..

"

Character Studies
One of the most significant reasons for the enduring critical interest in M~cbeth's
character is that he represents humankind"s universal propensity to temptation and sin.
Macbeth's excessive ambition motivates him to murder Duncan, and once the evil act is
accomplished, he sets into motion a series of ~nister events that ultimately lead to his
downfall. But Macbeth is not merely a coldbfooded, calculating murderer; even before
he kills the king, he is greatly troubled by his conscience. VV'hile plotting Duncan's
murder, his better nature warns him that the act is wrong; he nearly persuades himself
to reject the plan, but his wife forces him to reaffirm his determination. In addition,
Macbeth possesses a powerful imaginationdemonstrated
by his excessive
philosophizing over his condition-that sways .his actions. In fast the hero's imagination
contributes greatly to his decision to murder Duncan: after his first meeting with the
Weird Sisters, Macbeth acknowledges that he can wait to see if their prediction of his
imminent kingship will come true, but his imagination persuades him to fulfill the
prophecy with his own hands. Later, Macbeth's overworked imagination produces
feelings of guilt and betrayal that throw his mind into disorder, gradually eroding his bray ,
ery and replacing it with inexplicable fear and paranoia Several critics remark that
although Macbeth fully embraces evil, his philosophizing over the hopelessness of his
situation results in some of the greatest poetry ever written on the human condition.
Others argue, however, that the hero's rhetoric becomes less sincere as his actions
become more ruthless.
Most critics contend that Lady Macbeth's principal dramatic functio" in Macbeth is to
persuade her husband to commit evil. Some critics further suggest that Lady Macbeth
embodies, a feminine malevolence in the play that corresponds to a masculine fear of
domination by women. This antago nism is particularly evident in the unusual level of
control Lady Macbeth exerts over her husband. Further, she serves much the same role
as the witches do in manjpulating Macbeth to murder Duncan, but her influence is of a
more frightening nature. As supernatural beings, the Weird Sisters represent a remote,
abstract evil, and their mode of exploitation exists onfy on a cosmic level. Lady
Macbeth's coercion of her husband is more terrify ing because she brings the full

magnitude of the witches' evil influence to the domestic level by calling on demonic
forces to suppress her femininity and give her the power to make Macbeth murder
Duncan. This unholy contract does not endure, for, after she actively participates in
covering up Duncan's murder. Lady Macbeth's feminine nature reasserts itself, and she
is driven insane. Many commentators assert that Lady Macbeth's mental breakdown
manifests itself in the sleepwalking episode (Act V. scene i). in which she is not so much
distracted by the guilt over her role in Duncan's murder as she is by the inability to
escape the memory of it

While much of the action of Macbeth revolves around the protagonist and his wife,
Banquo is also an important figure. One critical perspective views aanquo's function as
essentially symbolic: he is portrayed as a man who, like Macbeth, 'has the capacity for
both God's grace and sin; but unlike the protagonist, he puts little stock in the Weird
Sisters' prophecies and does not succumb to their temptations. Banquo's reluctance to
: I

47