Manipulation and Disaster in Shakespeare's Macbeth

Introduction: Prophecy, Ambition, and the Question of Manipulation

Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth is, in some ways, the chronicle of a disaster foretold. The play opens with the supernatural presence of the three witches, who await the appearance of Macbeth himself. When he arrives, they offer what Macbeth terms "strange intelligence" or "prophetic greeting," predicting that he will attain the titles of Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King of Scotland (I.iii). Their prediction, however, contains nothing of how Macbeth will attain those titles. Macbeth's companion Banquo notes the effect the witches' greeting has upon his friend: "Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear / Things that do sound so fair?" (I.iii).

Clearly, what the witches predict has an unsettling effect on Macbeth because such ambition has already been present in his mind — he has, after all, just achieved a great military victory for the king, Duncan. The question the play poses, then, is what Macbeth can or cannot do to manipulate existing circumstances in order to fulfill his own ambition and the witches' prophecy. Shakespeare does not use the term "manipulate" but instead couches it in terms of daring. As Macbeth tells his wife when he begins his campaign to attain the titles the witches have predicted: "I dare do all that may become a man / Who dares do more is none" (I.vii). Yet every stage of Macbeth's daring takes him one step closer to his downfall at the close of the play. By a close examination of three separate moments in the drama, this essay argues that Shakespeare uses the character of Macbeth to illustrate the idea that manipulation can lead to disaster.

Manipulation may be defined as action taken to achieve a goal or ambition. Macbeth is certainly aware of his own ambition, but his wife doubts his capacity for manipulative behavior. In Act I, Scene V, she receives news of the witches' prophecy by letter and assesses Macbeth's character as follows:

Lady Macbeth's Assessment of Her Husband's Character

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be
What thou art promised: yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full o' the milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great;
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it: what thou wouldst highly,
That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false,
And yet wouldst wrongly win: thou'ldst have, great Glamis,
That which cries 'Thus thou must do, if thou have it;
And that which rather thou dost fear to do
Than wishest should be undone.' (I.v.)

Lady Macbeth here indicates that Macbeth is disinclined to manipulate circumstances in order to attain "the golden round" of kingship. She acknowledges he has "ambition," though she couches it in terms of a double negative, suggesting his ambition is not forceful enough for action. Her own desire is that Macbeth should "catch the nearest way" by killing Duncan — after all, Duncan has heirs, and they will inherit the throne if he dies naturally. The language of this speech makes it clear, however, that manipulation to attain this goal is presented as unnatural and undesirable. "The milk of human kindness" sounds like a virtue: Lady Macbeth sees it as a character flaw. She criticizes his ambition for lack of "illness," which would otherwise seem a bad thing to possess. And she criticizes his wish to attain things "holily" and his refusal to "play false."

To a certain degree, Shakespeare is playing to the prejudices of his audience — and the monarchy — which would understand regicide as a crime that overturns the natural order itself. In other words, the manipulation that Lady Macbeth believes is necessary is also phrased in terms that do not suggest a good outcome will follow.

When Macbeth contemplates murder in his soliloquy in Act I, Scene VII, he seems acutely aware that this criminal manipulation of the situation will ultimately be defined by its unintended consequences. To a certain degree, his wife is right that he is "too full o' the milk of human kindness," as Macbeth's musings are deeply conscience-stricken:

Macbeth's Soliloquy and the Foreseen Consequences of Murder

If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly: if the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,
We'ld jump the life to come. But in these cases
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice
To our own lips. (I.vii)

Here, Macbeth seems almost to be responding to the criticisms his wife leveled against him two scenes earlier. Lady Macbeth believes her husband refuses to "play false" despite a willingness to "wrongly win." In this soliloquy, Macbeth demonstrates that it is precisely the consequences of "wrongly win[ning]" that he fears. If the murder were merely an isolated act, rather than one act of manipulation that would necessitate others, his conscience would be less troubled. But he is aware that deciding to manipulate circumstances by killing Duncan will entail a chain of action: to "teach bloody instructions" means that these instructions, "being taught, return / To plague the inventor." Even-handed justice will ensure that a man who forces another to drink from a "poison'd chalice" will eventually drink from it himself.

In other words, Macbeth is able to foresee the disaster that will befall him before he even makes the decision to manipulate circumstances and kill his sleeping houseguest. This is what makes the tragedy so powerful: as scholars of the play have long noted, Macbeth is not ignorant of the moral weight of his actions — he chooses to proceed despite understanding the consequences.

Conclusion: Manipulation, Fate, and Inevitable Disaster

The tragedy of Macbeth clearly shows how manipulation can lead to disaster. If manipulation is the use of unfair or immoral means to change a situation to one's own advantage, then this is precisely what Macbeth is guilty of. After all, the witches predict Macbeth's kingship — they do not predict that he will murder to attain it. The murder comes about because of Lady Macbeth's manipulation of her husband, persuading him not to let "'I dare not' wait upon 'I would' / Like the poor cat i' the adage" (I.vii).