Female Characters In Macbeth

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

INTRODUCTION 3

1.1 The tragedy of Macbeth 5

1.1 Female characters in Macbeth 6

1.2 Lady Macbeth 7

1.3 Lady Macduff 13

1.4 Three Witches 15

CONCLUSION 18

REFERENCES 22

INTRODUCTION

This diploma paper will deal with the topic „Female Charachters in Macbeth „. Bearing in mind that many analysis and esseys are written on this topic, I will do my best to „ touch „ this subject from my point of view and give my view on the role of women in the tragedy „ Macbeth „ . Most importantly, this diploma paper will discuss how, one of the most famous writers in English language, represented and treated women of seventeeth centry and how he allowed them to „ step outside „ their roles and that way become „ outsiders „ developing the sense of power that helped them to be treated as they deserve.

Why female charachters in Macbeth ?

I chose this topic at the first year of my studies. To be honest, at that time I was under impression of what we have dealt at the literature classes, and that was the reason why I decided to choose this topic. Today, as I matured in interpretation of literature I have two decisive reasons why I have chosen Female portraits in Macbeth. First one is that Shakespearean work, especially tragedies presents the extraordinary source of interesting topics, ideas and characters that he created in his own recognizable way and as such, it inspires me all over again.

„ In Shakespeare the birds sing, the bushes are clothed with green, hearts love, souls suffer, the cloud wanders, it is cold, night falls, time passes, forests and multitudes speak,the vast eternal dream hovers over all. Sap and blood, all forms of the multiple religions, diamonds and pearls, dung hills and charnelhouses, the ebb and flow of beings, the steps of comers and goers, all, all are Shakespeare and in Shakespeare."¹

This theme is, at the same tima my own chance to express my attitudes and thoughts about that what women CAN, how great role they have both in life and in literature and how they can have influence on men actions and decisions.

I will split my diploma paper into five parts in order to deal with the topic more clearly and accurately.

The Tragedy of Macbeth was first published in the First Folio edition of 1623. The play was seated in the middle ages, eleventh centry in Scotland and is probably written and performed in 1606. Shakespeare takes the major source for the story from the legends and events recorded in Chronicles of Raphael Holnished, english chronicler, whose chronicles were inspiration not just for this Shakespeare' s play. In his Chronicles Holinished write about the the prophecies of three women that Macbeth’s imagination derived from. Encouraged by his ambitious wife, Macbeth slew Duncan, with the help of Banquo and other friends. However, Holinished didn’t describe that murder. According to him, at the beginning of his reign Macbeth was a good king, but at one point he began to fear for his life, remembering the prophecy of Weird Sisters, he began to think that he would also be murdered. Macbeth starts a series of cruel murders. First he killed Banquo and then he came to Macduff’s home and killed his wife, children and other people. Macduff was hiding in England and preparing the revenge. When he came to Bernane woods he ordered his men to cut down boughs to cover their advance. When Macbeth saw Macduff’s powerful army he decided to flee. Macduff pursued and caught him. Macbeth was surprised, he thought no man could kill him, but it turned out that he misinterpreted the words of the witches. Macduff cut his head and brought it to Malcolm. It is also known that Shakespeare wrote his play to appeal to King James, who had ascended the throne in 1604. King James was very interested in supernatural forces and he published a book about witchcraft (Daemonologie). The other important fact is that he was a Scot.

Shakespearean tragedies have specific tone and atmosphere. That atmosphere in Macbeth is the result of the combination of many elements: presence of supernatural forces embodied in Three Witches and Hecate, treacheries, the guilt in the hero’s soul, darkness, madness etc. Almost all the important scenes take place at night and in some dark corners, such as the murder of Duncan, the murder of Banquo, the sleepwalking of Lady Macbeth, the scenes with the Witches. Tragedy has a lot of violent images, images of horror that reigns in the souls of the characters and all around them. "All this has one effect, to excite supernatural alarm and, even more, a dread of the presence of evil not only in its recognized seat but all through and around our mysterious nature. Perhaps there is no other work equal to Macbeth in the production of this effect." [1] 

The forces of good and evil are fighting once again in Shakespeare’s tragedy. The most dangerous evil lies in minds and souls of the characters. We can always see clearly the progress and the outcome of the character’s inner struggles. At the heart of the play lies the fear: fear of failure, fear of darkness, fear of the fear itself. But it is constantly challenged by the courage. Shakespeare depicts Scotland stricken by battles, murders, lust for power, hostile attitudes, and unreal evil. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are two main characters of the tragedy; both of them are equally strong, ambitious, dominant and independent. Our conclusion can be that they are also equally important. In the first part of the play (Acts I and II) Lady Macbeth definitely dominates, but afterwards steps out of the leading role and leaves it to her husband. They are pretty much alike. Their relationship is unusual, very strong, honest and passionate. They respect, support and love one another. There are no secrets between them. They can talk about everything. Their strange connection also marks the atmosphere of the play.

The tragedy of Macbeth

We imagine Macbeth as great warrior, man who inspires fear and admiration. He showed great courage in the battle, courage that determined its outcome. The King wants to reward him and appoints him the new Thane of Cawdor. But that event becomes the turning point that will change lives of the characters forever. The idea of imperial magnificence is in the center of the play. Ideal of kingship and imperial power is being pursued in both wrong and right ways. But the evil always stands in opposition to the supreme glory of kingship.

"So the evil makes of unity, love, feasting and social order a chaos, dispersing and disintegrating the society. The disorder thought is important, running throughout Shakespeare and vividly apparent here: order is the natural grouping of life-forms, disorder is evil-Macbeth’s crime was essentially an act of disorder, a desecration of the ties of hospitality, blood-relationship, and allegiance." [2] That is, natural order must be restored, traitors must be punished for they evil deeds; loyal and honest soldiers must be rewarded.

Only the Three Witches don’t comply with the natural law and order. The restoration of order doesn’t seem to affect them. Yet, they interfered in every action that caused the disorder. There are many unanswered questions about these three characters; unsolved mysteries about their meaning and their true nature. First of all: Who are they really? Was Shakespeare just trying to please King James by introducing them into the play, or did he have other intentions as well? And if so, what was he trying to say?

The tragedy of Macbeth is, of course, much deeper and complex than Holinished’s report, and goes beyond expectations, fashion, interests and caprice of Shakespeare’s time. Macbeth can be interpreted in many different ways considering all the levels that directly or indirectly open up. Its profound and wide meaning is impossible to capture. "Is it a Christian tragedy, like Faust-the story of the damnation of a soul? Or should the play be related to Shakespeare’s English historical plays, which deal with the punishment or expiation of treason, and commonly end on an optimistic note, as Macbeth does?

Is it a profound character-study, as critics argued for a hundred and fifty years? Or is its vision conveyed rather by imagery, dramatic structure, rhythm and tempo? Are the green boughs held by the soldiers, as they move across the land made waste and barren by wickedness, related to the May-day dances, part of a deep ritual whose origin lies in the unconscious life of all mankind?" [3] One thing is for sure: the greatness of the play can be accounted for the complexity and greatness that Shakespeare’s characters possess.

Female characters in Macbeth

In the ambient and circumstances in which men dominate and rule, female characters are not at all less important. Actually, women play very important role in this play. Battlefields, soldiers, kings, leadership, politics, killings, power, control, etc, that is the scenery of Macbeth. Two female characters exist in this ruthless scenario: Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff. They are both wives of courageous men, but their characters are not at all similar. They both need great strength, stability and flexibility to adapt and survive. Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff both end as tragic victims of even more tragic course of events. But while they are fighting and dealing with the situation they seem as cruel as the atmosphere that surrounds them. They live in a men’s world and they are fully aware of that. However, they don’t have usual feminine virtues and qualities. It is as if they’ve lost them somewhere along the way.

Hecate and the Three Witches live in their own world and by their own rules. Everybody is afraid of them and nobody really knows who or what they are. They can manipulate and control other people without any fear of being punished. Their role in the play is crucial. Their influence on Macbeth and, therefore, everybody else, is decisive. It looks like they are only playing some kind of a game simply because they feel like it. Or maybe they just have the ability to see the future. Most likely both presumptions are true. They combine their supernatural powers with their natural cruelty.

Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth is one of the most interesting and intriguing Shakespeare’s female characters. She is dominant and superior, controls her husband’s action. In Shakespeare’s England women were treated as inferior, they stayed at home taking care of their families, whilst men worked, participated in social and political life, made all important decisions regarding family. Women were expected to comply and accept patriarchal system. Lady Macbeth’s character and actions defy conventional understanding of female position in society. Her character defies stereotypical understanding of relationship between husband and wife.

The play takes place in eleventh-century Scotland; it begins with the victory of King Duncan’s forces against the King of Norway’s. Macbeth is presented to us as the hero of the battle; he showed great courage and loyalty. Moreover, we learn that if it wasn’t for him the battle would be lost. Because of that King Duncan decides to make Macbeth the new Thane of Cawdor, the previous one turned out to be a traitor. Conversation between Macbeth, Banquo and Three Witches represents the beginning of all later problems; it is the moment that will influence life and conduct of characters.

Three Witches tell Macbeth that he will be "Thane of Glamis", "Thane of Cawdor", "King hereafter" [4] , and they tell Banquo that his descendants shall be kings. They both know that witches can lie, trick and tempt people and they are aware of their wicked nature. But when Macbeth finds out that he is indeed the new Thane of Cawdor he begins to think that the witches may have told him the truth. Even though the idea of him being a king makes him feel good, and uncovers his greedy and ambitious thoughts, he also feels guilt and insecurity. Lady Macbeth will exert the decisive influence on her husband’s actions and therefore their future. When she reads the letter in which Macbeth informs her about his conversation with the witches she immediately accepts the prophecy.

Without a trace of doubt she believes that her husband will become the next king. She also seems to think that she needs unusual strength and power of will to be able to deal with the new situation. She calls Spirits to help and support her:

"Come, you Spirits

That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,

And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full

Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood,

Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse;

….

"Come to my woman’s breasts,

And take my milk for gall, you murth’ring ministers," [5] 

She wants them to take away her feminine features and arm her with cruelty and unscrupulousness. Lady Macbeth is aware of her place and position as a woman but she is also aware of her husband’s weaknesses; she feels that she must use all possible means to make sure that Macbeth doesn’t miss the opportunity to become the king.

They both know that they must kill King Duncan in order to fulfill the prophecy. However, Macbeth hesitates to murder. He fights with his conscience. But Lady Macbeth interprets his hesitation as his weakness and inability. Moreover, she is sure that nothing can go wrong because destiny is on their side. If it wasn’t for Lady Macbeth he wouldn’t have committed the murder. She advises Macbeth how to behave:

"look like th’ innocent flower,

But be the serpent under’t." [6] 

She is trying to help him when he has doubts, but she doesn’t need his help in accepting the cruelty of the crime. She never backs up; her will and ambition are much stronger and apparently more stable than her husband’s. She seems completely sure of things. At times she seems heartless, ruthless and even inhuman. Lady Macbeth doesn’t feel pity for the kind king, she doesn’t value other people’s lives. In fact, she presents the plan how to kill the king in his sleep and how to accuse others for the murder without consciousness of the treachery and brutality of the murder. She did actually lose all the kindness, human compassion, feminine qualities, feminine "weaknesses" that she possessed. She questions Macbeth’s courage, love and manhood in order to persuade him to kill King Duncan. Again, she shows no mercy:

"I have given suck, and know

How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me:

I would, while it is smiling in my face,

Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums,

And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn

As you have done to this." [7] 

She knows exactly what to say to reach her goal and how to manipulate her husband. And finally Macbeth yields to his wife’s urgings. She assures him that their plan will not fail, that he has nothing to worry about and that she will help him. He is now determined to kill Duncan.

To the couple the king is just one obstacle that stands on the way to their destiny. Partners work as a team. Lady Macbeth drugs king’s guards to allow Macbeth to finish his part of the deal. And we learn that she would have killed the king, if he didn’t resemble her late father. They have a lot in common. Macbeth definitely respects his wife; he listens to her and trusts her. They are equally strong, selfish and obsessed with power. But Lady Macbeth dominates in their relationship. In the moment of enthusiasm, Macbeth fascinated with his wife says:

"Bring forth men-children only:

For thy undaunted mettle should compose

Nothing but males." [8] 

The greatness of Lady Macbeth lies in her extraordinary will. She uses poetic language to inspire Macbeth. While she attempts to persuade her Lord, wasn’t she trying to persuade herself as well? She represents their intentions as heroic, as the sign of their greatness. "Moral distinctions do not in this exaltation exist for her; or rather they are inverted: ‘good’means to her the crown and whatever is required to obtain it, ‘evil’ whatever stands in the way of its attainment. This attitude of mind is evident even when she is alone, though it becomes still more pronounced when she has to work upon her husband. And it persists until her end is attained. But, without being exactly forced, it betrays a strain which could not long endure." [9] Lady Macbeth reacts in terrible moments like everything is completely normal. She expresses unbelievable rationality.

When they obtained their goal and overcame the most important obstacle Lady Macbeth’s character starts to change. She can now enjoy and relax. Henceforth Macbeth makes monstrous plans and executes them alone. He rarely seeks her help and support. He informs her about his intention to kill Banquo and his son but she takes no part in that action. However, she still listens to him, and expresses her love, understanding and respect. Only when Banquo’s ghost appears in banquet scene, she intervenes to calm Macbeth; she shows initiative again and saves the day. After the murder of King Duncan Macbeth’s cruelty, madness and inhumanity comes to light.

However, Lady Macbeth doesn’t show interest, she is tired and more submissive. We can conclude at this point that she only wanted to help Macbeth and that no selfish and personal reasons pushed her into the crime. We may even conclude that she loves Macbeth unconditionally, that she knows him better than he knows himself and maybe that is the main motive, crucial originator for all her actions. "She despises what she thinks the weakness which stands in the way of her husband’s ambition; but she does not despise him. She evidently admires him and thinks him a great man, for whom the throne is the proper place. Her commanding attitude in the moments of his hesitation or fear is probably confined to them." [10] 

Despite all her efforts and supernatural will, Lady Macbeth loses touch with reality. She cannot bear the overwhelming darkness; it pushes her into depression, resignation and despair. Her insanity becomes obvious in Act V. Doctor and Gentlewoman talk about her sleepwalking and talking in her sleep when she appears and we can see for ourselves that she lost her mind. Shakespeare uses the symbolism and mysticism of the sleep to reveal her inner struggle and terrible remorse. She says in her sleep what she cannot say awake. All evil deeds torture her mind and soul. Lady Macbeth just wants to sleep all the time because she cannot face the reality. There is nobody she can talk to, nobody can ease her pain. Even when she becomes insane she knows she must keep the secrets and she stays faithful to her husband, or maybe that is the reason why she lost her mind? Either way we cannot say that she got what she deserved. One might even feel sorry for her. The sleepwalking scene inspires pity and compassion. Her words and behavior are frightening. She sees blood spots everywhere; and hands are the symbol of terrible and unforgivable sins:

"The Thane of Fife had a wife: where is she

now?-What, will these hands ne’er be clean?"

"Here’s the smell of the blood still: all the

perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand."

"Wash your hands, put on your night-gown;

look not so pale."

"To bed, to bed: there’s knocking at the gate.

Come, come, come, come, give me your hand.

What’s done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed,

to bed." [11] 

We can assume that she does the same thing every night: she washes the blood of her hands, she mentions everyone "they" had killed, she has to take care of her husband’s feelings of guilt, to calm down the situation and then she goes to bed. However, if she even feels some kind of guilt, it is on subconscious level. Lady Macbeth is left to deal with emotional problems and inner horror alone; there is nobody who can help her.

It turned out that she was only apparently in control of the things. Maybe she overestimated herself, maybe she was never aware of her limits, maybe she was just pretending… The answer is not simple. Completely disillusioned and perhaps facing the truth for the first time, Lady Macbeth commits suicide.

Lady Macbeth destroys all stereotypes regarding women. Shakespeare shows us there are no real and fixed differences between men and women. He shows us that we are all simply human beings. Women lust for power as much as men, they can be as strong and brave as men. But Lady Macbeth cannot take any action or satisfy her ambition without her husband’s consent and agreement. That is the only difference. One decisive possibility or opportunity that could change their life forever awakes their hidden natures. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth turn into monsters. They have the same goal-the crown. They will let nothing stand in their path, no matter how horrible the temptation may be. Lady Macbeth’s character provokes discussions about relationship between sexes.

There are some insinuations in the play that she has masculine soul, and while we read it we often perceive how ‘masculine’ actually means ‘strong’ and ‘feminine’ means ‘weak’. To her weak and evil are the symbols. At the beginning of the tragedy Lady Macbeth is not hiding her masculine qualities. In fact, she is the one that’s making all the distinctions, emphasizing greatness of masculine nature. She uses words (like ‘milk’) that we immediately unconsciously associate with women in a negative sense, and the words we associate with men in a most positive way. But perhaps she was only trying to please her husband and to feed his ego when his determination and strong will were shaken. She manages to follow her husband’s rhythm in every situation regardless its difficulty. She succeeds in being smarter, crueler and stronger than him when she feels that to be necessary. She is in control when her husband is not. She is clever, intelligent, practical and rational. She always leans only on herself, she trusts herself completely, she is convinced that she is strong enough, she expects from herself more than she can handle. Masculine or feminine, Macbeth is lucky to have her by his side.

After Shakespeare introduces Lady Macbeth and we discover her unscrupulous nature we may think: isn’t Lady Macbeth one more witch or non-human evil creature in the play? But her insanity at the end of the play is a clear sign of her humanity. Her character changes drastically. That is one of the reasons why it so hard to understand its significance and meaning. Macbeth is basically a story about good and bad, right and wrong, trust and betrayal, guilt and remorse. And all these contrasts are mixed inside of her in such a way that it is impossible to make clear distinctions. Lady Macbeth is, perhaps, the most complex and the most tragic of all the characters in the play. .

The beauty and brilliance of Lady Macbeth’s character reveals itself in the fact that it can be interpreted in many different ways. The depth of her personality is infinite, dark, and not easy to understand or explain. While Macbeth can be interpreted as the victim of outside battle between good and evil, Lady Macbeth is definitely the victim of battles within her soul. The distinction between good and bad cannot be underlined with certainty when it comes to Lady Macbeth. She makes good look bad and vice versa. Her virtues may be interpreted as her faults and her faults as her virtues due to the fact that her character rapidly changes before our eyes. Her biggest mistake was that she trusted herself; she thought she would be able to endure almost anything. While other characters betray their enemies, friends or loved ones, Lady Macbeth betrayed herself. At the end she alone can be accused of destroying and betraying herself.

Lady Macduff

Lady Macduff, Macduff’s wife, appears in Act IV for the first time. Her husband is brave, honest, loyal and righteous man. Like Lady Macbeth’s character Lady Macduff’s character also reveals itself through her relationship with her husband. But two ladies don’t have anything in common, besides the fact that they are the wives of important and powerful men. Naturally, the significance of Lady Macduff in the play is not near as big as Lady Macbeth’s, but we cannot say that her character is irrelevant. She embodies and represents different kind of woman and wife. In her character Shakespeare depicts a certain type of women; the type that is, in fact, completely opposite to strong and independent spirit of Lady Macbeth. Nonetheless, we cannot tell much about Lady Macduff’s virtues and faults from a very brief scene she appears in.

Macduff is Macbeth’s enemy he should fear. Although he intuitively knows that, he decides to kill Macduff when the Three Witches confirm his doubts. Once more Weird Sisters determine Macbeth’s actions, and have decisive influence on his decisions. There is only one problem that stands in the way of removing another threat-Macduff went to England. Nobody could imagine that Macbeth was capable of committing such a terrible crime that cannot be justified at all. He sends Murderers to Macduff’s home to kill his wife and children. We meet Lady Macduff when this crime is just about to happen.

Rosse brings her the news that her husband went to England. She cannot understand how he could leave without his family and, therefore, how he could leave his family unprotected. She expects from her husband to protect their family and considers that to be his duty. She immediately feels betrayed:

"His flight was madness: when our actions do not,

Our fears do make us traitors."

"Wisdom! to leave his wife, to leave his babies,

His mansion, and his titles…" [12] 

Lady Macduff is more conventional wife. We can easily imagine their marriage. She raises their children while he works and provides all necessary material comfort. Lady Macduff thinks that Macduff doesn’t love them because he went to England alone. To her love and protection are the same things. She is mad at him. Lady Macduff probably doesn’t understand why he had to go. We may also assume that she doesn’t know what is happening in the kingdom. But one thing is certain: taking care of the family is part of the duty and responsibility of a husband. Macduff failed his family; therefore, he cannot be forgiven. Lady Macduff shows no mercy towards her husband. And we may even question her love. Her husband is dead for her. She acts like a spoiled child. She continues with her cruel behavior and when Rosse leaves she says to her son:

"Sirrah, your father’s dead:

And what will you do now? How will you live?" [13] 

She shows no affection towards her son when she talks to him. She shows no worry for her husband’s welfare. Lady Macduff acts selfishly; she repeats over and over again the word ‘traitor’ and according to her all traitors must be hanged. She feels rejected end left alone. Her reaction may be interpreted as impulsive and radical. Her conversation with her son reveals all her faults as a human being, mother and wife. She questions her son how will he live, what he will do now that his father is dead. Yet, we clearly see that her son knows that she is lying, that his father is alive and we can see that he doesn’t believe in a traitor story. Her loyalty and faithfulness is shown in the following part of their conversation:

"L.Macd. Yes, he is dead: how wilt thou do for a father?

Son. Nay, how will you do for a husband?

L.Macd. Why, I can buy me twenty at any market.

Son. Then you’ll buy ‘em to sell again." [14] 

While Lady Macbeth remains loyal to her husband in the hours of complete despair and after all that they’ve been through together, it looks like Lady Macduff doesn’t even know the meaning of that word. Even if Lady Macduff was good, obedient, loyal and committed wife, love and respect weren’t reasons for that. She rejects her husband in a cruel way when he makes one "mistake", she is not sorry, not sad, just insulted. Even so, her husband did abandon them in critical moment and that they paid with their lives. Macduff will avenge death of his family but the guilt will probably never abandon him.

Three Witches

First Witch

Round about the cauldron go;

In the poison'd entrails throw.

Toad, that under cold stone

Days and nights has thirty-one

Swelter'd venom sleeping got,

Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.

ALL

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

Second Witch

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the cauldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

ALL

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Third Witch

Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,

Witches' mummy, maw and gulf

Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,

Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark,

Liver of blaspheming Jew,

Gall of goat, and slips of yew

Silver'd in the moon's eclipse,

Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,

Finger of birth-strangled babe

Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,

Make the gruel thick and slab:

Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,

For the ingredients of our cauldron.

ALL

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

When Macbeth was written, witchcraft was the subject of discussion, mainly because of King James’s interest in the issue. King James went to Denmark to bring his new queen back to Scotland, but he was delayed by storms, which he believed were caused by the witches. Then he read theories about compacts with the devil, specific marks on the body of the witches, covens, etc. King James believed they might be conspiring against the king himself. Therefore, witchcraft got associated with betrayal. King James began a witch-hunt in Scotland. One of the most famous trials was that of the North Berwick witches. Their leader was Agnes Sampson; the pamphlet News from Scotland reports that she was able to repeat private conversation that king James and his queen had on their wedding night and that she was preparing to poison the king. In Deamonologie, James claims evil practices were committed by 20 women for every man.

People of England were fascinated by the dark forces. They believed witches could do all kinds of things: that they could fly, bring darkness, fog, storms, thunder and lighting, make poisons, etc. Shakespeare uses such beliefs in his Witches’ language and practices. People are curious but at the same time all strange and unknown things scare them. There is no doubt that the Witches in Macbeth are evil. They remind us of Parcae from Greek mythology but they can also be related to the Norns. The hardest question is: Do their prophecies interfere with Macbeth’s free will?

Shakespeare depicts Witches in almost ridiculous way. They have beards, make bizarre potions; they even speak in a funny way. Their words are not easy to understand and interpret. They speak in rhyming couplets which is another thing that separates them from all the other characters. They are also called ‘weird sisters’. The only person that communicates with them is Macbeth. They play with his mind and soul and bring about his evil side. They provoke his ambition when they tell him that he will become a king. But we may also think that they inspired his downfall. We cannot say what their motives are or how they function because human order doesn’t apply to them. They introduce even more frightening, almost hell-like atmosphere in the tragedy, and sense of hopelessness.

Their prophecies define the course of events. Who is actually holding the power, who is actually in control? Perhaps everybody is responsible for their own actions and the Witches are there only to remind us that there are thing beyond our knowledge. Banquo questions their honesty. He is aware of the fact that they are wicked and dangerous. He warns:

"But ‘tis strange:

And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,

The instruments of Darkness tell us truths;

Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s

In deepest consequence." [15] 

CONCLUSION

The world of reason and sense in which we live is but the surface of a vaster, unseen world. This seems to be the chief idea of many plays of William Shakespeare, the man who shaped the imagination of the Millenium and who remains, nearly 400 years after his death, the most influential writer who ever lived. His faith in the influence of the invisible and immaterial world on people’s thoughts and actions makes the reader forget about his own reality and yield to illusion, or another dimension of existence in which one cannot doubt the great power of magic, nor question the existence of ghosts, fairies, and witches. What is more, in Shakespeare’s world creatures who inhabit the fantasy realm often intertwine their existence with the life of men, affecting it in various ways, thus making fantasy seem beautiful and sublime, yet threatening and uncertain at the same time.

All primary emotions apply to this world. Here apparitions, ghosts, angels, fairies, and witches are audible and visible. But only deft strokes of a Master of Words can paint different visages of a fantasy world so as to evoke a diverse range of emotions: from the emotion Once upon a time I lived happily ever after deeply felt in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, through the quenched thirst for revenge in The Tempest, all the way to Macbeth, an illusion-sodden, fantasy-infested story, steeped in mystery. Shakespeare did it.

From the merry world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, through the somewhat disturbing atmosphere of The Tempest, we plunge straight into the dungeon of Macbeth’s mind. Great as the peculiarities of the mentioned plays may be, Macbeth overshadows them both. His is the world that steeps in mistery, the world where the colour of a thousandeyed night dominates, and the colour of blood stains his guilty mind, or as Shakespeare ingeniously puts it, the world where „fair is foul, and foul is fair"- the greatest oxymoron of all. Imagine a world where sun does not shine but twice in the play, where blackness prevails, and where a plethora of bizzare supernatural events takes place. By unnatural replacement of the King, Macbeth has invoked the wrath of greater beings, thus throwing Nature into turmoil. Horses cannibalise each other, a small owl kills a regal hawk, and dawn comes with no light.

The creatures whose chanting sets the overall tone of moral ambiguity are the three Witches, the servants of the Devil. The mention of these foul creatures poses the uttermost dilemma: are they merely old women, goddesses or fates, supernatural beings, or symbolic representations of Macbeth’s guilty mind?

If we properly take the play to be a pure myth, an historical fantasy, then the Witches are bound to be real witches, creatures whose cauldron is filled with blood, who can raise tempests and hurtful weather, prophesy and give foul advice, setting the action in motion. Their masters are spirits, and Hecate, a superior devil, the goddess of witchcraft. Referred to as The Weird Sisters, the Witches use magic to enforce a supreme crime tale, but not by soliciting, simply by predicting future. All their prophecies are riddles in themselves, and it is on the wise fool, Macbeth, to solve them.

Macbeth furthers the idea that it is not us who rule the world, but an invisible power in a parallel universe. Is everything indeed predestined, or are we merely given hints so as to how to act and what to expect? The Witches do not call Macbeth to act, so the responsibility for the bloody deeds is entirely his. The first prophecy, that he will be the Thane of Cawdor, is fulfilled by itself, so why doesn’t he just wait to become the King? The Witches’ prophecies spark Macbeth’s ambitions, for he has probably thought about the murder before them, and then encourage his violent behaviour. More importantly, they stir his powerful imagination so that his mind conjures up images of satanic and earthly evil. We do see his conscience, he seems not to be able to distinguish imagination from reality. His perverse imagination enables him to imagine the bloody deeds for the pleasure of his twisted mind, and then his criminal fantasy comes true. Macbeth’s actions awaken horror and supernatural dread, a dread of the presence of evil. Both Macbeth and his accomplice in crime, Lady Macbeth, have been humanized though, making the audience feel sympathy for them. Their world is chaotic, contradictory, and confusing, similar to a distorted mirror. Whereas fantasy is treated as a complete frenzy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and somewhat realistically in The Tempest, in Macbeth fantasy is more metaphorical and plays havoc with the protagonists’ minds.

The ominous knocking at the gate, the omnipresent sounds of thunder and shrieking, reinforce the fear of both the audience and the protagonists. The visions of their minds represent supernatural signs of their guilt. The first glimpse at Macbeth’s intense imagination is his vision of the invisible dagger:

MACBETH:

Is this a dagger, which I see before me,

The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee:-

I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.

Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible

To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but

A dagger of the mind, a false creation,

Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? [16] 

This optical illusion, this „fatal vision", makes him plunge into unreality and leads him to Duncan’s chambers. From this point on the gradual sinking into madness begins. Macbeth has slain sleep and dreams his nightmares awake.

„The dagger of the mind" is the first in a sequence of hallucinations that ensue; his guilty mind does not allow him to rest.

One bloody deed triggers yet another, all for fear of fulfillment of the Witches’ malign prophecies. But it is Macbeth, maddened with insomnia, that fulfills them, carefully avoiding to kill Banquo by his own hand, yet still tormented by the victim’s ghost. Without an utterance, the ghost of Banquo accuses the real culprit, poisoning the guilt-ridden mind of the tyrant with scorpions. Cursed with insomnia, floundering in blood, he now seeks the Witches and demands answers, only to be told two puzzling prophecies: that none of woman born shall harm him, and that he shall never be vanquished until Great Birnam wood comes to Dunsinane. But it is the next vision that startles him, the vision of eight Kings, Banquo’s children crowned, upon which he realizes that all has been done in vain.

Are these hallucinations and visions conjured by the Witches? Or are they simply product of madness, remorse, and of guilty conscience? The latter is more likely to be true, since Macbeth is not alone in being tormented by unreal images of the mind. While he is cursed with insomnia, Lady Macbeth, a highly complex character, is haunted by sleepwalking, doomed forever to undergo their bloody actions over and over again, until death has taken pity on her. The bloody stains cannot be washed off their hands. Had the two lived, their souls would be forever tainted, so in Macbeth death connotes mercy. Thus the fantasy of this tyrannical tragedy breeds evil, and evil breeds doom.

Fantasy exposed in Macbeth, together with its memorable characters, is what seems to give it extraordinary literary and imaginative power. It gets more powerful and evocative the older it gets. The more distant, magical, and fantastic this play seem to us, the more delight it imprints on one’s mind. Shakespeare could not even conceive of having such a profound influence on the genre of fantasy in the centuries following his death, for he was simply following the trend of his own time, aware that a play featuring magic creatures would attract theatregoers. He sure knew to weave his magic. Even though dreams play a prominent role in his fantasies, Shakespeare does not allow us to watch them with somnolent eyes, but keeps us on the edge of our seats all the way through. Events happen helped by fortuitous circumstances, magical power, and puzzling prophecies. Disembodied voices, perilous situations, brutal murders etc are integral part of his fantasies, but so are enchanting voices, idyllic environments, and adorable creatures. The infinite density of Shakespeare’s alternative universe makes it possible for the audience to recognize the potential of fantasy whose elements are used with such ingenuity so as to fashion wonderful works of art.