Macbeth sure has changed a lot from the beginning...
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| "Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair" |
We are first introduced to him indirectly through praise from the captain: "For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name), / Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution, / like Valor's minion" (A1.S2.L18-21). He seems like a Beowulf-esque kind of dude; he's obviously fearless if he's just hacking his way through battle without any worries, and probably for a good cause (the defense of Scotland). And when faced with his first struggle of the play (realizing that the witches speak the truth), he appears distraught and seems confused why something seemingly good would make him nervous.
As we dive further into the play, we see Macbeth transformed into a different person, moved by the guilt of his actions. Murdering Duncan really pushed Macbeth into a darker version of himself that he doesn't appear to have control of...
Beginning when Macbeth is resolved to kill the king (and is on his way to do the deed), he starts to go a little wonky and loses his senses. He starts to see things: "Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand?" (A2.S1.L44-45). And then he starts to hear voices: "Methought I heard a voice cry "Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep." And even further into the play (after the murder of Banquo), Macbeth begins to see the ghost of his friend who he just had killed. However, even though his mind has betrayed him with false images to inspire his guilty feelings, he remains on his path of destruction and slaughters everyone threatening his power.
P.S. I also want to point out that Macbeth begins as a warrior who kills and kills without really caring if he's the one doing the actual stabbing. But, after he kills Duncan (with his own hand), he doesn't kill any of his other victims himself (Banquo and Macduff's family alike are killed by hired murderers). weird.
I agree that Macbeth's response to killing Duncan is weird as a soldier. My best guess is during battle he can rationalize that the people he is fighting are bad, and that he is doing these things for the sake of his country. Duncan is innocent. There is no way he can rationalize his murder, which is why I think he has that initial breakdown. To avoid that feeling again, he convinces people to murder his victims for him.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that it is kind of weird that he stopped killing people with his own hand after killing duncan... so you are okay with people dying as long as you dont kill them? it is kind of messed up either way so what difference does it make ? Macbeth changed a lot through the play and I agree with that also
ReplyDeleteI also agree that it is kind of weird that he stopped killing people with his own hand after killing duncan... so you are okay with people dying as long as you dont kill them? it is kind of messed up either way so what difference does it make ? Macbeth changed a lot through the play and I agree with that also
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me like Macbeth, metaphorically speaking, started on the top of a hill and once he started heading down it gradually picked up speed. It still seems to me like Lady Macbeth's adamance was what pushed him down the hill initially which interests me because after the first act, Lady Macbeth is less focused on and Macbeth gradually becomes more bloodthirsty on his own, or at least murderous even if it isn't out of bloodlust and more so desperation and the feeling of having lost control.
ReplyDeleteIt is strange that he doesn't seem to want to get his hands dirty after a certain point. It makes me wonder where he draws the line in his mind. I don't know if I consider him "blood thirsty" but rather than power-hungry and doesn't care what he does to a certain degree.
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