Analysis on Mcbeth

Act 1 Analysis

In Act 2, the Porter extemporizes about the sin of equivocation, and in many ways, equivocation can be said to be the most important theme in this play. Starting from the Weird Sisters' first words at the beginning of the play, readers quickly ascertain that things are not what they seem. The word "equivocation" has two different meanings, both of which are applicable to this play. The first, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is:

The using (a word) in more than one sense; ambiguity or uncertainty of meaning in words; also . . . misapprehension arising from the ambiguity of terms (vol.3, p. 266).

This definition is the one that modern readers are most familiar with, and this kind of verbal ambiguity is a major theme in the play. However, this is not the definition of "equivocation" that the Porter intends. The second definition in the Oxford English Dictionary is:

The use of words or expressions that are susceptible of a double signification, with a view to mislead; esp. the expression of a virtual falsehood in the form of a proposition which (in order to satisfy the speaker's conscience) is verbally true.

This is the equivocation of which the Porter speaks. This kind of equivocation is similar to lying; it is intentionally designed to mislead people for one reason or another.

This intentional ambiguity of terms is what we see in the prophesies of the Weird Sisters; their speech is full of paradox and confusion, starting with their first assertion that "fair is foul and foul is fair" (I.i 12). The witches' prophesies are intentionally ambiguous, and the alliteration and rhymed couplets with which they speak their omens contributes to the effect of instability and confusion in their words. It takes one or two readings sometimes to figure out what the witches mean; it is not surprising, therefore, that these "imperfect speakers" can easily bedazzle and confuse Macbeth throughout the course of the play.

Just as their words are...