Macbeth

Themes in Macbeth
1. Ambition: At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is loyal. However, his
over-ambitious nature leads him to lust for power. Macbeth, along with
his wife, Lady Macbeth, murders King Duncan, Banquo, guards, and
Macduff’s family. Their deaths are avenged by Malcolm and Macduff.
So, they also lose their lives because of their ambition to take over the
crown of Scotland. Shakespeare was inspired by 1605’s rebellion again
King James 1 in England.
2. Supernatural Elements: The witches and their manipulating
prophecies are the supernatural elements in Macbeth. The three
witches are the harbinger of chaos and death. They corrupt overly
ambitious Macbeth when they prophesy about him and Banquo. They
declare that he will be king and Banquo’s descendants will be future
kings. The prophecies change Macbeth and his wife and turn them into
monstrous people. They kill the competitors for the throne. While the
lead characters do not experience anything supernatural throughout the
play, the incantation by witches sets the series of murders, suicide, and
betrayals in the play.
3. Treachery and Betrayal: The play also displays betrayal and
treachery. At first, Macbeth was a trustworthy general of King Duncan.
He is corrupted by the witches and chooses to be treacherous and
betrays King Duncan, who comes to Macbeth’s home as a guest. He
kills the king and his friend, Banquo, as he gives in to the selfish
desires. He betrays the family of Macduff too. Macbeth is also betrayed
by his general, Lennox.
4. Crime: The witches’ prophecies manipulate Macbeth and his wife and
turn them to criminals. Though they are bestowed with luxury and
royalty, they commit heinous crimes because of their never-ending
greed. Macbeth commits the first crime by killing his guest, King
Duncan. Then he betrays his friend, Banquo, gets him killed and later
target’s Macduff’s family. Hence, the play shows the world of crime until
justice is done at the end, and Macbeth is beheaded.
5. Violence: The eerie atmosphere the play demonstrates, in the
beginning, leads immediately to violence when Macbeth falls upon his
guest, King Duncan, and then hires killers for his friend Banquo and his
son. Even Lady Macbeth joins hands with him in these killings. The final
assault of Macduff and Malcolm ends Macbeth and his treacherous
fellows when he comes out of his fortress to fight them.
 6. Conflict between Good and Evil: Macbeth and his wife represent evil,
while King Duncan, his generals, Banquo, and Macduff represent the
good. Shakespeare has shown that Lady Macbeth is schemer, just like
the witches without magical powers. While her attempts to kill the king
fails, Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to do the job by taunting him
when he hesitates. However, ‘good’ is always victorious as the play
ends when Macduff and his forces behead Macbeth as a punishment for
his crimes.
7. Loyalty: When the play begins, Macbeth and Banquo show their loyalty
to King Duncan by fighting for him. While Macbeth begins to corrupt his
loyalty after the witches’ prophecies, Banquo resolves to ignore them to
stay loyal to King Duncan. The play also shows Macduff’s and
Malcolm’s loyalty to the people of Scotland and the dead king.
8. Guilt: Guilt is one of the major internal conflicts that move the play
further. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth suffer from guilt until their last
breath. Lady Macbeth suffers from paranoia, hallucinations, and mental
illness after King Duncan is murder. Macbeth feels guilty at first, and he
is haunted by the past. He also sees Banquo’s ghost, which is the result
of his guilt.
9. Statecrafts: It means government or control. The deaths of King
Duncan, Banquo, guards, Macduff’s family were perfectly planned
murders by power-hungry Macbeth and his wife. This shows that
statecraft is an important theme of the play. Macbeth did not know the
statecraft though he becomes a king. Hence he faced a rebellion by
Lennox at the end. At the same time, Macduff and Malcolm, with the
help of the King of England, defeat Macbeth and take over the kingdom.
10. Trust: In Macbeth, King Duncan trusts his generals, Macbeth,
and Banquo. Sadly, his trust is broken when Macbeth and his wife plot
and murder him. Banquo trusts Macbeth as they fought wars together.
However, Macbeth kills him after he loses his mind over witches’
prophecies. On the other hand, Malcolm trusts Macduff, and together
they win against Macbeth in the end.

Characters in Macbeth
1. Macbeth: At first, Macbeth, a Scottish army general. He and Banquo
defeat the Thane of Cawdor. King Duncan bestows the title ‘Thane of
Cawdor’ to Macbeth, just when he meets the three witches who cast a
spell on him. The witches’ fake prophecies also turn him into a
despicable person making him make terrible decisions to fulfill them. He
is also manipulated by his wife and kills King Duncan. Once he
 becomes the king, he goes on a killing spree after revisiting the witches.
As Macbeth was fooled and cursed by the witches, we can call him
an anti-hero, with the qualities of both hero and a villain. At the end of
the play, he receives the punishment for all the crimes he had
committed when Macduff beheads him.
2. King Duncan: King Duncan is shown as one of the most generous
kings. Sadly, King Duncan is stabbed to death by Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth when they are cursed by the witches. He is a fatherly figure
who was kind and caring for the Scottish. However, his gruesome
murder shows his trusting nature cost him his life and many others.
3. Lady Macbeth: She is villainous by nature with immense strength. She
mostly influences Macbeth’s decisions without worrying about the
consequence. She also shows extraordinary femininity when she
pushes Macbeth to kill anyone who comes in his ways of becoming the
king. She even takes part in the killing of King Duncan. Eventually, she
feels immense guilt for King Duncan’s death and becomes insane. She
begins to sleepwalk and hallucinates bloodstains on her hand. When
she could not bear the guilt, she commits suicide just before Macbeth is
killed.
4. Malcolm and Donalbain: They are sons of King Duncan. They are
forced to flee their separate ways after their father is murdered by
Macbeth at his castle. At first, they do not retaliate immediately but
suspect that Macbeth had intentionally killed their father. Since their life
was also under threat, they leave Scotland, Malcolm goes to England
and Donalbain takes refuge in Ireland.
5. Banquo: Banquo is a capable and trustworthy general of the Scottish
army. He is also Macbeth’s friend, who fought with him against the
Thane of Cawdor. Banquo is with him when the witches prophecy and
curse Macbeth. Banquo discards his temptation of his descendants
being the king and leaves the witches’ prophecies behind. He remains
faithful to the kingdom. Sadly, Banquo is killed by the assassins hired by
Macbeth. His Fleance escapes at the last minute.
6. Macduff: Macduff is one of Thanes of Scotland (Thane of Fife) and a
loyal servant to King Duncan. He discovers King Duncan’s dead body
and also suspects the foul play. Sadly, Macbeth kills his wife and son.
He helps Malcolm get to reclaim the throne, along with Lennox and King
Edward. Macduff reveals that he had a cesarean birth. Hence, as
prophesied by witches, he kills Macbeth to avenge the deaths of his
family and King Duncan.
7. Siward: Old Siward is the Earl of Northumberland, King Duncan’s
brother, and Malcolm’s uncle. He lends his army to Malcolm to take the
 throne of Scotland back. Sadly, young Siward is killed by Macbeth just
before the war ended.
8. Three Witches: The witches appear twice in the play to account for
prophecies and set the ball of the action rolling. On both occasions, they
have encouraged Macbeth to take the next step, involving him in a
vicious cycle. This created mayhem in the orderly world of Scotland until
Macbeth himself is killed.
9. Ross: He is Macduff’s cousin and a loyal noble of the Scottish
Kingdom. Ross delivers Macbeth’s and Banquo’s victory of the war
again, the King of Norway. After the witches’ first prophecy, Ross
delivers the news of Macbeth’s new title. He is one of the thanes who
leave Macbeth when Malcolm and Macduff arrive with the army.

10. Lady Macduff: Macduff’s wife, Lady Macduff, is the

opposite of Lady Macbeth. She is loyal, kind, and has a family.
When Macbeth becomes the king, he sends his army to kill her
and her family. She displays her innocence by refusing to run
away and is killed along with her son. Macduff avenges her death
in the end.

Writing Style of Macbeth

The play, Macbeth, shows the language of magnificence, irony, and fluency
through the dialogue of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. However, the language
becomes mysterious, halting, and somewhat cryptic by the end of the play.
When the play starts, the language is highly charged, and the
readers/audiences are given the foreshadowing of future events. Using
diverse literary devices, Shakespeare has exquisitely demonstrated that even
a villain could be win sympathy and become a hero of the play.

Analysis of Literary Devices in Macbeth

1. Alliteration: A play written in blank verse; Macbeth shows many examples
of the use of alliteration such as:

 That will be ere the set of the sun. (Act-I, Scene-I, Line, 05)
 That seems to speak things strange. (Act-I, Scene-II, Line, 46)
 She should have died hereafter. (Act-V, Scene V, Line, 16)

The above lines taken from different acts show the use of alliteration, which
means the use of consonant sounds in quick succession in a line. For
example, /th/, /s/ and /s/ sounds are repeated in quick successions in the
above lines.

2. Allegory: Macbeth is an allegory that shows how good and evil resides

within men. It shows that when people believe in witchcraft or similar evil
practices, they do not think about consequences. Here Macbeth shows that
evil resides in man, and all he needed was a curse and a prophecy.
Macbeth’s ambition turns to greed, and he kills King Duncan. However,
goodness prevails by the end when Malcolm and Macduff kill Macbeth
together with the assistance from England.

3. Assonance: The play, Macbeth, shows good use of assonance. For

example,

 Who like a good and hardy soldier fought (Act-I, Scene-II, Line, 4)
 So well thy words become thee as thy wounds. (Act-I, Scene-II, Line,
44)
 I’ll drain him as dry as hay (Act-I Scene-III, Lines, 19)

In the above examples, vowel sounds appear after some pauses in such a
way that they create a sort of melodious impacts in the verses. The sounds
of /oo/, /ee/ and /a/ are used in the above lines showing good use of
assonance.

4. Antagonist: If Macbeth is taken as the protagonist, the play seems to

revolve around him. Then every other character like Banquo and even
Macduff are antagonists, stopping his progress. However, we see that
Macbeth becomes an antagonist, the main villain of the play, after he is
cursed by the witches.

5. Allusion: These lines show good use of allusions.

 Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood

Clean from my hand? . (Act-II, Scene-II, Lines, 78, 79)
 Approach the chamber and destroy your sight
With a new Gorgon. (Act-II, Scene-III, Lines, 82-83)

These lines show a reference to the earliest mythical figures. The first is a
reference to Neptune, the Roman God of the seas, while the second refers to
Medusa.
6. Conflict: There are two types of conflicts in Macbeth. The first one is
the external conflict that goes on between Macbeth and his enemies, such as
Fleance, Malcolm, and Macduff, after he murders King Duncan. The second is
the internal conflict that goes on in the mind of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

7. Consonance: The play shows the use of consonance at various places

such as;

 Outran the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan, his silver skin lac’d with
his golden blood; and his gash’d stabs look’d like a breach in nature for
ruin’s wasteful entrance. (Act-II, Scene-III, Lines, 114-116)
 Fair is foul and foul is fair. (Act-I, Scene-I, Lines, 12)

In both examples, consonant sounds /s/ in the first and then /g/, /l/ and /f/ in
the second reference has been repeated in the above lines.

8. Dramatic Irony: Dramatic Irony occurs at several places in Macbeth. For

example, when Macbeth receives prophetic predictions from the witches, and
King Duncan is unaware of this fact. Similarly, Macbeth is unaware that
witches had cursed him and poured fuel to his greed.

9. Deus Ex Machina: Deus Ex Machina means the appearance of some

supernatural elements. It happens at the beginning of the play that three
witches appear to predict the future course of action for Macbeth. Later they
prophesy about his death and defeat with strings of tricky conditions making
Macbeth overconfident and a monster.

10. Foreshadowing: The first example of foreshadowing occurs in the very

first action where the bloody battle continues. It shows that another somber
murder is going to take place. Another example is when Macbeth hears
some voices about losing his sleep when stabbing Duncan. It shows that he
and his wife are going to face psychological issues.

11. Imagery: Imagery means to use vivid and descriptive language so that the

reader can visualize the depth of the text. For example,

 For brave Macbeth–well he deserves that name–

Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution.. (Act-I, Scene-II, Lines 16-
19)
 Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. (Act-IV,
Scene -I, Line -I)
  And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp.
Is ’t night’s predominance or the day’s shame
That  darkness  does the face of Earth entomb
When living light should kiss it? (Act-II, Scene-IV, Lines 8-11)

These three examples show sensory images, showing the use of the sense of
sight and sense of hearing.

12. Metaphor: Macbeth shows the regular use of various metaphors. For

example,

 “There’s nothing serious in mortality. All is but toys. (Act-II, Scene-III,

Lines, 92-93)
 The wine of life is drawn and the mere lees is left this vault to brag of.
(Act-I, Scene-II, Lines, 192-5).

These are two beautiful metaphors among various other metaphors. The first
one shows life compared with toys and second with wine.

13. Mood: The entire play of Macbeth shows different moods according to the

situation. When the play opens, the appearance of supernatural elements and
witches herald bloodshed and foul play. When it moves forward, it transforms
into bloody fights and assassinations followed by Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth’s psychological conflict that leads to suicide and death.

14. Protagonist: Macbeth is the main protagonist of the play as he causes

not only envy for his position but also arouses pity and fear for his fall, though,
he uses devious ways to achieve his goal.

15. Pun: Macbeth shows the use of the pun. For example,

 We should have else desired your good advice,

Which still18 hath been both grave and prosperous
In this day’s council. (Act-III, Scene-I, Lines, 20-22)

 Who did strike out the light? (Act-III, Scene-III, Line, 18)

In the first example, the king plays upon the word “grave” while in the second,
the murderer plays upon “strike.”

16. Paradox: The play, Macbeth, also shows the use of paradoxes. For

example,
  When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning, or in rain? (Act-I, Scene-I, Lines, 1-2)
 When the battle’s lost and won. (Act-I, Scene-I, Lines, 4)

Paradox means to use contradictory ideas in the same statement. For

example, the first statement shows it in the second line as lightning and rain,
and the second statement shows in using lost and won simultaneously.

17. Rhetorical Questions: The play, Macbeth, has several rhetorical

questions. For example,

 What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” (Act-V, Scene-I, Line, 46)
 as the hope drunk
Wherein you dressed yourself ? Hath it slept since?
And wakes it now, to look so green and pale
At what it did so freely?” (Act-III, Scene-IV, Line, 106)

These examples show the use of rhetorical questions mostly posed by the
character of Lady Macbeth. They also show Shakespeare’s expertise in
using rhetorical devices and couple them with other literary devices.

18. Simile: The play, Macbeth, shows the excellent use of various similes

such as;

 For brave Macbeth–well he deserves that name– disdaining fortune,

with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like
valor’s minion carved out his passage. (Act 1, Scene 2)

Here Macbeth’s ambitious character is compared to a puppet as he was

cursed by the witches and did what they had been plotting before they curse
him.

19. Soliloquy: The play shows some memorable soliloquies such as;

 Two truths are told,

As happy prologues to the swelling act
Of the imperial theme.
This supernatural soliciting
Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill,
Why hath it given me earnest of success,
Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor: (Act-I, Scene-III, Lines,
240-247)
  If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly: if the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,
We’ld jump the life to come. But in these cases
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison’d chalice
To our own lips.” (Act-I, Scene-VII, Lines, 474-485)
 Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw. (Act-II, Scene-I, Lines, 612-621)

These are some of the memorable soliloquies of Macbeth. The first two were
delivered by Macbeth on different occasions to show how he is ready to act
upon the prophecies. However, the third one sheds light on the Macbeth’s
after he commits the crime of killing the king.

20. Verbal Irony: The play, Macbeth, shows verbal irony. For example,

 There is no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face.
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust. (Act-I, Scene-IV, Lines, 10-14)
 Sirrah, your father’s dead.
And what will you don now? How will you live?” (Act-IV, Scene-II, Lines,
30-31).

This use of verbal irony is apparent as the King says that he has absolute
trust in Macbeth, and yet he has rebelled against him. In the second, Lady
Macduff tells her son that her father is killed without showing that she has
sensed the danger.