Macbeth | Themes, Character Analysis, & Symbolism

Melchior Antoine
Sep 15
13 min read

Updated: Nov 8

Macbeth has some of the darkest themes in Shakespeare, as well as being among the most violent. It is a play about the nobleman Macbeth making a purposeful decision to kill his king in order to gain the Scottish throne. As a result of the evil act, chaos, bloodshed, and murder reign until he is finally deposed and order is restored.

The main character of the play makes for an interesting character analysis because, despite being a horrible individual committing horrific acts throughout the play, he remains a sympathetic character. In the first part of the play, we see Macbeth struggling in torment and agony over whether he should choose to kill King Duncan, who sleeps as an honored guest in his house.

This is in contrast to his wife — Lady Macbeth — who is absolutely enthusiastic about killing Duncan and getting on with it. We see Macbeth express discomfort at the immorality of killing his king, and we see him regret and mourn over the decision after he commits the act. We also see him be seduced and tricked by evil and pay the cost of doing so with his life.

In this article, we discuss the unique character of Macbeth, focus on the main themes of the play in terms of the nature of evil and its consequences, and see how the symbolism of the play works to support the themes and character portrayals in the play.

Jon Finch as Macbeth in Polanski's 1971 film adaptation.

1. The themes in Macbeth

Macbeth is a dark play with themes that revolve around the nature of evil and its corrupting influences. These corrupting influences extend to manhood, politics, and even nature, which is further discussed in the symbolism of the play. In the play, we see the following themes:

Evil as a deliberate choice
Evil as a corrupting influence
Evil as deceit
Evil as sowing the seed of its own destruction
The perversion of manliness

Evil as a deliberate choice. We see Macbeth make a deliberate choice to be evil. Unlike Othello, he is not tricked into committing an evil act. Neither the witches nor his wife are responsible for his choice. He can be compared to Banquo, who is faced with a similar prophecy of greatness but who ignores it. Banquo in reaction to the witch’s favorable prophecy of his seed becoming royalty, answers:

And oftentimes, to win us to our harm

The instruments of darkness tell us truths

Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s

In deepest consequence. (Act 1, Scene 3)

He knows well enough not to believe evil or be seduced by it and further shows how deliberate and willful Macbeth’s choice is. Macbeth also has enough imagination, moral knowledge, and reason to understand the consequences of his choices. In his famous soliloquy, he resolves not to kill King Duncan using flawless moral logic, only to allow Lady Macbeth to change his mind in Act 1, Scene 7. He says:

We still have judgment here, that we but teach

Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return

To plague th’ inventor. This even-handed justice

Commends th’ ingredience of our poisoned chalice

To our own lips.

From the choice of evil that Macbeth makes comes a host of dark consequences because of the corrupting nature of evil. Macbeth, before his choice of evil, was a complete and balanced man — a brave warrior, a loving husband, a dutiful servant of the king, and an upstanding citizen. By the end of the play, he is rightfully described as a “dead butcher.” The corrupting power of evil does not begin an end with the man Macbeth.

It extends to his family when his wife becomes crazy and commits suicide. It also encompasses the land and body politique, which goes through war and turmoil after King Duncan is killed. The corrupting influence of Macbeth’s evil choice is complete and affects his soul, his family, and his country.

Evil as deception. The play depicts evil as deception. This extends in the reality vs appearance theme that features in the play. Banquo, as mentioned earlier, immediately recognizes this aspect of evil when the Three Witches present a prophecy that promises that his heirs will inherit the throne of Scotland: “What, can the devil speak true?” (Act 1, Scene 2). Also, Duncan, a few hours before his murder, comments on the hospitality and beauty of the Macbeth household, where he is later murdered gruesomely: "This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air / Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / Unto our gentle senses" (Act 1, Scene 6).

Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth in carrying out the conspiracy:

Bear welcome in your eye,

Your hand, your tongue. Look like th’ innocent flower,

But be the serpent under ’t.

Macbeth, after becoming king, goes back to the witches when they make the prophecy that he can only be defeated “until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / Shall come against him” and that “none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” (Act 4, Scene 1). He is emboldened by these prophecies and is full of false confidence.

By the end of the play, Great Birnam Wood comes to high Dunsinane Hill in the form of an army holding branches from the forest to disguise their advance and numbers. And in the final battle between Macbeth and Macduff, Macduff also reveals that “Macduff was from his mother's womb / Untimely ripped” (Act 5, Scene 8), which means that he was born via caesarian section and not born of woman, at least technically speaking.

In short, the witches were being more rhetorical than honest with their prophecies. Macbeth realizes too late that he isn’t invincible. He has been wholly deceived by the evil that the witches symbolize, a fact that he sadly admits to before his inevitable death:

And be these juggling fiends no more believed

That palter with us in a double sense,

That keep the word of promise to our ear

And break it to our hope. (Act 5, Scene 8)

The last aspect of evil explored as a theme in the play is how evil sows the seeds of its own destruction. We see this first with Lady Macbeth, who calls on the forces of evil to strengthen her will to murder Duncan. She deliberately suppresses her humanity, femininity, and sense of compassion in her famous soliloquy praying to demons:

Come, you spirits

That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,

And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full

Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.

Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse,

That no compunctious visitings of nature

Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between

Th’ effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts-

And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers,

Wherever in your sightless substances

You wait on nature’s mischief. (Act 1, Scene 5)

Lady Macbeth eventually goes insane from guilt and commits suicide. Her end is keeping with the theme that evil begets its own destruction. The same can be said for Macbeth, who decides to needlessly kill Lady Macbuff and her son. Her husband, Macduff, is motivated to take revenge, and the play ends when he decapitates Macbeth.

The perversion of manliness. This theme is evident in the way Lady Macbeth mocks Macbeth for his compassion or for having in him “the milk of human kindness” (Act 1, Scene 5). Lady Macbeth links human desire or ambition with sexual potency, suggesting that Macbeth's unwillingness to do what needs to be done to fulfill his ambition makes him sexually impotent:

From this time

Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard

To be the same in thine own act and valor

As thou art in desire? (Act 1, Scene 7)

Macbeth initially decides against killing Macbeth, and in doing so, uses the image of "a naked newborn babe" to symbolize King Duncan's innocence (Act 1, Scene 7). On the other hand, Lady Macbeth, in convincing him to commit to the murder, boasts about her willingness to bash in the head of her own newborn babe to show her commitment to the cause (Act 1, Scene 7). Lady Macbeth's definition of manliness is a capacity for violence that knows no moral bounds. Macbeth, unfortunately, embraces this perversion of manliness, leading to barbaric acts and his own destruction.

2. Macbeth Character Analysis: A man with great capacity for goodness

The tragedy of Macbeth lies in the capacity for goodness that he reveals, early in the play before he commits to evil, which he eventually betrays and throws away for the sake of his ambition.

This capacity for goodness and morality is shown in Macbeth’s soliloquy or aside during the dinner scene where Macbeth resolves not to murder Duncan. Macbeth makes vivid use of metaphor and imagery:

If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well

It were done quickly. If th’ 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’d 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 th’ inventor. This even-handed justice

Commends th’ ingredience of our poisoned chalice

To our own lips. He’s here in double trust:

First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,

Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,

Who should against his murderer shut the door,

Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan

Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been

So clear in his great office, that his virtues

Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against

The deep damnation of his taking-off;

And pity, like a naked newborn babe

Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim horsed

Upon the sightless couriers of the air,

Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,

That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur

To prick the sides of my intent, but only

Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself

And falls on th’ other. (Act 1, Scene 7)

a. Tactical effectiveness of regicide. The text in the quote has been color coded to follow the train of Macbeth’s thought. In the first part of the quote (colored red), Macbeth considers the political and tactical consequences and effectiveness of murdering the king. Gaining the Scottish throne can only be achieved by killing the king before he has a chance to rally his allies. Killing the king and taking power, if it has to be done, has to be done quickly and efficiently to avoid all negative political and military consequences.

Although this is not said directly in the soliloquy, declaring a rebellion against the king would come to naught. After all, the soliloquy takes place only a few scenes after Macbeth helps defeat an open rebellion against King Duncan. He is now in the exact same political position as the former Thane of Cawdor, who rebelled against Duncan and who was executed for it.

Macbeth knows that the king commands too much loyalty and has too many allies, whom he could rally to crush any rebellion. Therefore, for his play on power to succeed, Duncan has to die. Macbeth even considers the damnation of his soul in the afterlife (i.e., “jump the life to come”) and seemingly accepts it as the price he is willing to pay for the crown by committing regicide.

b. Considerations of earthly justice and consequences. The second part of the quote colored blue shows Macbeth pondering the earthly karma or “even-handed justice” of murdering the king, who is his honored guest and who has rewarded Macbeth with a promotion as the Thane of Cawdor after the former Thane of Cawdor has been executed for treason.

The king is “here in double trust” as Macbeth’s kin and guest. Murdering him would violate every law and custom relating to hospitality. Macbeth would then have to suffer damage to his public image and falling in the estimation of the common citizens of Scotland, as well as deserving severe earthly justice for breaking these laws of hospitality.

c. Cosmic compassion for Duncan and his subjects. The third strain of reasoning is the most interesting and moral one that Macbeth ponders. We see here a combination of earthly considerations with heavenly ones. Macbeth reasons that Duncan is a good and righteous king (or “clear in his great office”) and that heaven itself would weep at “The deep damnation of his taking off.”

This is a reflection of the medieval and premodern concept of the king being God-appointed. Macbeth in claiming that “sightless couriers of the air” would expose his ugly deed so “that tears shall drown the wind” is suggesting that killing Duncan would violate the harmony and order established between man and heaven with the appointment of Duncan.

It also reveals something else: The capacity for universal empathy and compassion that Macbeth displays. His imagery of pity as a “naked newborn babe” can be interpreted as him being able to imagine how the common man and woman in Scotland would suffer from the tragedy of losing a righteous king who doesn’t deserve to be killed.

d. Recognizing the hollowness of his ambition. Macbeth in the last part of the soliloquy colored brown resolves not to kill Duncan. He recognizes that his only justification is “vaulting ambition.” We see the three part process that he uses to draw this righteous conclusion.

First, he recognizes that it would be politically, militarily, and tactically effective to kill King Duncan, even if his soul would be damned. However, he reasons that his short-term tactical success would be threatened by “even-handed justice” for killing a righteous king who does not deserve to die and who is both his kin and guest.

Lastly, he expands the concept of earthly justice to include the idea that King Duncan is heavenly appointed and that getting rid of him would be an injustice that unbalances the heavenly order established on earth in the figure of the king, who is a representative of God. Man, earth, and nature would all suffer as a result of this crime, and he rightly reasons that such a collapse in order would be too high a price to pay for his “vaulting ambition.”

Macbeth vs. Lady Macbeth, and the cathartic value of expressing grief

Macbeth’s soliloquy emphasises the theme of evil being a deliberate choice. It cannot be said that Lady Macbeth is responsible for Macbeth making the decision to kill King Duncan. Instead, as explained by Irving Ribner in his 1959 article “Macbeth: The pattern of idea and action,” Lady Macbeth has symbolic value in revealing the side of Macbeth that is attracted to evil for the sake of ambition.

However, there is a certain level of psychological realism in the way the trajectories of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth diverge before and after the murder of King Duncan. Lady Macbeth suppresses her humanity and femininity just before and after the murder, only for them to emerge in the form of sleepwalking where she confesses her crime and remorse.

Macbeth expresses his deep sense of guilt and trepidation before and immediately after the murder. This is largely because he has clearer moral logic, imagination, and a deeper sense of empathy than Lady Macbeth. Macbeth knows that the murder of Duncan is a double murder, which includes the physical death of Duncan and his own spiritual and moral death. After killing Duncan, he laments “To know my deed, ’twere best not know myself” (Act 2, Scene 2). In short, Macbeth has violated, alienated, and murdered his moral self.

He is wise enough to know this and mourns the loss to help resolve his internal conflict. This partly explains the rapidity of his recovery as well as the fact that Macbeth is a whole or complete man with the perfect balance of warrior, politician, and husband. His trepidation and mourning serves as a kind of cathartic outlet that prevents the inevitable insanity that results from a man violating his basic humanity in this way, unlike Lady Macbeth who ends up insane after downplaying the gravity of Duncan’s murder.

We can describe Macbeth in the brief moments before his conversion to evil as a man with an infinite capacity for goodness, which is cancelled by his choice to commit evil.

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3. Symbolism in Macbeth

The symbolism in Macbeth is also closely related to its themes. There are even some inconsistencies in character development that may be explained by considering the symbolic value of many of the characters. Let’s take for example Lady Macbeth who mentions having been a mother before only for Macduff to say “He has no children” (Act 4, Scene 3).

Here is the Lady Macbeth quote in question:

I have given suck, and know

How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me.

I would, while it was smiling in my face,

Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums

And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you

Have done to this.

The point of this quote is not to establish that Lady Macbeth was a mother. Instead, we can see Lady Macbeth as a symbolic representation of Macbeth’s attraction to ambition and willingness to court evil for that ambition. It also satisfies the motif of the unnatural that is rife in Macbeth. A mother willing to murder her own child is the equivalent of a man willing to kill his own king.

This is further emphasized when Lady Macbeth admits that she would have killed Duncan herself if only “Had he not resembled / My father as he slept” (Act 2, Scene 2). In short, by killing the king, the Macbeths have upset the natural order that God has established on Earth through King Duncan, who is portrayed as a father figure for the country.

The killing of Duncan is an evil act that poisons Macbeth’s soul, which then spreads to his family and the entire body politic. It is similar to the motif of contagion in Hamlet, which stems from the king being murdered by his own brother. Again, this is keeping in with the theme of the corrupting influence of evil. Before the murder of Macbeth, we can sense the genuine bond of love that exists between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth.

After the killing of Duncan, we see Macbeth making political decision without consulting his queen, and Lady Macbeth is slowly isolated until she becomes insane and commits suicide. This illustrates the corrupting influence of evil on the family. If Lady Macbeth is the aspect of Macbeth attracted to evil, his clear moral logic, demonstrated in the dinner scene, represents the better angels of his nature.

Banquo is an interesting character. As mentioned previously, he represents the idea that evil is an individual choice as he rejects the temptation of the witches while Macbeth embraces it. While Macbeth is able to kill Banquo, he fails to kill his son Fleance, showing that the seed of goodness will not be eradicated by temporary evil. This is further emphasized by the ghost of Banquo showing up at the banquet to wordlessly rebuke Macbeth in Act 3, Scene 4. In short, goodness cannot be destroyed by evil.

Macduff can be seen as a representation of the idea that evil begets its own destruction, a major theme in the play. Macduff’s wife and child are needlessly killed by Macbeth, which inspires Macduff to take revenge. Macbeth’s murder of Duncan leads to moral chaos and anarchy because of how unnatural it is.

In Act 2, Scene 3, Lennox describes how “the night has been unruly” with chimneys being blown down, strange screams of death in the air, and earthquakes. There is also mention of how the “dark night strangles the travelling lamp” even during the day in Act 2, Scene 5. Lastly, in Act 2, Scene 5, we learn that Duncan’s well-bred horses become wild, “Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would make / War against mankind.”

Macduff restores this natural order as he is an agent of the unnatural, who was born of unnatural means via caesarean section. Despite being an agent of the unnatural, he rejects evil and is destined to be the one to bring the land back to order by killing Macbeth and cancelling out the unnaturalness that his evil has unleashed.