Irrationality In Macbeth

Through the course of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the play’s protagonists plague themselves over the fight between blood and nature among many other things. Blood, be it the kind shed upon ones death or the kind that carries entitlement and stature, parallels and collides with the most basic ideas of nature, and what is natural for a human being. Throughout the play, blood, nature, and rationality are equivocated to highlight Macbeth’s underlying irrationality, justifications, 1 and deeply seeded desires.
The issue presented by nature is one that is vital to this play. Macbeth goes against the nature of a human when he slays Duncan, and doesn’t allow him to die in the way that nature intended. Macbeth further defies nature, when he hired
First, Macbeth comments on how Banquo “chid the sisters” and “bade them to speak to him” (3.1.58-60). His tone is very childish in the sense that he sees Banquo’s curiosity in the weird sisters as a threat, and almost instantly assumes that Banquo is trying to steal whatever prophecy the sisters bestowed unto him, similarly5 to how a child would suspect a playmate of stealing his crayons. Also, the sounds made by the words Macbeth uses are very strong and curt, “chid,” “bade,” “speak.” These sounds demonstrate the shortness and irrationality of Macbeth’s thoughts, which follow a similar pattern to those of a child, starting with a slow and long sound and then stopping abruptly with a hard sound. These words help show how Macbeth truly is being taken over by his insatiable quest for power, and is driven to the point where he can’t stop what he has started. Macbeth realizes, 6 too little too late, that he is trapped in this cycle; he interrupts nature and the natural balance of things by killing everyone to obtain power, spills innocent blood, and then later feels the emotional and psychological affects of his actions. If Macbeth were to see this pattern before he had Banquo killed, maybe he and Lady Macbeth would have been spared the hysteria and