Justin Yi

Macbeth controller or controlled?

The question we must ask is … is Macbeth’s destruction the result of his own choices, or is he a victim of the forces of “evil” as exemplified by the witches and the persuasive manipulations of his wife? Through Macbeth, Macbeth himself exemplifies various forms of manipulation, especially from his wife and his thirst for power. Lady Macbeth shows no remorse in driving and controlling Macbeth ruthlessly throughout the play. Lady Macbeth violently uses what modern day society would call guilt trips to drive Macbeth to the ruthless person he becomes by the end of the play. “When you durst do it, then you are a man,” Lady Macbeth says this to Macbeth when it came to the idea of murdering Duncan even though she couldn’t carry out the murder herself. But little unsympathetic statements like these is what really shaped Macbeth throughout the play. So when you look back at the question, was Macbeth a ruthless leader making all the decisions on his own or was he a puppet of evil shaped and controlled by the power of evil? And the answer to that is yes, Macbeth is controlled and almost just the face of evil. Throughout the play Macbeth is controlled and victimized by the powers of evil and you can almost state Macbeth was only the face of evil and the true evil lied in the people who manipulated him.

Big image
Macbeths main controller was his wife Lady Macbeth.

"How now, my lord, why do you keep alone,
Of sorriest fancies your companions making,
Using those thoughts which should indeed have died
With them they think on? Things without all remedy
Should be without regard: what's done, is done." - Lady Macbeth

Big image
As the play begins to unfold Macbeth shows signs of innocence, but as his wife makes him take on tasks that he could never fathom Macbeth turns into a evil monster.

"But screw your courage to the sticking place,

And we'll not fail." - Lady Macbeth