Witchcraft, ambition and corrupting power are just a few of the constant themes in the Shakespearian tragedy, “Macbeth.” These themes are illustrated by the use of language features such as metaphor, iambic pentameter (or lack thereof) and the more surreal elements such as apparitions seen only by the protagonist, Macbeth. All these themes combined lead to the deterioration of Macbeth’s mental and emotional state, leaving his life “fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf,” and show the effects of a mind dominated by power. Macbeth is left drowning in guilt.

Throughout the play, Macbeth is constantly seeing apparitions due to his slowly deteriorating mind. Sometimes these are summoned by the witches whereas other times these are summoned by Macbeth’s guilt. Macbeth sees a vision of a dagger dripping with blood hovering in the air before him. He says, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee: I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” Macbeth questions if this is a tangible object, or if it is “a dagger of the mind, a false creation” that he imagined due to his unstable mental state. Through this technique, Shakespeare is presenting the deterioration of Macbeth’s mind, which is shown through Macbeth seeing objects that are not present anywhere other than his mind. In act 3, scene 4, Macbeth sees yet another apparition. After Macbeth is informed of Banquo’s death, Banquo’s ghost appears. This scene takes place at a banquet hosted by Lady Macbeth, but the apparition is seen only by Macbeth. “Avaunt, and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee. Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold. Thou hast no speculation in those eyes Which thou dost glare with!” are the words spoken by Macbeth in his unsuccessful attempt to get the ghost to leave, as he is aware that he is just a figure in his subconscious mind, summoned through his guilt. This apparition clearly shows that Macbeth’s guilt is strangling his mind, trapping it in itself. In act 4, scene 1, Macbeth sees the last apparitions of the play. These apparitions, however, are not a result of fear and guilt but summoned by the witches. First, an “armed head” warns Macbeth to “beware Macduff, beware the Thane of Fife.” He believes he is “in blood stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er,” and will do anything to stay king, so he murders the family of Macduff. This gives Macbeth more blood on his hands. The next apparition, a “bloody child,” tells Macbeth that “the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” This gives Macbeth a false sense of security because he believes that all are born from a woman, so he thought that not even Macduff could harm him. Macduff, though, turns out to be born through a caesarean. The last of the three apparitions a “crowned child” says that “Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.” He believes this to be impossible, but Malcolm, Duncan’s son, gets his troops to use the tree boughs as camouflage when they invade Dunsinane. All three of these apparitions negatively affect Macbeth’s mental state by giving him a false sense of security, and by making him feel more or less invincible.

Metaphor is a language feature that can be seen in much of Shakespeare’s work and is very prominent in Macbeth. In act 5, scene 3, Macbeth says “I have liv’d long enough: my way of life is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf” and he can not enjoy “that which should accompany old age, as honour, love, obedience, troops of friends.” This is a turning point for Macbeth’s character due to it being the first time he states himself that his mental and emotional states are becoming unstable. He is comparing his life to that of a discarded autumn leaf left to wither away on the ground, left with nothing that old age should have brought him. He also considers his life to be “a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage.” This metaphor is comparing his life to that of an actor that “struts and frets his hour upon the stage.” Through the use of this metaphor, Shakespeare is implying that life lacks substance, like the life of an actor who has little time on stage, although performs the best they can until the end of the play – or life, as Shakespeare is suggesting. This also suggests that Macbeth’s life is close to its end, his mind defeated and slowly beginning to be “heard no more.” Shakespeare presents Macbeth’s life as wearing away into nothing, especially after the loss of the most important person to him, his wife.

Another language feature Shakespeare employed is iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter consists of 5 ‘iambs’, one short or distressed syllable and one long or stressed syllable. The speech of the majority of noble characters is delivered in iambic pentameter whereas that of the lower class does not tend to feature iambic pentameter; it can therefore be said that it represents the social status of a character. As Macbeth becomes more mentally and emotionally unstable, his use of iambic pentameter begins to falter. “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time” is an example of his faltering use of iambic pentameter due to it ending in a weak foot. As king, Macbeth’s social status is relatively high. This interruption and incompletion of the iambic meter suggests that Macbeth’s mind is deteriorating due to his inability to use noble speech.

In the play “Macbeth,” Shakespeare uses language features to effectively show the deterioration of the protagonist, Macbeth’s, mind. His greed for power leaves him haunted by murderous thoughts, guilt and the inability to enjoy “that which should accompany old age.” Metaphor, iambic pentameter and apparitions are three of the language features employed by Shakespeare to emphasise the deterioration of Macbeth’s mind and to show the destructiveness of blind ambition on one’s mental state.