The Influence of External Forces     





     There were many external forces that influenced Macbeth on making his major



decision. The decision was whether or no to kill King Duncan. These forces were the



apparitions, the old witches, and Lady Macbeth. The apparitions influenced Macbeth by



making him think he was invincible. The witches influenced Macbeth by telling him that



he was going to become king. Lady Macbeth also influenced him by emasculating him.



Although these factors influenced Macbeth, it was still his choice to act upon this



decision. Still, no matter how hard Macbeth tried, he could not avoid the influence of



what others had to say.

     

     The first external force that influenced Macbeth was the apparitions. The



apparitions influenced Macbeth by making him think he was invincible. The first



apparition said, “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff! Beware Thane of



Fife, dismiss me; enough.”(act 4, scene 1, lines 71-73) This meant that Macbeth, had to



watch out for Macduff, the Thane of Fife . The second apparition said, “Be bloody,



bold, and resolute, Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none born of woman shall



harm Macbeth.”( act 4, scene 1, lines 78-81) This meant that no man that was born out



of the female birth canal could harm Macbeth. This statement contradicts the one



statement made by the first apparition. Macbeth thought that since Macduff was human



that he had to have been born through the birth canal. Macbeth did not know that



Macduff was born by c-section, he was untimely ripped. The third apparition said,



“Be lion-mettled, proud and take no care of who chafes, who frets, or where



conspires are: Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high



Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.”(Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 89-94) This means that



Macbeth should be brave and proud. It also means that Macbeth will not be killed until



the forest marches up to his castle. Macbeth thinks though that that was absurd. He



never imagined the forest walking. The forest did walk though. It walked



when Macduff and his associates camouflaged themselves with it, and attacked



Macbeth’s castle. The apparitions made him feel like he could do anything. Then he



decided to take out Duncan.



     The witches also influenced Macbeth in killing King Duncan. They told Macbeth



that he was going to become king. The first witch said, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to



thee, Thane of Glamis.” (Act 1, scene 3, lines 49-50) The Thane of Glamis was



Macbeth’s title as the witch was speaking to him. The second with then says, “All hail



Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor.”(Act 1, scene 3, lines 51-52). This was the



title that Macbeth was to be bestowed upon Macbeth when he came back from battle.



The third witch then said, “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Act 1,



scene 3, lines 53-54) This meant that Macbeth would soon be king, but there was already



Duncan. The witches aided Macbeth with his decision because they told him what was



going to happen. Macbeth knew that he was going to become king, so he decided to



speed up the process. He did this by killing King Duncan, and since he was next in line,



he would receive the title of king.

     

     The last person that influenced Macbeth was his wife, Lady Macbeth. She



emasculated Macbeth. She said, ”And live a coward in thine own esteem, letting “I



dare not” wait upon “I would”, like the poor cat i’ th’adage?”(Act 1, Scene 7, Lines



43-46) Lady Macbeth is calling Macbeth a coward. She is saying that she would do it.



At first, Macbeth does not want to kill the king. One reason is because it’s wrong, and



the other reason is because the King is a guest in Macbeth’s castle. This is what he said



about Duncan being his guest. “Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, who



should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself.” (Act 1, Scene



7, Lines 14-16) In the end Lady Macbeth’s influence did lead to the murder of King



Duncan. Her emasculating of Macbeth pushed him over the edge.

     

     In conclusion, one can not avoid the influence of what others have to say. This



proves true for Macbeth. If not for these three forces, Macbeth would never have had the



guts, nor the reason to kill King Duncan. Each one of these forces influenced Macbeth in



their own way, but when all of them were put together, they pushed Macbeth over the



edge.