Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, where characters have high expectations and abandon their morals to fulfill ambitions, shares many similarities to a failed party. During the festivities of the early night, the guests anticipate greater opportunities for fun and fame, disregarding their possible consequences. In reaching for their goals, they change the feelings at the very core of the event. Unfortunately, their sacrifices amount to nothing, and seeing their failure to satisfy themselves makes the party torture. Finally, the promise of new chances and satisfaction manifests in the form of the end of the party and a new day.
Shakespeare uses the night in Macbeth to reveal the blackening moods of the characters and the play as a whole. Act 1 represents the initial, celebratory hours of the night, where characters have the opportunity to gain power and status. Macbeth, a noble and brave soldier, has returned home to his wife after orchestrating many stunning victories in the war. A messenger comes to their castle, informing them, “The King comes here tonight” (1. 5. 35). In order to celebrate their victory in the war, King Duncan plans on coming to their castle that night for a party.
This news pleases Macbeth and Lady Macbeth: having “the King” come to their castle for a party brings them great honor. Eager to celebrate Macbeth’s victories, they anticipate the coming “night” with excitement. The news of Duncan’s arrival reveals the celebratory mood seen in the beginning of the play. Yet, celebration is not the only event that they expect. After hearing a prophecy promising the throne to him, Macbeth and his wife see the night as the perfect opportunity to win the throne; however, this requires murdering Duncan.
After hearing Macbeth’s conflicted thoughts on the matter, Lady Macbeth takes it into her own hands, telling him what to do. She demands: He’s that’s coming Must be provided for; and you shall put This night’s great business into my dispatch, Which shall to all our nights and days to come Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom. (1. 5. 78-82) She insists that Macbeth leave the planning to her, so that they can get the throne. They expect to gain great power and “Sovereign sway” from Duncan’s death, and they believe this will satisfy them.
Once they complete the “great business” of actually killing Duncan, they believe that they will “solely” receive benefits and thus will not have to deal with any consequences or guilt. “Provid[ing] for” Duncan by killing them will also provide for their guilt by stifling it, they assume. Shakespeare utilizes night to reveal the air of opportunity and ambition that fills the characters, and the anticipation that they feel. In Act 3, Macbeth realizes that he does not feel satisfied with his new position as king, and as a result, the night grows darker and more torturous.
In an attempt to return the night to the previous celebratory mood, Macbeth hosts a banquet. During a conversation with Banquo, he invites him, saying, “Tonight we hold a solemn supper, sir, / And I’ll request your presence” (3. 1. 15-16). Hoping that Banquo will attend the dinner, he requests his attendance. Unlike the earlier party, this party ends up “solemn:” the guests spend the time mourning Duncan and suspecting Macbeth of the murder, rather than celebrating. Macbeth must “request” the attendance of everyone there, since nobody has any desire to attend; they only go on orders from their king.
The party fails to return the mood to its earlier, lighthearted form, and Macbeth remains unsatisfied and paranoid. After he has hired murders to kill Banquo, Macbeth reveals his predictions for the nights to come in a private conversation with Lady Macbeth. He says: Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep In the affliction of these terrible dreams That shake us nightly. Better be with the dead, Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, Than on the torture of the mind to lie In restless ecstasy. (3. 2. 20-25) As a result of the deaths of Duncan and Banquo, Macbeth lives a tortured and fearful life.
Killing Duncan and Banquo gained nothing for him, and he now lives in “fear. ” He expected the deaths to bring him “peace” and satisfaction, but they only give him sleepless nights full of “restless ecstasy;” he cannot prevent guilt from consuming his mind. “Terrible dreams” fill his nights, and guilt fills his mind and thoughts. The night develops into a time of inescapable “torture” for Macbeth, and he would rather be “with the dead” than continuing to endure panic and guilt; he wants nothing more than the night to end.
After the appearance of Banquo’s ghost, which only occurs within his head, Macbeth deteriorates into a babbling mess. After rambling, he asks Lady Macbeth, ‘What is the night? ” (3. 4. 157). He wants to know the time. The “night” and the appearance of Banquo’s ghost destroyed any remaining shreds of his sanity, and he remains tormented by guilt. The agony of the night makes him wish for nothing more than its end, and it currently makes life almost too painful for him to bear. Asking the time of night reveals Macbeth’s desire for it to be over.
To reinforce the suffering that the characters live through, Shakespeare changes the meaning of the night, making it gloomier and more miserable. In Acts 4 and 5, other characters feel ready to end the night and Macbeth’s reign of evil and bring in a new day and time of peace. Malcolm, the son of Duncan and the rightful heir, calls his forces to battle against Macbeth. To encourage them, he says: Our power is ready; Our lack nothing but our leave. Macbeth Is ripe for shaking, and the powers above Put on their instruments. Receive what cheer you may. The night is long that never finds the day. (4. 3. 77-282)
They only need the command to attack to fight Macbeth. Malcolm and his troops have the “power” to end the evil of the night and Macbeth, and they will not hesitate to use it; they even have the support of “powers above,” since even the heavens abhor Macbeth and his rule. Ending Macbeth’s “long” reign of evil will bring in a new “day” of harmony and restore the “cheer” and pleasure present throughout the kingdom before he took over. Willing to die rather than give up, Malcolm and his army enter the battle. Siward, the commander of the English army who allied with Malcolm, leads his army alongside Malcolm’s.
He says, “Do we but find the tyrant’s power tonight, / Let us be beaten if we cannot fight” (5. 6. 8-9). If they cannot win, they prefer to lose rather than give up. The troops want to find Macbeth, the “tyrant,” so that they can end the misery that hangs over all of Scotland. “Fight[ing]” against malevolence and despotism, their desire is to bring in a new day and therefore a new mood of peace and happiness. Through the rebellion and the new desire for peace, Shakespeare makes the night irrelevant, signifying its end and the beginning of a new era and feelings of joy.
As the mood of the play and the characters’ emotions dim, Shakespeare darkens the meaning of night. At any party or evening event, the night suffocates people’s minds: they begin to abandon their morals and only focus on what they want. However, this phenomenon often only leads to disappointment. After making a wreck of themselves and their situation to achieve their goal, the people feel unsatisfied with the result and distressed about their condition. Reality does not live up to their expectations, and it crushes them.
