ety, but already got sucked into the irrational. He begins to see visions, talks about ghosts and horrors, and it is obvious that he is not well, or at least begins to feel weird. His consciousness reminds him what a terrible deed he has initiated. Trying to take his mind off the subject, he talks to himself. But this doesn't work. His mind works only in one direction. Here, Macbeth has stepped into a different dimension, and is unable to turn back: he is paralyzed with fear, as if his whole body suddenly became numb. He tries to talk to himself, hence prolonging Duncan's life, but eventually turns back to the irrational. In fact, his words remind very much of some kind of a witch spell: "Thou sure and firm-set earth, hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear thy very stones prate of my whereabout, and take the present horror from the time, which now suits with it."Act III, Scene I continue Macbeth's fall. Macbeth's isolation from others becomes more and more intense. He becomes suspicious of everything and everyone. Of course, it can be said that at this point Macbeth is really losing it, and develops some kind of phobia. But then it would be too simple for Shakespeare's talent. It seems that Banquo possessed qualities, which Macbeth lacks. Banquo is a really good human character, who has a 'royalty of nature.' He also had a chance to fall under the influence of the supernatural, but resisted. Macbeth feels Banquo's superiority and fears him: "He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor to act in safety. There is none but he whose being I do fear: and under him my genius is rebuked" Macbeth cannot forgive Banquo his ability to resist the temptation of the supernatural, while he himself fell under its spell. But the question Shakespeare raises, is where does this evil originate? Does it exist in Macbeth's mind from the very beginning, and later enhanced by the witches, the agents of the dark powers; or is his f...
