Essay: Conflict presented in ‘Macbeth’

There are many types of conflict presented in ‘Macbeth’, given that it is one of the main themes, the most notable ones being internal conflict, the conflict between the natural and unnatural and marital conflict. Shakespeare presents each of these different types of conflict dramatically through soliloquies and direct conversation and relationships throughout the play.
Internal conflict is very important in the play. Many of the famous soliloquies are spoken in a moment of conflict in the character’s mind after some event often concerning the Witches and their prophecies. These include, ‘The raven himself is hoarse’ (act 1, scene 5), ‘If it were done when ’tis done’ (act 1, scene 7) and ‘Is this a dagger I see before me’ (act 2, scene 1) soliloquies. In ‘The raven himself is horse’ soliloquy, Lady Macbeth is in great conflict about the committing of the murder. She is speaking to her capacity for evil within her as she calls on spirits to ‘unsex’ her and to give her the abilities and feelings of a man. In this soliloquy, Shakespeare portrays her as very ambitious and very scheming, so much so that she could be blamed for the whole downfall of Macbeth. It uses a lot of supernatural imagery such as ‘The raven himself is hoarse’, ’murd’ring ministers’ and ‘come, you spirits’ which emphasises how much of an effect the supernatural has on this play. Lady Macbeth uses very dramatic language in her soliloquy by saying ‘make thick my blood’, ‘take my milk for gall’ and ‘pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell’, this has the effect of making her internal conflict seem even more powerful. She is almost arguing with herself, especially her gender, saying that she should be the one to kill Duncan and not Macbeth but it seems that her being a woman is the only thing stopping her. In the ‘If it were done when ’tis done’ soliloquy, Macbeth is demonstrating very potent internal conflict, seen very clearly in the text. Shakespeare clearly displays Macbeth’s conflicting emotions by dividing his soliloquy into 4 parts, each with a different side of his internal conflict. The first section, ‘If it were done when ’tis done…..We’d jump the life to come’, shows Macbeth saying that if the murder could be done with no consequences, he would do it in an instance. the second section, ‘But in these cases….To our own lips’, he is saying that although in a perfect world, there would be no consequences, there are after all and he will have to face them after he has done the deed, especially if people follow in his own footsteps and try to kill him. The third section, ‘He’s here in double trust…..That tears shall drown the wind’, is Macbeth saying that Duncan is an excellent king and he, Macbeth, is a loyal follower so, why should he kill Duncan. Finally, the fourth, but the most important section, ‘I have no spur…..And falls on th’other’, is Macbeth admitting to his own fatal flaw, blind ambition, and saying that this would lead him to his own downfall. Macbeth is literally arguing with himself about whether he should commit the murder or not. His mind is posing both sides of the argument in detail and Macbeth is torn over which side he should take. The audience/reader can see the mental anguish he is in over this issue, not helped by Lady Macbeth and the Witches, both sides of his personality are at war with each other; the loyal, brave Macbeth and the ambitious, treacherous Macbeth. This soliloquy is very important as it shows the reader/audience the different emotional sides of Macbeth and it shows his internal conflict he has before some of his actions, even though those quickly diminish as the play progresses, showing his mental decline. In the ‘Is this a dagger I see before me’ soliloquy, Macbeth is again contemplating the murder, however, this time he seems to know that he is doing it and he is not debating otherwise. However, his internal conflict is still arising as seen when he is hallucinating a dagger in his hands in ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me,/The handle toward my hand?’. Shakespeare uses lots of witchcraft imagery such as ‘Pale Hecate’s off’rings’ and ‘With Tarquin’s ravishing strides’ which shows that Macbeth is now very blasé about speaking and evoking the supernatural which is in contrast to how he first acted when he met the Witches. The hallucinating of the dagger which is representative of the murder shows Macbeth’s mental state and the decline of it, he is now hallucinating things which are not really there. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth both have moments of internal conflict within the play which is presented to show their mental decline and to show the inner working of their mind. Without these moments, the audience/reader would have thought that Macbeth or Lady Macbeth has no conscience or emotions but this is shown to not be the case when they see the conflict within their mind.
The conflict between the natural world and the unnatural word is a very prominent theme that continues throughout the entire play. As seen in the Witches who represent the unnatural, there is a lot of conflict between them and Macbeth’s world. Especially to a Jacobean audience, where the conflict was real for them; the battle of the humans and witches, as they believed that witches were real and constantly trying to sabotage humans at the time. In ‘Macbeth’, when characters do an action considered evil, unnatural coincidences happen in return. For example, when Macbeth kills Duncan, Ross and an old man converse about unnatural, strange things happening, which seem to coincide with what Macbeth did. The old man says about the atmosphere following the murder, ’Tis unnatural,/Even like the deed that’s done’. He also refers to the skies storming, as the “dark night strangles the travelling lamp,” as well as an owl killing a falcon that usually kills mice. The last one in this scene is Duncan’s horses acting wildly and eating each other. All of these occurrences are unnatural and opposite to what is normal, suggesting that the natural order has been inverted at the death of the king. This conflict starts from the beginning of the play with the Witches. Usually speaking in paradoxes, the Witches confuse the characters and even the audience into thinking that whatever is unnatural is natural and vice versa. Macbeth calls them ‘imperfect speakers’, referring to their paradoxical words. In the witches’ first appearance at the beginning of the play, the Witches close their meeting with the words, ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair,/Hover through the fog and filthy air’, this means that right is wrong and wrong is right, right being natural and wrong being unnatural. Everything natural is good and everything evil and bad is associated with being unnatural. Also, when Banquo meets the Witches, he implies that they are unnatural by saying, ‘What are these,/So withered, and so wild in their attire,/That look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ earth/And yet are on ’t?’. The conflict between the natural and unnatural world is very important in Macbeth, as in the Jacobean times, which is when the play would have been shown for the first time, they believed in all of the supernatural and the play plays out to exactly what they would have imagined happening if someone killed the king.
Marital conflict is also an important theme of conflict in ‘Macbeth’. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are first seen together after Macbeth has received a prophecy from the witches claiming that he will become King of Scotland. Their mutual ambition to fulfil the witches’ prophecy is the thing they have in common the most in their relationship. However, while Macbeth is happy to wait for fate to take its course, Lady Macbeth has a clear goal to usurp the crown before Duncan can die naturally. Unfortunately, this ambition starts to poison their relationship as both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth change into completely different people after the murder. Macbeth goes from being a strong, well-respected man to a cold, heartless, fearless murderer while Lady Macbeth goes from being strong-willed and controlling to a scared, paranoid stereotypical (for a Jacobean audience) woman. With the murder of Duncan, both of them worked together, however, Macbeth starts to become independent with the death of Banquo. Macbeth enforces the murder of Banquo without informing or consulting Lady Macbeth. This shows a change in the routine of their relationship as usually, Macbeth would consult Lady Macbeth before taking any actions, and that the power that he has received has given him the confidence to act alone. There is a tension from the start of the play, especially when the reader/audience first see them together, their individual greetings are very telling; Lady Macbeth says ‘Great Glamis, worthy Cawdor’ praising Macbeth through his titles, suggesting she is attracted to the idea of more power. However, when Macbeth greets Lady Macbeth he says ‘My dearest love’ using affectionate and loving words, suggesting his emotional nature. Lady Macbeth tries to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan, by telling him ‘Look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t’. She wants Macbeth to win Duncan’s affections so that when he is killed, Macbeth will not be implicated. This is then to highlight her ability to control Macbeth and his actions. Lady Macbeth is very critical of her husband when she discovers his fears after murdering Duncan, she threatens him and forces him into action ‘Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be, what thou art promised; yet do I fear thy nature, it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness’. She also criticises him for being unmanly and meek, due to his unwilling to usurp power from Duncan when she says ‘And live a coward in thine own esteem’ and ‘When durst do it, then you were a man’. She makes Macbeth feel unworthy as a man and strips him of his masculinity. Before Duncan’s murder, Macbeth is affectionate and caring towards Lady Macbeth, however, towards the end of the play he, transforms into a tyrant who shows no remorse or grief for her death, even though he is aware she had become an anxious, nervous, childlike woman. They both lose themselves after the murder, Lady Macbeth becoming the opposite of what she wanted to be and Macbeth becoming the opposite of what he wanted to be too. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s relationship is especially complicated because they are both driven by the same flaw which eventually drives them mad and this is what causes the ending of both of them. There is constant conflict between them throughout the play which is never resolved and gets worse, resulting in both of their deaths.
In conclusion, Shakespeare writes about many different types of conflict including marital, internal and between the natural and unnatural in ‘Macbeth’. They are presented throughout by soliloquies and direct conversation. Internal conflict is prominent in the many soliloquies often given by Macbeth. The conflict between the natural and unnatural is presented throughout the play especially after the murder. Marital conflict is presented throughout the play as well but it gets worse as the play progresses. Conflict is one of the main themes of ‘Macbeth’ and Shakespeare uses many different types of it.