In Deepest Consequence: Macbeth Author(S): Herbert R

George Washington University

In Deepest Consequence: Macbeth Author(s): Herbert R. Coursen, Jr. Source: Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Autumn, 1967), pp. 375-388 Published by: Folger Shakespeare Library in association with George Washington University Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2867630 . Accessed: 15/10/2011 18:49

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http://www.jstor.org In DeepestConsequence: Macbeth

HERBERT R. COURSEN, JR.

ACBETH is powerfuleven for the mature Shakespeare. The play demands that we share its experienceintensely, that we feel the strengthof Macbeth'sthirst for kingship, the forceof Lady Macbeth'spersuasions, the anguishof Mac- beth'sstruggle before the murder,and the impactof nature's retributionafter the murder.' The play partakesof what GilbertMurray calls "the strange,unanalyzed vibration below the surface... an undercurrentof desiresand fearsand passions,long slumberingyet eternally familiar,which have for thousandsof years lain near the root of our most magical dramas."2This essaywill attemptto analyzethat subsurface vibration, to examine at least one source of the play's power-the mythwhich Shake- speare'sgenius transmutesinto drama. Such examinationshould give the play a new context,one whichwill reinforcemeanings long recognizedin Macbeth and, further,bring into relationshipseveral otherwise disparate elements of the play. Without attemptingto definethe over-definedterm myth, I shall assume with Philip Wheelwrightthat it concerns"the original and essentiallyun- changeableconditions of human insight."3The mythvibrating beneath the surfaceof Macbethis one of the originalmyths-that of the fall froma state of grace. That it is a source of the play's power suggestsits continuingrele- vance to thehuman situation, its truth. The mannerin whichthe myth is mani- festedin Macbethis perhapsbest suggested by Lady Macbeth: . . . looklike theinnocent flower, But be the serpentunder't. (I. v. 66-67)4

1 In a recentarticle, Mary McCarthy seems to takeexception to theplay's power. She findsMac- beth ratherdull, a man of "unimaginativemediocrity", a victimof "know-nothingmaterialism", "timorous,unimaginative". She suggeststhat "Macbeth does not fall; if anything,he somewhatim- provesas a resultof his careerin crime" ("General Macbeth",Harper's (June,I962), pp. 35-39). Assuming,perhaps dangerously, that Miss McCarthyintends to be takenseriously, one has only to pointout thatwere Macbethas stultifiedas she claims,the play which bearshis name would not have survivedfor her to attack.For morepositive feminine reactions see MargaretWebster, Shake- speare WithoutTears (New York, 1955), pp. I69-174, and Dame Edith Sitwell,A Notebookon WilliamShakespeare (London, 1948), pp. 24-46. For a morepersuasive version of the materialist argument,see WalterC. Curry,Shakespeare's Philosophical Patterns (Baton Rouge,1937), pp. 112- II9. A furthernegative opinion is thatof G. B. Harrison,who says that"Macbeth has been ex- travagantlyoverpraised . . . it is the weakestof Shakespeare'sgreat tragedies . .", Shakespeare's Tragedies(New York, 1956), p. i84. 2 Quoted in HerbertWeisinger, "An Examinationof the Mythand RitualApproach to Shake- speare",Myth and Mythmaking(New York, i960), p. 140. 3 "Poetry,Myth, and Reality",in The Language of Poetry,Allen Tate, ed. (Princeton,1942), PP. 3-33. 4AIl quotationsfrom Macbeth are in accordancewith the G. L. Kittredgeedition (Boston, 1936) 376 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY The flowersuggests Creation and linksitself with the play's many images of growingthings. The serpentsuggests the deception which slithered into Eden to temptEve-as the GenevaBible callsit in the glossto Revelationxii:g, "Thatolde serpent called the devill and Satan"which was hurledfrom Heaven by Michaeland "whichdeceiveth all theworlde." Lady Macbethhere is the temptingserpent and, of course,is alsothe deceived. In thatMacbeth is a man in a fallenworld, the play concerns the further fall of man-the loss of his soul. But in thatMacbeth stands closest to royalfavor (with the exceptionof Malcolm)in a potentiallyredeemable world, his fallparallels that of Lucifer, whostood closest to God (withthe exception of theSon). The fallof Macbeth drawsfor its precedent on bothGenesis and Revelation,the first and thelast booksof theBible, a factwhich suggests the fundamental implications of his crime."Christian philosophy", says Walter C. Curry,"recognizes two tragedies of cosmicimportance: (i) thefall of Luciferand a thirdpart of theangelic hosts,who rebelled against God and werecast out, and (2) thefall of Adam, whowas originallyendowed with perfection and freedombut who set his will againstGod's will and so broughtsin and limitedfreedom upon mankind" (p. 67). The fallof Macbeth draws on thecombined power of those of Lucifer andAdam-and on more, of course, since it is alsohis own. The playabounds in allusionsto fallenangels. The Portermentions "Belze- bub" (II. iii.4) evenas Macbeth'ssoul is absorbingthe dimensions of itsfall. Suspiciousof Macduff,Malcolm says that "Angels are brightstill, though the brightestfell" (IV.iii.22). Thinkingprobably of Macbeth,Malcolm goes on to recastwhat his father once said about finding the mind's construction in the face: Thoughall thingsfoul would wear the brows of grace Yetgrace must still look so. (IV. iii. 23-24) Malcolmis paraphrasingthe firstgloss on Genesisiii in the GenevaBible; here,the bright deceitful angel is linkedto the myth of Eden: As Satancan change himselfe into an Angelof light, so didhe abusethe wisdomeof the serpent todeceive man. The play,of course,is fullof directreferences to "DevilishMacbeth" (IV. iii. II7). He is a "hell-kite"(IV. iii.2I7) and a "hellhound"5(V. viii.3). Hell can produceneither a "devilmore damn'd/In evils" (IV. iii. 56-57)nor a "hotter name"(V. vii.6). Recognizingthat Macbeth is doomed,Macduff taunts him as a subordinatefiend: Despairthy charm! Andlet the angel whom thou still hast serv'd Tellthee, Macduff was from his mother's womb Untimelyripp'd. (V. viii. I3-i6) ?Shakespeare'sconstant equation of Macbethwith bestialityin Act Five ("my fell of haire, v. xI: "harnesson our back", v. 52: "They have tied me to a stake. . . bear-likeI mustfight the course",vii. I-2: "our rarermonsters", viii. 25: "baited with the rabble'scurse", viii. 29) suggests the traditionthat both the fallenangels and the titanswere transformedinto monstersafter their falls.Macduff's "By this greatclatter one of greatestnote/ Seems bruited"(vii. 2I-22) may be a pun on "brute".The suggestionof a warriorsurrounded by adversariesrecalls the bear-baitingmet- aphor. IN DEEPEST CONSEQUENCE 377 The powerbeneath the surface, then, is themyth of thefall from a stateof grace,whether the fall from the beneficent light of God or theexpulsion from paradiseon Earth.The mythhas threebasic manifestationsin Macbeth:6 moraldecision, feminine persuasion, and cosmic retribution.

I The auditorof Macbeth is projectedinto a fallenworld, one which seems to haveeaten of the fruit of the tree of good and evil and which cannot tell the two apart.There are the obvious ambiguities-"Fair is foul, and foul is fair"(I. i. Io), "fairand foul"(I. iii.38)-which resound so ominouslythrough the early por- tionsof the play, as twoof Banquo's utterances testify: Goodsir, why do youstart and seem to fear Thingsthat do soundso fair?(I. iii. 5I-52) Andmore negatively, Thouhast it now-King,Cawdor, Glamis, all, As theWeird Women promis'd; and, I fear Thouplay'dst most foully for't. (III. i. i-3) Moralconfusion is concentrated, ofcourse, in Macbeth: Thissupernatural soliciting Cannotbe ill; cannotbe good.(L iii. I30-I30) . . .function Is smother'din surmise.And nothingis But whatis not.(I. iii. I40-I42) The wordsof theopening scenes are likethose two spent swimmers of whom the woundedCaptain speaks-they "cling together/ And choketheir art" (I. i 8-9).Often the lines say two things about Macbeth-they praise him as a heroand, prophet-like, predict his coming treason: Norwayhimself, With terriblenumbers, Assistedby thatmost disloyal traitor, The Thaneof Cawdor, began a dismalconflict, Till thatBellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof, Confrontedhim withself-comparisons, Pointagainst point, rebellious arm 'gainst arm.. (IL ii. 50-56) The linesare constructed tosuggest that Macbeth confronted Cawdor as wellas Sweno-a self-comparisonwhich becomes an ominousmirror reflecting treason presentand future.The hintis reinforcedby the adjective"rebellious", which pointsacross the sentenceto modifythe second arm-Macbeth's. This subversionof a line'sprimary meaning recurs in Ross'sgreeting to Macbeth:

6 A fourthpossible manifestation, that of deception,or appearanceversus reality, is too pervasive a Shakespeariantheme to be attributableto the Eden portionof the mythof the fall.This aspectof Macbethis discussedby TheodoreSpencer, Shakespeare and the Natureof Man (New York, i96i), pp. I53-i62, and by L. C. Knights,"King Lear and the GreatTragedies", The Age of Shakespeare (Baltimore,I955), pp. 24I-245. 378 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY The King hathhappily receiv'd, Macbeth, The newsof thysuccess; and whenhe reads Thy personalventure in the rebel'sfight, His wondersand his praisesdo contend, Whichshould be thineor his. (I. iii. 89-93) "Personalventure in therebel's fight"-his heroic effort against rebellion and his personalrole in theultimate treason. The contradictorylines continue, thepoetry itself committing treason against its ostensible meaning: He findsthee in thestout Norweyan ranks, Nothingafeard of what thyself didst make, Strangeimages of death.(I. iii. 95-97)

As the lines predict,Macbeth will soon be among the enemiesof the King, making a strangerimage of death,the "greatdoom's image" (II. iii. 83). It is that"horrid image" (I. iii. I35) whichhas alreadyfrightened him. The actionsof Duncan duringthe opening scenes share the predominant ambiguousquality; he attemptsto engenderEden on earthyet helps to pro- mote his murder.As Macbethreturns from battle, Duncan assumesthe role of Creator,his rightful role within the Kingdom of Scotland: I havebegin to plantthee, and willlabour To makethee full of growing. (I. iv. 28-29) Macbeth is in a stateof grace. The choice of remainingin Eden under this beneficentaegis is his. If he does so, he is toldthat "signs of nobleness,like stars, shall shine/On all deservers"(I. iv.4V-42) 7 But while attemptingto encourages Eden, Duncan unconsciouslypromotes treason. In languagewhich throughan. ominousrhyme reverberates again with Delphic tones,the King investsMac- beth with the traitor'stitle, thus promptingMacbeth to assume the traitor's. reality: No morethat Thane of Cawdorshall deceive Our bosominterest. Go pronouncehis present death And withhis former title greet Macbeth. (I. ii, 63-65)

No more shall thatThane of Cawdor deceiveus-but what of the new one? The "carelesstrifle" (I. iv. ii) which Cawdor discardsbecomes an "honest- trifle"(I. iii. I25) which wins Macbeth.The pervasiveconfusion of the opening scenes is perhaps suggestedbest when the gracious Duncan echoes the- Weird Sisters(I. i. 4)-as Macbethhad done earlier:"What he hath lost noble Macbethhath won" (I. ii. 67). Duncan incitestreason further by establishing his estateon Malcolm,just as Milton'sGod exaltshis Son and activatesSatan's. dormantdisobedience.8 Macbeth adjures the starsto hide theirfires (I. iv. 50);.

7 One such sign is thediamond, noblest of gemsand like a star,with which Duncan greetsLady Macbeth"By the name of mostkind hostess"(I. i. i5-i6). As Derek Traversisays, "Duncan's brief appearancesbefore his murderare invariablyinvested with imagesof lightand fertilityto which are joined at momentsof deepestfeeling the religiousassociations of worshipin a magnificentcom- prehensiveimpression of overflowinggrace" (An Approachto Shakespeare(New York, i956), pa I54). 8 The parallel was noted by Coleridge,whom A. C. Bradleyquotes as saying,"It is a fancy; but I can neverread this [Duncan's successionspeech, I. iv. 35-43], and the followingspeeches of IN DEEPEST CONSEQUENCE 379 heinstructs hisown signs of nobleness toextinguish themselves and so facilitate theattainment ofhis "black and deep desires" (I. iv.51). The languageof theopening scenes intermingles thepossibilities ofgood andof evil, suggesting the terms of Macbeth's decision. Ironically, as he comes closerto killing Duncan, his awareness ofthe heinousness ofthe crime becomes clearer.Like Adam, Macbeth knows clearly what God's word is andwhat the generalresults of Duncan's murder must be: ... hisvirtues Willplead like angels, trumpet-tongu'd, against Thedeep damnation ofhis taking-off. (I. vii. i8-20) An actwhich would outrage angels, involve the perpetrator in damnation-the dimensionsof the fall are suggestedby the dropfrom "angels trumpet tongu'd"to "deep damnation" which the voice must make as theline is read. Theattainment of"black and deep desires" will have the "deepest consequence" (I. iii.I26). Macbethis unableto follow his wife's advice to "Consider itnot so deeply"(II. ii.30). Butagainst the awareness of the depth to whichthe deed will drivehim is the upwardand irresistiblesurge of his ambition.He re- phraseswhat he had said on hearing of Malcolm's elevation (I. iv.48-49): I haveno spur To prickthe sides of my intent, but only Vaultingambition, which o'erleaps itself And fallson th'other.... (I. Vii. 25-28) In a fallenworld his eyes are open to the meaning of good and evil and to the potentialfor further fall. At this moment, he is a symbolof any man who has beensimilarly torn between "his virtuousunderstanding and his corrupt will".9

II Anydiscussion ofAdam's temptation orof Macbeth's must involve Eve-or LadyMacbeth-the element of feminine persuasion, the spur of whichMac- bethspeaks at the end of his soliloquy. Some will argue that the Weird Sisters

Macbeth,without involuntarily thinking of the MiltonicMessiah and Satan" (ShakespeareanTrag- edy (New York, 1955), p. 433). Anotherversion (simply the notation,"Messiah-Satan") appears in Coleridge'sWritings on Shakespeare,Terence Hawkes, ed. (New York,i959), p. I92. The parallel is developedin greaterdetail by JohnW. Hales, "Milton'sMacbeth", Nineteenth Century, XXX (Dec. i89i), 919-932. In this engagingessay, Hales examinesthe thematiclinks betweenMac- beth and ParadiseLost: "no otherof Shakespeare'splays comes so near dealingwith the verysub- ject of ParadiseLost or . . . does in factso fullydeal withit, as Macbeth.-`Macbeth's is "the dis- obedienceof a remoteson of Adam ... he too pluckedforbidden fruit and was expelledfrom his Eden-expelled fromthe stateof happiness,honor, and peace." See also Paul Siegel,Shakespearean Tragedyand the ElizabethanCompromise (New York, 1957), pp. 142-i60 (in whichthe Eve-Lady Macbethrelationship is noted briefly,pp. 143-I44), M.D.H. Parker,The Slave of Life (London, 1953), pp. i62-i64, J.Dover Wilson,Macbeth (Cambridge, 1947), pp. Ixiv-lxvi, and Helen Gard- ner, "Milton's'Satan' and the Theme of Damnationin ElizabethanTragedy", Essays and Studies, I (I948), 46-66. 9 E. M. W. Tillyard,Shakespeare's History Plays (London, 1959), p. 3I5. Similarly,Alfred Harbage says,"If Macbethwere otherthan he is, less like ourselves,he would be a less powerful symbolof our own worstpotentialities and the abysswe have escaped" (Macbeth(Baltimore, 1956), p. 19). 380 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY arethe spur to Macbeth's intent,10 and because this is partiallytrue, Shakespeare is carefulto createmany links between them and Lady Macbeth.Twice she echoestheir words and rhythms: i. Witch.All hail,Macbeth! Hail tothee, Thane of Glamis! 2. Witch.All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! 3. Witch.All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be Kinghereafter! LadyM. Glamisthou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be- Whatthou art promis'd. (I. v. i6-I7) LadyM. GreatGlamis! worthy Cawdor! Greaterthan both by the all-hail hereafter!" (I. v. 55-56) She woulddenature herself like the Sisters, whom Banquo would have called womenhad theirbeards not forbidden the interpretation (I. iii. 45-47): Come,you spirits Thattend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here.... (I. v. 40-4I) Like theSisters, she would be an "instrumentofdarkness", creator of a hellish atmosphereof "filthyair": Come,thick night, Andpall thee in thedunnest smoke of hell.... (I. vi. 5I-52) She wouldmake permanent the prediction of sunset made by the Third Witch (I. i.5): 0 never Shallsun that morrow see!12 (I. vi. 6i-62) WhileLady Macbethis linkedunmistakably with the Weird Sisters, the temptationscene rings with echoes of Eden: Macbeth.Hath he ask'dfor me? Lady M. Knowyou not he has? (I. vii. 29-30)

10 Cf. Hardin Craig: "He is seducedby the witches,clearly powers of evil, who exemplifythe moralitydoctrine that Satan is a deceiver"("Morality Plays and ElizabethanDrama", SQ, I (April, i950), 64-72). ProfessorCraig's neglectof Macbeth'sspiritual struggle keeps Macbeth in line with the moralityhero, who "lacks personalmotivation or any inwardstruggle", but such a view resultsin a vast oversimplificationof Macbeth's movement towards evil. A more qualifiedview is that of WillardFarnham: "Macbethis a moralityplay writtenin termsof JacobeanTragedy. Its hero is workedupon by forcesof evil, yieldsto temptationin spiteof all thathis consciencecan do to stop him . . . and is broughtto retributionby his death" (Shakespeare'sTragic Frontier (Berk- eley,1950), p. 79). 11Macbeth himself engages in some significantechoing: "'Glamis hath murther'dsleep, and thereforeCawdor/ Shall sleep no more! Macbethshall sleep no more!'" (II. ii. 40-41). The final step in the sequenceshould be King; insteadMacbeth comes back in horrorto himself,to thehu- manityhe has lost in becomingKing. 12 At thispoint, Lady Macbethseems to be attemptingto becomeLilith, Adam's shadowyfirst wife,whose name means "of the night",a demonor vampire,or, in Medievalfolklore, a witchbe- lieved to be a menaceto littlechildren, as Lady Macbethclaims to be (I. vii. 54-59). Lilith is as- sociatedwith a screechowl as is Lady Macbeth(II. ii. 3-4; II. ii. i6). FrancisFergusson states that "Accordingto folklore. . . Harpier [the familiarof the ThirdWitch] [is] an owl" (Shakespeare's Tragediesof Monarchy(New York, i962), p. I73). This would createa slenderbut significant link betweenLady Macbeth,who feels"the futurein the instant"(I. v. 59), and the Third Witch,the witchof the future. IN DEEPEST CONSEQUENCE 38i God walkedthrough Eden calling,"Where art thou?" to Adam.The Geneva glosson God's searchgives context to Macbeth'sdeparture from the banquet and to thesubsequent guilty soliloquy: "The sinnefullconscience fleeth God's presense."To avoid the deed and at the same timeplacate Lady Macbeth, Macbethreduces the abstractions ofhis soliloquy to material terms: I havebought Goldenopinions from all sorts of people. Whichwould be wornnow in theirnewest gloss, Notcast aside so soon. (I. vii.32-35)13 His argumentis conditionedby her inability at thispoint in theplay to seebe- yondthe tangible.Macbeth cannot speak of "doubletrust" or of Duncan's clarityin office;his wifewould not understand("What do you mean?"she asks later,as Macbethwaxes hyperbolic about the sleep which he will never knowagain-II. ii.40). Butto employa materialisticexcuse for not pursuing a materialisticcourse is to openoneself up forcounterattack. Lady Macbethre- torts,implying with a sneerthat cowardice lurks beneath the thane'snew clothes:"When you durstdo it, thenyou werea man" (I. vii.49). As Dr. Johnsonsays, with the certaintyof an eighteenth-centurycritic, "Courage is the distinguishingvirtue of a soldier,and the reproachof cowardicecannot be borneby any man withoutgreat impatience.'914 Her skillfulblend of scorn and sex-the primordialfeminine weapons-upsets the precariousbalance withinMacbeth. The wordsin theGeneva margin about Adam's submission becomerelevant: "Not so muchto pleasehis wife,as moovedby ambitionat herpersuasion." The rolesof the sixteenth-century Eve and Lady Macbeth coin- cide-eachignites the ambition latent within her husband's breast.'5 Thus whileLady Macbethhas attemptedto makeherself a Lilith,she has beenforced to employthe feminine qualities of Eve to temptMacbeth. She has notbeen unsexed. Her linkto thequalities of theWeird Sisters is onlyverbal, a rhetoricalequation which will prove disastrous if shebases her actions upon it-as shedoes, of course: Giveme the daggers. The sleeping and the dead Arebut as pictures.'Tis the eye of childhood Thatfears a painteddevil. (II. ii. 53-55) She forgetsthat she herself has seenwith the eyes of childhood only moments before: Had he notresembled Myfather as he slept,I had done't.(II. ii. I3-I4)

13 Miss McCarthycontends that Macbeth says this "to himself"(p. 37). I have not seen a text which supportsthis contention;it is a convenientassumption, however, in supportof her argu- mentfor Macbeth's "know-nothing materialism". 14 W. K. Wimsatt,Jr., ed., Samuel Johnsonon Shakespeare(New York, i960), p. I03. 15 That the witcheshave only remindedhim of previousthoughts is impliedeven beforeLady Macbeth'ssuggestion that the murderwas conceivedoriginally by Macbeth(I. vii.47-52). When Banquo interruptsMacbeth's speculations about murderingDuncan afterthe witcheshave appeared (I. iii. I52), Macbethapologizes, saying, "My dull brainwas wroughtwith things forgotten" (I. iii. 154). The lines suggestthat the witcheshave merelyreminded him of murderousthoughts suspended amid the hurlyburlyof battle.Curiously, Coleridge calls Macbeth'sexcuse a "lie" (Hawkes, p. 191) 382 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY We learn suddenlythat she was once a child,that her attemptto subverther naturehas been unsuccessful. The blood-coveredbody of Duncan is to become a picturewhich will pursueher into the hellish murk of hermadness: "Yet who would have thoughtthe old man to have had so much blood in him?" (V. i. 44-45).The blood was real,not merepaint.17 The wordsof theGeneva glosson Genesis ii defineher tragicfailure, her inabilityto see soon enoughthe differ- ence betweenthe painted devil which mightbe scornedand the image of a fathermurdered, as capturedby the child's eye withinher: "This is Satans Ichiefestsubtiltie, to cause us notto feareGods threatenings." The contradictorycharacter of Lady Macbeth,the elementsof Lilith and Eve withinher, can best be summarizedby examiningone of the play's most controversialaspects-her feint-faint (II. iii. I24) .18 The argumentson each side requireonly briefsummary. Some claim that the feintis merelyanother im- provisationby the skillfultactician, another masking of realitywith appearance,that it drawsattention away fromMacbeth's suspicious rhetoric and from his questionablekilling of the grooms,that it representsher effortto reactas a woman should react (an "innocentflower"), that it atonesfor the blundershe has alreadymade (II. iii. 92-93), that the woman who could take the knives back into the murderchamber would hardlycollapse at the mere mentionof blood, thatMacbeth's unconcern for her shows that he, at least,knows she is faking,etc. These argumentsare persuasive.Most criticsbelieve, however, that she does faint.'9They suggestthat the murderhas been a greatstrain on her, thatshe has been activefor many hours and has been drinkingbesides (II. ii. i- 2), that,as her mad sceneproves, Duncan's blood made a frightfulimpression on her, that the faces of the group assembledsuggest for the firsttime the heinousnessof the deed,20etc. These too are persuasivearguments. We have such a perfectmoment in ambiguity,in fact,that the strengthof one case tends to cancel the otherout. The solution,perhaps, is to admitthe validityof each case, to move into the zone of negativecapability and recognizethat this moment definestwo Lady Macbeths.The feintsuggests the schemingplotter of the earlyscenes; the faintpredicts the sin-hauntedwoman of the FifthAct. If we do not insiston one interpretationor another,the momentpoints backward

16 Cf. Fergusson,p. i9i, on V. i: "In her nightgown,alone, she would look less like thepower- -madwoman of Act I thanlike a littlegirl lost in the dark." 17 Dr. Johnson'squestion on II.ii.54-55, "Could Shakespearepossibly mean to play on thesimili- tude of gild and guilt?" (Wimsatt,p. I03), is pursuedby CleanthBrooks, who says,"for [Lady Macbeth],there is no moralorder: guilt is somethinglike gilt--onecan wash it offor paintit on" ("Shakespeareas a SymbolistPoet", The Yale Review,XXXIV (June,I945), p. 66o). 18 See the VariorumEdition, pp. i6i-i64, fora summaryof the debate.Among thosewho be- lieve that Lady Macbethreally faints are Bradley,pp. 394-395; Edward Dowden, Shakspere:His -Mindand Art (New York, i962), p. 254; Sir Edmund Chambers,Shakespeare: A Survey(New York, i960), p. 236; G. Wilson Knight,"Macbeth and the Metaphysicof Evil", The Wheel of Fire (New York, I957), p. I52; Kittredge,p. I46; W. A. Neilson,Shakespeare (Cambridge, Mass., I942), p. ii82; Thomas M. Parrott,Shakespeare (New York, I953), p. 826; and IrvingRibner, Patternsof ShakespearianTragedy (London, 1960), p. I62. 19 Lendingsupport to thisposition is the factthat the scene (II.iii) reverberateswith suggestions *ofJudgment Day. Macduffcommands Malcolm, Donalbain, and Banquo to rise "As fromyour graves. . . and walk like sprites"to view "the greatdoom's image" (83-84). Lady Macbethasks on ,entering,"What's the business/That such a hideous trumpetcalls to parley/The sleepersof the house?" (86-88). The scene fulfillsMacbeth's prediction that "we still have judgementhere" (I.vii.8) 20 Harold Goddardsuggests that "the actingby her bodyof an assumedfear [opens] a channel .to the genuinefear she is tryingto hide" (The Meaningof Shakespeare(Chicago, I951), p. I20). IN DEEPEST CONSEQUENCE 383 and forward,accomplishing the impossible by capturing the contradictory fea- turesof Lady Macbeth'scareer within a singleinstant. Such ambiguity is ap- propriateto a playin whichfoul and fairelements are blendedinextricably. LadyMacbeth's subsequent history-the emergence of the woman within her- increasesour appreciation of the feminine power which lay behind her effort to persuadeher husband to kill the King. III While the retributionwhich Lady Macbethexperiences is definedby the Doctoras "a greatperturbation in nature" (V. i. io), it is personaland internal. Nature'sperturbation in Macbeth,however, is limitless,in HenryAdams' phrase"an insanityof force,"'"more pervasive perhaps even than that titanic stormwhich swirls around and withinthe head of King Lear. Nature'sout- ragein Macbeth swells to the proportions ofan anti-Creation.22 Duncan representsGod, thecreative principle; he is thearchitect of Scot- land'sgarden. The themeof Eden is perhapsbest articulated as Banquo and theKing approach Dunsinane: Duncan.This castle hath a pleasantseat. The air Nimblyand sweetlyrecommends itself Untoour gentle senses. Banquo. Thisguest of summer, The temple-hauntingmartlet, does approve, Byhis lov'd masonry, that the heaven's breath Smellswooingly here. No jutty,frieze, Buttress,nor coign of vantage, but this bird Hathmade his pendant bed and procreant cradle. Wherethey most breed and haunt, I have observ'd The air is delicate.(I. vi. i-io) The worldwhich they see, like Eden, exists in harmonywith Heaven; it is a creativeworld in whichnests find the constructionsof man hospitable,in whichthe delicate air of Heaven at onceencourages new life into being and is recreatedby that new life.23 The linkbetween Duncan and theMartlet is suggestedby RobertSpeaight: "Both are guestsand bothare innocent;it is no accidentthat the King is seenin relationto uncorruptednature."24 But this glimpseof Eden, a metaphorfor Scotland under Duncan, is deceptive;Dunsi- naneis a placewhere "the atmosphere is pure and martletshaunt the air, but thedarkest designs are hatchedwithin its walls."25 With the murder of Dun- can,procreation vanishes. The "temple-hauntingmartlet" is forcedto fleewhen "theLord's anointed temple" is desecratedby "most sacrilegious murther" (II. iii.68-69). When Macbeth memorizes "another Golgotha" (I. ii.40), theprin- cipleof anti-Creation becomes dominant. The firstverses of Genesis,of course, 21 The Educationof HenryAdams (New York, I931), p. 228. 22 Cf. G. WilsonKnight: "The whole play may be writdown as a wrestlingof destructionwith creation"("An Essay on the Life-themesin Macbeth",The ImperialTheme (Oxford,I931), p. 153). G. R. Elliottcompares "the dreadfuldisorder" to "that of primal chaos" (DramaticPro- videncein 'Macbeth'(Princeton, i958), p. I04, n. 36). 23 Commentingon Duncan's approachto Dunsinane,L. C. Knightssays, "We do violenceto the play when we ignorethe 'holy supernatural'as opposed to the 'supernaturalsoliciting' of the witches"(Explorations (London, I946), p. 22). 24Naturcin ShakespeareanTragedy (New York, i962), p. 6x. 25 HenriFluchere, Shakespeare and theElizabethans (New York,i956), p. 217. 384 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY suggestorder-the distinction between light ("that it was good") and darkness,heaven and earth,sea and land,day and night,seasons, years, sun and moon.The openingverses of Genesis emphasize growing things: ThenGod said, let the earth budde forth the fruit of the herbe, that seedeth seed,the fruitfull tree, which bareth fruit according to hiskinde, which hathhis seed in itselfe upon the earth.... Withthe murder,distinctions merely blurred in the openingscenes become obliterated.An owl,which normally preys on fieldmice, rises up to downa toweringfalcon (II. iV. I2-I3). Horses,"Contending 'gainst obedience", turn wild,eat each otherand seem"as theywould make/ War withmankind" (II. iv.I4-i8). Nightand morning"at odds" lose theirdistinctive identities (III. iv.I27). The well-plannedgarden of God and Duncan is destroyed; Scotlandbecomes a kingdomof "weeds"(V.ii.30). "Answerme", Macbeth shoutsat theSisters, "Though bladed corn be lodg'dand treesblown down . . . thoughthe treasure/ Of nature'sgermens tumble all together,/Even tillde- structionsicken" (IV. i.5-60). God's initialfiat lux is refuted.It is as if the worldhas heededMacbeth's "Stars, hide your fires!" (I.iv.50), or Lady Mac- beth's"Come, thick night" (I. v.51), orMacbeth's "Come, seeling night,/ Scarf up thetender eye of pitifulday" (III. ii.46-47). The commandis "Let there be darkness": There'shusbandry inheaven; Theircandles are all out. (II. i. 4-5) Byth' clock 'tis day, Andyet dark night strangles the travelling lamp. Is'tnight's predominance, orthe day's shame, Thatdarkness does the face of earth entomb, Whenliving light should kiss it? (II. iv.6-io) Scotlandlies entombed; "It cannot/Be call'dour mother, but our grave" (IV. iii.i65-i66). Once an Eden wooedby "heaven'sbreath", the land now rejects thekiss of living light: Eachnew morn ... newsorrows Strikeheaven on theface. . . . (IV. iii.4-6) The harmoniousrelationship is gone; now "both the worlds suffer" (III. ii. i6). The sterileprinciple is concentrated,of course, in Macbeth: Uponmy head they plac'd a fruitlesscrown Andput a barrensceptre in my gripe.... (III. i. 6i-62) Again thelines echo the Geneva gloss on Genesis:"So thatwe see it is the onelypower of Godsword that maketh the earth fruitful, which els naturally is baren."Duncan had said as muchlong before. Having suspended the rules of nature,Macbeth finds that they cannot be reinstated;Banquo comes to theban- quetdespite the "twenty mortal murthers" inflicted upon him. He pushesMac- bethfrom his stool (III. iv.8i-82)-a hintthat Banquo's line is destinedto occupy thethrone-and breaks up theroyal feast "With most admir'd disorder" (III. iv.i09). Macbeth'spromotion of an anti-Creationleads inevitablyto his de- IN DEEPEST CONSEQUENCE 385

spairingdemand forhis own annihilation("Out, out,brief candle!", V. v. 23). Lady Macbeth'scommand for light (V. i. 26) is pitifullyinadequate before the immensityof herinner darkness. More permanentthan sterilityin this life, however,and more terrifying than annihilation,is damnationin the life-to-come.We have seen Lady Mac- bethgroping already in thedun smokeof her hell,and we have seen Macbeth's life devolveinto a choice betweeninsomnia (II. ii. 35-40) and nightmare(III. ii. i8-i9). His ultimatedamnation is impliedin an eerielittle scene which goes almostunnoticed between his sombersoliloquies and the sweep of the finalac- tion.Having dismisseda pale messenger,Macbeth begins a soliloquy: Seyton!-I am sick at heart, WhenI behold-Seyton,I say! (V. iii. i9-20) What was to be theobject of "behold"? Since the restof the soliloquyconcerns what Macbethhas lost,it may be thathe was about to mentionthe soul he has lost. But, perhapsunwilling to confrontthat loss, he interruptshimself with anothershout to his armor-bearer.26But does his call checkthe thoughtswhich may be flowingtowards damnation? Perhaps it echoes the same theme-the eventualitywhich must be ever lurkingon the bordersof Macbeth's consciousness."Seyton", after all, soundsalmost like "Satan."27Macbeth continues: I haveliv'd long enough. My wayof life Is falleninto the sere, the yellow leaf. (V. iii. 22-23)28 Macbeth'sfall is linkedto imagesof a fadedEden. Having cut offthe source of his growth,he has "made of himselfa rootlessbranch that must become dessi- cated."29He continues,with a barrenparade of all thathe cannotlook to have: ". . . honour,love, obedience, troops of friends. . ." (V. iii.24-25). "Deep damnation" becomes"Curses, not loud but deep" (V. iii. 27). The soliloquycloses with anothershout of "Seyton!"The cryhas been repeatedthree times, link- ing Seyton appropriatelywith the Weird Sisters.Perhaps each cry mingles Macbeth'sgrowing awareness of damnationwith the world-weariness suggested bythe soliloquy; perhaps he wantsto geton withthe inevitable.80 As if conjuredup by the repeatedshouts, Seyton enters, and with what would seem to be Mephistophelianirony asks, "What's your graciouspleasure?" (V. iii. 29). Few words could be more inappropriateto Macbeth than "graciouspleasure". It was Duncan who was "gracious",as Lennox says (III.

26 Accordingto French,quoted in the VariorumEdition, p. 320, "The Setonsof Touch were (and still are) hereditaryarmour-bearers to the Kings of Scotland;there is thus a peculiarfitness in thechoice of thisname." 27 It is probablethat the pronounciationof "Seyton"in i6o8 was close to that of "Satan". Helge Kokeritzsays that "Hodges (i643) lists say and sea as homonyms"(Shakespeare's Pro- nounciation(New Haven,I953), p. I44). Whilethe OED suggeststhat Shakespeare spelled the word "Sathan",the Geneva Bible (0594 Edition) spellsit "Satan". Even if the word were spelled "Sathan,"it mightstill be pronounced"Satan" (Cf. "Much Ado About 'Noting'"). 28 Arviragusoffers a concisesummary of Macbeth'scareer in termsof the treemetaphor: "And when a soldierwas the theme,my name/ Was not far off.Then was I as a tree/Whose boughs did bend withfruit; but in one night,/A stormor robbery,call it whatyou will,/Shook down my mellow hangings,nay, my leaves,/And leftme bare to weather"(Cymbeline III.iii.59-64). 29 SylvanBarnet, Macbeth (New York, i963), p. xxvi. 80 The scene would be a directcontrast, then, to the finalscene of The TragicalHistory of Dr. Faustus. 386 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY iv. 3), as Macbethimplies after the murder ("Renown and graceis dead",II. iii. 99), and as he reiteratesin a speechwhich resembles the one on whichSeyton enters: For themthe gracious Duncan haveI murther'd; Put rancoursin thevessel of my peace Onlyfor them, and mineeternal jewell Givento thecommon enemy of man ... (III. i. 66-69) This speechmentions the loss of his soul-the jewel he has tossedaway like a carelesstrifle-a loss furthersuggested by the image of a defiledcommunion cup. And Macbeth can know no pleasure; his speecheslist the joys of life whichhe has forsaken,the joys which Duncan had in abundanceand offeredto Macbeth, which Duncan retains ("he sleeps well", III. ii. 23) and which Macbeth will never know again. At the momentin which Seyton uses it, "pleasure"is doubly ironic; a King's pleasureis translatedimmediately into reality.Royal pleasure means control, and thisMacbeth is losingalso: z. Witch.[to Macbethabout the First Apparition] He willnot be commanded.(IV. i. 75) He cannotbuckle his distemper'dcause Withinthe belt of rule.(V. ii. i5-i6) Now minutelyrevolts upbraid his faith-breach.(V. ii. i8) The richnessof Seyton'sirony suggests that he maybe morethan a merearmor- bearer. Macbeth demands more news of him. Seytontells him that "All is con- firm'd,my lord, which was reported"(V. iii. 3). All?-perhaps all that the Sistersreported to Macbethon his secondencounter with them.The line sug- gestsmore than a meremilitary report; it suggestsa strangeand encompassing knowledgeof the movementof Birnam Wood and the approachof the un- timely-bornMacduff. Macbeth demands his armor.Seyton tells him that"'Tis not needed yet" (V. iii. 34), implyingagain a knowledgeof the futureappro- priateto a play in which propheciesecho throughthe air. In Act Five, of all those who appear in Dunsinane beforeinvading forces break in-the Doctor and the Gentlewoman,Macbeth and Lady Macbeth,the two messengers- Seytonalone displaysno signof fear. His attitudeis almostcomplacent. Later, as the enemypushes closer,Macbeth hears a shriekand demands, "What is that noise?" (V.v.7). Seytonreplies, "It is the cry of women,my good lord" (V. v. 8). Again, ironyrings in the termsof address.Seyton leaves and returnswith word that"The Queen, my lord,is dead" (V. v. i6). Within the messageof death,Seyton places yet anotherterm of preeminentposition. Macbeth'sfinal hope for an heir is snuffed,his last link with this world is snapped. Such crushingnews is appropriatelydelivered by a Seyton-Satan, representativeof absoluteloss."1 Seyton, the ironicarmor-bearer, exists between two barrensoliloquies; he entersand departsto words which defineMac- beth's meaninglessness.Seyton's presence implies that death is not all that awaits Macbeth-he reinforcesthe rhythmof damnationwith which Mac-

31His veryposition is ironic;no externalarmor can save Macbeth. IN DEEPEST CONSEQUENCE 387 beth'ssoul has been merging from the first.32 We seeLady Macbeth in Hell; we seeMacbeth on the way.33 Therestoration ofMalcolm exemplifies what some critics have called Shake- speare'smyth of divine governance.34 This is anotherway of saying that it falls withinthe myth of God'sultimate control of destiny,whether defined by Genesisor Revelation.35The restorationscene is capturedmagnificently by Macduff:"I seethee compass'd with thy kingdom's pearl" (V. viii.56). The noblesand the King are placed again in a harmoniousrelationship, that of a crown,with Malcolm the central jewel, the nobles the subordinate ring of pearls.To expresshis awarenessof thereestablished design of governance, Malcolmenhances the value of the metaphorical crown by bestowing signs of noblenesson those who surround him. The pun on "pearl" is obvious: MyThanes and kinsmen, Henceforthbe Earls, the first that ever Scotland In suchan honournam'd. (V. vii.62-64) The timeis freeof Macbeth's tampering. Now that time is restoredtoits nat- uralsequence, now that "the sovereign flower" (V. ii.30) hasreturned, Scot- land'sgarden will be "newlyplanted with the time" (V. viii.65). Malcolm movesfrom his roleas Messiahto thatof his father-Creator.Appearance andreality are attuned again; no longerdoes foulness lurk beneath the brows ofgrace: whatneedful else Thatcalls upon us, by the grace of Grace We willperform inmeasure, time, and place. (V. viii.71-73) Godand the crown-Grace and the circle of grace on Malcolm's brow-are re- united.The stately movement ofthe meter reinforced bythe rhyme implies the returnof the elements oforder defined by the words. Macbethmoves beyond the necessity for what Coleridge calls "the willing suspensionof disbelieffor the moment, which constitutes poetic faith." As

32 Aftercompleting this essay, I foundthis disconcerting note: "One criticsuggests wildly that Shakespeareintended [in 'Seyton']a quibbleon Satan", The New ArdenEdition of Macbeth,Ken- neth Muir, ed. (London, 1951), p. 152). I have been unable to identifythis antic critic. While I would not argue that Bushyand Greenin Richard11 relateto the gardenimagery of the play,I do believethat Antony's repeated cries of "Erosl" in Antonyand Cleopatrabecome cries to his god, as do Macbeth'sshouts of "Seytonl"As Thomas McFarlandsays, "Eros the servantbecomes Eros the god" ("Antonyand Octavius",Yale Review (Winter,1954), pp. 204-228). At least one direc- tor,Mr. Donald McWhinnie,has seen the possibilitiesin Seyton'spart, as indicatedin thisreview by J. C. Trewin: "Seytonin thisrevival became a characterof some consequence.Just as Catesby must be always with RichardIII, so Seytonwas always with Macbeth.He was the mysterious thirdmurderer at Banquo's ambush" ("The Old Vic and Stratford-upon-Avon,i96i-I962", SQ, XIII (Autumn,I962), 5i6). 33 For a discussionof damnationin Hamlet,Macbeth, and Othello,and its probableeffect on an Elizabethanaudience, see Kenneth0. Myrick,"The Theme of Damnationin Shakespearean Tragedy",SP, XXXVIII (1941), 221-245. 34 Cf. Wheelwright,p. 29: "The mythof universalgovernance, divine and earthly,has its double sourcein Christianityand in Elizabethanpatriotic consciousness . . . it expressesa harmony that joins mankindwith divinityand with orderednature." See also RobertHeilman, "The Lear World", EnglishInstitute Essays (New York, 1948), pp. 29-57. 35 Malcolmhimself suggests that his returnto Scotlandrepresents a Crusadewhen he describes Siward: "An older and a bettersoldier none/ That Christendomgives out" (IV. iii. 191-2). 388 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY FrancisFergusson says, "it takespossession of themind and theimagination directly"(p. I79). Such poweris at leastpartially explained by thepower of themyth which Shakespeare employs, the deep original force which surges up intothe action and languageof the play and which forces us to seewhat Dover Wilsoncalls "a giganticreflexion of oursinful selves thrown upon the immea- surablescreen of the universe. . ." (p. lxviii). BowdoinCollege