Macbeth – Present In All

Macbeth is a Psychological Thriller!

Macbeth is a much discussed character in the entire cannon of literature, with no linguistic boundaries. One of the most remarkable and most persisting characters from Shakespeare, Macbeth also has taken up a very important place in the psychological studies of literature. The kind of mind sketch that Shakespeare was able to draw in the early 17th century, was hard to recon scientifically till the 19th century.

We often term Macbeth, the warrior, to be overambitious and over-reacher (much higher than his best promotion). These two adjectives are perfect for him, and for the audience who clapped watching the tragedy being staged. However, the exciting fact is, we too are same as Macbeth. This might come as an obnoxious insult to ourselves. So, I would like to elucidate my point of view through this small byte.

According to Freudian psychology, the three layers of personality (Id, Ego and Superego) and the three layers of human consciousness (Conscious, Subconscious and Unconscious) walk hand-in-hand in every man, though their expression and external outbursts vary for every single sensible being. I would prefer staying from explaining the above-stated scientific terms, and go straight to my point.

There’s not a single human being on earth who doesn’t yearn for better. Now this better can be pulled to every perspective that one can think of. Materialistic “betters” are known to all. Fun fact is, even the sages, ascetics and philosophers who renounce the materialistic pleasures are striving for better—they are yearning for reaching the better world, they are sacrificing everything materialistic to attain ultimate peace and bliss. No sage or no magnate wishes to go in any worse. Macbeth being a man also was the slave of the same passion, and as per my reading, his love was of the same intrigue and vigour as is that of a student striving for 90 percent marks. However, his failure in curbing his passions from eating his vitals is totally due to the destined or chosen set of events.

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

We all want to be king. That’s why the “Titanic” dialogue – “…I feel like the king of the world” is so popular 22 years after its release. Macbeth being a close associate of “the” king Duncan, “wished’ to be a king in his subconscious. Then fortune gifts him with a set of catalysts (The Three Witch Sisters), who make him “want” to be the king. And finally, the promoter at home (Lady Macbeth) makes him “demand” the throne. When we see Banquo with him for the first time, Banquo too gets curious about his future in front of the witch sisters. His “being root of future kings” sates a bigger part of his heart, and thank God, he did not have a Lady Macbeth-ish character at home.

Macbeth’s ego was fighting hard to balance his superego and id. After instigations from his wife towards killing Duncan, there is a transformation in the character and mental restructuring in Macbeth. A specific dilemma looms large on him that persists till his death. Similarly, whenever we are split in indecision, under certain condition and consideration, our outlook too changes a lot. Whether it goes in a positive or negative direction, again depends on the individual.

When we talk of Lady Macbeth, we see the fourth witch in her. I personally found her to be an epitome of wifehood. She fulfils all the responsibilities and duties that an ideal wife bears towards her beloved husband. Like every faithful wife, she too wishes to see her partner in the best of ranks. Like every loving wife, she too encourages valorous Macbeth in all the daring acts, through oppressive rebukes, taunting on his “masculinity” and in boosting up Macbeth’s vitals before engaging in any strenuous job. She is all in one package of a perfect life partner. She is a machiavellian person, who stood on guard from commiting the sins herself. May be she became blind in lust of power and wealth, but the primary instinct that motivated her was her husband’s regal position’s upgradation to the top. The basic flaw in her character is her impulsiveness, which she herself cannot control most of the time. She cripples herself with obnoxious thoughts of hers and Macbeth’s heinous sins. The going gets tough for them, but she was not tough enough to get going. Their conjugal life was a happy one, and the possessiveness Lady showed with Macbeth came of many years of togetherness. When Seyton informs about her death, Macbeth is forced in to a kind of short, public soliloquy that thoroughly reverberates of emptiness and solitude. For him, his only true pillar of support falls. The 2nd set of witches’ predictions that had till then been a hoax to him, started worrying him. Lady Macbeth’s death might have as well indicated his forthcoming downfall and ultimate death.

The witch sisters can also be spontaneous simultaneous hallucinations of Macbeth and Banquo as they both had the passive wish of rank promotion. If so, then we must admit, they could see into far future. If not, the entire episode of witches are fragments of dream sequence that Shakespeare deliberately introduced. Whatever the witches actually be, such mouthpieces are not unknown to us. Dream hallucinations often render the same condition for all of us.

These personages, though set in a different time-frame, resonate the same instincts that we are born with. We too want our beloveds to attain the best possible position in everything. We too want ourselves to achieve “better”. We too, sometimes, care not for the gravity of conducive acts of achievement. We too, find people in our dreams providing positivity towards our desires. We too have the guilty pleasure that Macbeth and his Lady suffers. We too get shell-shocked at self-perpetrated sins. We too try to cover up trails and traces of our sins. We too try to put the blame of our sin on others. We are no different than Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth being an ideal wife, performed her duty of supporting her husband at the best, till the last. It is obviously pretty much on us, which way we shall we go. Falling prey to wish>desire>ambition or letting humane morality command.

So,

TO BE, OR NOT TO BE, THAT IS THE QUESTION.