Macbeth's Loss of Self As A Noble Man

Macbeth is one of the “Big Four” tragedies written by William Shakespeare. In Macbeth, the title character’s ambition leads him to lose his nobility. He is first a noble man. He then lets his ambition begin to take over, finally turning into a ruthless individual.

When Macbeth is first mentioned, he is referred to as “valor’s minion” (1.2.19). He has just killed the rebel leader Macdonwald and “fixed his head upon the battlements” (1.2.23). Even more daring, he has also, with his cousin and best friend Banquo, driven off the Norwegian army and saved the King of Scotland. For this service, the Scottish king rewards Macbeth, who was formerly the Thane of Glamis, with the title of Thane of Cawdor. Since Macbeth was heading to Forres when this announcement was made, he is unaware of this new honor. Therefore, Macbeth is startled when the witches call out:

All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!

All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!

All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! (1.3.48-50).

The witches also tell Banquo that he “…shall get kings, though thou be none” (1.3.67). They then disappear into thin air. Soon after, the Thane of Ross rides up to Macbeth, telling him that the King of Scotland has “…bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor” (1.3.105). Ross then departs, leaving Macbeth to ponder what the witches have prophesied. Macbeth shows his noble nature as he tries to weigh the witches’ words:

This supernatural soliciting

Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill,

Why hath it given me earnest of success,

Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor:

If good, why do I yield to that suggestion

Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair

And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,

Against the use of nature? (1.3.130-137).

Macbeth finally decides to let nature take its course and do nothing, assuming that Duncan, the King of Scotland, will name him as heir. Much to his dismay, Duncan names his firstborn son, Malcolm, as

Prince of Cumberland, a title given to the heir of the Scottish throne. Macbeth is silently furious, thinking to himself:

The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step

On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap,

For in my way it lies. (1.4.48-50).

Duncan then announces his intent to spend the night at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle.

Macbeth then sends a letter to his wife describing the witches’ prophecy. Lady Macbeth then expresses her opinion:

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. (1.5.15-18).

Lady Macbeth has already begun plotting to kill Duncan so her husband could become king. She even states after hearing the news of Duncan’s impending arrival:

The raven himself is hoarse

That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan

Under my battlements. (1.5.38-40).

She then urges Macbeth to seize the opportunity presented to them. He puts her off for the time being and retires to think about what he’s planning to do. Macbeth once again shows his noble nature by listing four reasons why Duncan should not be killed and then telling his wife that he “…would proceed no further in this business” (1.7.31). Lady Macbeth then tells him that if he loved her, he would do it. Macbeth hesitantly agrees once again. She then proceeds to go into detail over the plot to kill Duncan. Around midnight, Macbeth finds Banquo and proceeds to indirectly ask for his support. Banquo agrees, but only if he can “…still keep/My bosom franchised and allegiance clear” (2.1.27-28). Macbeth then knows that he has just created a deadly enemy. Macbeth goes back inside and tells a servant to “[G]o bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready/She strike upon the bell”(2.1.31-32). He then begins preparing himself for what he’s about to do. He then hears the bell and tells Duncan not to hear it “…for it is a knell/That summons thee to heaven, or to hell” (2.1.63-64).Once Duncan has been

murdered, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are reunited. While Macbeth asks “[W]ill all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood/Clean from my hands”(2.2.59-60), Lady Macbeth feels no guilt at all. They hear a knocking at the door of the castle and hurry to their bedrooms to make it appear as if they had been sleeping. Once the porter opens the door, Macbeth “wakes up” from the knocking and goes to greet the visitors, the Thane of Fife and the Thane of Lennox. Macbeth takes the Thane of Fife, Macduff, to the king’s chamber and leaves. Moments later, Macduff cries out that “[M]ost sacrilegious murder hath broke ope/The Lord’s anointed temple”(2.3.68-69). Everyone is awoken by Macduff’s cries and they hurry to the main chamber to find out what’s going on. When Lennox points out that the guards may have killed Duncan, a mob atmosphere begins to develop. Suddenly Macbeth tells all assembled “O, yet I do repent me of my fury/That I did kill them”(2.3.106-107). This was unplanned in Lady Macbeth’s plot and to save herself and her husband from exposure, she faints. Macbeth is now beginning to murder on his own to maintain his sense of security. Banquo takes control of the now chaotic situation and tells everyone to get dressed and meet in the great hall. Malcolm and Donalbain, Duncan’s two sons, seize this opportunity and escape Macbeth’s castle. Each runs to a different country for protection, leaving the path clear for Macbeth to become king.

After Macbeth’s coronation, he decides to hold a “solemn supper”(3.1.14) to show a return to normalcy. Macbeth asks Banquo to be the chief guest, telling him “[F]ail not our feast”(3.1.27), to which Banquo replies “My lord, I will not” (3.1.28). Banquo then rides off with his son, Fleance. Macbeth then asks a servant to summon two of his former soldiers who are waiting outside. He has hired them to kill Banquo and Fleance. As he waits for them to appear, he says why Banquo and Fleance must be killed. Banquo must die because Macbeth fears Banquo’s “royalty of nature”(3.1.50). Fleance must be killed because the witches “hailed him to be a father of kings”(3.1.60). The murderers finally enter and let Macbeth know that they now blame Banquo for their misfortunes, not Macbeth’s “innocent self”(3.1.79). The murderers then make plans with Macbeth on where to meet him after the murders. The murderers then depart, leaving Macbeth to comment that “Banquo, thy’s soul’s flight/If it find heaven, must find it out tonight”(3.1.141-142). Macbeth’s once noble mind has disintegrated to the point where he finds no problem in killing his former best friend in exchange for his own comfort and piece of mind.