Prophecies in Macbeth
When Macbeth and Banquo stumble upon the three witches on a heath, they are initially taken aback. The witches are dressed so wildly that Banquo says they look like they don't belong on earth. He is even unsure whether the three strangers are men or women. Despite the mystery surrounding these characters, their statements are soon accepted as fact by Banquo and Macbeth. The prophecy fuels Macbeth's ambition and eventually leads to the murder of King Duncan, but it all began because what three mysterious witches said was treated as the absolute truth.
I think that in the time that Macbeth was written, the supernatural was more revered than it is now. When Macbeth was dubbed Thane of Cawdor briefly after receiving the prophecy, that was all he needed to confirm that he would also become King. As a reader, I considered that evidence dubious at best. I wonder if that is a result of the modern world conditioning me to be more cynical and less reverent of religion and the supernatural? Or is this the reaction that Shakespeare wanted the viewers of his play to have? The overall message of the play remains the same, but I feel that if I immediately accepted the prophecy as fact like Macbeth did, I could relate to his thought process more and the final message of not being overly ambitious would hit me harder.
I absolutely agree with your doubts on people's belief in prophecy in Macbeth. I guess supernatural elements are indeed a huge part of life, but Macbeth's ambition should still be the main reason for his deeds later on in the play. The witches' prophecy is more like a trigger to Macbeth's hidden latent desire for power and glory.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to me that the prophecy is readily accepted by Macbeth and Banquo, but also the characterization that we see of the witches does not exactly paint them as good and trustworthy beings. This fact combined with Banquo's initial hesitance about the witches and Macbeth's willingness to accept the prophecy as fact shows us that we should not assume Macbeth to be a good guy, as we might come to expect. This characterization of Macbeth makes him different from the reader, assuming that the reader is trying to be a good person. This explains why we see Macbeth's decisions as strange and misguided.
ReplyDeleteThis theme of the unnatural seems to play a large role in the Macbeth. The fact that the murder occurs during a storm suggests that nature is unhappy with the death of an innocent and fair king. In addition the prophecy is given by supernatural witches to suggest that knowing one's fate and trying to change it is not only unnatural but futile because Macbeth couldn't change the prophecy that the witches set forth in the beginning of the play.
ReplyDeletePersonally, if I were told my future I would also hesitate to believe it at first. However, once I found that the initial predictions of the witches were coming true, I like Macbeth, would probably begin to believe these supernatural creatures and try to mold my future as well.