The Rationality Of Act Four Of Macbeth By William Shakespeare

While Act Four of Macbeth may begin with the mysterious and ambiguous witches, the act itself is saner than the previous ones. Possibly because Macbeth is only present during the first scene, whereas more calm, rational characters appear in the latter half: Macduff, Lady Macduff, Malcolm, and Lennox. By comparing the rationality of Macbeth to other people present in Act Four, the more apparent is his loss of sanity (or gain of insanity). With the Weird Sisters present again, they lead Macbeth through a series of visions, the second apparition ‘ensures’ Macbeth holds onto the throne, or so he thinks. In their saying that no man of woman-born can conquer him, he forgets to consider the loopholes, instead going on a fate-defying rant:

Then, live

By killing him, he believes it will ensure his safety and will conquer his fear, allowing him to “sleep in spite of thunder” peacefully. Yet what he sees afterward–in a fourth vision–is the line of Banquo’s descendants and a bloody Banquo conveying they are his. “Horrible sight! Now I see ‘tis true,/ Fro the blood-boltered Banquo smiles upon me/ And points at them for his.” (4.1.137-39) The apparition disappears, leaving Macbeth to ponder (and overthink) the significance of seeing Banquo again. Unlike Macbeth, however, Macduff seems to poise a rational mind, knowing that Macbeth is no longer reasonable or admirable, he declares: “Not in the legions/Of horrid hell can come a devil more damned/In evils to top Macbeth” (4.3.67-69). Expressing this to Malcolm shows a sense of his ethics, knowing his right from wrong, declaring Macbeth as more “evil” than “a devil.” Subsequently, after hearing of his family’s murders, Malcolm says, “Be this whetstone of your sword. Let grief/Convert to anger. Blunt not the heart; enrage it” (4.3.268-9). Yet Macduff does not go off the rails. He might be enraged, but he does not have a clouded head. By “convert[ing grief] to anger,” it has given him ammunition to want revenge, not solely based on anger, but passion; something Macbeth only sees in the throne, yet Macduff finds in