Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is one his most renowned plays and one of the shortest surviving tragedies.
It was written in the 1600's in the reign of James who believed he was the descendant of Banquo. In the times of the 1600s Kings were regarded as a God in their divine right. People believed that a king was chosen by God and derived the power to rule from the will of God and not a temporal authority. To kill this legitimate ruler of the country was unacceptable.
However, many people questioned the authority of the king, and seeing the power that a monarch possessed, tempted many to kill a king. Another thing they believed in was superstition and witches. In those times, it was believed that witches existed, that they possessed supernatural powers which were used for evil magic and spells. People assumed that these 'witches' had the power to affect things and people's lives which was in contrast of the idea of women, they were considered to be feminine and gentle not capable of doing anything unladylike.They were to sit at home with their children and that was their domain.
Men had authority over them, they were to marry and look after their husband's family. They attended banquets with their husbands if they were rich in society or they went market to retrieve food to cook meals. Shakespeare is a very good manipulator through his plays he can make us react in a way he wants to, through his language and the way he presents his characters he influences us to respond in a certain way.Also the way he puts things in a particular order and dramatic speeches and theatrical events make us excited. It's seen as a tale of the dangers of the lust for power and the deception of friends. It stems from a power hungry struggle, a sinister ambition fuelled with superstition, only to end with murder, guilt and menacing consequences.
It's a dark play with a grim theme, omens from the start indicate immorality right from the beginning. This play is based upon the Macbeth, who is a valiant soldier who impresses the king of Scotland and is made the Thane of Cawdor.However, his greed for more fuels his desires to become a king and his wife manipulates him to kill the king. A life is taken, a new king has risen and slaughters are ordered, but Macbeth's dejected reign over the throne is wearing away as Lady Macbeth deteriorates mentally, Macbeth's paranoia gets the better of him. Lady Macbeth is Macbeth's wife therefore has a great deal of control over her husband.
Lady Macbeth is presented as more responsible for the murder because as soon as Macbeth sent her word of the unusual foretelling she had already mentally devised a plan.She claims her husband to be 'too full o' th' milk of humane kindness,' here she is saying that Macbeth is too kind that he would rather be humble and not pick the nearest way. She already implores him to come home with 'Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear,' she's desperate for him to come home to influence him into something unprecedented. She also uses a lot of emotional blackmail by swearing to Macbeth that she will kill their baby when she said, 'Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums, and dash'd the brains out.She's uses the image of a baby to illustrate to Macbeth how important it is for him to keep to his word. This shows how unfeeling and unfeminine she is and how cold she comes across as.
She summons spirits to, 'unsex me here,' to take away her femininity that may come in the way and make her feel sympathetic. Lady Macbeth calls upon the 'thick night;' to cover her in the 'dunnest smoke of hell' so her 'keen knife see not the wound it makes. ' Here she is asking the night to become really dark and cover her with thick coat of hell which suggest something very satanic.She doesn't want to see when she kills the king, but it shows how eager she is because she refers to knife as being 'keen,' and how 'sharp' it is which suggests the ruthlessness in her matter, this shows the full of extent of horror.
There is a contrast in quotations because she says, 'Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark' here she wants hell to cover up what she's doing so that heaven doesn't see, she describes hell as the blanket of the dark as of it will protect her.These expressions conjures us to believe that she's definitely the root of the murder, because it shows us that she's assembling dark forces to help her which makes hers come across as witch like or keen on the supernatural. She uses her advantage of being Macbeth's partner who he trusts in to influence him to carry out the homicide by using her authority over him. As soon as Macbeth arrives home she already let him know that the king will die tonight, 'O never, shall sun morrow see' she is telling Macbeth that king Duncan won't see a new tomorrow.
There is a form of imperative when she seems to be ordering Macbeth to, 'look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under't,' she is advising him to look innocent on the outside but have the intention of killing in the inside. She manipulates Macbeth to carry out the murder even when he had decided against it. She told him that he's a coward if he didn't commit the murder, 'And live a coward in thine own esteem. ' She's asking him would you seriously be able to live as a coward? She wants to influence him yet again, she expects him to say no.Another reason we regard her as responsible is because she fails to show any remorse after the murder and is very cold towards what she has caused. She says to Macbeth, 'a little water clears us of this deed' she claims that a little water can wash out their sin and it is better to forget.
She makes it seem easy. She seems unfeeling and more practical minded by dismissing Maceth's fear and returns the daggers herself showing her independence in this. However, later on in the play she shows a great contrast to her unremorseful self. She becomes mad, shown by her sleep walking which shows that the murder is troubling her.While she sleep walks the doctor and gentlewoman hears her say, 'All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand,' this shows a contradiction of her earlier remark of 'a little water clears us of this deed. ' She appears to be telling Macbeth to stop the killing when she says, 'No more o' that my Lord,' and 'you mar all with this starting.
' She directly holds Macbeth responsible when she says that you'll kill us all by starting this. Her sleep walking and her insanity starts to make us think that she may have repented the murders so much that its driven her over the edge.Shakespeare makes us have a great deal of empathy towards her. Also she shows us sense of a role reversal in which she starts urging Macbeth to stop the murders whilst in her sleep walk.
She is not posed as responsible because Macbeth actually carried out the murder physically and Macbeth didn't have to be under her influence as in those times women weren't suppose to have such a power over their husbands, as a woman she doesn't have to be listened to. We are shocked by her innocent, troubled remarks and we start to see that it's taunting her inside.She acts child like which makes the audience sympathize with her because she's so mad and the guilt is playing on her mind. Shakespeare presents Macbeth as responsible for the murder in that he actually commits the murder of King Duncan. He is held responsible because contemplated evil things and impure thoughts from the very beginning prior to speaking to Lady Macbeth. Macbeth allowed him self to be manipulated by the witches and Lady Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's wife and Shakespeare's prime manipulator, should have had only so much control in the relationship but Macbeth allowed his wife more to that.The prince who was just made the Prince of Cumberland this is when Macbeth realizes if he is to be king than he'd need to go through the prince too. Macbeth mutters to the prince 'that is a step On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,' here what he is trying to say is that the step that the prince made to become prince of Cumberland is something he should over trip on or either skip over in other words he either lets the prince become king, or either skip over him and become king himself. 'For in my way it lies.
Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires' this suggests that Macbeth has already started thinking about his potential and who stands in the way and who will have to be silenced. He describes his desires as 'black and deep' which show us that there's negative a negative force driving him. Another reason why Macbeth is portrayed as responsible is because he starts taking the lead role Lady Macbeth which shows a role reversal. As Lady Macbeth goes mentally insane with all the guilt she is bearing, Macbeth is plotting more murders out of paranoia.This shows how advanced and calculating he has become independently. He starts to become the more dominant character.
When Lady Macbeth took the lead role in the murder of Duncan, it mentally and emotionally destroyed her, whereas Macbeth killed Duncan and is killing again and again. When paranoia gets the better of him, he starts to become very blood thirsty without the help of Lady Macbeth. Macbeth, before consulting with Lady Macbeth orders the murders of Banquo and his son Fleance in fear of what the witches' prophesized, that Banquo's sons shall be kings.This shows that he's absolutely evil because now he's ordering the murder of his best friend someone who was valued to him.
To kill your best friend shows that Macbeth is psychotic and this shows his full criminal intent. He tells the murderers that 'our fears in Banquo stick deep,' which tells us that Banquo being alive troubles him, this shows how much he's changed because he's thinking of what's stopping his retaining his power, clearly his ambition is going to his head.He said, 'For Banquo's issue have fil'd my mind, For them, the gracious Duncan have I murther'd,' here says that Banquo has become an issue; a problem that he has fil'd as in placed under organization, which makes us think Macbeth is a very organized killer and that he is in his right state of mind, which suggests that only he and he alone should be responsible for not only the murder of King Duncan but all the forth coming murders after him but this time he didn't fall under his wife's influence because he didn't need to.At first we would have sympathized with Macbeth, because he didn't initially carry out the murder, but now he's done it, this now makes the audience shift their sympathy towards Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare shows us that Macbeth steps up a notch by planning more murders, which makes us think he can carry these murders out independently, with confidence. His determination over rides him along with vicious ambitious, he sticks to his chosen route which suggests to us that he is responsible for Duncan's murder because he has grown used to the magnitude of murder and is doing it continuously.
Shakespeare suggests that the supernatural may be responsible for the murder by placing the witches at the beginning of the play which shows that they set the mood because the first scene gives us a good indication of what will happen in the play. At more times witches were seen as evil and conniving. We understand that these witches are not a good sign and immediately know that they have the capability of effecting people's life with their powers.The witches having supernatural powers mean that they have a more advanced approach on things and it points out they might have a hand in what's forthcoming, in this case the murder. The second witch says to her sisters, "When the battle's lost, and won" this tells us that they know what's going to happen, they can foresee the future.
They give us the impression that they are planning something about the future and its as if they want to complicate things and change things around so basically meddling with peoples fate.This gives us a clue that it could be something to do with Macbeth. They all chant, 'Fair is foul and foul is fair' which is strange because Macbeth repeats these same words later on in the play and this means that the witches already know his characteristics because they know the type of words he is likely to use. They're use of rhymes, chants, contradiction and spells which gives us the feeling that they gather negative power.
So already by Act I they have already started influencing.At their second meeting they collect up horrible ingredients such as 'pilot's thumb' this shows that they're revolting in what they do and what they work with, very solitary from society and desolate because they are abnormal in their ways. 'I'll drain him dry as hay, Sleep shall neither night nor day' this witch wants to drain someone, if they can really torment someone like that it asserts that they are able to do this more often and to more people.A second reason that they should be held as responsible is because their riddles lead Macbeth to feel invincible, also for him to be more ruthless and bloody, in other words putting more fuel in to his frenzy.
When Macbeth approaches them, they start to chant 'All hail Macbeth, hail to thee Thane of Glamis! All hail Macbeth, hail to thee Thane of Cawdor!All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter,' here they are being clever because they are telling him the future but not all of it just the good bits, they don't tell him how he is going to become king and all they hardships he will go through, they leave that to his imagination and curiosity. When he comes for knowledge they say to him 'Be bloody, bold, and absolute: Laugh to scorn the power of man: for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth' but this is a contradiction because before that they tell him to 'beware of Macbeth.They are feeding his confidence they are actually telling him to be more ruthless now, they guide him to be more menacing and this words to influence what happens after. Even if they're words were a lie they manipulate him into believing this and it carves a path out for him. They make him think that he is invincible when they prophesize that 'none of woman born shall harm Macbeth,' they've gained his trust now and this suggest their controlling him now and controlling the situation which could be what they were doing the whole time.
Despite this, they are not entirely responsible because they didn't actually say how he would become king, and Macbeth was the one who started to have impure thoughts they didn't even mention Duncan's murder or guide him to murder him. Also they didn't tell him how he should interperate their apparitions and riddles exactly like how they didn't say that he should commit the murder. Overall, I think that Macbeth is responsible for Duncan's murder because it was his actions which worsened the deed and commited it too.Lady Macbeth did influence him, but it is apparent that he wanted to be king and was furious when Malcolm was crown Prince of Cumberland. Right from the start Shakespeare presents him as violent and ruthless. I think that he should have known better than to be allowed himself to be manipulated by his wife because men in those times weren't suppose to listen to women.
I don't think that Lady Macbeth is responsible because even though she wanted Duncan murdered, Macbeth wanted him dead too but he wasn't man enough to say it but Lady Macbeth's masculinity really showed there.Perhaps I would have sympothised with Macbeth later but since he started to kill more and more I started to think his true colours came. I believe that the supernatural had no responsibility in the murders I think it was only Macbeth and his ambition that is to blame. He only thought about himself by the end of the play, especially when Lady Macbeth died all he said was, 'She should have died hereafter; there would have been time for such a word,' which shows how unremorseful he is.
Lady Macbeth was his partner in crime but after the murder they departed and by the time of her death he had nothing left to say, his motivation and will to live was gone. This play made me feel really negative right the way through because there was a dark force from the beginning. The witches were satanic creature so Macbeth agreeing to meet them was questionable at the time. Also when he sent murderer for his best friend Banquo, you knew all his ties went out the window and his greed took over him.
He ordered many murders while his wife went mad, he didn't stop he also thought he was invincible which made me think of how ignorant he was to trust the witches. I think Macbeth was big headed right the way through the play even until the battle scene he boasted to a whole English army that no man born of woman could bring him any arm. He was very proud but he was courageous in what he did and how he went about it. I think because he was the man, that the responsibilities his own, men made the decision at the time so clearly Duncan's death was because he devised that.
