Bias In Macbeth

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a man is promised greatness by three witches and his ambition and avarice push him well past any hope of turning around. It is this ambition that leads Macbeth to vault over any obstacle that he may encounter to achieve what he is promised. These hurdles he comes to face are undeniably symbolic and can represent many things. There are three specific challenges in the form of people that Macbeth is determined to “vault over.” Macbeth is to face a father figure named Duncan, a brother figure named Banquo, and a death figure named Macduff. The first hurdle Macbeth must face to follow the prophecy is the current king of Scotland, Duncan. Duncan is most symbolic as a father figure, both in general and to Macbeth. In the play, it says that Duncan “Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been/ So clear in his great office that his virtues/ Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongu’d” (1.7.17.19). This simply says that Duncan is a kind and gentle ruler, which is the exact opposite of what Macbeth is destined to become. Moving on, Duncan

With the throne under his control and Banquo out of the way, the only thing left threatening Macbeth’s reign is Macduff. Upon examination, Macduff is symbolic of death. In the play, the witches grant Macbeth three more prophetic statements in the form of apparitions. The first apparition says, “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware/ Macduff,/ Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough” (4.1.78.80). Because the first set of prophecies came true, Macbeth has reason to heed these ones, and it gives the concept that Macduff is unavoidable. In Thorkild Jacobson’s article, Second Millennium Metaphors: "And Death the Journey's End," "The Gilgamesh Epic," “it [death] is unavoidable of course but somehow part of the game” (Jacobson). This connects to the theme that one cannot cheat death, and as readers see, despite Macbeth’s best attempts, he cannot avoid his fate at the hands of