He sees enemies--real or imagined--everywhere.
5. The other unspecified acts of violence serve no purpose, as far
as we can see, beyond terrifying his subjects so much they won't
resist him. Macbeth is striking out at random, and his moral sense
seems to have entirely disappeared. The brave hero we met in Act I,
who at least seemed honorable, is completely twisted.
You can see how much his crimes have cost Macbeth. His reaction to
Lady Macbeth's death is a sign of complete despair--all feeling is
dead in him. His famous speech upon hearing of her
suicide--"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow..." (Act V, Scene v,
lines 17-28)--is less an expression of grief than it is a speech
about the utter meaninglessness of life.
You wonder how all this has happened. If he was so horrified by
first the idea and then the fact of Duncan's murder, why did he do
it? And why commit the other crimes?
Apparently his ambition is stronger than his conscience. The witches
tempt him with the idea of becoming king. Lady Macbeth helps him
overcome his natural hesitation to commit murder. But Macbeth
himself chooses between his honor and the crown--and between
salvation in the next world and material gain in this one.
Once he has killed to get the crown, the other crimes seem
inevitable. In order to keep what he has taken, Macbeth learns to
lie and kill as a matter of course. His values become totally
confused. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" to him now; he has lost
track of the difference.
All that seems left in the end is his pride. You respect him when he
fights to the death rather than be displayed as the monster he is.
But some people think that if Macbeth had not been so proud he would
not have wanted to be king to begin with, and that if he had been
humbler he would have repented.
Another aspect of Macbeth is his active imagination. Considering
Duncan's murder, he can vividly picture all the possible
consequences. His imagination pursues him throughout the play. He's
continually reliving his crimes and fantasizing about present and
future dangers. Nothing Lady Macbeth can say will quiet his mind.
At times he seems crazy--or haunted.
Before he kills Duncan, Macbeth sees a dagger floating in the air.
After the murder, he hears voices. And later he sees Banquo's ghost.
You are never quite sure if these are hallucinations--the imaginings
of a sick mind--or if they are apparitions, like the witches. You
begin to wonder how real they are.
