â€Å"I think not of them†. Macbeth certainly seems influenced by the witches, and we even see that just before the killing of Macduff’s family he visits the sisters. It is possible that the witches are also responsible for Macbeth’s inability to sleep mentioned above, as we know that they have engaged in such acts previously on the unfortunate sailor. Further influencing and at times controlling the actions of Macbeth is his wife, Lady Macbeth. More so in the early stages of the play, she can be found cleverly manipulating her husband, playing upon his weaknesses to ensure he secures his place as king. As Macbeth tells her how he no longer wishes to kill Duncan in Act 1, Scene 7, she responds â€Å"art though afeard†, questioning his masculinity and classifying him a coward. Had she not guided Macbeth in this sequence, it is questionable whether he would have proceeded with the murder at all. In the same scene she also plans out the detestable details of the murder, and so in this case she can be considered the main agent. This is certainly indicative that there is a concentration of evil present in Lady Macbeth, even if its manifestation is less pronounced than her husband’s. Additionally, in order to provide her with the inner strength to commit the murder, during Act 1, Scene 5 she attempts to conjure up evil ministers, declaring â€Å"come you spirits that tend on moral thoughts†. This act is testimony to her evil; that she would be willing to affiliate herself with damned spirits in order to kill an innocent old man. Also, Lady Macbeth is so eager to kill the king that she is even willing to reject her femininity. In a soliloquy during Act 1, Scene 5 she utters â€Å"unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty†. This unnatural (and chilling) denial of her sex shows how willing she is to commit murder. Through all these ill plans towards Duncan and despite bearing the knowledge that his life may well end that night, in Act 1, Scene 6 Lady Macbeth shows just how devious she is as she acts the part of a welcoming hostess, telling the king â€Å"your majesty loads our house†. At this stage in the play Lady Macbeth’s subtle nature of evil is clear to see. Finally, as with her husband, it is obvious that Lady Macbeth registers the enormity of the crime through her pang of conscience before the murder and continues nonetheless. It is true that during Act 2, Scene 2 she tells Macbeth of how â€Å"had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done it†. This is evidence of her conscience, although she still lets her husband kill Duncan, ignoring her inner sense of right and wrong. Because of this, Lady Macbeth gradually becomes insane and descends into a hell of her own making, famously saying during Act 5, Scene 1; â€Å"hell is murky†. Shortly after these w ords Lady Macbeth commits suicide, relinquishing her life because of the evil she is aware she has committed. Contributing in a different way to the evil atmosphere found in â€Å"Macbeth† is the adept language implemented by Shakespeare, which persistently evokes the intended malevolence. A dramatic way in which Shakespeare conveys evil is through the use of disease imagery, for example â€Å"canst thou not minister to a mind diseased†. Particularly to the audience of the era, disease was exceptionally feared as it was often fatal due to the lack of medical knowledge, and for this reason the inclusion of these references conjured markedly strong dark thoughts. The idea of disease by definition is that of spreading corruption and defilement, and this it seems is reminiscent of the spread of evil in â€Å"Macbeth†, and so such references are therefore a reminder of the irresistible contagion caused by a tyrannical king. Similarly, the theme of concealment is also used throughout, regularly conveying a distressing sense of the unknown as well as the ominous threat of hidden evil. At one point Duncan tells of how â€Å"there’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face†, a chilling image of how there is no method by which a person can read another’s intentions based upon their external make-up; this is bitterly ironic given that Macbeth is tricking Duncan all along. In disguising intention, evil can remain hidden – disguise imagery therefore reminds the audience of a character’s hidden intent. Given this overlapping theme of disguise and deception, the audience are always aware of a malevolent atmosphere in â€Å"Macbeth†. Another common method of evoking the sense of evil is Shakespeare’s regular reference to night and blackness. This brand of imagery plays upon humanity’s primitive fear of the unknown; thus in making regular references to darkness Shakespeare ensures that an evil presence is always felt. The play boasts many memorable teaming references to darkness; a typical one can be found in Act 1, Scene 5 where Lady Macbeth proclaims â€Å"come thick night and pull me in the dunnest smokes of hell†. Aside from the obvious reference to hell Shakespeare cleverly refers to darkness to evoke the feeling of deception and hidden evil, as well as the primitive evil of the darkness on its own. On the same note, the theme of cancelling out light is integrated as well as when Macbeth notably says in an aside â€Å"stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires†. Perhaps the most obvious pattern in â€Å"Macbeth† in terms of sinister language is the regular reference to predatory animals. Animals can often portend omens which in â€Å"Macbeth’s† case translate into dire events; however at times in Shakespeare’s application they can also just conjure up dire images. On occasion the characters allude to animals related to ill omens; for example when Lady Macbeth says â€Å"the raven himself is hoarse†, the raven being the bird of ill omen. Or in other cases the reference may just be made in terms of sinister imagery, like when Macbeth says â€Å"full of scorpions is my mind†. At times the imagery also contains biblical-related animals; for example when Lady Macbeth tells her husband â€Å"look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it†. In this case the serpent is a sinister use of imagery as it is related with the biblical ‘fall’ and so is often an animal linked with male volence in literature. Shakespeare’s choice of regularly adding emphasis on blood further exaggerates the evil perceived by the audience, as well as darkening the image of the play. In particular, the murder of Duncan conjures many references to blood, for example Macbeth says â€Å"will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?† In this manner, emphasis is added on Macbeth’s bloody hands, questioning whether even all the ocean’s waters will clean them. Likewise, the spots of blood described on Lady Macbeth’s hand are also highlighted, to the point where she believes her hands are still blood stained several days after the murder, crying â€Å"out damned spots! Out I say!† The explicit references to blood add to the sinister content of the play through their dire implications; blood after all symbolising pain and suffering. A debatable topic within â€Å"Macbeth† is whether the main source of evil in the play extends from external supernatural sources or from Macbeth himself. However, as mentioned previously, if Macbeth is regarded as being influenced too heavily by the witches, he begins to seem like their puppet- easily manipulated. If Macbeth is seen as to be too easily manipulated this draws from his heroic status; how could such a strong character be so easily turned against his will? As such, I feel Macbeth is just as responsible for the atrocities as the witches. The tyranny brought about by this combined concentration of evil affects the whole kingdom, even at times supernaturally, for example after Duncan’s death Lennox tells of how â€Å"the night has been unruly: where we lay, our chimneys were blown down†. As you can see, the disruption brought about by the death of the king is even portrayed to affect the weather. This idea used by Shakespeare in which everything is affected by the death of the king is in conjunction with the ‘chain of being’. The concept of this was a large hierarchy in which God was placed at the top and below him was ranked king; below this was all other organic life. Regicide means that everything below Duncan in the ‘chain of being’ would be disrupted, and would only return to order once the rightful king was restored. This happens in â€Å"Macbeth†: once the rightful king, Malcolm, takes the throne, then the disruption is purged and order returns over the whole kingdom. However, in spite of the regained regime, the final impression of Shakespeare’s masterpiece is that of lingering evil; the witches are still to an extent at large and who is to say the process will not repeat itself again with them partially corrupting yet another star-crossed victim. â€Å"Macbeth† is a play in which evil reigns and flourishes throughout and so it seems only fitting that the final impression masterfully created by Shakespeare should be that of lingering evil.