Juxtaposition of Characters: The Duality of MacbethShakespeare's Macbeth tells the story of a Scottish general, first presenting a seemingly brave and noble warrior. Macbeth is ultimately driven by ambition to seek the throne after hearing a prophecy from a trio of supernatural forces, which ultimately results in his kingship and death. While the tragedy centers on the dualistic battle between good and evil, many dual conflicts exist in the play, culminating in the congruence of King James's monarchy with that of Macbeth. By applying dualism to the characters in the play, Shakespeare proposes a comparative extension of the English crown, notably through the juxtaposition of the characteristics of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to those of the other characters in the play, as well as to those of them. -themselves. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'? Get an original essay The thematic development of duality throughout Macbeth may be linked to the political dualism of the time the play was written. Most likely composed in 1606 early in the reign of King James I, Shakespeare not only uses Macbeth to pay homage to his king's Scottish lineage, but designs the play as a mirror image of the duality James faced during his reign. . With his coronation as King of England in 1603, James retained his Scottish crown, making him ruler of both countries. Macbeth “simultaneously incorporates an attitude of uneasy hostility toward Scotland as well as a vision of union between the two countries,” reflecting the conflictual nature of James's regime (Bevington 1259). The king's determined desire to unite his two kingdoms, combined with the idea that "Scotland was a constant concern on the northern border of England" (Bevington 1259), undoubtedly shaped an internal conflict within of Jacques. Shakespeare's Macbeth juxtaposes Macbeth and his wife with other characters in the play and with each other, and this technique can be seen as a manifestation of King James's inner dualistic conflict over Scotland and England. As an extension of King James' internal struggle for two countries. , the dualism of Macbeth's character in the play is seen in the juxtaposition of Macbeth's evil characteristics with his human qualities. Macbeth demonstrates a dualism within himself, much like King James. Macbeth constantly oscillates between his murderous plots and his doubt and despair. In his soliloquy, Macbeth observes: “He is here in double confidence; /First, as I am his parent and his subject, /Both strong against the act; then, as a host, /Who should shut the door to his murderer,/ I myself will not bear the knife” (1.7.12-16). Here it seems that Macbeth realizes the depravity of his plot, but he still commits murder out of a desire to become king. He ends his speech by proclaiming: “I have no sting /To prick the sides of my intention, but only /A leaping ambition, which surpasses itself /And falls on the other” (1.7.25-8) . Macbeth is too ambitious to allow his conscience to prevent him from committing murder to gain power, but too morally conscious to gloat over his evil deeds. Much of his behavior throughout the play is an equivocation as he never truly takes a position in relation to the other, but exists as both good and evil. This duplicity of character is linked to James' hesitation to choose one country over another. The duality of Macbeth's personality is not only juxtaposed with King James' bilateral conflict, but it gives Macbeth's character something thatThe other Shakespearean villains lack: humanity. Shakespeare's portrayal of Macbeth illustrates the negative effects that ambition and guilt can have on a man who lacks strength of character. Although Macbeth can be considered irrevocably evil, his weakness of character separates him from Shakespeare's other villains, all of whom are strong enough to overcome guilt and self-doubt. Macbeth, although capable of carrying out corrupt and evil schemes, is ill-equipped to deal with the psychological consequences of his crimes. He is entirely subject to choice and free will, and his options are not much different from the audience's everyday choices in life, which adds to the human qualities of Macbeth's character. In essence, “we discover a hidden similarity between Macbeth's dramatic situation and everyday life. Everyday incidents that we might take as examples of ethical thinking come to us in the form of a tale,” connecting Macbeth to the audience in a way that neither has before. Shakespeare's Other Plays (Keller 42). His human qualities present a character that is certainly evil, but capable of both guilt and remorse, illustrating yet another dualistic tension in Macbeth's mind. Although Shakespeare arguably did not view his own king as evil or corrupt, he connects the fundamental notion of inner conflict to King James through the juxtaposition of the character Macbeth. In addition to Macbeth's binary personality, his relationship with Banquo also serves a dualistic function. Each character takes a different fork in the road, and this fork in the road is also an extension of King James' struggle to rule two opposing countries. Upon hearing the witches' prophecy in Macbeth, Banquo tells them: "If you can look into the seeds of time/And tell which grain will grow and which will not,/Speak to me then, who neither asks nor fears/Your favors . nor your hatred” (1.3.58-61). Banquo's indifference to the mystical predictions of the Weird Sisters shows the audience that he is not willing to fall prey to the powers of the supernatural. Banquo “firmly resists the flatteries of fortune as well as its buffets” when he chooses not to view witches as untrustworthy (Bevington 1256). Banquo is somewhat tempted by the witches' words later that evening, but he never fully grasps the idea or magnitude of power suggested by the prophecy. Although Banquo is later murdered, his character remains untouched by any guilt or evil as he ultimately chooses to resist the temptations of otherworldly insinuations. Macbeth, on the other hand, represents the other side of the bracket in that he completely believes in divination and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. He implores the Weird Sisters: “Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more,” alluding to his gullibility as well as his deep desire for power (1.3.70). Almost immediately, Macbeth determines that he will have to ascend to the throne using murder and conspiracy, although none of the witches pass this method on to him. Later, in the first scene of the fourth act, Macbeth once again seeks out the witches and implores them to prophesy his fate a second time. His desire for power and ambition overshadow his rationality and he realizes the prediction himself. Macbeth “is ripe for [the witches’] insinuations: a mind free from taint would see no sinister invitation in their prophecy of coming greatness” (Bevington 1256). In the great irony of Macbeth, Elizabethan audiences would have recognized that the play's protagonist did not have to murder Duncan to become king since Scotland did not have a patriarchal line to the throne at that time. AtRather, Macbeth deemed the witches trustworthy and followed the opposite path to Banquo, ultimately leading to his own death as a corrupt man. As mentioned, "Scotland was a constant concern on England's northern border...and, from the English point of view, exhibited the kind of tyranny that the English particularly feared", alluding to the idea that the King James had two contrasting paths before him. choose from England and Scotland (Bevington 1259). The metaphor displayed through the different routes Banquo and Macbeth take in relation to destiny correlates with King James' struggle to follow the paths of Scotland and England. Lady Macbeth also delineates James' reign through the juxtaposition of her character with that of the witches. . Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare correlates Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters through a series of subtle characteristics, and through this he also incorporates James' reign into the play. The strange sisters resemble the Three Fates of Greek mythology, who weave the fabric of human life and have the power to cut the thread to end it. Much like the Fates, the witches act as puppet masters, seeming to manipulate Macbeth's extreme ambition. Similarly, Lady Macbeth dictates the scene of Duncan's murder, controlling and exploiting Macbeth's sense of manhood like one controls a puppet. Lady Macbeth and the witches are also linked to each other through obscure gender roles. When Banquo sees the weird sisters, he asserts to them: "You should be women, / And yet your beards forbid me to interpret / That you are", implying a blurred gender image of witches (1.3.45- 7). Similarly, Lady Macbeth takes on manly characteristics as she takes control of planning Duncan's murder, and "sexual aversion...allies Lady Macbeth with witches or strange sisters" (Bevington 1257). Lady Macbeth is further aligned with the Weird Sisters after reading Letter from Macbeth recounting the first prophecy. She invokes: "Come, you spirits / Who occupy yourselves with mortal thoughts, desex me here / And fill me from head to toe / With the most terrible cruelty", once again adding a masculine tinge to her character by despising his wife. traits and demanding to be “non-sexed” (1.5.40-3). In addition to changing the genre, Lady Macbeth's incantations directly juxtapose her with the witches. At the time Macbeth was written, invoking evil spirits was considered a heinous offense and "although Lady Macbeth never earns the epithet witch during the play, she would have been considered a witch according to the Witchcraft Statute of 1604. Whether or not the evil spirits actually materialized, the conjuring of evil is classified as witchcraft. The very act of invoking demonic powers transforms her into a witch of the Statute of 1604” (Levin 30). Lady Macbeth's resemblance to Macbeth's Weird Sisters establishes a connection to King James due to her ties to the supernatural. In 1598, King James wrote Daemonologie, and he was “keenly interested in witchcraft” (Bevington 1259). Shakespeare's juxtaposition of the female protagonist with the witches not only sparked the king's interest in the play, but the pairing of the characters allows for further correlation between Macbeth and James' roles as double king. Perhaps the most apparent, yet complex, duality lies in the chiastic relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. At first, the audience sees Macbeth as a capable warrior who is disappointed by his ambition for power. He tends to procrastinate throughout the first half of the play, telling Banquo the., 2004.