Impulsivity Despite Desire for Rationality in Macbeth

Throughout much of Macbeth, its titular protagonist is concerned with his future. He kills Duncan so that he can become king, he kills Banquo to protect his throne, and he goes to the witches to help him learn how to protect his life. Most of these actions, though, which he takes to preserve himself and his future, are reactionary and decided upon in remarkably short periods of time. The play presents Macbeth as a thoughtful, rational person; he can easily see both sides of the argument as to whether or not to kill Duncan and he seems to act in a rational manner. Yet, at the same time, the play presents him as impulsive. He decides to commit murder in an afternoon, and he kills one of his closest friends because he thinks that he might have some idea that Macbeth was the murderer of Duncan. Even when he consults the witches, which is a wise idea and shows a desire for forethought and premonition, the act of consultation is a reaction to seeing the ghost of Banquo. This presents a central problem in the play: should we view Macbeth as impulsive or careful? This is an extremely important question because it has implications on the causes of Macbeth’s eventual fall. If he was truly careful and thoughtful, then his fall from power was truly the work of fate, and the play seems to be saying that people are pawns in fate’s eternal game. If Macbeth is viewed as impulsive, the reasons for his downfall drastically change. Instead of being fated, his failure is the cause of arrogance and haste, and there is hope for success despite the whims of fate.

On first examination, Macbeth appears to be clearly characterized as an impulsive character, subject to influence from those around him and the influence of his own whims and “black and deep desires.” (1.4 53). When Macbeth is shown his potential kingship by the three witches and tells his wife about them, she convinces him to kill Duncan in the span of a single day. Within one day, his stance goes from believing that as Duncan’s “Kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself.” (1.7 14-17) to actually killing him. Such a quick change in opinion and belief is clearly not the mark of a careful man, and this impulsivity continues to be reflected throughout the play.

An additional example of this continued reflection of Macbeth’s impulsivity is the murder of Banquo. After gaining the kingship, Macbeth believes that he is largely in the clear, with one exception. He believes that his best friend, Banquo, may have some idea of Macbeth’s guilt, saying “We have scorched the snake, not killed it.” (3.2 15). To rectify this situation, he immediately hires several murderers to kill Banquo, one of his closest friends. Here, again, Macbeth is clearly characterized as impulsive and reactionary. No truly careful man would order the death of one of his closest associates after taking little time to consider the matter. Whether or not Macbeth is in the same mental state at this point of the play, Shakespeare is making it clear that by the time he has become King, at least, Macbeth is acting in an impulsive manner, and is not taking a large amount of time to consider his actions or the results they may have.

Despite these instances of Macbeth rapidly making significant decisions with seemingly little forethought, if you look deeper into his mental state while making these decisions, and the dialogues he has before making them, it is clear that he is at least trying to be thoughtful, or convince himself that he is being thoughtful. The soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 7, a line from which was quoted earlier in this paper, shows Macbeth embroiled in a deep conflict between his morality and desire. He fully understands the ramifications of killing Duncan, and he seems to understand the argument for not killing, as he makes said argument to Lady Macbeth before being convinced to commit the murder. When Lady Macbeth questions his masculinity after he suggests he may be unwilling to go through with the murder, he responds in a reasoned retort, saying “Prithee, peace; I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none.” (1.7 46-47). This response clearly shows that Macbeth understands the severity of the question at hand: whether or not Duncan should be killed. The play shows early on that Macbeth is not the type to shy from violence; in battle he “unseamed [an enemy] from the nave to th’ chops” (1.2 22). By saying that he who does more violence than Macbeth already does is not a man, but a beast, Macbeth is showing that he understands just how immoral it would be to murder Duncan.

He does still murder him, though, and it is through this contrast between Macbeth’s internal, intended thoughtfulness and the recklessness with which he actually acts that a significant dimension of his character is revealed. Macbeth strives to be a rationally driven man, he deeply wants to be thoughtful, careful, and balanced. Unfortunately, despite his desire for these character traits, he does not possess them. This explains why there is such a disconnect between his internal thoughtfulness and the speed at which he makes seemingly brash, important decisions. The disconnect is illustrated in its totality when Macbeth goes to the witches for a second time. He has seen the ghost of the murdered Banquo, and seeks guidance from the clairvoyant entities so that he can act, in his mind, in an informed, balanced way. The irony is that going to supernatural beings to expel guilt at the murder of a friend is a rash decision, like both of the earlier killings. Macbeth even shows that he recognizes that going back to the witches is not a very good idea, calling them “the worst means” of protecting “mine own good.” (3.4 141). Once again, he is striving to be rational, and shows he is capable of recognizing rational courses of action, but acts impulsively. Furthermore, the information that he gets from them, that “none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth. (4.1 82-83), only exacerbates his recklessness, giving him the confidence to fight anyone who opposes him with reckless abandon. Throughout the play, he continuously tries to be reasonable and thoughtful, with his attempts ending in reckless, seemingly impulsive behavior.

Viewing Macbeth’s behavior in this way focuses the central conflict of the story onto Macbeth’s conflict with his own innate psychological tendencies. His castle falls to Malcom and the other attackers as he finally succumbs to the final result of his impulsive behavior, slain by a man not born of woman, by a man who he believed he had carefully reasoned there was no need to fear. Macbeth is neither wholly impulsive nor wholly careful and thoughtful, he has elements of both characteristics. His actions, show impulsivity, but his thoughts betray a longing for rationality and care. Yes, his behavior throughout the play is extraordinarily impulsive, he comes to significant decisions in insignificant amounts of time, but his internal struggle reveals a man who is deeply concerned with his future and planning for long after the present moment. He is a careful man trapped in the brain of a reckless man, and this dichotomy drives the play.