Macbeth Essay

If Macduff is "good" and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are "evil", how and why does Shakespeare make us more attracted to the evil figures?

Shakespeare attracts his audience to the evil characters in his Tragedy Macbeth to make the audience question what is evil and what is not. At the same time his techniques and characters give the audience cause to question who has the right to say what is evil or not.
    Shakespeare gives all of his Tragic Heroes some form of harmatia so that it is clear to the audience that they are not perfect. Shakespeare has given Macbeth two main harmatias: he has too much ambition and he is involved with the witches. During the time that Shakespeare wrote Macbeth people were expected to accept the position in life that God had given them, in Macbeth's case, being the Thane of Glamis. However, Shakespeare draws both classes of people, however in some ways more the lower classed people, in the audience to Macbeth by showing that he is not happy with his position and wants to aim higher.  Macbeth does not want the people around him to see his '...deep and dark desires' to improve his position in society because it would have been seen as a sin in the time that Macbeth lived if he wanted to change how important he and his family's name was. However, Shakespeare allows the audience to '...see... [Macbeth's] dark desires' to become the King of Scotland because it proves to the audience that Macbeth has a harmatia and it also gives the audience a sense of superiority over the characters in the performance who do not know of Macbeth's plans.
     Macbeth wanting the witches to 'Stay... [and] tell me [Macbeth] more' is the first sign in the play that he is easily convinced by Shakespeare's evil figures, including the witches. Shakespeare does this to suggest to his audience that Macbeth will meet the witches again and therefore he will listen more to evil. He also does this to give the audience a reason as to why Macbeth became a tyrant to Scotland in Act 2 Scene 4. Shakespeare has played on the fact that every person wants something to blame when things go wrong, and by introducing the witches to Macbeth before he killed Duncan in Act 2 Scene 1, he has given the audience a few figures of evil to fear and blame for Macbeth's behaviour. This also attracts the audience to Macbeth because they begin to fear him and therefore, in some ways, want to know more about him. Shakespeare has also done this because it will make the audience want to know how Macbeth turned "evil" and how they can prevent themselves  becoming evil as well.
     Shakespeare has involved Macbeth in every scene in Macbeth, either by merely mentioning him or by having Macbeth coming onto the stage. Shakespeare does this to help the audience to have more time understanding him and therefore possibly to give them sympathy for Macbeth in the later scenes. In Act 1 Scene 1, Shakespeare has Macbeth mentioned before line 20 to bring the attention of the audience to Macbeth in the first scene. The first time that Shakespeare has Macbeth mentioned, he introduces him as '…brave…', whereas Shakespeare shows his true nature to be ambitious and full of '…tyranny.' Shakespeare does this to make the audience question what is good, what is evil and to make them question whether someone is born evil or turned evil because of the influences of others and the influences of their surroundings. Shakespeare has given Macbeth the first and last line of Act 3 Scene 4 to emphasize Macbeth's importance at this moment in time in the play. The fact that the first line that Shakespeare has spoken in this scene by Macbeth is '…you know your own degrees…' gives the audience the impression that Shakespeare is mocking Macbeth. This is because Macbeth has risen himself to King by murder and yet this line suggests that he expects the rest of the men gathered to never want to higher their status as well.
   Shakespeare draws the audience to Macbeth by allowing him to be one of Duncan's favourites at the beginning of the play and, in some ways, draws the lower classed people in the audience to Macbeth when he increases his position. This is because the lower classes would be jealous of the higher classes, like Macbeth is of Duncan, and they would understand why he wants to improve his position. Because Macbeth is one of Duncan's favourites, it shows that he is a loyal and honourable man in the beginning of the play. This would draw the higher classed people in his audience because that was what their society was based on; loyalty, honour and power. Macbeth was already quite powerful, and that would increase the attraction from the audience to him. However, some people would feel attracted to him when he is clearly being influence by the witches, even if they did not want to. This is because everyone does some from of bad deed in their lifetime and they would feel empathy for Macbeth, even though they would not want to admit that the three witches cause any other emotion than disgust and fear. Shakespeare has also used Macbeth's position as Duncan's favourite to show that he has good qualities and is very trustworthy. Shakespeare does this to create a bond with Macbeth and to understand more about him. Shakespeare also helps the audience to feel close to Macbeth by having him speak long soliloquies, including the "dagger" speech in Act 2 Scene 1. Macbeth's long soliloquies give the audience an insight into Macbeth's mind and into his reasons for murdering Duncan and becoming a tyrant to Scotland in the later scenes.
     Another character that Shakespeare uses to attract the audience to evil is Lady Macbeth. She is the only female main character in the play and when we first meet he in Act 1 Scene 5, she comes onto the stage alone. This would have been unusual in Shakespeare's time because women were seen as inferior; whereas Shakespeare's deliberate placing of Lady Macbeth on her own shows that she commands power and can control the stage well. Shakespeare does this to show the audience of her strong personality and of how much control she has over Macbeth. Shakespeare also shows this by allowing the first scene in which the audience meets Lady Macbeth with her reading a letter from Macbeth whilst she is saying '…that I may pour my spirits in thine ear…' so that it is clear to the audience how much hold over her husband and how much stronger her personality is than of Macbeth's. This leads the audience to believe that she is evil.
    However, Shakespeare shows the audience that Lady Macbeth is only human in Act 5 Scene 1. when she appears carrying a candle and the '…damned spot…' of blood on her hands will not wash off, which could imply that she has a stain on her conscience after being part of the plot to murder Duncan, Lady Macduff and many others. Another scene that Shakespeare uses to lead the audience to believe that Lady Macbeth is not completely evil is in Act 2 Scene 2, when she says '… my father as he slept, I had done't.' This shows the audience that is not heartless and gives them cause to doubt what she says in Act 1 Scene 5 when she would '… have plucked from his [her baby] boneless gums.' Shakespeare includes these weaknesses in Lady Macbeth to make the audience question where evil begins and what the difference between being bad and being evil is.
      Shakespeare has portrayed different qualities in his characters to attract the audience to Macbeth. Shakespeare does this to give the audience cause to question what is evil. He also does this to question the boundaries of being evil and being bad. This attracts the audience because they wish to understand more how they could prevent themselves crossing the border into becoming evil.