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.