Soliloquies Essay - Importance of the First Soliloquy in Macbeth

Importance of the First Soliloquy in Macbeth

Following king Duncan's arrival at Inverness,

Macbeth delivers his first major soliloquy. This speech

summarizes his reasons for not wanting to commit murder. It is

also an image of the plot of Macbeth, as it foreshadows the

chain of events that is to follow the murder of Duncan. Although

Macbeth knows that he cannot "trammel up the consequence"

of Duncan's murder and that his actions will have repercussions,

he commits the murder and continues to kill; thus is Macbeth

shown to be a weak character who can be easily convinced to

perform terrible deeds. Although this is not apparent before the

predictions, the moments following them and his homecoming

demonstrate Macbeth's own vulnerability. The important speech

that he delivers summarizes the results of Duncan's murder, and

the multitude of murders following this all follow suit. Macbeth's

eventual deterioration is inevitable.

Near the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed

as a brave soldier and a noble officer in the king's army. He

successfully leads the attack upon the invading forces of

Macdonwald, the Thane of Cawdor, and Sweno, king of

Norway. He is killing upon the order of another, in this case, the

king: "[Macbeth] Like valour's minion carv'd out his passage/Till

he fac'd the slave" (I.ii.19-20). Macbeth here appears as a

powerful warlord who, although at times seems bloodthirsty, is

effective in destroying the foe. Before his meeting with the

witches, we have a rather clean view of him; he is a "good"

man.

When Macbeth and Banquo stumble onto the barren

plateau where the w...

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...e manipulated. While

he can figure and rationalize alone, outside influences such as

Lady Macbeth and the witches change his actions and skew his

thoughts. This weakness of character was particularly

unacceptable in Macbeth's time, when men were meant to be

full of both mental and physical fortitude. Macbeth was a great

man, but his tragic fault was his undoing, for a man of his power

could not survive in those times without much more moral

strength than he had.

Bibliography

Primary Source:

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Coles Total Study Edition.

Toronto: Coles, 1992.

Secondary Sources:

1. Coles Editorial Board. "Marginal Notes to Macbeth,"

Macbeth. Total Study Edition. Toronto: Coles, 1992.

2. Coles Editorial Board. Macbeth Notes. Toronto: Coles,

1992.