George Washington University
Shakespeare and Kierkegaard: "Dread" in Macbeth
Author(s): King-Kok Cheung
Source: Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 4 (Winter, 1984), pp. 430-439
Published by: Folger Shakespeare Library in association with George Washington University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2870162 .
Accessed: 07/01/2011 11:34
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=folger. .
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Folger Shakespeare Library and George Washington University are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,
preserve and extend access to Shakespeare Quarterly.
http://www.jstor.org
Shakespeareand Kierkegaard:
"Dread" in Macbeth
KING-KOK CHEUNG
M ACBETH, IN CHOOSINGTO MURDERDUNCAN,exhibitswhatKierkegaard
would laterdiagnoseas "dread."'1 Thoughcenturiesapart,bothShakespeare and Kierkegaardare steeped in the Protestanttradition;and in both,
dogma is accommodatedin psychology.Kierkegaard,who quotes Shakespeare
regularlyto illustratehis psychologicalconcepts,has theadvantageof coming
his insights.Partlyforthatreason, inafterthe playwright
and incorporating
the playwrightwiththe hindsightof Kierkegaardmay deepen our
terpreting
of Macbeth's seeminglyirrationalbehavior.
understanding
The Conceptof Dread seems especiallyhelpfulin answeringWalterClyde
noblecreature,
whose
Curry'squestion,"By whatprocessesdoes thisessentially
will by naturedesires the good or reasonable,come deliberatelyto choose
evil?"2 Withfew exceptions,answersthathave been offeredlean heavilyon
theologyor facultypsychology.Such answersmay be conduciveto a moral
judgmentof Macbeth,but theydo not accountadequatelyforour emotional
responsetowardthe hero.
Suspendingethicaljudgmentforthemoment,I hope to accountforouremotional responseby seeing Macbeth's enigmaticchoice in the lightof Kierkegaard's notionof "dread." Betweenpossibilityandrealitylies thedreaddefined
variouslyby Kierkegaardas "the alarmingpossibilityof beingable" (p. 40),
as "the abiding state, thatout of whichsin constantlybecomes (comes into
and an antipathetic
being)" (p. 19), and as "a sympathetic
antipathy
sympathy"
(p. 38). It is the desire to do what one fears,the psychologicalstate which
precedestheleap intoevil, eventhoughdread"no moreexplainsthequalitative
I See The ConceptofDread, trans.WalterLowrie (1944; rpt.Princeton:
PrincetonUniv. Press,
1957). Subsequentreferences
to thisworkwill be givenin thetext.The latesttranslation
by Reidar
Thomteand AlbertB. Andersonof the same workis entitledThe Conceptof Anxiety(Princeton:
PrincetonUniv. Press, 1980). Since the word "anxiety"connotesan emotionpertaining
to somethingmore definablethan does the Germanicword angst used by Kierkegaard,I findLowrie's
translation-"dread"-preferable, especiallywhenit is appliedto the"unknownfear"inMacbeth.
There is, however,no equivalentin English forangst as Kierkegaarduses it, whichdenotesa
conjunctionof fearand longing,unless one adoptsthe convolutedexpression"a sympathetic
antipathyand an antipathetic
sympathy."
2 Shakespeare'sPhilosophical
Patterns(BatonRouge: LouisianaStateUniv. Press, 1937), p. 109.
of California,
KING-KOK CHEUNG, AssistantProfessorof Englishat the University
Los Angeles, has publishedarticleson Marloweand Asian Americanwriters;she is
studyof despair.
workingon a book-length
currently
SHAKESPEARE AND KIERKEGAARD
431
of dread
leap thanitjustifiesit ethically"(p. 45). The mostsuccinctdefinition
s journal:
appears in Kierkegaard'
andyetonecannottear
Dreadis an alienpowerwhichlaysholdofan individual,
oneselfaway,norhas thewill to do so; forone fears,butwhatone fearsone
desires.3
Throughdramaand poetry,Shakespearehas shownwhat is thoughtout as a
"concept" centurieslater.
theatmosphere,
AlthoughShakespearedoes notgive ita name,dreadinforms
imagery,and dictionof the openingact of Macbeth. As old hags who neverthelesscaptivate,thewitches(the firstto appear) seem to embodydread. The
and antipathetic
is evokedbytheir
of sympathetic
ambiguity
antipathy
sympathy
chant: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair."4 Like the stormyatmospherein which
the witchesappear,thefamousline conjoinsopposites.It is bothsinisterand
darknessand light,evil and good.
poeticallyenchanting,interfusing
The threearrangeto "meet with Macbeth" (I.i.8), who will be simultait is not a surpriseenneouslyrepelledand attractedby them.Significantly,
counterbuta meetingthatis to takeplace. Alreadythereis a hintof intercourse
betweenthe witchesand Macbeth,so thatwhatseems to be an externaltempas manycriticshave done, as a psychological
tationalso can be interpreted,
projection.Thatthewords"fair" and "foul" will soon be echoed by Macbeth
himselffurther
suggestsa liaison betweenthe hero and the witches.
TheyalarmMacbethwitha possibility-thepossibility
of sovereignty.
Whether
or notMacbethhas alreadyentertained
thispossibility,it is firstenunciatedfor
theaudienceby thewitches,who hail himsuccessivelyas "Thane of Glamis,"
"Thane of Cawdor," and "King hereafter"(I.iii.48-50).
The enunciationstartlesMacbeth.Banquo asks, "Whydo youstart,and seem
to fear/ Thingsthatdo soundso fair?" (I.iii.51-52). Whyindeed?If Macbeth
badly wantsto be king,as manycriticsallege, thewitches'wordsshouldfirst
fillhim withjoy, even if thejoy wereto be contaminated
laterby thethought
of violentmeans. But he alreadyseems preoccupiedmoreby the foul means
thanby the fairend. Macbethis not seeing a crownon his head; insteadhis
hair is bristling.The witchesmay not have indicatedthe means to kingship,
but in Macbeth's mindit is immediately
tied to crime. And the crimeis engrossing.As muchas he fearsit, he also desireswhathe fears.In presenting
kingshipto Macbethas a forthcoming
fact,the witcheshave made the crown
intoa naggingpossibility,henceforth
ever in his mind,notto be relinquished
till realized.
The ambiguityof the witchescreatesan apprehension-a dread which,as
Kierkegaardkeepsreminding
us, does notcause sinbutmerelyenticesone with
its possibility.On the one hand, the witchescannotbe held responsiblefor
Macbeth's evil decision. (Thoughgreetedby the same weirdsisters,Banquo
refusesto succumbto theirtemptation.)
Buton theotherhand,sincethewitches'
words do come true,theirpredictionseems as ineluctableas fate; Macbeth
seems destinedto fulfilltheirprophecy."In theMacbeth-witch
equation," as
MarvinRosenbergobserves,"Shakespearehas createda dialecticbetweenthe
3 Quoted in Lowrie's "Translator'sPreface," The Conceptof Dread, p. xii.
4
.i. 11. Citationsare fromthe ArdenMacbeth,ed. KennethMuir (London: Methuen,1964).
432
SHAKESPEARE
QUARTERLY
separating
extremesofcontroland freewillthatplaysacrossthewholespectrum
them":
to be . . . possessed of
If we recognizethe threeas simplyold cronespretending
magic,thenMacbethis mainlyresponsibleforhis acts, and his crimesfall heavily
on himself-and on Lady Macbeth. Then the two choose . . . theirfate. At the
behavior,Macbethis a mantrapped,
otherextreme,iftheSisters. . . can determine
helplessto choose good.
ofthewitches,so Kierkegaard"palters
As does Shakespearein his presentation
withus" in his conceptof dread:
Justas the relationof dread to its object, to somethingwhichis nothing. . . is
here frominnocenceto guiltbe coraltogetherambiguous,so will the transition
so dialecticalthattheexplanationis and mustbe psychological.The
respondingly
qualitativeleap is outsideof ambiguity,buthe who throughdreadbecomesguilty
is innocent,forit was not he himselfbut dread,an alien power,whichlaid hold
of him, a powerhe did notlove butdreaded-and yethe is guilty,forhe sank in
the dread whichhe loved even whilehe fearedit.
(Dread, p. 39)
In a sense the witchesare nothing.They may be construedas "fantastical"
(I.iii.53), vanishing"bubbles" (I.iii.79), arisingfromrainyfog and guilty
imaginings,"Melted as breathintothewind" (I.iii.82). Yet theyareapparitions
perceivedby bothMacbethand Banquo. In his firstmeetingwiththewitches,
Macbeth seems both guiltyand innocent;he is at once surprisedby sin and
bewitchedby it. The dreadfulmeetingepitomizesthesubtleinterplayof comthe play.
pulsion and freedomthroughout
II
Dread suffusesMacbethagainuponhis learningthathe has becometheThane
of Cawdor. The halfof the witches'prophecythathas been fulfilledpointsin
his mindto the imminent
possibilityof theotherhalf: "Glamis, and Thane of
foreCawdor: / The greatestis behind"(I.iii. 117-18). Since thewitchesrightly
to ThaneofCawdor,theirprophecyabouthiskingship
tellMacbeth'spromotion
may come trueas well. But again insteadof relishingtheroyalprospectMacbethruminateson the unsavorymeans:
This supernatural
soliciting
Cannotbe ill; cannotbe good:If ill, whyhathit givenme earnestof success,
Commencingin a truth?I am Thane of Cawdor:
If good, whydo I yield to thatsuggestion
Whose horridimage dothunfixmy hair,
And make my seated heartknockat my ribs,
Againstthe use of nature?Presentfears
Are less thanhorribleimaginings.
yet is but fantastical,
My thought,whose murther
Shakes so my singlestateof man,
That functionis smother'din surmise,
And nothingis, but whatis not.
(I.iii. 130-42)
I
The Masks of Macbeth (Berkeley:Univ. of CaliforniaPress, 1978), p. 2.
SHAKESPEARE AND KIERKEGAARD
433
Macbeth's visceral descriptionof his reactionto the witchespulsateswith
dread,experiencedat once as an alienpowerand an intrinsic
propensity."This
supernatural
soliciting"suggeststhatthetemptation
comes fromoutside. But
to be efficaciousthesolicitingrequiresa willing"client"; itremainssomething
whichcan onlylurebutcannotforce.Macbethhas readintothewitches'prophecy an unutterable"suggestion"-surprisinghimfromwithout-to whichhe
as something
must"yield." Likewise"horridimage" is presented
outsidewhich
wreakshavoc in him "[a]gainsttheuse of nature"and alien to his nature.But
the"horridimage" mergesintohisown "horribleimaginings"threelineslater.
thathe
The "thought,"whileexplicitlyautogenous,"[s]hakes so" thethinker
becomes paralyzed.
Macbeth's reactionalso evinces dread in the formof "sympatheticantipaof his promotionas
thy." On the one hand, he welcomesthe announcement
"happy prologuesto theswellingact / Of theimperialtheme" (11.28-29). On
unmanshim,shakinghis "single
the otherhand, however,theannouncement
stateof man." "Cannotbe ill; cannotbe good" is Macbeth'swayofverbalizing
what he experiencesinwardlyin responseto the soliciting-an admixtureof
fascinationand revulsion.The question"why do I yield" atteststo the irresistiblefascinationof thatappalling"suggestion." Its "horridimage" unfixes
his hairbut fixeshis gaze, as is evidentfromhis vividand prolongeddescription. He resembles"the individualin dread [who] gazes almostdesirouslyat
guiltand yet fearsit," for"thoughdread is afraid,yetit maintainsa sly intercoursewithits object, cannotlook away fromit . . ." (Dread, p. 92). Unnervedby the "suggestion," Macbethis at the same timemesmerizedby it.
Kierkegaarddistinguishes
dreadfromfear,whichforhimrefersto something
"In dreadthereis theegoisticinfinity
definite.The objectof dreadis indefinite:
of possibility,whichdoes nottemptlike a definitechoice, butalarms. . . and
fascinateswith its sweet anxiety" (Dread, p. 55). Shakespearewould have
concurred.Macbeth's "fears" at thisstageare "less thanhorribleimaginings,"
yetso powerfulthat"functionis smother'din surmise."He is immobilizedby
an imaginativeprojection,wherein"nothingis, butwhatis not." Because what
is takingplace in his mindis only a possibility-somethingnot groundedin
reality-it "is not." At thesame timethispossibilityis so intensethatit blots
else and becomesall there"is." The blurring
out everything
of possibilityand
realitysuggeststhe "dizziness" of dread,whichoccurswhen"freedomgazes
down intoits own possibility,graspingat finiteness
to sustainitself" (Dread,
p. 55). Macbeth's flurry
portendsthatthe possibilityhas become too "real"
to be dismissed. Though thoroughly
shaken,he is hopelesslyrivetedto his
imaginings.Or, as Banquo astutelyobserves,Macbethis "rapt" (I.iii.143).6
III
of Malcolmas successor,however,thenebulous
AfterDuncan's nomination
fearsof Macbethcrystallizeintoguilty"desires":7
6 Macbeth's soliloquy resemblesthatof Brutusin the orchardbeforehe kills Caesar (II.i.34).
of murder,bothare haunted
attracted
and repelledbythethought
Bothspeakersare simultaneously
in theirmentalstates,andbothconfusepossibility
by a dreadfulpossibility;bothtalkof insurrection
withactuality.
7 NormanRabkinexplainsMacbeth'stransition
frominarticulate
fearto explicitresolvein terms
of siblingrivalry.The murderof Duncan,Rabkinsuggests,is a formof parricide;see Shakespeare
and the Problemof Meaning (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1981), pp. 105-8.
434
SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY
Stars,hide yourfires!
Let not lightsee my black and deep desires;
The eye winkat the hand; yetlet thatbe,
Whichtheeye fears,whenit is done, to see.
(I.iv.50-53)
The erstwhile"suggestion,"alongwithits "horridimage" and "murther
yet. . .
visionof a violent
fantastical,"has in themeantimedevelopedintoa full-blown
act whichMacbethmusthide fromeven himself.
Withthis sharpeningfocus dreadreachesits apex, as is suggestedby Macbeth's highlyambivalentdiction.Macbethbids the eye to winkat the hand,
betrayingat once his fearat whatthehandwill do and his wish to conniveat
the act when it is done. The fiat"let thatbe" suggestson the one hand that
thepossibilityof murderhas become so intensethatit will occuralmostsponto theact and his wish
taneously,showingthe speaker'sresolutecommitment
forits instantfulfillment.
On the otherhand, the fiatsuppressesthe agentof
the fell act, showingthe speaker'saversionto it and his anxietyto dissociate
himselffromit.
The semanticdivisivenessbecomeseven morepronouncedin thenextline.
The eye vacillates between what it "fears . . . to see" and what it strains to
see, dependingon how muchemphasisthespeaker(or thereader)gives to the
transportsfears to
intervening
clause-"when it is done"-which furtively
longings.The eye would avertitselffromthe action but would gape at the
finishedact. Cognizantof the blacknessof his desires and intenselyfearful,
Macbethis neverthelessdrivento pursuethe feloniouscourse to be king.
No mere promiseof the crownwins Macbethto evil, however.Exploring
his enigmaticchoice in theshadowof dread,I am tryingto showthatMacbeth
is fascinatedby the deed itself,thathis dread increasesas the possibilityof
thatdeed looms progressively
larger.Macbethseems a captivespectatorin the
theatreof his mind,shieldinghis eyes fromthebloodyscenes, yetarousedby
them.
IV
But how can a treacherousact have such magneticpower?Commentingon
the mythof the Fall in Genesis, Kierkegaardposits how God's prohibition
awakens dread in Adam:
The prohibitionalarms Adam [inducesa stateof dread] because the prohibition
awakens in him the possibilityof freedom. . . the alarmingpossibilityof being
able. . . . Afterthewordof prohibition
followsthewordofjudgment:"Thou shalt
The infinite
surelydie"....
possibilityof beingable (awakenedbytheprohibition)
draws closer for the factthatthis possibilityindicatesa possibilityas its consequence.
(Dread, pp. 40-41)
As differentas Macbeth is fromAdam, prohibitionand judgment seem to have
and the
a similarpsychologicaleffecton both.In Genesis boththeprohibition
judgmentare announcedby God, whereasMacbeth'sconsciencedictatesto him
whatis forbiddenand whatwill be the punitiveconsequence.But the results
in the two cases are similar:told to abstain,Adam eats the forbiddenfruit;
dissuadinghimselffrommurder,Macbethmakesthefataldecision. His anticipationof "judgmenthere" (I.vii.8) shoulddeterhimfrommurder,yetimag-
SHAKESPEARE
ANDKIERKEGAARD
435
ined as a "consequence" of the murder,the judgmentdraws the forbidden
possibilitycloser.
incitesviolationwas propoundedby theApostle
The paradoxthatprohibition
Paul in Romans (vii), but Kierkegaardmakes us feel its psychologicalmanifestationthroughhis notionof dread: "Scripturesays thatsin takesits opportunityin the commandor in theprohibition.Preciselythefactthatsomething
. . . The opportunity
is commandedor forbiddenbecomes the opportunity.
is
like a middleman,a mediator,merelyhelpfulin thetransaction,
onlycausing
to be arrangedsomethingwhich,in anothersense, alreadyexisted,namelyas
possibility."He gives a tellingexample: "If one said to a child thatit was a
sin to breaka leg, whatanxietyhe would live in, and probablybreakit more
often."8
True to boththeologyand psychology,Shakespearefleshesout theparadox
as forbidding
and
by havingMacbethcommitthe veryact he sees insistently
Duncan:
damning.Macbethenumeratesthe reasonsagainstmurdering
First,as I am his kinsmanand his subject,
Strongbothagainstthe deed; then,as his host,
shutthe door,
Who shouldagainsthis murtherer
Not bear theknifemyself.Besides, thisDuncan
Hath bornehis facultiesso meek,hathbeen
So clear in his greatoffice,thathis virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongu'd,
against
The deep damnationof his taking-off;
And Pity,like a nakednew-bornbabe,
Stridingthe blast,or heaven's Cherubins,hors'd
Upon the sightlesscouriersof the air,
Shall blow the horriddeed in everyeye,
Thattearsshall drownthewind.-I have no spur
To prickthe sides of my intent,butonly
Vaultingambition,whicho'erleaps itself
And falls on th'other(Lvii. 13-28)
The bloody deed yields quicklyin Macbeth's mindto the consequentretribution,but the morehe dwells on the woefulconsequence,whichshould be
his deterrent,
themorehe seemsboundto theact thattriggers
theconsequence.
here: "The possibilityof freedomannouncesitself
Kierkegaardis illuminating
in dread.An admonitionmaynowcause theindividualto succumbin dread . . .
and thisin spiteof thefactthattheadmonitionwas of coursemeantto produce
theoppositeeffect"(Dread, pp. 66-67). An admonition
oftencombatsitsown
intention,for "dread of sin produces sin" (p. 65). AlthoughKierkegaard's
observationby no meansjustifiesthe "qualitativeleap" of Macbeth-his decisionto murder-theobservationcastssomelighton hisdecision,whichseems
rationallyperversebut psychologicallycompelling.Macbethfostershis murderous intentin the veryact of stiflingit; dread increaseswitheach warning
till it provokespreciselywhat is being warnedagainst.
8 Quoted in KrestonNordentoft,
Kierkegaard'sPsychology,trans.Bruce Kirmmse(Pittsburgh:
of the forbiddenin
Duquesne Univ. Press, 1972), p. 67. Freud will laterexplain the attraction
termsof the pleasureprinciple:"The feelingof happinessderivedfromthe satisfaction
of a wild
moreintensethanthatderivedfromsating
instinctualimpulseuntamedby theego is incomparably
of perverseinstincts,and perhapstheattraction
an instinctthathas been tamed.The irresistibility
in generalof forbiddenthingsfindsan economicexplanationhere." See Civilizationand Its Discontents,trans.JamesStrachey(New York: Norton,1961), p. 28.
436
SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY
V
The lines withwhichMacbethbeginsthesoliloquy-"If it weredone, when
'tis done, then'twerewell / It weredone quickly" (I.vii. 1-2)-succinctly dePresentand futuredissolvein "If it weredone,
finehis stateof apprehension.9
when 'tis done"; the movementfromthe subjunctiveto the indicativereveals
possibility,to make it come to
a subconsciousdesireto reifyan importunate
pass. The apodosis-"then 'twerewell / It weredone quickly"-indicatesmore
explicitlythanthe protasishis impatientlongingand his wish to get the possibilityover with-to leave dreadbehind.Being anticipatedforwardas an act
to be performed
and backwardas an act alreadydone, theimaginedact teases
Macbethwithinstantperformance.
level,
The temporalmergingof cause and effectis enactedon a figurative
so thatpresentimagesare viewedfromtheperspectiveof futureconsequences.
Duncan's meek virtues,whichMacbeth'invokesto hold back his aggression,
are blown up as clarion-voicedaccusers:the pacifiersbecome the aggressors;
thevictimthejudge. The bizarreimageof an equestrianbabe likewisecoalesces
deterrentand punitiveagent, blurringthe line betweenpresentthoughtand
futureimaginings:a "naked newbornbabe," a delicateobject of pityand the
is conceivedas ridingroughshodover theblast,
verysymbolof vulnerability,
on a par withthe vengeful"Cherubins" who, like the furies,rushblindlyto
"blow the horriddeed in everyeye.""1 Even "tears," the passive, impotent
of pity,are transmuted
into active, dynamic,tidal power with
manifestation
the incredibleabilityto "drownthe wind."
of pitifulimages into aggressiveones turnsdeterrents
The transformation
into stimulants.As his dread mounts,Macbethbecomes increasinglycarried
in a poeticwish-fulfillment
whereby
culminating
awayby a fantastic
imagination,
the verydeed he admonisheshimselfagainstis euphemized,rationalized,and
symbolizedin poetryas "Vaultingambition,whicho'erleaps itself." Macbeth
gives ambitionas his overtmotiveformurderand disclaimsambitionas a spur
in the same breath.Indeed by now he is too intenton the act to requireany
in thisbusiness"
spur.Even thoughhe latertellshis wife"to proceedno further
(I.vii.31), he himselfalreadyhas proceededtoo far.
VI
theregicidehas been stressedby many
Lady Macbeth's role in engineering
critics.Like thewitches,she embodiesdread's ambiguity:she is boththeabetin projectingherselfas the
tor and the alterego of Macbeth." Furthermore,
sheprovidesMacbethwithwhatKierkegaardcalls "thepower
ruthlessmurderer
of example," whichproducesthedesiredeffectthroughdread(Dread, p. 67).
Her firstwordsto Macbethecho the witches'greeting:
Cawdor!
GreatGlamis!worthy
thanboth,bytheall-hailhereafter!
Greater
9 Cf. Christ'swordsto Judas:"That thoudoest,do quickly" (John13:27). (See KennethMuir's
notein theNew Ardenedition.)Bothin theBible and in Shakespeare,thebiddingto "do" implies
violationand precipitatesit.
of this imagery;see The Well WroughtUrn
0?Cleanth Brooks also discusses the incongruity
(1947; rpt.New York: Harcourt,1975), pp. 29 ff.
I Freud suggeststhatMacbethand Lady Macbethare "two partsof the mindof a single inMet Within Psychoanalytic
Work," CollectedPapers,
dividuality";see "Some Character-Types
SHAKESPEARE AND KIERKEGAARD
437
Thy lettershave transported
me beyond
This ignorantpresent,and I feel now
The futurein the instant.
(I .v.54-58)
Being a nebulous,luringpossibility,dreadhas its optimumclimatein an "ignorantpresent" and enticesone to realize "the futurein the instant."Lady
Macbethforeshortens
and intensifies
thepossibilityof murderby discussingit
task at hand and by focusingon its consequence:
as an important
... you shall put
This night'sgreatbusinessintomy dispatch;
Whichshall to all our nightsand days to come
Give solely sovereignsway and masterdom.
(I. v.67-70)
Presentingthe murderas the "night's greatbusiness," Lady Macbethmakes
seem imminent
the act whichis stillunderconsideration
and pressing.Instead
of lookingcloselyat thehorror,she looks beyondthehorridact intothepower
whichwill resultfromit. In thisaspectshe contrastssharplywithherhusband,
who drownshimselfin horridimagesand horribleimaginingsdespitehis perfunctory
professionof ambition."2
Had Lady Macbethincitedherhusbandsolelybyharpingon thefairpromises
she wouldnothavegoneveryfar.Butshedoes more:she stands
of sovereignty,
as a foul example to Macbethand challengeshis manhood.To bolsterwhat
she sees as herhusband'sflaggingcourage,she offersto "dispatch" thehellish
business herself.And latershe drainshim of "the milkof humankindness"
her own:
by figuratively
proscribing
I have given suck, and know
How tender'tis to love the babe thatmilksme:
I would, whileit was smilingin myface,
Have pluck'dmynipplefromhis bonelessgums,
And dash'd thebrainsout, had I so sworn
As you have done to this.
(I. vii.54-59)
The speech is insidiouslyerotic. In stressingher dangerouspower over the
male and totallyhelplessinfant,Lady Macbethindirectly
calls her husband's
potencyintoquestion.Macbethasks, followingherspeech,"If we shouldfail?"
(1. 59). The questionbetraysfearand desire:fearof failureand desireto perform.The pronoun"we" suggeststhatMacbethwishes to identifywithand
to appropriatehis wife's absolutepower,herfability
to commandperformance.
Playingon his dual anxietyover regicideand over virility,Lady Macbethre/ And we'll notfail" (11.
plies, "But screwyourcourageto thesticking-place,
61-62). Her figureof speech couples readinessto kill withsexual prowess,
confusingbrutalitywithmasculinityand displacingMacbeth's ethicalnotion
of what "may become a man" (I.vii.46) witheroticanxiety."3
trans.JoanRiviere(New York: Basic Books, 1959), IV, 333. A. C. Bradleytakesa similarline
in ShakespeareanTragedy(Greenwich:FawcettPremier,1904), pp. 303 ff.
12 This difference
betweenMacbethand Lady Macbethis notedby Rabkin;see Shakespeareand
theProblemof Meaning, p. 102.
13
For variousdiscussionsof the connectionbetweensex and violence in Macbeth,see David
438
SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY
fusedin Macbeth. Norman
Dread, sexuality,and violence are inextricably
Murther
to Macbeth'simageof himselfas personified
Rabkinhas called attention
movingwith"Tarquin's ravishingstride"as thoughthemurderofDuncanwere
an act of lust. Macbeth,Rabkinsuggests,is motivatedto kill theKing (a symas thatof sex" (p. 107).
and as irrational
bolic father)"by a driveas fundamental
The analogygoes deeper,forMacbeth's murderousferocityseems to feed on
his sexual anxiety,an anxietythatis hintedat and probablyaggravatedby his
not havingany children.Yet he reactsto his wife's infanticidalavowal with
stunnedadmiration-an antipatheticsympathy.Associatinginfanticidewith
only!/ For thyundaunted
he bids herto "Bringforthmen-children
procreation,
mettleshould compose/ Nothingbut males" (I.vii.73-75).
It is curious thata speech designedby Lady Macbethto provokemurder
in Macbeth,unlesshe too has come
shouldgive rise to thoughtsof patrimony
to equate virilitywithheartlessaggression-males withmails of armor,mettle
his procreative
withsteelymetal.He is readyto provehis virilitybytranslating
impulseinto a destructiveone, his fearof femaledominationinto masculine
he is
aggression.His destructivepassion smacksof eroticself-abandonment:
drivento perform"the swellingact / Of the imperialtheme" (I.iii. 127-28).
VII
Provokingeffectsof lustand dreadare linkedin theimageof thehallucinated
dagger.As a phallicsymbolit suggestslust,in thiscase thelustfora perverted
as an externalobjectdrawingMacbethonward,it suggestsdread,
consummation;
both as an alien power and as a personalsusceptibility.Stainedwithblood,
thedaggerof themindsuggeststheprolepticforceof dread,whichenticesone
witha futurevision and pressesone withits realization.Even so, Macbeth's
real daggerwill gravitatetowardthe imaginarydagger,as thoughthe image
the way that
of thebloody weapon dictatesthebloodyact:."Thou marsha,11'st
I was going" (II.i.42).
The linecan also be addressedto Lady Macbeth.Faced withher"undaunted"
provocations,Macbethmakes the
example and overcomeby her intoxicating
evil leap:
I am settled,and bend up
Each corporalagentto thisterriblefeat.
Away, and mockthe timewithfairestshow:
False face musthide whatthe false heartdothknow.
(l.vii. 80-83)
Macbeth's decision to murder,like the psychologicalprocessfromwhichthe
decision issues, is couched in ambivalentterms.Thoughhe is "settled," his
required
need to "bend up / Each corporalagent" conveystheimmenseeffort
to overcomehis mentalresistanceto an act still too unnervingto be named.
His calling it a "terriblefeat" sums up his ambivalentattitude:thetermconand revulsion,terrorand grandeur,epitomizingtheprocessby
notesattraction
which Macbeth comes to his decision. His mixed reactionof sympathyand
Barron,'The Babe ThatMilks: An OrganicStudyof Macbeth,"AmericanImago, 17 (1960), 133and Violence in Macbeth," ShakespeareStudies,8
61; Dennis Biggins, "Sexuality,Witchcraft,
in Shakespeare(Berkeley:Univ.
(1975), 255-77; Coppelia Kahn,Man's Estate:MasculineIdentity
of CaliforniaPress, 1981), pp. 151 ff.
SHAKESPEARE AND KIERKEGAARD
439
antipathy,so inseparablein the process,contrastssharplywiththe deliberate
dichotomyof "false face" and "false heart" afterthe decision.
is its "dreadful"evolution.Dreadhaunts
Whatmakesthedecisionso haunting
bothMacbethand his spectators.Underthe spell of Shakespeare'spoetry,we
too are startledby thewitches,we too are fascinatedby horridimages,we too
etchedby heris
are amazed by Lady Macbeth.While the scene of infanticide
inhumanand morallyrevolting,its graphicimageryis captivating.Shockedby
comthe eideticpowerof thegrislyscene, we maybe caughtin a shuddering
plicity.We are similarlytakenby theentireplay: appalled by evil, we nonetheless are fastenedto its luriddramatization.