Fear In Macbeth

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Of the characters in the play, Macbeth is the most fearful, which in turn drives him from acceptable social conduct down the irreversible path to his doom. Before Duncan’s murder, Macbeth uses the word “fear” only three times, doing so more generally, as other male characters do, instead of associating it with himself, like he does later in the play. During this time, his actions stay within normal moral and social boundaries, and he is respected by his peers. However, since his first use of the word, which was shortly after hearing the witches prophesize his rise to power, the audience can see Macbeth trying to hide thoughts of how he could kill Duncan to attain the Scottish crown. He brushes aside these thoughts as “horrible imaginings (Shakespeare 1.3.251)”, as opposed to “present fears (Shakespeare 1.3.250)”, …show more content…
This reluctance to act can be said to stem from a fear of losing his current standing and good reputation. Macbeth only tries once to resist Lady Macbeth, telling her that Duncan has “honour’d [him] of late (Shakespeare 1.7.508)” and he has the “golden opinion of all sorts of people (Shakespeare 1.7.509)” that he would rather not lose. He does not argue that murdering Duncan is morally incorrect, nor does he mention that it would be treason- his only reasoning is the fear of losing his current status. Even still, Macbeth quickly capitulates, announcing that he “dare[s] do all that may become a man (Shakespeare 1.7.524)” when Lady Macbeth accuses him of being unmanly and a coward (Shakespeare 1.7.515-22). Here, the play emphasizes Macbeth’s desire for power and prideful focus on his image, which in this case, is the image of appearing less than a man. Fear has made Macbeth lose rational thought and morality. Instead, he becomes a vessel of action easily directed, fearing the loss of power and appearing

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