The Analysis of The Macbeth

Macbeth is a play about deception and trickery. Macbeth, his wife, and the three Mysterious Sisters are linked in their mutual refusal to come right out and say things directly. Instead, they rely on implications, riddles, and vagueness to avoid the truth. Macbeth’s ability to manipulate his language and his public image in order to hide his foul crimes makes him a very modern-like politician. However, his inability to see past the witches lies even as he uses the practice himself which eventually leads to his defeat.

Shakespeare uses supernatural entities to explore society’s morals to not be overly greedy or ambitious. The ghost of Banquo is believed to be created by the guilt and paranoia of Macbeth thus representing the negative consequences of breaking the great chain of being. Enter the ghost of Banquo and sits in Macbeth's place this is a physical expression that the ghosts are seeking revenge haunting Macbeth and generally making his life harder. “Ay, a bold one, that dare look on that Which might appal the devil”, tells us he is truly afraid of the ghost. The supernatural now reaffirms the audience’s belief that if you commit a crime your “evil spirit” will come back to haunt you and you will have to be punished for your sin. Because believed by Elizabethan when someone gets killed and they haven’t completed something they wanted to do/complete in life or wants revenge they materialise as a ghost as part of the person’s imagination. Just before Macduff beheads him, Macbeth swears that he will never again believe those “juggling fiends” that manipulate words and talk “in a double sense.”

Macbeth ignores several signs that might have alerted him to the witches’ deceptive capabilities. Banquo warns Macbeth to be wary of their predictions since evil creatures will sometimes win people’s confidence with “honest trifles” small truths only to betray them more deeply in the future. Indeed, the witches promise Macbeth fame and honour while withholding important information about the consequences that will follow. If Macbeth had been listening closely to the witches’ language, he might have picked up on their potential for trickery himself. The three Weird Sisters greet Banquo with a series of riddling titles, hailing him as “Lesser than Macbeth, and greater” and “Not so happy, yet much happier.” The phrases sound like nonsense, but in reality, both statements in each statement are true. Banquo will have a lesser title than Macbeth but is the greater man. 

He will not be as fortunate as Macbeth in the short term, as he will soon be assassinated, but will ultimately be much more fortunate because he won’t be made to suffer the eternal torments of hell. At no point do the witches lie to Macbeth he simply hears what he wants to hear and ignores the rest.