Dramatic Irony in Macbeth: Ambition and Manipulation Unraveled

Introduction

Macbeth is a dark yet fast paced play by a Scottish general who initiated the gloomy prophecies, he is initially observed as a saint however in the long run turns into a tragic hero.The protagonist inaugurates as Thane of Glamis and soon becomes the king of Scotland.The higher Macbeth derived the more degraded and wicked he became.

Lady Macbeth’s Manipulation

In The Tragedy of Macbeth, the protagonist endeavors to bury his past and tries to control the future by looking up to the three witches and their prophecies.

The three witches are responsible for introducing the idea to Macbeth, and setting them in his head, but not liable for his actions during the play. Lady Macbeth and the three Witches manipulate him in many different ways and he is trapped between the rational and irrational. At the start of the play Macbeth is not found evil, however, he meets the three Witches and is captivated by their seemingly impossible predictions.

At this point of the play, Malcom is Duncan’s official heir which means Macbeth must find a different way to become king. He has only two options: to stop where he is or go over Malcom and he decided to take a bigger step and waits for the stars to come out so no one is able to see his dark ambitions. By doing this he is disrupting Malcom’s way to the throne whilst opening his own path. Macbeth attempts to bury his past when he assassinates Duncan’s men. After he comes back from seeing Duncan’s dead body Macbeth admits that he has killed him “O, yet I do repent of my fury, That I did kill them”.(2.3).He killed the only people that could classify him as the kings killer. Macbeth attempts to control the future when he plans the death of Banquo and his son Fleance, even though Banquo will never be king the Witches declare that his descendants will be heir to the throne. Macbeth’s goal was to become king meaning he will do anything in his power to get everyone that is before him out of his way. He therefore goes ahead and kills Banquo and his son Fleance. Macbeth chooses not to murder the king, however, lady Macbeth’s dedication to become queen affects Macbeth’s thoughts. As the crime initiated by the three witches continues, affects both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. 

Shakespeare illustrates the metaphoric power of wicked Lady Macbeth who becomes the curlest of the cruels supporting Macbeth to kill king Duncan. Lady Macbeth influences and manipulates Macbeth’s manhood and implies that he is a coward. While pressurizing her husband, ironically she pays the heaviest price regarding her evilness. Subsequently, she becomes insane and starts to regret the death of king Duncan, the opening scene is frightening and something disgusting is about to happen. In other words Shakespeare is scaring the audience by making them wonder what Lady Macbeth is trying to say which creates an immediate mood. As Macbeth was manipulated by both the weird sisters and his wife, he surrenders to evil and faces the consequences.

Conclusion: The Influence of the Witches

Towards the end of the play Macbeth had hoped the Witches were wrong. He starts fighting with Macduff who tells him that he was “from his mothers womb untimely ripped” he replies by saying he does not believe the weird sisters because he had heard what they said but desired for them to be wrong. Therefore this shows that when Macbeth learns that the prophecies come through he will be angry because he assumed that the WItches have fooled him when they have not. He in fact made himself the victim of this dramatic irony as he needs to believe the witches or he will not receive what he is ambitious for. Disastrously many lives are gone because of just one couple’s desire. Neither of them are happy with their status because they started feeling paranoid because of the consequences they have to face. Macbeth’s commitment to regicide changed the whole atmosphere in Scotland. Shakespeare’s demonstrates that one’s wickedness for power does not pay and many may suffer.

References

1. Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.” The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Project Gutenberg, 2009.

2. Baldwin, T. W. “On the Literary Genetics of Shakspeare’s Macbeth.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 10, no. 2, 1959, pp. 221-241.

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