Manifestation In Macbeth

In William Shakespeare 's Macbeth, there are many representations of the natural, unnatural, and supernatural. Therefore, Macbeth can be seen as a play that presents a depiction of nature through emphasizing breaches of it. Throughout the play, the notion of time becomes inextricably intertwined with the idea of all that is natural; Macbeth 's struggle against the natural order is manifested in his attempt to transcend time. Another manifestation of this struggle lies in Macbeth 's attempt to become more masculine by subduing his feelings. Through an examination of Lady Macbeth 's line, "Yet I do fear thy nature; / It is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way" (Macbeth 1.5.14-16), we can find a connection between time,

Lady Macbeth says, "I feel now / The future in the instant" (1.6.55-6), suggesting that for her, the future is no longer distant, but somehow occurring presently. She reinforces this idea with the repetition of the concept of present-ness, with "now" and "instant." According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "instant" means "the point of time now present, or regarded as present with reference to some action or event," as well as "an infinitely short space of time." The future is not only "regarded as present," but instead of there being a linear progression from present to future, there is "an infinitely short space of time" between them. Along a similar vein, Macbeth says, "Nothing is but what is not" (1.3.144). The only thing that is real to Macbeth is "what is not," or the things that have not yet happened. This line recalls the witches ' paradoxical statement, "Fair is foul and foul is fair" (1.1. 11), since both lines have a mirrored structure and content that is ostensibly nonsensical. The connection between Macbeth and the supernatural witches in these lines highlights Macbeth 's progression away from the natural. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth disregard temporality and the natural, linear progression of time, and their mixing of present and future represents their rushing of

In the above passage, Lady Macbeth fears that Macbeth is "too full of...milk." This description reminds us of another instance, when Lady Macbeth says, "Unsex me here...Come to my woman 's breasts / And take my milk for gall" (1.5.38, 45-46). Here, removing milk is equated with removing femininity, demonstrating that milk is an essential part of femininity. Therefore, in saying that Macbeth is "too full o’th’ milk of human kindness," Lady Macbeth worries that Macbeth is too feminine to do what is necessary to become king as quickly as possible (i.e. kill Duncan). Furthermore, she calls it the "milk of...kindness," suggesting that it is the feminine quality of kindness that renders him unable to act. Lady Macbeth further characterizes her definition of femininity, saying, "Stop up the access and passage to remorse, / That no compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my fell purpose" (1.5.42-44). Feelings of remorse are "visitings of nature," suggesting that remorse is a part of the female nature. Emotions such as remorse "shake [her] fell purpose," diminishing her ability to act. According to the Macbeths, femininity is defined by emotions, which stand in the way of