Happiness In Macbeth

Often in life when humans pursue happiness they end up compromising the happiness they may already have by becoming greedy and wanting more than what they already have. This results in their life becoming worse than what it had been before, even though they were content with their life before. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare tried to convey the message that the pursuit of happiness may be misleading, and that throughout this pursuit an individual might have a false sense of happiness while in reality this pursuit will eventually compromise that false sense of happiness. Throughout the play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth pursued happiness by killing, being deceitful, and by being manipulative to others, which eventually led to their demise.

Macbeth pursued happiness by killing Duncan, thinking that it would give him happiness by becoming the king of Scotland. The first warning came when Macbeth started to feel guilty about the fact that he killed Duncan even though Duncan honored him and made him the Thane of Cawdor. After Macbeth killed Duncan he quoted, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.” (II, ii, 72-75)- Macbeth reacts as if all the oceans of the world cannot wash away the blood from his hands and that the guilt will live on forever. This is showing that this is a warning for Macbeth and that the positives of becoming king do not out weight the negatives of him doing all these terrible deeds, which in the end will compromise his happiness. Macbeth wanted to pursue even more happiness thinking that by killing his noble companion Banquo it would ensure him happiness. He believed that if he sent out assassins to kill Banquo and his son Fleance that it would ensure that the queen’s prophecies about Banquo having someone from his future family being king would not come true. Macbeth states, “ Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature Reigns that which would be feared. 'Tis much he dares; And to that dauntless temper of his mind, He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour To act in safety. There is none but he Whose being I do fear. And under him My Genius is rebuked, as it is said, Mark Antony's was by Caesar. (III, I, 55-63)- Banquo possesses many kingly qualities, which pose as a threat in Macbeths mind. Banquo is brave and wise, which poses another threat for Macbeth. All these qualities input fear into Macbeths mind, which is why Macbeth decides that he wants to kill Banquo even though Banquo has never openly expressed the willingness to overthrow Macbeth as a king. This proves that Macbeth will compromise happiness and his friendship with Banquo all because he believes that killing Banquo will ensure hip happiness even though it will not. Macbeth lied in order to deceive people into trusting him so that he could pursue happiness.

Macbeth lied in order to pursue happiness, but with all this lying and deceitfulness Macbeth did not know that it would lead him to a false sense of happiness which in the end would be compromised. This deceitfulness is shown in the beginning when Banquo mentions to Macbeth that he dreamt about the witches prophecies and Macbeth replies “I think not of them” (II, I, 26)- This proves that even this early on in the play Macbeth was willing to lie in order to pursue happiness even though his mind has been fixed on the witches prophecies. When Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo and starts going insane, Lady Macbeth immediately starts to cover up Macbeth’s craziness with a lie. “Sit, worthy friends. My lord is often thus, and hath been from his youth. Pray you, keep seat. The fit is momentary.” (III, iv 64-66)- This proves that Lady Macbeth was willing to lie in order to cover up the fact that Macbeth murdered Banquo in order to pursue a sense of happiness, which she does not know will eventually lead to the compromise of that false sense of happiness. Lady Macbeth was also willing to manipulate others including her husband to pursue happiness.

Lady Macbeth believed that if she could convince her husband into killing Duncan that it would lead her to happiness, while in the end it led to the compromise of that happiness she yearned for.

“When you durst do it, then you are a man.” (I, vii, 55)- Lady Macbeth is very conniving showing that she is willing to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan, despite the fact that she is unable to carry out the actions by herself. She is willing to jeopardize the safety of her husband in the pursuit of happiness, even though in the end without realizing that it will compromise that happiness. Lady Macbeth knew her husband was ambitious, but he was too kind. So she wanted to manipulate him into killing Duncan in order to fulfill he pursuit of happiness. During her soliloquy in act I scene v lines 13-29 Lady Macbeth states “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature. It is too full of the milk of human kindness to catch nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it… And chastise with the valour of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round which fate and the metaphysical aid doth seem to have the crowned withal.” During this soliloquy Lady Macbeth states that she is going to convince her husband into taking action so that he can become king. This soliloquy shows that Lady Macbeth is the dominant partner, which is contrary to the stereotypical gender stereotypes of that time frame. This proves that once again that in the pursuit of happiness that Lady Macbeth is willing to take over the relationship in order to achieve what she thinks will bring her happiness. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth also lied in order to achieve what they though would bring them

happiness.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. These days people are too fixated with materialistic possessions and do not realize the importance of the happiness they might have. In the play during the pursuit of happiness Macbeth and Lady Macbeth compromised that happiness by having a false sense of happiness, which they thought they could achieve by manipulation, killing, and deceiving, while they did not realize that these actions would compromise their happiness and eventually lead to their death.

Adam Huskic E.L.A. 20-1