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In his didactic play 'Macbeth', William Shakespeare presents control as a powerful and often destructive force, using it to expose the fragility of moral integrity and consequences of disrupting the natural and social order. Set within a Jacobean context shaped by rigid beliefs about hierarchy, kingship and supernatural, the play explores how control can become insidious and corrupting, particularly when intwined with unchecked ambition, but also examines self-control, through Banquo, as the moral benchmark for the morally transgressive Macbeths. Ultimately, Shakespeare suggests that the lack of control ultimately leads to not only individual psychological disintegration, but also widespread chaos and instability.

In the extract, Shakespeare presents us with the moral benchmark for Macbeth through Banquo, who expresses his desire for fighting against 'treasonous malice'. Here Banquo demonstrates self-control, that Macbeth clearly lacks in this moment, as he talks sharply in straight verse, whereas Macbeth equivocates in prose and litters his speech with metaphors, showing a lack of control over his thoughts. The verb 'fight' implies violence, demonstrating Banquo's virtue as he is determined to fight for justice and bring the perpetrator of this regicide to their death - ultimately, this plays a factor in his untimely murder. The adjective 'treasonous' accentuates the crime as it illustrates how the crime goes against the Divine Right of King, and therefore against God - an act of heresy. The euphemism through 'malice' highlights Banquo's self-control as even in grief and outrage he expresses his despair through carefully thought out phrases; 'malice' implies a sense of planned performance, highlighting Banquo's belief that this took great planning in order to execute. Perhaps Shakespeare is presenting Banquo as a man with great control and power as an attempt to cajole and impress the patron of his shows, King James I, who was believed to be a descendant of Banquo.

Shakespeare initially presents control through Lady Macbeth's pragmatic and composed response to Duncan's murder in Act 2.2. On one hand Macbeth is haunted by hallucinatory voices, Lady Macbeth utters that 'a little water clears us of this deed'. This is ironic as it directly contradicts Macbeth's hysterical questioning as to 'will all great Neptune's oceans wash the blood clean from my hand?'. This demonstrates a much subtler side of control as even without hearing Macbeth's cry, Lady Macbeth is still maintaining moral superiority over him. The euphemism through 'deed' is a futile attempt here by Lady Macbeth to downplay the heinous gravity of their actions, attempting to detach herself from the crime. This use of euphemism reinforces her belief that she has control over separating the physical act from its emotional and ethical ramifications. The phrase 'a little water' employs litotes, an understatement that trivialises the enormity of the situation. By suggesting that merely washing their hands will absolve them, Lady Macbeth dismisses the moral implications of the murder; she reject the notion of her role as the antagonist. However, this sharply contrasts with Lady Macbeth's stark mental unravelling by the end of the play when we are presented with a nihilistic woman, who is a shadow of her prior control. This suggest that she initially was simply employing a facade of control and that ultimately, beneath the Machiavellian surface, Lady Macbeth has no psychological control over her own psyche. In Act 5.1, she is futiley attempting to wash off a spot of blood that does not exist; she exclaims 'Out damned spot! Out I say!'. Here the spot symbolises the indelible guilt Lady Macbeth feels, with the blood representing the lasting consequences of her femme fatale role in Duncan's murder. The spot is not just a physical mark, but a manifestation of her internalised guilt and lack of control over her emotions. Her obsessive guilt acts as a foil to Macbeths emotional numbness, highlighting how her guilt and lack of self-control has corroded away her sanity. The repetition of 'out' underscores her hysteria and desperation to rid herself of the guilt she cannot escape. Ultimately, a Jacobean audience would view this as divine retribution for Lady Macbeth's catalytic role in the regicide as they strongly believed in the Great Chain of Beings and the Divine Right of Kings, which she transgressed in her futile attempt for greater authority and control.

Also in the wider play, Shakespeare presents control as the catalyst for Macbeth's hamartia; while it is Macbeth's unchecked ambition that is his hamartia, it is his 'black and deep desire(s)' for power, introduced by the witches, that unlocks his ambition. The light imagery with 'black' emphasises the atrocity of Macbeth's ambition as 'black' has connotations of death, downfall and torture. Perhaps this could be a foreshadowing of the tyranny 'poor' Scotland will face. In addition, the adjective 'deep' highlights how Macbeth knows his greed for power is beyond the realms of morality, yet he still 'desires' it. This shows how his mind has already been corrupted by some of the Seven Deadly Sins, namely greed and pride. To a Jacobean audience, this essentially establishes Macbeth's downfall as they know that possessing any of the Seven Deadly Sins would lead to eternal damnation in Hell. The alliteration in 'deep desires' underscores how Macbeth's ambition for control is morally transgressive; it also underscores how he now has not control over himself. In Act 1.2, Macbeth is described as 'brave' and to be 'like Valour's minion'. This shows the audience that he has control over his actions and his thoughts. Yet now, we are clearly able to see his descent into a carcass of insanity as his ego has taken over his thinking autonomy. This demonstrates how in Macbeth's immoral quest for control, he has lost control over himself, ultimately leading to him losing his illegitimate control over Scotland.

In conclusion, Shakespeare presents control as a force that is either elusive for those who desire it illicitly or as a beacon that shines brightly out of those who have mastered it. Ultimately, the Macbeths temporarily gain a sense of control, yet this is avails when righteousness returns. Shakespeare is ultimately teaching a Jacobean audience that control is a gift given by God and that it should not be desired as that will lead to a psychological unravelling and divine punishment.