I think the witches want Macbeth to be King because it is the best way to damn him. This is what is really meant by Banquo's comment: "oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to betray 's / In deepest consequence." The "deepest consequence" here is the loss of one's eternal soul. The witches are "instruments of darkness" or minions of evil or servants of the devil. These instruments of darkness will tell us something true, something trivially true, in order to betray us when our "deepest consequence" occurs. What could be a deeper consequence of action than to be damned? It is the ultimate consequence. This theme of damnation is not without precedent in Shakespeare. It occurs also in Hamlet.
The spirit that I have seen
May be the devil, and the devil hath power
T' assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps
Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
As he is very potent with such spirits,
Abuses me to damn me (IIii, 562-565).
No comments:
Post a Comment