Power of Persuasion
Uploaded by leechiahan on Oct 18, 2007
Persuasion is a powerful and threatening tool against those who are weak. It can sway one’s decisions between good and evil, concealing judgment and jading the conscience. It plays the critical role of a spectral villain, an invisible danger to the protagonist in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Macbeth is a victim of persuasion of others, making him ultimately not responsible for his actions. Macbeth’s own partner Lady Macbeth persuades her husband to commit murder and fulfill his ambition. The three witches and their Queen influence Macbeth’s decisions through the use of predictions as well as the supernatural. Lastly, the three apparitions conjured by the witches play a very crucial role in establishing Macbeth’s fate through their deceptively uplifting prophecies.
Lady Macbeth is arguably the most persuasive character in the play. She is a perfect example of using the tool of manipulation to one’s advantage to achieve personal benefit. Upon opening her husband’s letter explaining his meeting with the witches, Lady Macbeth is immediately determined to usurp the throne with her husband and become Queen of Scotland:
“Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be
What thou art promis’d. Yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great,
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it;”
(Shakespeare, 1.5.14-19).
From this scene we immediately learn that Lady Macbeth is a dark hearted person with strong determination. She has already concluded that her husband will kill King Duncan and become the ruler of Scotland, though Macbeth is currently a good hearted, loyal human being. Because of these qualities, she fears that Macbeth will not have what it takes to end the life of an innocent and honorable man, though he has great ambition. It is now evident that she is the one who will be responsible for the corruption of Macbeth and the death of the King. Lady Macbeth encourages her husband into committing treason and murder by questioning his manhood and challenging his courage. “When you durst do it, then you were a man; And, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man.” (1.7.49-51). She persuades him to believe that if he is a man, he would be able to murder King Duncan. Macbeth, being someone who values courage...