Macbeth the Manipulated
In everyday life we have countless interactions with numerous different people. Some of these people you know and trust and others you have just met and don’t yet trust but the one thing they have the common is that they may try to manipulate you. In the play Macbeth many characters attempt to use each other to get what they want. One theme of Macbeth is that you should be careful who you listen to because they may be trying to manipulate you.
Many of the events in this play would not have happened had it not been for the manipulation of Macbeth by other characters. The character who manipulates Macbeth the most is also the character whom he trusts the most, his wife, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth first begins to manipulate Macbeth after she finds out about the prophecy. Lady Macbeth is stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her husband and she knows that if she wants to become queen she will have to force her husband to kill Duncan. The extent of Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of Macbeth can fully be seen after he tries to back out of the plot to kill Duncan and Lady Macbeth says this:
What beast was't then
That made you break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
An to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more than a man...
...I have given suck, and know
How tender 'tis to the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this (1.7.48-59)
Here Lady Macbeth is manipulating Macbeth by calling him a coward and questioning his manhood. This is a very effective way of manipulating someone because when someone calls you a coward the first thing you do is try to prove them wrong. Lady Macbeth is extremely successful in manipulating Macbeth because she is trusted by him. She eventually gets what she wants and Macbeth kills Duncan and becomes king.
Although Lady Macbeth was the blatant in her manipulation another group of characters played an equally large role in manipulating Macbeth into doing what he did. The three witches manipulated Macbeth by first placing the idea the idea of murdering Duncan. The witches first manipulate Macbeth in this passage:
First Witch: All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!
Second Witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!
Third Witch: All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!" (1.3.48-50)
They are manipulating Macbeth here by saying that he will be king one day. The witches in this book are evil characters who have the goal of creating chaos. They do this here by putting the idea of him being king which leads to him murdering Duncan and the rest of the conflict in the play. Another time the witches manipulate Macbeth is when they summon the apparitions that give him the three prophecies. They are manipulating him here because they are giving him a false sense of security which they know will ultimately lead to his demise.
The origin of the conflict in Macbeth is that Macbeth allows himself to be manipulated by the people around him. A theme from Macbeth is that you should be careful who you listen to because it is likely they are trying to manipulate you. The most important thing to take away from Macbeth is that everyone has their own agenda and if using you helps them than they are likely to manipulate you.
The Great Power of Guilt
We have all felt guilt at one point in our life whether it for something small and trivial like borrowing a pencil from a friend without their permission or, as in the case of Macbeth, killing a king. In the play Macbeth we see how far guilt can go when left unchecked. We can see in the play Macbeth that guilt is an overwhelming and destructive force that no one can escape.
Macbeth’s guilt can be seen even before he commits the murder of Duncan. Macbeth has a hallucination of a dagger before the murder this is only the beginning of his guilt driven descent into madness. After the murder he says that if he were to wash his hands in the ocean the ocean would turn red. After Macbeth orders the murder of Banquo, Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo at a banquet. Banquo’s ghost embodies the guilt that Macbeth feels for what he has done because he is so over whelmed with guilt his brain plays tricks on him. Unfortunately Macbeth misinterprets his guilt as fear and commits more misdeeds which only causes him to feel more guilt.
At this point one might be thinking that Macbeth didn’t really want to kill Duncan so of course he feels guilty. But Macbeth isn’t the only one to feel guilty for the murder of Duncan even the callous Lady Macbeth was eventually overwhelmed by guilt. Macbeth was quickly driven to madness by guilt whereas Lady Macbeth was slowly overwhelmed by her guilt. Lady Macbeth was the true force behind Duncan’s murder and at the time she seemed to have almost no hesitation. Lady Macbeth had a slow descent to madness but by the final act of the play she was sleep walking and attempting to wash away an imaginary blood stain. Her guilt is so great that it eventually leads to her death presumably at her own hand.
Guilt does not only affect the “bad” characters in Macbeth. Macduff feels the immense power of guilt after he abandons his family and travels to England to gain the support of the king and Malcolm. While he is in England, Macbeth orders for his family to be killed. Duncan feels guilty for leaving his family defenseless. Unlike the other characters Macduff his ultimately able to alleviate his guilt by killing Macbeth.
Guilt plays a large role in this play and affects each character differently. In the play Macbeth Shakespeare demonstrates how guilt is an overwhelming and destructive force that no one can escape. Guilt can be a good thing by letting us know what we have done is wrong but when left uncontrolled it can be a destructive force that leads you into madness.
Many of the events in this play would not have happened had it not been for the manipulation of Macbeth by other characters. The character who manipulates Macbeth the most is also the character whom he trusts the most, his wife, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth first begins to manipulate Macbeth after she finds out about the prophecy. Lady Macbeth is stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her husband and she knows that if she wants to become queen she will have to force her husband to kill Duncan. The extent of Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of Macbeth can fully be seen after he tries to back out of the plot to kill Duncan and Lady Macbeth says this:
What beast was't then
That made you break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
An to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more than a man...
...I have given suck, and know
How tender 'tis to the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this (1.7.48-59)
Here Lady Macbeth is manipulating Macbeth by calling him a coward and questioning his manhood. This is a very effective way of manipulating someone because when someone calls you a coward the first thing you do is try to prove them wrong. Lady Macbeth is extremely successful in manipulating Macbeth because she is trusted by him. She eventually gets what she wants and Macbeth kills Duncan and becomes king.
Although Lady Macbeth was the blatant in her manipulation another group of characters played an equally large role in manipulating Macbeth into doing what he did. The three witches manipulated Macbeth by first placing the idea the idea of murdering Duncan. The witches first manipulate Macbeth in this passage:
First Witch: All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!
Second Witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!
Third Witch: All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!" (1.3.48-50)
They are manipulating Macbeth here by saying that he will be king one day. The witches in this book are evil characters who have the goal of creating chaos. They do this here by putting the idea of him being king which leads to him murdering Duncan and the rest of the conflict in the play. Another time the witches manipulate Macbeth is when they summon the apparitions that give him the three prophecies. They are manipulating him here because they are giving him a false sense of security which they know will ultimately lead to his demise.
The origin of the conflict in Macbeth is that Macbeth allows himself to be manipulated by the people around him. A theme from Macbeth is that you should be careful who you listen to because it is likely they are trying to manipulate you. The most important thing to take away from Macbeth is that everyone has their own agenda and if using you helps them than they are likely to manipulate you.
The Great Power of Guilt
We have all felt guilt at one point in our life whether it for something small and trivial like borrowing a pencil from a friend without their permission or, as in the case of Macbeth, killing a king. In the play Macbeth we see how far guilt can go when left unchecked. We can see in the play Macbeth that guilt is an overwhelming and destructive force that no one can escape.
Macbeth’s guilt can be seen even before he commits the murder of Duncan. Macbeth has a hallucination of a dagger before the murder this is only the beginning of his guilt driven descent into madness. After the murder he says that if he were to wash his hands in the ocean the ocean would turn red. After Macbeth orders the murder of Banquo, Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo at a banquet. Banquo’s ghost embodies the guilt that Macbeth feels for what he has done because he is so over whelmed with guilt his brain plays tricks on him. Unfortunately Macbeth misinterprets his guilt as fear and commits more misdeeds which only causes him to feel more guilt.
At this point one might be thinking that Macbeth didn’t really want to kill Duncan so of course he feels guilty. But Macbeth isn’t the only one to feel guilty for the murder of Duncan even the callous Lady Macbeth was eventually overwhelmed by guilt. Macbeth was quickly driven to madness by guilt whereas Lady Macbeth was slowly overwhelmed by her guilt. Lady Macbeth was the true force behind Duncan’s murder and at the time she seemed to have almost no hesitation. Lady Macbeth had a slow descent to madness but by the final act of the play she was sleep walking and attempting to wash away an imaginary blood stain. Her guilt is so great that it eventually leads to her death presumably at her own hand.
Guilt does not only affect the “bad” characters in Macbeth. Macduff feels the immense power of guilt after he abandons his family and travels to England to gain the support of the king and Malcolm. While he is in England, Macbeth orders for his family to be killed. Duncan feels guilty for leaving his family defenseless. Unlike the other characters Macduff his ultimately able to alleviate his guilt by killing Macbeth.
Guilt plays a large role in this play and affects each character differently. In the play Macbeth Shakespeare demonstrates how guilt is an overwhelming and destructive force that no one can escape. Guilt can be a good thing by letting us know what we have done is wrong but when left uncontrolled it can be a destructive force that leads you into madness.
