Macbeth Essay

Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, is often criticized for its many unanswered questions. One piece of criticism in particular, by Stephen Greenblatt, excerpted from The Flaw in the Law, questions The Witches and their unknown roles in the play. Greenblatt claims that all of these questions are impossible to answer, and suggests the role of The Witches is unimportant. It appears Greenblatt has simply not read Macbeth closely enough, because there is plenty of evidence to clarify the answers to these questions.
Greenblatt’s first question asks whether or not the witches planted the seed of thought in Macbeth’s mind to kill Duncan, King of Scotland. He is unsure whether or not Macbeth had thought about this act before hearing a prophecy about his future from The Witches. Before meeting with The Witches, Macbeth makes no such mention of any plot to become king, or even a desire to assume that position. After The Witches hail him Thane of Glamis and Cawdor, as well as King of Scotland, (1.3.50-52) Macbeth asks, “But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives, a prosperous gentleman; and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief” (1.3.74-76). He is clearly surprised that he is to become Thane of Cawdor because the current man occupying that role is alive and well. He is even more surprised at the likelihood of his future reign over Scotland. He does not even mention killing Duncan until the next scene when he realizes, “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o'erleap” (1.4.55-60). There is not even a direct reference to Duncan or his killing, only the idea that Macbeth will to need to bypass becoming Prince of Cumberland, the heir to the throne. Because of his surprise and the fact that he does not mention his future in Scottish royalty before his encounter with The Witches shows he had not even considered killing Duncan before his meeting with The Witches. Therefore, the answer to Stephen Greenblatt’s first question is that The Witches instilled the idea of killing Duncan into Macbeth’s head, thus being pivotal in the start of the plot.
Greenblatt goes on to inquire about Lady Macbeth's relationship with The Witches. Much of Greenblatt’s argument about the roles of The Witches is based in assumptions for which he provides no evidence. His questions about Lady Macbeth’s association with The Witches proves to be no exception. He claims there is no answer to this question, and yet there is: Lady Macbeth is entirely non aligned with The Witches and their actions. In all five acts of the play, Lady Macbeth neither communicates with The Witches nor meets with them. She is only first made aware of their presences in Macbeth’s letter to her, in which he mentions how, “these Weïrd Sisters saluted me and referred me to the coming on of time with “Hail, king that shalt be” (1.5.8-10). She has no reaction to this, and only goes on to say how Macbeth is “not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it” (1.5.19-20). This shows she has no connection to The Witches, and they have no significance to her. When macbeth mentions to the Lady that he is going to talk to the Weird Sisters the next day, she only responds by telling him, “You lack the season of all natures, sleep” (3.4.173). She is telling him he is crazy and just needs to get some rest. She suggests here not only that The Witches have no meaning in her life, but also that she believes the notion of supernatural power is impossible. Lady macbeth’s physical separation from and skepticism of The Witches show how she operates independently from them, and they do not motivate her to act how she does throughout the course of the play.
Stephen Greenblatt poses his most challenging question last. He ponders whether Macbeth’s ultimate downfall and death comes from a severe overconfidence due to The Witches prophecies or his lack of popular support and inability to overpower the English army led by Malcolm. Greenblatt believes there is insufficient evidence to prove either argument, however in reality his overconfidence leads to mistakes in Macbeth’s plans, and as a result he is ultimately killed by Macduff. As stated earlier, The Witches lead Macbeth to kill Duncan, which, after proceeding as planned, causes Macbeth to become overconfident. By saying, “For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; for them the gracious Duncan have I murdered” (3.1.70-71), Macbeth shows here how he is losing his ability to critically think, and make decisions based on logic and reason. This is his only speech in which he ponders having Banquo killed, and he does not even consider the possibility of other options. This is a drastic change from the the beginning where he considers killing Duncan for a long time, and changes his mind multiple times based on his different points of view. This change represents his overconfidence because he is more eager to go with his impulses which he never questions or considers the implications of. He even goes so far as to admit his reliance on impulse: “The very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand” (4.1.167-168), meaning his actions will be based upon the first thing his gut tells him, which in this case, is killing Macduff’s entire family, even after finding out that Macduff himself has fled to England. When Macduff arrives in England, he finds out about the slaughter of his family, causing him to want to kill Macbeth personally. There is a direct link between Macbeth’s overconfidence in his acts of murder brought on by The Witches’ prophecy and his eventual death by Macduff’s hand.
Stephen Greenblatt poses three interesting questions about the roles of The Witches in Macbeth, and claims they are all unanswered. He states it is unclear whether Macbeth was influenced by The Witches’ prophecy to kill Macbeth, however a look into the way Macbeth presents his plan reveals the idea originated from The Witches. Greenblatt then claims there is no way to tell whether or not Lady Macbeth is in any way related to The Witches. There is no evidence to support her connection to them, only evidence showing she has little to no interest in them, even skepticism. Finally, he questions whether Macbeth’s downfall was brought on by The Witches, or a sheer lack of power to defeat the English army. An analysis of his decision making process makes clear that due to his overconfidence, he makes more decisions based on impulse rather than logic and reason. It appears from this evidence that Stephen Greenblatt based his claim of unanswerable questions on circumstantial assumptions rather than on a close reading of the play itself.