In the final act of William Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth, scene 1, a doctor and a gentlewoman are in Dunsinane castle, discussing Lady Macbeth’s bizarre behavior. The gentlewoman reveals that Lady Macbeth frequently sleepwalks and is hallucinating. Suddenly, Lady Macbeth enters, seemingly in a trance and holding a candle. She cries out her guilt for the murders of Lady Macduff and Banquo and fervently tries to wash off the blood that she sees on her hands. “Out damned spot; out, I say,” she cries as she feels that the blood will never disappear.
Lady Macbeth has completely descended into madness from her shame and paranoia. Her bloodstained hands are a symbol caused by her guilt, which she now feels she cannot escape. By remarking, “Hell is murky,” she is insinuating that she is already in the hell that she created. Just as Macbeth succumbed to his delusions, Lady Macbeth’s guilt has finally overcome her, as well.
Lady Macbeth is a complex character who changes drastically by the end of the play. At first she is determined and manipulative towards her husband, urging him to take the crown by whatever means necessary. When Macbeth has visions of permanent blood, Lady Macbeth reassures him that “a little water clears us of this deed.” However, she is not able to cope with her guilt for long. By Act V, she is reduced to madness and has become everything she previously urged Macbeth not to become.
Lady Macbeth’s despair will eventually lead to her suicide. Though she was the one who initially persuaded Macbeth to commit the murders, unlike Macbeth, who goes down fighting, Lady Macbeth cannot deal with the bloodshed on her conscience. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s ambition, greed, and blind trust in the prophecies of the witches will eventually kill them.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Act IV, scene 1, II. 79-105 MACBETH/APPARITIONS, tone
In Act IV, scene 1 of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the three witches are present in a cavern, surrounding a boiling cauldron. They are casting spells until Macbeth suddenly appears, which the witches had predicted. Macbeth begs the witches to tell him the truth of his future. They oblige by summoning grim apparitions. A detached head first appears, revealing to Macbeth that he should be wary of Macduff. Next, a bloody child says to Macbeth, “None of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” A crowned child with a tree then makes an appearance, assuring Macbeth that he will be protected unless Birnam Wood is moved to Dunsinane Hill.
Macbeth’s insistence to the witches that they reveal the truth of their prophecies shows that he is becoming increasingly worried. The floating head suggests that war is coming, and that Macduff may be the cause of the war. The bloody child, after telling Macbeth that no one born of woman shall hurt him, is a comfort to Macbeth, since he assumes everyone must be born of woman. However, later it will be revealed that Macduff was born by cesarean section, hence the bloody child. The crowned child represents Malcolm, whose army will later transfer tree branches from Birnam Wood to Dunsinane Hill.
This passage has a tone of irony. Though the witches’ apparitions comfort Macbeth, who cannot see how some of them can come to be true, they are in fact symbols showing exactly how the prophecies will come to completion. For example, Macbeth does not understand that the bloody child indicates Macbeth’s birth by cesarean section. He simply hears the apparition’s words and assumes no harm will come to him, since all children must be born from women. Also present in this passage is a dark and ominous tone. Thunder can be heard as each vision appears, and the forbidding predictions of the apparitions, as well as the gory look of the child, lend to this sinister and threatening tone. Macbeth’s doom is also felt.
Each apparition foreshadows how the witches’ predictions will be fulfilled, hinting at the coming war and Macbeth’s doom. At the end of the scene, Macbeth is confident, suggesting that he is completely unaware of his coming demise. It further establishes that his misunderstanding in the witches and unbridled desire for power will lead to his downfall.
Macbeth’s insistence to the witches that they reveal the truth of their prophecies shows that he is becoming increasingly worried. The floating head suggests that war is coming, and that Macduff may be the cause of the war. The bloody child, after telling Macbeth that no one born of woman shall hurt him, is a comfort to Macbeth, since he assumes everyone must be born of woman. However, later it will be revealed that Macduff was born by cesarean section, hence the bloody child. The crowned child represents Malcolm, whose army will later transfer tree branches from Birnam Wood to Dunsinane Hill.
This passage has a tone of irony. Though the witches’ apparitions comfort Macbeth, who cannot see how some of them can come to be true, they are in fact symbols showing exactly how the prophecies will come to completion. For example, Macbeth does not understand that the bloody child indicates Macbeth’s birth by cesarean section. He simply hears the apparition’s words and assumes no harm will come to him, since all children must be born from women. Also present in this passage is a dark and ominous tone. Thunder can be heard as each vision appears, and the forbidding predictions of the apparitions, as well as the gory look of the child, lend to this sinister and threatening tone. Macbeth’s doom is also felt.
Each apparition foreshadows how the witches’ predictions will be fulfilled, hinting at the coming war and Macbeth’s doom. At the end of the scene, Macbeth is confident, suggesting that he is completely unaware of his coming demise. It further establishes that his misunderstanding in the witches and unbridled desire for power will lead to his downfall.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Act III, scene 4, II. 77-97 MACBETH/LADY MACBETH/LORDS, literal content
In Act III, scene 4 of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a banquet has been prepared in the palace for Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Lennox, Ross, and other lords and attendants. Macbeth returns to the table upon hearing the news of Banquo’s death. The murderers also inform him that Banquo’s son Fleance has escaped, which angers Macbeth. As he approaches his seat at the royal table, he finds that it has already been occupied by the ghost of Banquo. Shocked, he speaks to it, which bewilders the other guests, who do not see any ghost. Assuring the guests that his behavior is normal, Lady Macbeth asks them to ignore his outburst. She then speaks only to Macbeth, telling him that he is simply hallucinating again, insulting his manhood, and urging him to regain his composure.
Because of Macbeth’s strange conduct, his subjects will begin to lose their trust in their ruler. They will essentially see him for who he really is, which is not a brave and able leader, but a guilty and troubled man. Also in this scene, Lady Macbeth further attempts to manipulate her husband. Unlike in the preceding scene, when she showed indications of hesitation and guilt, here she once again appears determined and confident in their plan. She questions Macbeth’s manhood again, as well, saying, “Impostors to true fear, would well become a woman’s story at a winter’s fire, authorized by her grandam.” This further confirms that Lady Macbeth believes that violence and evil are positive, manly traits.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are king and queen after Macbeth murdered Duncan. They are hosting the banquet in their palace in the hopes of gaining trust among their subjects, lords, and attendants. Macbeth sees the spirit of Banquo in his chair after learning of his demise and feeling overwhelming guilt. Lady Macbeth knows that she must make excuses for her husband’s odd behavior so that their guests are not troubled. She convinces Macbeth that he is only delirious and advises him to reassure his guests that all is well. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth do all this in the hope that the witches’ prophecy be fulfilled and Macbeth’s kingship remain.
The banquet scene is the beginning of Macbeth’s ruin. His shame is becoming so great that he allows it to overcome him, even in front of his company, who become increasingly suspicion of him. Lady Macbeth, however, pursues her goals with ever greater ambition. This will eventually lead to her downfall, as well, as she will become incapable of dealing with her guilt.
Because of Macbeth’s strange conduct, his subjects will begin to lose their trust in their ruler. They will essentially see him for who he really is, which is not a brave and able leader, but a guilty and troubled man. Also in this scene, Lady Macbeth further attempts to manipulate her husband. Unlike in the preceding scene, when she showed indications of hesitation and guilt, here she once again appears determined and confident in their plan. She questions Macbeth’s manhood again, as well, saying, “Impostors to true fear, would well become a woman’s story at a winter’s fire, authorized by her grandam.” This further confirms that Lady Macbeth believes that violence and evil are positive, manly traits.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are king and queen after Macbeth murdered Duncan. They are hosting the banquet in their palace in the hopes of gaining trust among their subjects, lords, and attendants. Macbeth sees the spirit of Banquo in his chair after learning of his demise and feeling overwhelming guilt. Lady Macbeth knows that she must make excuses for her husband’s odd behavior so that their guests are not troubled. She convinces Macbeth that he is only delirious and advises him to reassure his guests that all is well. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth do all this in the hope that the witches’ prophecy be fulfilled and Macbeth’s kingship remain.
The banquet scene is the beginning of Macbeth’s ruin. His shame is becoming so great that he allows it to overcome him, even in front of his company, who become increasingly suspicion of him. Lady Macbeth, however, pursues her goals with ever greater ambition. This will eventually lead to her downfall, as well, as she will become incapable of dealing with her guilt.
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