Macbeth Act I
I, like many other people in the class, have already read Macbeth. But that was three years ago, when my class was looking at the work in the context of the nature of human decency, in conjunction with other works like Lord of the Flies and Les Miserables. Reading it again with a different critical lens, one focused in finding the mystery, is like reading a different story.
The witches play an interesting role in making Macbeth a mystery. Using the Oxford English Dictionary definitions, a mystery is: "A mystical presence or nature; mystical significance," but also "A religious truth known or understood only by divine revelation." The witches are supernatural beings, and the unknown nature of their disappearance before the eyes of Macbeth and Banquo makes them a mystical presence (I.iii.81-88). So the witches themselves are a mystery. But also, using the second definition, their prophecy is a mystery. The main issue with the second definition is that it is a religious truth- "divine" does not necessarily mean it has to be related to God, other definitions extend it to a prophet. The witches play the role of prophets as they bring a prophecy which would not have otherwise been realized.
The first time I read this play, fate vs. free will was a topic that came up often. If Macbeth hadn't taken action, would he have fallen into his destiny and become king anyway? Or did he only become king because he believed he was supposed to, and went out of his way to make it happen? If this great mystery hadn't been revealed by the witches, would Macbeth have become king? I think to some extent, Macbeth is a mystery story because of the actions taken by the title character and his wife to fulfill a prophecy. When I think of a mystery now, I think of some truth or event that happened or exists, and the story surrounding it as a quest to find that truth. Macbeth is the story of a man learning a mystery and finding a way to make it true.
But the mystery story would not be complete without the malicious driving force behind it, Lady Macbeth. The first words that are her own are the following: "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be / what thou art promised. Yet I do fear thy nature; / It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way" (I.v.14-18). From the moment her interpretation of the message given to Macbeth by the witches is given, it is obvious that she will stop at nothing to fulfill the prophecy and secure Macbeth his promised position as king. She also introduces a motif which surfaces in many interactions between herself and Macbeth: the idea that Macbeth is weak, which is seen often as she insults his masculinity if he fears to take action. It is paradoxical in that degrades him by saying he isn't acting manly, but soft, and yet she is a woman who is colder and crueler than he.
The witches play an interesting role in making Macbeth a mystery. Using the Oxford English Dictionary definitions, a mystery is: "A mystical presence or nature; mystical significance," but also "A religious truth known or understood only by divine revelation." The witches are supernatural beings, and the unknown nature of their disappearance before the eyes of Macbeth and Banquo makes them a mystical presence (I.iii.81-88). So the witches themselves are a mystery. But also, using the second definition, their prophecy is a mystery. The main issue with the second definition is that it is a religious truth- "divine" does not necessarily mean it has to be related to God, other definitions extend it to a prophet. The witches play the role of prophets as they bring a prophecy which would not have otherwise been realized.
The first time I read this play, fate vs. free will was a topic that came up often. If Macbeth hadn't taken action, would he have fallen into his destiny and become king anyway? Or did he only become king because he believed he was supposed to, and went out of his way to make it happen? If this great mystery hadn't been revealed by the witches, would Macbeth have become king? I think to some extent, Macbeth is a mystery story because of the actions taken by the title character and his wife to fulfill a prophecy. When I think of a mystery now, I think of some truth or event that happened or exists, and the story surrounding it as a quest to find that truth. Macbeth is the story of a man learning a mystery and finding a way to make it true.
But the mystery story would not be complete without the malicious driving force behind it, Lady Macbeth. The first words that are her own are the following: "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be / what thou art promised. Yet I do fear thy nature; / It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way" (I.v.14-18). From the moment her interpretation of the message given to Macbeth by the witches is given, it is obvious that she will stop at nothing to fulfill the prophecy and secure Macbeth his promised position as king. She also introduces a motif which surfaces in many interactions between herself and Macbeth: the idea that Macbeth is weak, which is seen often as she insults his masculinity if he fears to take action. It is paradoxical in that degrades him by saying he isn't acting manly, but soft, and yet she is a woman who is colder and crueler than he.
Your analysis of the prophecy as a mystery was very intriguing; I had not considered it before, but I completely agree that, by our definition of mystery in this class, the prophecy is an important mystery for this play. The impetus of this mystery is Lady Macbeth, and I consider her to almost be the counterpart to Macbeth himself, possibly his inner desire for power unencumbered by his reputation of being a faithful soldier of Duncan.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has also read Macbeth before, fate versus free will is a concept that I've thought about in the past. If Macbeth cannot change his fate, it could be argued that Macbeth could become king through inaction. However, I didn't consider that the prophecy itself is part of a mystery. I agree with your perspective on how the mystery is Macbeth's quest to find truth in a prophecy that he seemingly can't change.
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