MACBETH'S LETTER - ANALYSIS

This letter is one of the main events that are described by Shakespeare in act 1. He uses this mean to inform the reader about some aspects of Macbeth's personality he did not know and to present one of the main important characters of the play: Lady Macbeth.

This scene is divided into two parts. In the first one Lady Macbeth reads the letter while in the second part she expresses her reflections about what she had come to know and about her husband's personality.

Right from the beginning of the letter we understand Macbeth's great ambition and his desire to firmly believe to what the witches have told him. Indeed he says he met the women "in the day of success" and they said a "perfectest report". He doesn't stop a while thinking they may be wrong or they may joking with him. He wants to become king so much that he immediately accepts the witches' words as truth, not considering they are evil creatures. On the contrary he uses this justification to reinforce the idea they were right (lines 2-3). The presence of witches in the story is taken from Medieval ballads and tradition but their relation with the character is modified. In the Middle Ages supernatural events and creatures were generally accepted but people looked at them with suspicion and fear. In this case although, they are taken in high consideration and Macbeth does not think, or does not want to think, they could lie.

The letter is addressed to Macbeth's wife and he seems to directly speak to her, writing many times the pronoun "you". Even in the letter the reader can understand the woman's great importance, in Macbeth's life but also in the play. Macbeth considers her his "Partner of greatness" and feels immediately the needing to write to her about what has happened. This is an innovation considering Medieval society. Women did not have the same importance of men and were not taken into consideration. On the contrary Macbeth gives her great importance and even does everything to please her. Indeed he sees the prediction as a gift
and a gratification to her and not to his ambition. This makes the reader think that Lady Macbeth is a strong person, linked to her husband more for his hierarchic position than for his personality. Moreover she has a great influence on him, as we can understand reading her following reflections.
As she has read the letter Lady Macbeth plans how to do to realize the prediction. She doesn't doubt it may be wrong but she doubts Macbeth's nature. Here all the values are turned upside down. What is normally considered a quality is seen by Lady
Macbeth as a weakness. "Holily" and "kindness" are associated with milk and so with children. According to the Lady soldiers shouldn't feel them and this clashes with chivalry code. These merits are considered an obstacle to obtain her purpose,
which can be reached only "by the nearest way", that is killing the king. This opposition is also highlighted by the structure of the verses, where each merit is followed by what Macbeth should do or what the Lady thinks, creating a continuous antithesis.

In the last lines Shakespeare describes the great influence the woman has on his husband. She can bias her husband using her words and her tongue, making him do everything she wants. In these lines Shakespeare resorts to a figure very common in the Middle Ages, linked to ballads and tradition. The woman is seen as a temptresses and a danger, as someone who can influence a man's behavior by using only her words. She is presented as the cause of Macbeth's actions and of the bad end of the tragedy.