How is Entrapment Shown in Macbeth?

As according to David Punter the Gothic protagonist is prone to being socially isolated through entrapment, within Macbeth this is because the protagonist resembles the "seeker" figure. For example within the context of Macbeth enlightenment ideas were being to circulate which rejected "The Great Chain of Being" and argued God wasn't at the center of Mans existence, instead Man was. Therefore Macbeth advocates the danger of individualism in a attempt to appease King James. Shakespeare does this through exploring entrapment through three main levels; In a literal sense, as a pawn of the three sisters but also entrapment of the mind.

A     As the Macbeth's break from natural law they seem to become increasingly entrapped in themselves. Indeed Chesterton on Macbeth stated; The lawless man never breaks out; he breaks in.  He smashes a door and finds himself in another room, he smashes a wall and finds himself in a yet smaller one.  The more he shatters the more his habitation shrinks.  Where he ends you may read in the end of Macbeth. This is obvious within Macbeth as the Macbeth's commit murder that goes against natural laws Lady Macbeth becomes enslaved by her subconscious; she sleep walks and curses "out damned spot! Out, i say!" the product of this subconscious grief is murder. As well as this oppression is transmitted to the audience as Macbeth is compulsively unable to discard the evil thoughts possessing and invading his whole being. He describes the dagger as “fatal vision” suggesting a future fate of perdition to him and also the imminent murder to be accomplished and expresses such dagger comes from “the heat oppressed brain”- heat of hell. It is thus as if he has no choice and is poisoned such by the evil, that he is entrapped with no freedom of mind- relating to the themes of terror and entrapment of the Gothic genre. The audience is invaded by the overwhelming sense of confusion Macbeth experiences as he realizes the dagger is not real but in his imagination and doesn´t disappear, “ I see thee still”. This therefore means he is so deeply effected by, he becomes enslaved by his subconscious, much like Lady Macbeth and ends up hallucinating. This is further enforced when he claims to see Banquo's ghost despite the Lords being unable to see such. This results in clear evidence that Macbeth is entrapped within his own mind as he cannot cope with the consequences of grief which leads to him becoming socially isolated, as the consequences of the dinner reveals as lady Macbeth tells the lord to "go at once".

       

     Furthermore Macbeth can be seen as a pawn to three sisters. The three sisters are seen as agents of chaos, and are referred to as Banquo as "instruments of darkness". Therefore the Witches seem to cast a spell over Macbeth as "the charm wounds up" and Macbeth is later seen as "rapt withal" and therefore seems they have a great degree of control over him.Such control over Macbeth is implied further, as he unknowingly echoes their chiasmus in conversation to Banquo as he remarks ‘so foul and fair a day I have not seen’ and manifests as soon as ‘[their] charm’s wound up’ in a sort of proleptic irony. As they show an apparent power to control the speech and actions of Macbeth, it is not altogether surprising that he is left in a ‘rapt’ state at their claims that he is to inherit the title of ‘Thane of Cawdor’ and ‘King hereafter’. This is further enforced when Macbeth displays a degree of dependability onto the Three Sisters, when circumstances turn sour he seeks out the three sisters to learn his fate. On hearing "Beware Macduff" it "harp[es] his fear" but upon learning "the power of man for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth" Macbeth stats "what need i fear of thee?". As a siege is launched against his castle Macbeth nervously repeats what the witches state to him "Fear not Macbeth, no man that's born of woman shalle'er have power opon thee" and furthermore upon learning that Macduff was "ultimately ripped" and therefore born unnaturally Macbeth declared "ill not fight with thee". Thus it shows Macbeth consciousness is enslaved and thus entrapped to the three sisters showing the protagonist to be caged to their words. 

At the climax of the novel the play takes on the theme of entrapment at a literal level. As siege is to Macbeth's castle, Macbeth is entrapped. Quite literally. He is unable to run away as he is trapped by an army at his gates. Thus is also a metaphorical representation of the protagonist being socially isolated- even more emphasized when Macbeth hears "the Queen is dead", Thus Macbeth becomes isolated from his Lords, who rebel against him as well as his wife who dies as a result of her being unable to handle the consequences of her grief. The castle thus becomes a symbol of his entrapment that was previously explored, the castle is a symbol of his entrapment of mind as it is the product of his actions. Within the castle Macbeth also resigns himself to fate as he says "at least we'll die with harness on our back". Ultimately Macbeth realizes this himself as he says "They have tied me to a stake; i cannot fly, but bear like i must fight the course" this therefore shows the high point of entrapment as it takes place at a literal level and Macbeth must face the consequences of his actions. 

One could also argue taking a gender perspective the play explores entrapment through Lady Macbeth. Indeed Macbeth appears to be stronger, more ruthless and more ambitious than her husband and goes on to say "unsex me her". Her husband goes further to imply she is a masculine soul inhabiting a female body; "undaunted mettle should compose of nothing but males". Women therefore can be ambitious and cruel as men yet social constraints on the terms of sex deny them the means to pursue these ambitions on their own. Lady Macbeth also seems to be more cunning and capable of murder than Macbeth; she rebukes Macbeth for taking the daggers with him and then proceeds to plant them along the guards. Thus the theme of entrapment can be seen through numerous levels; literally, through sex, as a pawn to the three sisters but also through the mind.

Essentially a clear cut theme of the Gothic which is the norm among the body of the genre of Gothic is that of entrapment. It can be explored through Macbeth literally, in terms of psychological values, in terms of sex and also through the mind. The latter is most significant as it is essentially through which all the other themes of entrapment is explored. Lady Macbeth is trapped within her own mind as she is seen more of a male as throughout the novel the play associates manliness with violence and cunning. thus she is metaphorically "trapped" within her sex. Macbeth becomes a pawn to the three sisters because he becomes "trapped" within their prophecies, because he sees them as "security". Thus he only acts accordingly to the prophecies because he becomes "caged" to them and not trusting any other means of going around. This is shown when he goes on to kill his best friend because of the Witches prophecies. As a result of being trapped in his mind, he becomes trapped within the castle as he believes no man naturally born can harm him; and surely no such man should exist. Thus the entrapment of mind lead to entrapment of all other levels, a crucial theme within Macbeth.