In Act 4 Scene 1 Macbeth goes back tot he witches and demands to see his future.The first one was that Macbeth should look our for Macduff. The second one was no man born from woman shal harm Macbeth and the third one was Macbeth will not loss a battle until Birnam woods goes to Dunsinan hill. Macbeth being frightened by the news he asks"Shall Banquo's issue ever reign in this kingdom?". The witches show him the future kings that will be led by Banquo. Macbeth decides to kill the Macduffs family.
In Scene 2 lady Macduff and her son are sad because Macduff has become a traitor. They are warned to leave Fife by the Thane of Ross,but it is late and her son was brutaly murdered by Macbeths hired killers.
I have always wondered about MacBeth's need to find out about the future. Visiting with the witches is almost like a gambling addiction or an addiction to hard drugs (Trainspotting??); it starts out as fun activity and harmless entertainment , but ends up as a deadly cancer-like disease spread by the infected person to his/her victims.
ReplyDeleteAbout this point in the play I've always had to wonder if MacBeth had ever been a truly nice guy?