In the first two acts of the play, Shakespeare focuses on the “evil forces” which lead to Duncan’s murder. Discuss how Shakespeare presents theses evil forces and the ways in which an audience might respond to them.
...ne of Cawdor!” A 17th century audience would not question the witches’ powers and would immediately believe in the witches predictions. The fact that earlier in the play one of the witches says that she cursed a sailor because his wife refused to give her a chestnut, ”But in a sieve I’ll thither sail”; suggests that the witches may influence and control what happens rather than simply inform Macbeth about future events. A more modern day audience would be more sceptical of the witches, as a 21st century audience is more aware of the forces of evil that are present internally. A 21st audience wouldn’t fear the witches as much and would be more concerned by Macbeth’s reaction to the promise that he will one day be monarch. Shakespeare shows a connection between the witches and Macbeth, to suggest that the witches have some sort of power or control over Macbeth’s thoughts. This connection is shown by the witches’ chant in the first scene, “fair is foul and foul is fair”. Macbeth’s first line in the play is similar, “so foul and fair a day I have not seen”. The witches “fair is foul…” chant sets a theme for the play; the paradox suggests there is a difference between how things appear to be and what they are actually. This idea of equivocation also appears in Macbeth’s soliloquy where he is trying to decide weather to murder Duncan or not. Macbeth is trying to balance the two ideas in his mind; whether to murder Duncan and make himself king, or to remain loyal to Duncan and ignore what the witches promised him. A dagger appears in front of Macbeth during the soliloquy but he is unable to touch it, “I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” A 17th century audience would immediately recognize that the dagger is created by evil forces such as the witches, to provoke Macbeth to kill Duncan. A 21st century audience would consider the idea that the dagger is a hallucination generated by Macbeth, “a dagger of the mind”, and is sign of Macbeth’s guilt. A modern audience is more likely to be aware of the psychology behind Macbeth’s vision and understand the guilt he must be feeling. A 17th century audience would be more convinced by the evil that comes from outside forces, “curtained sleep; witchcraft celebrates”, like the devil. Shakespeare adds another factor which contributes to Macbeth’s decision to murder Duncan. This is Lady Macbeth, who shares a close relationship with her husband, and has a strong influence over him. Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a very determined and unsympathetic character, as she shows no remorse after the crime is committed, “little water washes us of this crime”. Shakespeare shows us that Lady Macbeth is far from innocent and feminine ”and dashed the brains out”; in her speech she uses language of stripping herself from her weaknesses and becoming stronger “unsex me here”. She is totally convinced from the beginning that they must murder Duncan,” shalt be what thou art promised”, unlike Macbeth who has doubts and feels guilty about even thinking of murdering Duncan ”horrible imaginings”. As soon as Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth about the witches’ promises, her immediate reaction is to ensure that Macbeth becomes king, “to have thee crowned withal.” Lady Macbeth seems to be solely in control of her actions and plans the details of the murder and how to frame it on the guards, “spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt”. Shakespeare uses another soliloquy to reveal Macbeth’s thoughts, where he decides not to murder Duncan, “not bear the knife myself” because he feels he should be loyal to the king. Shakespeare shows us that Lady Macbeth is the catalyst that causes Duncan’s murder, this is because she is the person who persuades him to change his mind. Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth to manipulate Macbeth into wanting to murder Duncan, “the future is indtant”. She attacks his pride and masculinity,” coward in thine own esteem” and makes him feel weak and inadequate. A 17th century audience would be intrigued at how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as powerful and clearly in control of her marriage to Macbeth ”leave all the rest to me”. This would have been a rare occurrence in plays of that era. A 21st century audience wouldn’t react with much surprise to her aggressive nature. An audience might believe that Lady Macbeth is solely responsible for Duncan’s death because she is the mastermind behind the entire plot. An audience might also think that Lady Macbeth simply appeals to Macbeth’s weaknesses and encourages his desires and ambition to be king. This indicates that the evil is in fact contained within Macbeth but is fueled by Lady Macbeth’s persistence. There is also an element of witchcraft or evil in Lady Macbeth’s language, when she calls upon wicked spirits to help her “you murd’ring ministers”. Shakespeare is linking Lady Macbeth to evil and an audience might come to the conclusion that Lady Macbeth is in fact controlled by the witches. Lady Macbeth is often performed as a character that is controlled by the witches or is in fact a witch herself. Although Shakespeare never indicates this, it can be interpreted in various ways. Evidence of this is shown in one particular line that Lady Macbeth uses to tell Macbeth how to behave, “look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t”. This line corresponds to the witches chant at the beginning of the play; where Lady Macbeth is saying Macbeth can pretend to be go...