Macbeth Act 1
Macbeth seems to
be following the typical storyline of Shakespeare tragedies but the addition of
supernatural witches makes the story more interesting. I’m not very sure why
Shakespeare decides to use witches in the story, but they appear to serve an
important role in the plot by being the driving factor for Macbeth’s ambition
to become king. They demonstrate fate, which is an important theme in
the story. They also seem to represent some evil or savageness, which is shown
in the way they are described by Macbeth as “So withered, and so wild in their
attire, / That look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ Earth / And yet are on ‘t?”
(1.3.41-42). It appears like their actions will be the root of Macbeth’s
predicted fall in the future—he will probably end up dying or getting punished
for his actions in the end as is typical in Shakespearean tragedies. This is foreshadowed when Banquo talks to Macbeth about the whether or not to
trust the witches: “But ‘tis strange. / And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
/ The instruments of darkness tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to
betray’s / In deepest consequence” (1.3.134-138). However, despite these
warnings, Macbeth continues to think about killing Duncan, which makes us
question his status as a honorable and noble man, which he is constantly
referred to and which seems to be another important theme in the story.
However, I can’t hate Macbeth since he does show some remorse and
awareness that what he is doing is bad, such as when he says “Stars, hide your
fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4.57-58). He also
backs out on the plan at one point, but is again persuaded by Lady Macbeth. I
think that it’s pretty surprising that Shakespeare decides to make the woman
the start of the evil actions in this play, and I wonder if this portrayal of
women as roots of evil is intentional, especially since the witches are also
some symbols of the root of an evil path, even though their gender is
questioned: “You should be women, / And yet your beards forbid me to interpret
that you are so” (1.3.47-49). It is also surprising that Lady Macbeth sort of
seems to have more control over Macbeth, which is unusual as men are usual
portrayed as overpowering women.
I’m quite excited to see how this will play out and how
Macbeth will probably get into a lot of trouble. So far, I don’t really see
much mystery in the story aside from the suspense on what will happen next and
about what the true purpose and meaning of these witches are.
I agree, the witches definitely play the prophecy role throughout the play. They serve as a warning against having too much knowledge and trying to take life into your own hands instead of letting it all play out naturally, which is a key component in tragedies. I too was surprised at Lady MacBeth's power and control, since I feel that women are most commonly portrayed as weak and irrelevant in a majority of literature. However, Shakespeare presents women as being extremely dominant and "manly"; Lady MacBeth exclaims "unsex me," suggesting that she has taken on the role of the typical male protagonist (1.5.48).
ReplyDeleteI would like to disagree with your point of Macbeth being a classic Shakespeare tragedy as I feel Macbeth does have tragic ending but there is no main villain besides himself and his desires. I do however agree with the statement you made about the witches and how they add a new element to the story. The witches in the story are an homage to King James of Scotland as he was a scholar on supernatural beings and Shakespeare wanted to please the new king.
ReplyDeleteI think the purpose of the witches is to add the mystery: the divine knowledge that would have otherwise been unknown. Without them to advance events, it is unknown whether or not Macbeth would have become king. But because he was told he would, he made it happen.
ReplyDeleteI also predicted that Macbeth will end up getting into a lot of trouble, which honestly makes me kind of sad considering he initially decided not to follow through with any of his inner thoughts telling him to kill the king but was convinced by Lady Macbeth. I also noticed the theme on women in the play being portrayed as negative or evil influences so far. I am curious to see if this theme continues.
ReplyDelete