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Unit 5: Macbeth: Detailed Analysis of the Text

further, he relates the story of their death. Macduff is stunned speechless and Malcolm urges him to Notes
cure his grief by exacting revenge on Macbeth. Macduff is overcome with guilt and sorrow from the
murders that occurred while he was absent. Again Malcolm urges him to put his grief to good use
and seek revenge. All three men leave to prepare for battle.

5.4.2 Analysis

As the act opens, the witches carry on the theme of doubling and equivocation that threads
throughout the play. As they throw ingredients into their cauldron, they chant “double, double, toil
and trouble”—a reminder that their speech is full of double meanings, paradox, and equivocation.
The apparitions that the witches summon give equivocal messages to Macbeth, and they appear to
know quite consciously that he will only understand one half of their words. Although Macbeth
himself has previously acknowledged that “stones have been known to move and trees to speak”,
the apparitions give Macbeth a false sense of security. He takes the apparitions’ words at face value,
forgetting to examine how their predictions could potentially come true.

Example: The theme of doubling is amplified when the witches summon the “show of kings.”
Each king who appears looks “too like the spirit of Banquo,” frightens Macbeth with their
resemblance. For Macbeth, it is as if the ghosts of Banquo have returned to haunt him several times
over. In the procession of kings, Macbeth also notes that some carry “twofold balls and treble
scepters”—as if even the signs of their power have been doubled.
On a historical note, it is generally thought the eighth king holds up a mirror in order to pander to
James I. This last king—the eighth-generation descendant of Banquo—is none other than a figure of
James I himself. He thus carries a mirror to signal as much to the real James I, who sits at the
forefront of the audience. A similar moment of pandering occurs when Malcolm notes that the king
of England has a special power to heal people affected by “the evil”. In various subtle ways,
Shakespeare complimented King James I—a legendary descendant of Banquo and author of a book
on witchcraft.
James I is not the only character who is doubled in Macbeth. Throughout the play, characters balance
and complement each other in a carefully constructed harmony. As a man who also receives a
prophecy but refuses to act actively upon it, Banquo serves as sort of inverse mirror image of Macbeth.
Although he has troubled dreams like Macbeth, his arise from the suppression of ambitions whereas
Macbeth’s arise from the fulfillment thereof. Other major characters, including Malcolm, Macduff,
and Lady Macbeth, can also be seen as foils or doubles for Macbeth. Particularly interesting is the
case of Lady Macbeth, who in some sense “switches roles” with Macbeth as the play progresses.
Whereas she first advises Macbeth to forget all remorse and guilt, Lady Macbeth becomes increasingly
troubled by her own guilt as Macbeth begins to heed her advice.
Another form of doubling or equivocation is found in the theme of costumes, masks, and disguises.
While planning Duncan’s murder, Lady Macbeth counsels Macbeth to “look like the innocent flower,
/ But be the serpent under’t”—to “beguile the time” by disguising his motives behind a mask of
loyalty. After the murder, Lady Macbeth paints the bodyguards’ faces with a mask of blood to
implicate them. Similarly, while preparing to kill Banquo, Macbeth comments that men must “make
[their] faces visors to [their] hearts, / Disguising what they are”. Thus when Malcolm tests Macduff’s
loyalty, he begins appropriately by saying that “all things foul would wear the brows of grace” (IV
iii 23). Even the most foul of men—perhaps like Macbeth and the murderers—are able to disguise
themselves. Just as the witches’ equivocation covers up the true harm within their alluring words,
disguises and masks hide the inner world from the outer.
Finally, during the scene in which the murders occur, Lady Macduff reflects the bird symbolism
that began in Act 1. When Lady Macduff complains to Ross about the abrupt departure of Macduff,
she states: “the poor wren / the most diminutive of birds, will fight,/her young ones in her nest,

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