Macbeth Act 5
This play ends with the ultimate fight between Macbeth and Macduff, in which both of the witches' prophecies have come to fruition. Throughout the Act, we can see how Macbeth's fearlessness are driven by an interesting interplay between his knowledge of the prophecy and his ambition. During Macbeth's first appearance in the Act, he maintains an extremely confident attitude about his chances of success as he calls his servants to not give him reports because, so long as, "Birnam Wood [cannot] remove to Dunsinane"(5.3.2), Macbeth can "never sag with doubt nor shake with fear"(5.3.10). In other words, because Macbeth believes that the prophecy cannot be fulfilled, he has nothing to fear in the real world because he is sure that nothing can hurt him. This lack of fear turns him rather apathetic, for when he claims that "I have almost forgotten the taste of fear .../Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts/Cannot once start me"(5.5.10 & 5.5.13-14), he admits that he no longer feels a sense of urgency or need to act in order to save others, including Lady Macbeth. Overall, prophecies have given him a false sense of security and, due to the resulting complacency, he alienates himself from emotions and consolidates his terrible persona.
However, when the Act progresses into the actual fight between Siward's forces and Macbeth's, Macbeth's own selfish ambition becomes his primary motivation as the prophecy begins to become true. Once Macbeth realizes that Siward's army carries Birnam Wood in order to disguise its numbers, Macbeth starts to realize the true danger he is in (5.6.52). Nevertheless, he runs head-first into danger just to prove his power because the second-part of the prophecy was still considered impossible.
Macbeth confronts Macduff (as in the prophecy) and Macduff reveals that "from his mother's womb, [he,Macduff, was] Untimely ripp'd. (6.8.15), which fulfills the prophecy in full. We would have expected Macbeth, fully aware that he was prophesied to be defeated, to agree to Macduff's offer of yielding, but Macbeth vehemently ignores Macduff's offer by claiming "I will not yield/To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet and be baited with the rabble's curse."He arrogantly wants to hold power for himself, and charges to his demise knowing full well that he is not going to win. Here, Macbeth's selfishness and power-hungry personality come ahead of the prophecy; Macbeth's actions more internally-driven than driven by prophecy, which is interesting considering the prophecy changed Macbeth into a man who became driven by malice. This interplay definitely highlights the complex character of Macbeth.
I like what you said about Macbeth's actions being internally driven. Macbeth always listens to what the witches have to say, but sometimes he tries to fight fate. He does this because he is trying to make his wishes comes true, and even though these actions cause the prophecies to come true, his actions are not motivated by prophecy. I also find interesting what you said about his reaction to the woman's scream. I thought Macbeth's reaction was a result of his desensitization because he has already experienced worse by causing the deaths of those close to him. I like your perspective, too, and I agree that Macbeth has all of those qualities as a result of hearing the prophecy.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mention that prophecies gave him a false sense of security because we see just how much the prophecies are in a way controlling and driving his actions, though I do agree that Macbeth's own actions are eventually his downfall.
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