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The theme of Fear in Macbeth

Macbeth is a Shakespearean tragedy. Most scholars date the play to 1606 (Paul, 1950). As with
many of Shakespeares tragedies, Macbeth is a character study. It focuses on the flaws of the
titular character that cause his downfall.
Macbeth is a Scottish general who ascends to the throne by committing regicide. He is aided by
the prophecies of three witches, which initially spark his amorality and later serve to allay his
paranoid fears. After Macbeth assumes the throne, he orders the deaths of several more people.
In the eyes of many characters he becomes a tyrant, and the Kings son Duncan and Macduff
lead an army against Macbeth, eventually killing him.
At the beginning of the play Macbeth is at the height of his military career, and is bestowed the
honorary title of Thane of Cawdor. After this, his downfall and death occur relatively quickly.
What causes Macbeths descent from an honorable, respected man to a paranoid, bloodthirsty
tyrant, and then finally to his death? It is often said that it is Macbeths ambition that drives him.
However, it is his fear that plays a greater role. It is ultimately his fear that causes him to arrange
the murder of Banquo, and for him to seek the aid of the supernatural powers of the witches.
From almost the plays very outset, Macbeth is deeply afraid. His initial encounter with the
witches leaves him shaken. He says present fears are less than horrible imaginings. The
prophecy that he will be King disturbs him greatly. He eventually decides that he will not take
action If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir (Act 1,
Scene 3)
It is Macbeths wife who persuades him to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth manipulates her
husband by using his strongest emotion against him his fear. She accuses him of being a
coward, something which she knows her husband cannot admit to:
Art thou afeard
To be the same in thine own act and valour

As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that

Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life,
And live a coward in thine own esteem
(Act 1, Scene 7)
Macbeth has essentially no choice but to do as his wife says, otherwise he will be admitting that
he is a coward. He must rise to this challenge against his manhood. However, Macbeth is
indeed afraid. If his actions were of an ambitious nature, he would be acting out of his own
accord and without hesitation.
Macbeth is also afraid of failure. He knows that If he fails, he will be killed as a traitor like the
previous Thane of Cawdor. His wife encourages him to act regardless: If we fail so be it, but
show back bone! screw your courage to the sticking place! (Act 1, Scene 7).
Just before the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is at the pinnicale of his fear. His fears manifest as
the hallucination of a dagger which Lady Macbeth later describes as the very painting of your
fear (Act 3, Scene 4). He is entirely removed from that of a man with conviction in his actions.
If he were motivated by ambition, he would see a crown. Instead, the dagger represents his abject
horror at what he is about to do.
After Macbeth has ascended the throne, his fears certainly do not end. He tells his wife that he
would rather be dead than suffer from his existing fear and guilt:
Ere we will eat our meal in fear and sleep
In the affliction of these terrible dreams
That shake us nightly: better be with the dead
(Act 3, Scene 2)
His fears are caused by his concern that his regicide will be disocovered. He says, "it will have
blood. They say blood will have blood." He is afraid that Duncans death will cause his own.

The person he fears most is Banquo. Having been with Macbeth at the time of the prophecy,
Banquo suspects him of regicide. Also, another prophecy said that Banquos heirs will be Kings,
leading Macbeth to think he will be killed in the process.
At the beginning of the play Banquo was a close friend, but now Macbeth sees him as a grown
serpent. He is deeply afraid that Banquo will rise up against him. He says, "our fears in Banquo
stick deep" (Act 3, Scene 1). He believes he has no choice to kill Banquo. Macbeth says "in
blood stepp'd in so far that . . . eeturning were as tedious as go o'er" (Act 3, Scene 4).
Macbeth is motivated to kill by Banquo out of fear, not his ambition. If he were motivated by
ambition, he would act decisively and without hand-wringing. Instead he speaks constantly of his
guilt and fears in his private thoughts and in his conversations with his wife.
After Banquo has been killed, Macbeth has a strange moment of self-awareness in which he
recognises the fear in himself. "My strange and self abuse is the initiate fear that wants hard use"
(Act 3, Scene 4). He realises that his fear has consumed him. He recognises that he almost has
an appetite for fear, as though fear is unquenchable and it is an addiction. His fears are not
unfounded, however, because soon many characters (Macduff, Malcolm, and Ross) agree to go
to war against Macbeth. Macbeth says mine [cheeks] is blanched with fear. (Act 3, Scene 4)
Because of his insecurities, Macbeth seeks the counsel of the witches. It is strange behaviour for
him to seek out aid of such evidently evil characters. The explanation is that he has an
overwhelming desire for security, beyond all other consequences - even till destruction sicken.
As per their plan for Macbeths downfall (Hectate says in Act 3, "security Is mortals' chiefest
enemy"), the witches provide him with certainty and comfort that he craves. They tell him he
cannot be killed unless 2 seemingly impossible events happen a local forest moves, and that his
killer is not born of a woman. This pleases Macbeth greatly. He speaks his of fear being
alleviated - "Live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee?" (Act 4, Scene 1).

Macbeth grasps the prophecies and feels confident. This reaction is far removed from his first
encounter with the witches. He doesnt stop to question the witches motives. He is blinded
because the prophecies provide him with the freedom from fear that he needs. If Macbeth were
driven by ambition, he would seek his own future. Instead he allows himself to believe in the
prophecies of characters that are self-evidently evil, because he craves alleviation of his fears.
In Act 3, Scene 3, he refuses to hear battle reports because he is so sure of his victory. He says:
Bring me no more reports; let them fly all:
Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane,
I cannot taint with fear.
(Act 5, Scene 3)
He comforts himself with the prophecy:
'Fear not, Macbeth; no man that's born of woman
Shall e'er have power upon thee.'
(Act 5, Scene 3)
He tells his lieutenant to hang those that talk of fear. This rash decision is because he is trying
to suppress his own fear.
By Scene 5 he says he has almost forgot the taste of fears; This naivet ultimately brings
about his downfall. Instead of fleeing his castle, he stays because he thinks himself invincible.
The witches have instilled a false sense of security in him, which they were able to do because of
his need to alleviate his fears.
In all Shakespearean tragedies, the main characters have a fatal flaw that cause their downfalls. It
is often said that Macbeths flaw is his ambition. Indeed, the ruthless actions he takes seem to be
rooted in ambition. He commits regicide, kills his friend Banquo, slaughters Macduffs family,
and seeks help from the paranormal. In truth, all his actions are because of his fear. He kills the

King because he cannot admit to his wife he is a coward. As a King himself, he is tyrannical, but
his actions are to qualm his fears and feel secure, rather than out of ambition. Fear is the ultimate
the reason for his downward spiral into amorality.
Before Lady Macduff is killed in Act 4, Scene 2, she makes a comment about her husband that
could also summarise Macbeth. She says, our fears do make us traitors.

References
Paul, Henry Neill (1950). The Royal Play of Macbeth: When, Why, and How It Was Written by
Shakespeare. New York: Macmillan. p. 227.