Macbeth's Own Lust

Being one of the deadly sins, ‘lust’ leads to hamartia, someone’s fall just like the six others. When one has a targeted aim, because of their lust, they may focus on the ways of reaching their targets, through whether natural or unnatural ways. When one does it through natural ways, they only receive grace, unlike the ones who try to achieve their goals through unnatural ways. Some meet with God’s grace meanwhile others meet with divine justice.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is an example of the one who receives divine justice, for his performing of actions to reach his goal of becoming the king through unnatural ways, such as murdering the current king, his best friend and attempting to murder his son also. Death should happen because of God’s demands, not because of someone’s greed.

Once the witches mention him becoming the king to Macbeth, the idea of becoming the king is what Macbeth only thinks of. Neither the witches nor Macbeth thinks of how or the process of becoming the king.

“Two truths are told

As happy prologues to the swelling act

Of th’imperial theme” (Act 1, Scene 3, Lines 148-150)

“Present fears

Are less than horrible imaginings.

My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,”(Act 1, Scene 3, Line 157)

Once he becomes the thane of Cawdor, Macbeth directly starts to think of the next, becoming the king. He does not hesitate for a moment before speaking his mind. Macbeth directly starts thinking of the possibility of him becoming the king, he considers the prophecies said by the witches. Once they told him the prophecy of him becoming the king, they sowed the seed of lust, they triggered the idea and feeling of ambition. He at first didn't care much about being a king, but as the witches give him the information about his future, he gets ruled by his greed and passion, and does not let his logic take control. He is in the middle of committing them and not as he realizes the unnecessity of those murders, becomes in conflict and then regrets his every move after performing them.

He has the idea of becoming the king before seeing Lady Macbeth, who urges Macbeth to kill King Duncan and become the new king. She promotes her husband to become the king through unnatural ways which brings Macbeth’s downfall. Macbeth declares his thoughts before seeing Lady Macbeth which highlights that his ideas are decided on by himself and not by Lady. He starts with the intention of becoming the king by murdering Duncan, but he lacks the ways to commit it and Lady intervenes in that moment and creates ways and passion for Macbeth to murder. Lady Macbeth, such a wise woman, is good with words and her choice of words leads to passion in Macbeth. This shows that Macbeth is open to manipulation, but blaming Lady Macbeth only is not the correct way of interpretation since she wouldn’t have been able to manipulate Macbeth if Macbeth hadn’t had the thought of murder.

“The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step

On which I must fall down or else o’erleap,

For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;

Let not light see my black and deep desires.

The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be

Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.” (Act 1, Scene 4, Lines 55-61)

Meeting with Duncan, Macbeth gets mad at Duncan’s words about his son becoming the prince of the realm. He demands darkness, no light since in most of Shakespeare’s plays bloody scenes, murders happen during the evening, night and in rooms with no light.

“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, Line 29)

He blames his ambition for forcing him to murder King Duncan. No matter how harshly Lady Macbeth speaks to him, Macbeth does not become irritated due to them to prove himself but as a result of his lust, he commits crimes.

However, even though he commits bloody murders, Macbeth cannot let go of them although he becomes the king. He starts to have illusions, bloody ones, sees a dagger stabbed into his head, and sees Banquo’s ghost as his conscience. He achieved what he wanted, but cannot feel any happiness at all since he made it through unacceptable and unnatural ways.

“Had I but died an hour before this chance,

I had lived a blessèd time;” (Act 2, Scene 3, Lines 100-102)

He says this line after hearing about Banquo’s death as he regrets it in a second. He cannot think logically and is unstable, cannot decide on rationally. He only focused on the task of becoming the king and did whatever it took without considering any consequences. He is ruled by his passion, his driving force. It was not Lady Macbeth who made him commit murders or choose the unnatural ways of becoming the king, even though she produced the words, it was Macbeth who should be considered as the one who decided to murder innocent people. His lust becomes his tragic flaw and leads to his fall in the end.

In conclusion, as a powerful and wise soldier, Macbeth had a stable mindset and was able to think and decide logically which proves that he also had enough logic to think reasonably to prevent himself from committing murders and be manipulated by Lady Macbeth’s words. Yet since it was he who thought of directly becoming the king, there is no fully rational point in blaming Lady Macbeth.