Fear at the Heart of the Tragedy
Macbeth is a tragedy in which fear is the prevailing atmosphere, it shapes the behaviour of the characters and it is the very ground on which destruction is built. From the very first appearance of the three weird sisters through to the ultimate demise of Macbeth, the play is a world in which the line between reality and nightmare is effectively obliterated. The presence of the supernatural, the constant imagery of blood, the occurrence of the unnatural and the sheer mental anguish of the characters all serve to create a pervasive sense of terror. Fear is not simply an emotion felt by the individual characters; it is the very essence of the world of the play.
The Supernatural and the World of Evil
The witches immediately establish the play’s creepy atmosphere in the first scenes. Their presence is mysterious, their language is odd and their pronouncements are unnerving. They set Macbeth thinking about a future in which he might be king, but they also throw his sense of what is possible and what is in his control into chaos.
Shakespeare reinforces the sense of the uncanny through the use of supernatural visions and occurrences. Banquo’s ghost appears at a banquet and is a direct confrontation with the consequences of Macbeth’s actions. The other guests are of course unable to see the ghost, but Macbeth’s sheer terror at the sight is a telling indicator of the psychological weight of the guilt he is carrying. The supernatural thus serves a dual purpose: it creates a world which is inherently menacing and it provides a dramatic vehicle for the guilt and anxiety which reside in Macbeth’s own mind.
Blood, Guilt, and Psychological Terror
Blood is another potent symbol through which Shakespeare evokes fear. Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan is the pivotal moment in the tragedy. It may have got him the throne, but it has destroyed his peace of mind. Rather than have the security he anticipated he is now increasingly paranoid, uneasy and fearful of losing what he has.
Lady Macbeth at first seems the more resolute of the two. Her later sleepwalking, though, shows that she too is a victim of the violence they have perpetrated. Her obsessive attempts to wash the imagined blood from her hands show that guilt can’t be got rid of by any physical act. Blood is therefore the symbol of murder but also of the ineradicable psychological consequences of wrongdoing.
The horror of what Macbeth and Lady Macbeth experience shows just how self-destructive ambition can be. Their desire for power gradually turns their own minds into a hell of their own making.
Nature Reflects a World Out of Order
Shakespeare also uses the natural world to convey fear. There are storms, odd sounds, darkness and all sorts of reports of the unnatural. The natural world is in an uproar and this is a direct reflection of the moral chaos that Macbeth has created by murdering Duncan.
This is of course absolutely fundamental to any tragedy which is in any way concerned with kingship. Duncan’s murder is not just a private crime; it is a crime which threatens the very fabric of the kingdom. As Macbeth becomes more and more tyrannical, Scotland is to suffer under his rule and the disturbed state of nature is a reflection of that.
Fear as a Nightmare
Literary critic G. Wilson Knight famously reads the whole atmosphere of Macbeth as that of a nightmare. That reading is very useful in explaining the play’s disturbing quality. The horrors of the play are not simply the result of the supernatural (the visions, the witches etc) but are equally the product of the characters’ own disturbed minds. The association of darkness with violence is so pervasive that the result is an experience in which the reality of the world is in doubt.
The horrific nature of the tragedy is also a reflection of the consequences of fear. Macbeth is trying to secure his power through further murder, and each murder only creates new threats. His attempts to escape insecurity only serve to increase it. Fear is a self-perpetuating cycle in which violence breeds suspicion, suspicion breeds more violence and peace is simply out of the question.
From Darkness to Renewal
Despite the very bleak atmosphere of the play, it doesn’t end in total desolation. The movement of Birnam Wood towards Dunsinane is the fulfilment of the witches’ apparently impossible prophecy and that in itself is the death knell for Macbeth’s confidence. His defeat brings an end to his tyranny and Malcolm’s coming to the throne offers the prospect of a return to political stability.
The contrast between Macbeth’s dark period and the prospect of a new order is absolutely vital to the ending of the play. Scotland can start to heal because the cause of its misery has been eliminated. The bloodshed of the play isn’t in any way swept away by the ending, but the point is that corruption and terror don’t have to be the defining features of the future.
Conclusion
In Macbeth fear is the dominant force in the play and the whole atmosphere is one of fear. The supernatural is ever present in the form of the apparitions, the blood imagery, the psychological horror of guilt and the unnatural going on in the world. The end of the play is the triumph of good and the defeat of evil and in that the darkness can be dispelled and the prospect of renewal opened. The tragedy shows us that the acquisition of power through violence is a path to the destruction of both individual peace and social order and that the restoration of legitimate authority is the only way to the prospect of a better future.
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