The Universality of the Macbeth Narrative Structure
– Mihir Nedungadi
Introduction: Narratives
Shakespeare asked Elizabethan audiences a question that has lasted for centuries now: What happens when a man takes inevitability as justification, as an excuse?
This is a question that has been iterated upon again and again, ever since Macbeth took the stage and the obsessions of writers with it. So many of the world’s most fascinating stories and sprawling franchises have been based on this very question, on the very same narrative beats of the play that started it. Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Lion King, Death Note, Breaking Bad, so on and so on, these stories of ambition and pre-emption tend to hit the masses, and hit the masses hard.
The narrative of Macbeth is startlingly efficient, kicking the titular character into action with prophesied temptation right after introductions are done. He leaps at the opportunity, taking power into his hands without bothering to know the cost. As his deeds pile on, his identity as usurper and power-hungry king takes over his identity as Macbeth, until he chooses cruelty without being asked to choose. By the time the terms of the prophecy make themselves clear, the Macbeth who heard the prophecy is no more, and the tyrant king the prophecy created would soon also be no more.
For this essay, let’s strip that narrative down into its essential components:
- The inciting prophecy from supernatural origins or means beyond the protagonist
- The reckless leap into power without much deliberation
- The slow shift in identity from naive and careful protagonist to paranoid tyrant doomed to fail
- The crossing of the line, the one unprovoked action, that causes a collapse of that original identity
- The eventual defeat or overthrow of the tyrant by one born, created or otherwise raised through special means
We’ll also be using the following media as comparisons, so spoiler warning for any of the mentioned titles:
- Star Wars (Until Episode VI: A New Hope)
- The Lion King (1994)
- Breaking Bad (2008)
- Death Note (2006)
- Harry Potter (Until the end of Deathly Hallows)
Part 1: Prophecy
The witches recite a prophecy, not an instruction. It just so happens that Macbeth and his missus were waiting for an excuse to enact some good ol’ fashioned regicide. As we see from King Duncan’s sheer trust in Macbeth, there is a chance that he would have grown into wealth, repute, command, everything a king has other than the crown itself. The tragedy of Macbeth is not the inevitability of his kingship, but the inevitability of his recklessness.
Stories that end up following the Macbeth narrative can usually be cleanly divided into two categories: one with actual, supernatural prophecies, and the other with internally motivated and driven characters.
In Star Wars and Harry Potter, both Anakin Skywalker and Tom Riddle enter into worlds with in-built supernatural elements and themes of destiny. Both their lives are heavily influenced by, if not dictated by, an actual prophecy. Both of them undertake paths of action in hopes of avoiding or circumventing the prophecy, but it turns out that the actions incited by the prophecy cause it to be self-fulfilling.
Anakin is born as “the Chosen One” who brings balance to the Force, subversively so, by decimating the Jedi Order. I wager that the “prophecy” here is not his chosen-ness, but the visions of Padme that he sees that incite his fall to the Dark Side. Tom Riddle, on the other hand, has an entire prophecy about his fated defeat by a wizard child. His attempted murder of Harry is what marks him, ensuring that he is the destined child to defeat Voldemort. On both sides, the prophecy causes the characters’ downfall through means unknown to them.
Meanwhile, we have the internally driven counterparts in The Lion King’s Scar and Death Note’s Light Yagami. These characters believe that they deserve the power they are chasing. Though there is an inciting incident, it does not inform the characters in any way of their fate. Scar takes over the Pride Lands as its ruler because he believes he was cheated out of the throne, and he saw Simba’s childish ambition to be king as the perfect opportunity to strike. Light was a gifted youth disillusioned with the world until he found a method radical enough for him to agree with: a supernatural notebook that killed whoever’s name was written in it, which fell from the sky, and he used it to enact his own twisted justice.
In Breaking Bad, however, we see a modern take on a prophecy that personally fascinates me to no end. Walter White, a meek and mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher, turns into the larger-than-life drug kingpin Heisenberg, all because of one small piece of news: Walter’s cancer diagnosis. This somewhat acts like a modern version of a prophecy, forgoing the vagueness and the supernatural, yet still showing Walter what may lie ahead of him: Illness, expensive treatments, impotence, death. It is no wonder then that Walter decides to take life by the horns himself and provide for his family, live beyond his means for as long as he can.
Part 2: Power
So many stories revolve around power. Its acquiring, its maintenance, its misuse and its duty. What power is imagined to be and what power should be. Macbeth seemingly throws his life away for this power. He would have had wealth and fame, and everything else, had he continued on a path of honour, yet he decided to take matters into his own hands so that he could seize the throne and its command. His leap into kingship is not driven by necessity or calculation but sheer impatience. He chooses immediacy over legitimacy without asking what such power will demand or how long it will last.
Scar orchestrates a series of events that lead to young Simba running away from the Pride Lands, self-exiling himself out of guilt for his father’s death. He thus seizes his place as ruler, rewarding his loyal gestapo in the hyenas with freedom over the land and its resources. Anakin lets emotion take hold of his control over the Force, under the advice of Senator Palpatine. His actions are fueled by rage against the Jedi Council and its injustice and fear for Padme’s life. He grows more and more self-assured in his path and more and more oblivious to the senator’s wrongdoings.
While both Scar and Anakin showcase their frustrations with the system by going through it, Walter White and Tom Riddle both aim to surpass their respective systems. Walter, much like a blood-lusted war commander, does not believe in last resorts. He jumps straight to the most desperate and most dangerous option, because it’s the only one that lets him control his fate. He’d rather risk his life in cartel shootouts to be filthy rich than wait in hospital halls, helpless and on medication. Tom Riddle, unsatisfied with mediocrity and an ill reputation due to his Muggle father, wishes to be supreme, all-powerful, immortal through the Horcruxes. He wanted to be the peak of wizarding society, none to defy him, none to insult him. Both Scar and Anakin wanted to be at the top of society, while Tom and Walter ruled it from a vile underground.
Light Yagami chooses not to be at the top of society or rule it from the bottom, but rather an invisible god that decides who lives and who dies. The Death Note, paired with the bored death spirit of Ryuk, lets Light cause the death of any person as long as he knows that person’s name and face, in exchange for the fact that his soul is obliterated after his death, doomed to a lack of an afterlife. Light uses this to watch police reports on the television, scanning for criminals he deems evil, so he can write their name in the Death Note along with the time and cause of that criminal’s death. In the hands of a self-righteous genius teenager like Light, this supernatural artefact lets them shape the world to their will. As you can imagine, it is as powerful an ability as it is a corrupting one.
Part 3: Fracture
The most efficient way to recognize a character following in the footsteps of Macbeth is when their identity splits, one pre-power, careful identity and another arrogant, tyrannical, yet sometimes paranoid identity. The majority of the tension occurs when the second is required to perform the first. When Macbeth decided to take the crown by blood, he had already become a Macbeth who was willing to lie and kill for power. The drama exists in him, acting like he is still but an honourable soldier that just happened upon the throne. This tension continues until a line is crossed, the old persona collapses, and the character’s fate is sealed.
Scar is the weakest example of this, as he goes from cynical, aloof Uncle Scar to openly evil King Scar. Not much changes in his personality other than him not having to hide his regicidal intent and apathy for the citizens of the Pride Lands.
Both Walter and Tom Riddle christen their new identities themselves for the same purpose, though in vastly different circumstances. Walter becomes “Heisenberg”, and Tom takes up the name “Voldemort”, both to work in their respective underworlds while maintaining anonymity. Walter blurts it out when asked for a name, and he manufactures one to protect his family, recalling a name from his chemistry classes. On the other hand, Tom Marvolo Riddle rearranges the letters in his name to “ I Am Voldemort” during his days at Hogwarts, and the name stuck. Voldemort soon became a title that was so fearsome, people wished not to even speak it.
In Death Note, the public reacted to the mystery deaths caused by the notebook by attributing them to an entity known as “Kira”, which is just a bastardization of the English word “killer”. Light was more than happy to run with this title. The identity of Kira becomes more and more its own thing when it separates from Light and becomes more of a title that multiple people hold, eventually returning to Light as part of his plan.
Anakin Skywalker, poster child of the Jedi institution, turns his back on it when denied the title of Jedi Master. He instead lends more and more of an ear to Senator Palpatine, initially with good intentions. He slowly devolves into fear and rage and falls further into the Dark Side of the Force, hoping it will help save his family. Though not christened as such yet, most viewers knew that this was his turn into the unstoppable, almost demonic, one-man army that is Darth Vader.
Part 4: Collapse
When Macbeth orders the killings of Banquo and Fleance, he does so unprompted, not as defence or conquest, but insurance. Note also that this is the first time we see Macbeth have someone killed of his own accord, without the influence of Lady Macbeth. This was an act so heinous that it was the trigger for Macbeth’s hallucinations of the ghost of Banquo. This is the line that Macbeth crosses on his way to becoming the tyrannical king of Scotland. Once the murder of Banquo is complete, Fleance escapes, setting up all the terms of the original prophecy of the witches. Macbeth’s fate is all but sealed. This is the moment when the character goes from “Should I?” to “What next?”.
Walter White finds Jane Margolis, girlfriend of his apprentice and co-conspirator Jesse Pinkman, choking to death on heroin. Despite being in a position to save her quite easily, he abstains, killing her through inaction, just so he could have more manipulative control over Jesse.
Anakin is ordered to and proceeds to remorselessly kill the young Padawan children at the Jedi Temple. He kills these Jedi-in-training as nothing but insurance for his rise as a master of the Sith side of the Force.
Light endangers his friend Misa Amane and exploits a death spirit named Rem into sacrificing his life to kill the genius detective L. While L was the detective tasked to unmask Kira, a task he worked at with almost omniscient competence, he was also one of Light’s only friends and definitely Light’s only intellectual equal. L’s death meant that Light didn’t need to put much effort into the Light persona, instead fully committing to the godhood of Kira.
The line Scar crosses isn’t a single action, but rather more administrative. His willingness to let the hyena run wild and unchecked and just enjoy his time and power as king are what eventually led to the ruin of the Pride Lands and the eventual demise of Scar.
Voldemort attacks the Potters and their infant child, Harry, to ensure that the prophesied child to kill him would never grow up to do so. His attempted murder of Harry fails, marking Harry and weakening Voldemort extremely, to a creature less than human, the larger wizarding society thought dead. While he failed to kill the child he targeted, he succeeded in erasing the mortal, fragile wizard of Tom Riddle and immortalizing the myth, the boogeyman, the monster Voldemort. This is identity collapse in its textbook form, the old one dying so that only the new one survives.
Part 5: Reckoning
Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth
Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him
These lines of prophecy that seemingly guarantee Macbeth’s immortality betray the tyrant king as the rebel army camouflages itself with branches of Birnam wood, and Macbeth is defeated in battle by Macduff, born not of a woman, but ripped untimely from her womb.
Most modern stories that possess the spirit of Macbeth fulfil this Narrative junction by having one of special birth or special training defeat the tyrant, or by making it so that the tyrant causes their own undoing.
Voldemort’s attack on Harry scars the child, marking him as precisely the child foretold by the prophecy. Voldemort’s desperate bid for immortality creates his own bane. Walter trains and manipulates Jesse to be as cold and ruthless as him, but after saving him from a gang of neo-Nazis, taking a gunshot wound in return, Jesse refuses to kill Walter and escapes. Here, Jesse achieves a moral victory as Walter lies in his old meth lab and slowly bleeds out to death.
Light Yagami, after having his identity as Kira exposed by Near, L’s successor and trainee, is shot and injured. Running away, he runs to write Near’s name in the Death Note and fumbles in the process. Ryuk, the passive spectator, the death spirit that watched Kira’s entire journey, decided that he was bored and it was time to end the story, writing Light’s name in his own personal Death Note, killing him.
Darth Vader sacrifices his life to save his son, Luke Skywalker, and kills the voice that led him down this entire path, Palpatine. Anakin’s prophecy works double time here, Anakin bringing balance to the force by ending both members of the Sith, including himself. Darth Vader, the tyrant, may have died, but Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, succeeds in the end.
The Lion King is one of the few pieces of media I have seen that leans more into the Great Birnam wood part of the prophecy than that of a hero of special birth. Scar, though defeated in combat by Simba, the rightful heir, is killed and eaten by the very same hyenas that he employed to rot the Pride Lands. Nature rebels by having the scavengers devour the rotten.
Conclusion: Scapegoats
The Macbeth narrative structure survives not just because of Shakespeare’s innovation and subversion of the language and literature of the times, but also because it provides a framework where characters can act decisively without ever owning up to their actions. The actions of the tyrannical persona can easily be predicted without need for the prophecy, so that is not its function. Rather, it exists as a shield to deflect criticism and an excuse to shirk responsibility. The prophecy is not a puppeteer holding the strings but a scapegoat.
Across all the examples discussed, the seizure of power is framed as a lunge for control, for agency. They don’t fall into their power; they actively jump towards it. Every character discussed wants the credit for their courage, for having the guts to do what needed to be done, when no one else would. Yet all of them deny ever having the responsibility of coming up with their actions. They yearn to receive credit for agency without any accountability.
The most revealing part of this structure is the fracture of identity. The tension of these narratives comes from watching a wolf clutch onto the mask of a sheep for dear life, and the catharsis comes when the wolf takes off the mask to gloat, only to be shot by the shepherd’s gun of destiny.
Ultimately, these narratives provide the same answer in different ways.
What happens when a man takes inevitability as justification, as an excuse?
He survives long enough to celebrate what he swore he didn’t choose.