Mcbeth Essay, Research Paper
WILLIAMSHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH by Calyx Chaste THE AUTHOR AND HIS TIMES (SMACAUTH) – Macbeth was first performed in 1606, three years after James I succeeded Elizabeth I on the English throne. By that time, William Shakespeare was the most popular playwright in England, and his company, which had been called the Chamberlain’s Men under Queen Elizabeth, was renamed the King’s Men. You can see from the subject and content of Macbeth that Shakespeare was writing to please the new king. At the time James became James I of England, he was already James VI of Scotland, so a play like Macbeth about Scottish history was a tribute to him. This play was especially flattering because James was of the Stuart line of kings, and supposedly the Stuarts were descended from Banquo, who appears in the play as a brave, noble, honest man. Also, James wrote a book called Demonology, and he would have been very interested in the scenes with the witches. It is not unusual that Shakespeare would have written Macbeth with an eye toward gratifying his patron. Shakespeare was a commercial playwright- he wrote and produced plays to sell tickets and make money. One of his early plays- Titus Andronicus- was popular for the same reason certain movies sell a lot of tickets today: it is full of blood and gore. The witches and the battles of Macbeth, too, may have been there in part to appeal to the audience. It was Shakespeare’s financial success as a playwright that restored his family’s sagging fortunes. John Shakespeare, William’s father, was the son of a farmer. He opened a shop in Stratford-upon-Avon and eventually become one of the town’s leading citizens. John married Mary Arden, the daughter of his father’s landlord. Mary was a gentle, cultivated woman, and their marriage helped John socially in Stratford. William, their first son, was born in 1564. It seems that by the time he was twenty his father was deeply in debt, and John’s name disappeared from the list of town councillors. Years later, when William was financially well off, he bought his father a coat of arms, which let John sign himself as an official “gentleman.” So Shakespeare was no aristocrat who wrote plays as an intellectual pursuit. He was a craftsman who earned his living as a dramatist. We don’t know much about Shakespeare’s life. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, who was twenty-six. They had three children, two girls and a boy, and the boy, Hamnet, died young. By his mid-twenties, Shakespeare was a successful actor and playwright in London, and he stayed in the theater until he died, in 1616. Macbeth was written relatively late in Shakespeare’s career- when he was in his forties. It was the last of what are considered the four great tragedies. (The others are Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear.) Macbeth is one of the shortest of Shakespeare’s works, and its economy is a sign that its author was a master of his craft. You are amazed at the playwright’s keen understanding of human nature and his skill in expressing his insights through dramatic verse as, step by step, he makes the spiritual downfall of Macbeth, the title character, horrifyingly clear. All Shakespeare’s plays seem to brim over with ideas- he is always juggling several possibilities about life. England, too, was in the midst of a highly interesting period, full of change. Queen Elizabeth was a great queen, and under her rule England had won a war against Spain, which established it as a world power. America was being explored. Old ideas about government and law were changing. London was becoming a fabulous city, filling with people from the countryside. Even the English language was changing, as people from distant areas came together and added new words and expressions to the common language. More than a half-century earlier, Henry VIII, Elizabeth’s father, had broken away from the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England. Forty years later, in the middle of the 17th century, King Charles I would lose his head, executed by the Puritans in a civil war. Elizabeth was not as secure on the throne as you might think. Though her grandfather, Henry VII, had stripped the nobles of England of much power, Elizabeth still struggled with them throughout her reign. She had to be a political genius to play them against each other, to avoid the plottings of the Roman Catholics and to overcome the country’s financial mess created by her father, Henry VIII. A lot was “modern,” a lot was “medieval” about the way people thought in Shakespeare’s time. People were superstitious, and the superstitions became mixed up with religion. Things that nobody understood were often attributed to supernatural forces. You can feel some of these things moving behind the scenes as you read Macbeth. But none of this background- not the influence of James I or the intrigues of Elizabeth’s court or the superstitions of the times- should determine the way you read the play. It has a life of its own, breathed into it by Shakespeare’s talent and art. It stands on its own and must be evaluated on its own terms. So now let’s turn to the play itself. THE_PLOT THE PLAY – THE PLOT (SMACPLOT) – On a deserted field, with lightning and thunder overhead, we see three eerie witches. They chant spells, make plans to meet someone named Macbeth, and vanish into thin air. In a military camp not far away are King Duncan of Scotland and some of his followers. A battle is raging nearby. We learn there is a rebellion against the King. He is too old to fight himself, and wants to know how his army is doing. A badly wounded soldier reports that the battle was horribly bloody but the brave Thane of Glamis, Macbeth, saved the day, fighting fearlessly and killing the rebels’ leader. (Thanes were Scottish noblemen.) Duncan is moved by Macbeth’s courage. The Thane of Ross arrives with more news: the Thane of Cawdor, one of Duncan’s trusted captains, is a traitor. When Duncan learns that his army has won, he orders the Thane of Cawdor executed and indicates that Macbeth inherit his title. Before Duncan’s men can reach Macbeth to tell him the good news, Macbeth and Banquo, who have led Duncan’s army together, come upon the three witches. Banquo thinks the three weird women are bizarre and funny, but Macbeth is strangely fascinated by them. They greet Macbeth with two predictions: that he will be Thane of Cawdor and that he will be king. Then they prophesy that though Banquo will never be a king, his children will be kings. And then the witches vanish. Macbeth and Banquo cannot believe their eyes. As they joke uneasily about the predictions, they are interrupted by Duncan’s messengers, who announce that Macbeth is now Thane of Cawdor. Suddenly, the witches are no laughing matter. Macbeth’s mind is racing. Could he actually become king someday? King Duncan personally thanks Macbeth for his bravery in the following scene, at his palace. But at the same time Duncan announces that his son Malcolm will inherit the throne. That is not good news for Macbeth. You can see already that he wants to wear the crown himself. At Macbeth’s castle, Lady Macbeth reads a letter from her husband telling her about the witches. It is clear that she will be willing to do anything to see Macbeth king. When the news arrives that Duncan will spend the night at her castle, she’s amazed at his stupidity- or his innocence- and thrilled to have the chance to murder him. That night, as the royal party is being entertained, Duncan’s hosts secretly plot his death. Macbeth is scared of what he is about to do, and wants to back out, but his wife makes it clear that if he doesn’t kill Duncan, she won’t consider him a man. Macbeth commits the murder, but he is appalled by his deed. When the King’s body is discovered the next morning, nobody seems more shocked or surprised than Macbeth and his Lady. Macbeth blames Duncan’s servants and kills them- pretending he is so enraged he cannot stop himself. Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, sense treason and treachery and decide to run away, afraid that they will be killed, too. Macbeth has himself crowned king. The witches’ predictions have come true, and Macbeth seems to have all he wants. But Macbeth is not happy. He’s afraid that some of the thanes suspect Duncan was not really killed by his servants. Worse, Macbeth’s friend Banquo was told by the witches that he would father kings. To prevent that, Macbeth decides, he must also murder Banquo. This time without Lady Macbeth’s help, Macbeth sends three men to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. Banquo’s throat is slit, but Fleance manages to escape. On the night of his friend’s murder Macbeth holds a great feast. But the merrymaking is spoiled by the appearance of Banquo’s ghost. Macbeth is the only person there who can see him, and it makes him rave like a madman. Terrified now of losing the crown, Macbeth goes back to the witches. They tell him three things: first, that he should fear Macduff, the Thane of Fife; second, that Macbeth will never be harmed by any man born of woman; and third, that he will never be defeated until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill. Two out of three of the predictions sound comforting, but the witches go on to show Macbeth a vision of Banquo as father to a line of kings. The vision makes Macbeth furious, but the predictions make him even more ruthless. Macbeth soon learns that the witches gave him good advice about fearing Macduff. The Thane of Fife has gone to England to meet with Malcolm, the rightful king, and plan a revolt. In his rage, Macbeth has Macduff’s wife and children murdered. When Macduff hears the news, his grief makes him even more determined to overthrow the tyrant Macbeth. He and Malcolm set out from England with ten thousand men. In Scotland, Macbeth’s world is falling apart. His followers are deserting him; his wife has lost her mind. Only his pride and his confidence in the witches’ predictions keep him going. As Malcolm is approaching Macbeth’s castle at Dunsinane, he orders his troops to cut branches from trees in nearby Birnam Wood and carry them as disguises. Macbeth at Dunsinane is waiting for the attackers when he’s told that his wife is dead; she has killed herself. He barely has time to react before a report arrives that Birnam Wood seems to be moving- toward the castle! Furious, frightened, and desperate, Macbeth calls out his troops. Malcolm’s army throw down the branches and the battle begins. Macbeth’s men hardly put up a fight, but Macbeth battles like a trapped animal. Finally, Macbeth comes face to face with Macduff, who has been looking for him in the battlefield. Macbeth warns his enemy that no man born of woman can harm him. Macduff isn’t frightened- he was “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb. (Today we would call it a cesarean section.) Though he knows the end has come, Macbeth fights on and is killed. In triumph, Macduff carries Macbeth’s severed head out to the people, who turn to Malcolm as their rightful king. THE_CHARACTERS THE CHARACTERS (SMACCHAR) – MACBETH Macbeth is a character of powerful contradictions. He is a man who, for the sake of his ambition, is willing to murder his king and his best friend. At the same time, he has a conscience that is so strong that just the thought of his crimes torments him. In fact, even before he commits his crimes the thought of them makes him miserable. Is Macbeth a horrible monster or is he a sensitive man- a victim of witches and his own ambitions? Or is he both? If he is both, how can the two sides of his nature exist side by side? To answer those questions, let’s first look at what he does. Then we will look at how he feels about what he does. In the play, of course, the two go together. His actions are monstrous. If Macbeth were a criminal brought to trial, the list of the charges against him would be long: – 1. He murders his king, who is also a relative. The crime is treasonous and sacrilegious, since every king is set on his throne by God. Macbeth’s guilt is even blacker because the King was his guest at the time of the murder. A host has responsibility to protect his guest. – 2. He hires men to kill his best friend, Banquo. He wants the men to kill Banquo’s young son, Fleance, too, but Fleance escapes. – 3. He sends men to kill Macduff’s wife and children. – 4. Having taken the crown by murder, he keeps it by deception. He plants spies in all the nobles’ homes and spreads lies about Malcolm, who should rightfully inherit the throne. – 5. More crimes are referred to but not specified. Macbeth rules by terror, since he does not deserve- or have- anybody’s loyalty. Describing Scotland under Macbeth’s rule, Macduff says, “Each new morn / New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows / Strike heaven on the face…” (Act IV, Scene iii, lines 4-6). – So Macbeth does horrible things, but that is not the whole story. Macbeth is different from some of Shakespeare’s other villains like Iago (in Othello) and Richard III. The latter enjoy doing evil; they have renounced what we think of as normal ethics and morality. Macbeth’s feelings are more complicated. In the beginning of the play, at least, he appears to have a conscience that tells him what he’s doing is wrong. Or is he just afraid of the consequences of his actions? He is never able to enjoy the crown he has taken. He experiences nothing but anguish. Is that simply because he is afraid of losing the crown, or is his conscience bothering him? None of these questions is answered directly in the play. Each reader has to form his or her own opinion, based on the text. Let’s look at how Macbeth feels about each of the crimes we listed before: – 1. Killing Duncan horrifies Macbeth. Before the murder, he tries to tell Lady Macbeth that he will not go through with it. She has to goad him into killing the King. After committing the murder, Macbeth seems almost delirious. He says that “…all great Neptune’s ocean [will not] wash this blood / Clean from my hand” (Act II, Scene ii, lines 60-61). – 2. When he murders Banquo, Macbeth is still in torment, but the cause of his anguish seems to have changed. He is afraid of Banquo, because Banquo knows about the witches and because the witches predicted that his descendents would be kings. Banquo’s death, he says, will put his mind at rest. – 3. We are never told how Macbeth feels about the murder of Macduff’s wife and children. Their killing gains him nothing. He has good reason to fear Macduff, but slaughtering his enemy’s family is pointless. Macbeth seems to order their murder for spite, out of a feeling of desperation. Despite the witches’ new prophesies, which appear to be reassuring, he is afraid of losing the crown. Since he cannot get at Macduff directly, he lets loose this senseless violence. – 4. The spies Macbeth plants show how desperate and paranoid he is. He sees enemies- real or imagined- everywhere. – 5. The other unspecified acts of violence serve no purpose, as far as we can see, beyond terrifying his subjects so much they won’t resist him. Macbeth is striking out at random, and his moral sense seems to have entirely disappeared. The brave hero we met in Act I, who at least seemed honorable, is completely twisted. – You can see how much his crimes have cost Macbeth. His reaction to Lady Macbeth’s death is a sign of complete despair- all feeling is dead in him. His famous speech upon hearing of her suicide- “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow…” (Act V, Scene v, lines 17-28)- is less an expression of grief than it is a speech about the utter meaninglessness of life. You wonder how all this has happened. If he was so horrified by first the idea and then the fact of Duncan’s murder, why did he do it? And why commit the other crimes? Apparently his ambition is stronger than his conscience. The witches tempt him with the idea of becoming king. Lady Macbeth helps him overcome his natural hesitation to commit murder. But Macbeth himself chooses between his honor and the crown- and between salvation in the next world and material gain in this one. Once he has killed to get the crown, the other crimes seem inevitable. In order to keep what he has taken, Macbeth learns to lie and kill as a matter of course. His values become totally confused. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” to him now; he has lost track of the difference. All that seems left in the end is his pride. You respect him when he fights to the death rather than be displayed as the monster he is. But some people think that if Macbeth had not been so proud he would not have wanted to be king to begin with, and that if he had been humbler he would have repented. Another aspect of Macbeth is his active imagination. Considering Duncan’s murder, he can vividly picture all the possible consequences. His imagination pursues him throughout the play. He’s continually reliving his crimes and fantasizing about present and future dangers. Nothing Lady Macbeth can say will quiet his mind. At times he seems crazy- or haunted. Before he kills Duncan, Macbeth sees a dagger floating in the air. After the murder, he hears voices. And later he sees Banquo’s ghost. You are never quite sure if these are hallucinations- the imaginings of a sick mind- or if they are apparitions, like the witches. You begin to wonder how real they are. – LADY MACBETH At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth, unlike her husband, seems to have only one opinion about murder: if it helps her to get what she wants, she is in favor of it. For the first two acts of the play, some readers think she is the most interesting character. Their fascination is probably based on her total lack of scruples. Lady Macbeth is a strong woman. She is a twisted example of the saying, “Behind every great man there’s a woman.” Once she sees that her husband’s ambition has been inflamed, she is willing to risk anything to help him get the crown. She understands her husband very well: – Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way. (Act I, Scene v, lines 17-19) – In other words, she knows that Macbeth’s conscience will stand in the way of his ambition. For the sake of their “prize,” she renounces all the soft, human parts of her own nature. In a play so full of supernatural events, we can take her literally if we want to when she calls upon “…spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts…” to “Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse / That no compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my fell purpose…” (Act I, Scene v, lines 41-42 and 45-47). It is as if she were tearing her heart out to make her husband king. Lady Macbeth’s singleness of purpose seems to prove that she has been successful in emptying herself of human feeling. When Macbeth tries to back out of committing the murder, she treats him with contempt. She questions his manhood and shames him into doing it. Look at how effortlessly she lies. When Duncan, whom she plans to kill, arrives at the castle, her welcoming speech drips with false graciousness. While Macbeth has horrifying visions, Lady Macbeth seems cool and literal minded. To her, Duncan’s blood is just something to be washed off her hands. Worrying over things you cannot alter is a waste of time, she says. But Lady Macbeth is not as simple as she seems. By the end of the play she has killed herself to escape the horrible nightmares that torment her. Shakespeare seems to be saying that guilt and fear can be suppressed for a time, but they cannot be done away with entirely. Some readers find Lady Macbeth a fascinating portrait of a horrible murderer. They see her actions as frighteningly amoral, and her madness and death as divine justice. Others see Lady Macbeth as a tragic figure. They are awed by her strength, her determination, and her resourcefulness. To them, the tragedy is that she wastes such qualities on evil deeds. And by the end, when her mind is rotten with madness, they can say she has struggled with her guilt every bit as much as her husband has with his. – BANQUO We can learn a lot about Macbeth by looking at Banquo. Banquo is a man of integrity. He is brave in battle but cautious in his actions. It is valuable to look at how he and Macbeth react differently to similar circumstances. At the beginning of the play, they are equals. Macbeth and Banquo are leading Duncan’s army- they fight side by side. They seem to be equally brave in combat. Banquo and Macbeth meet the witches together, and Banquo’s response to the prophesies is wiser than Macbeth’s. He is skeptical from the beginning. When the witches first appear, he taunts them: “Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear / Your favors nor your hate.” (Act I, Scene iii, lines 61-62). After the prediction that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor comes true, Banquo is more cautious. He warns his friend not to be won over by small truths only to be betrayed in more important matters. He senses the women are evil, and he expects a trick. Banquo has an honest and trusting nature. It never occurs to him that Macbeth may want to kill Duncan to make the prophesy come true. Later, even when he suspects that Macbeth killed the old King, Banquo does not suspect that he himself is in any danger. It is interesting to note that Banquo does have some interest in the things the “weird sisters” promise him. He tells Macbeth that he dreamed about them. He also wonders if, since their prophesy for Macbeth came true, he should hope that his descendents will be kings. But Banquo refuses to compromise his honor and his integrity to get the things he wants. He is willing to wait for the fullness of time to bring about whatever is coming. Also notice that Banquo, unlike Macbeth, does not hide the fact that he sometimes thinks about the three witches. So it seems that Shakespeare formed Banquo’s character the way he did to show how a man of honor would respond to the kind of temptation that Macbeth gives in to. There is probably another reason why Banquo is portrayed as he is. historically, Banquo was an ancestor of King James I of England. Macbeth was first presented for James. In Holinshed’s Chronicles, which was Shakespeare’s source for the story, Banquo helped Macbeth murder the king. Many critics believe that Shakespeare changed Banquo’s role to please King James. – THE WITCHES The three witches that Macbeth and Banquo meet are also called the “weird sisters.” In Old English wyrd meant “fate.” And it is part of their role in the play to act as the forces of fate. But “fate” in what sense? Do they cause Macbeth’s actions? What powers do they have, and what are the limits of their powers? In other words, do they dictate what will happen? They certainly know things that no mortal could know. Even a person who knew that the Thane of Cawdor was a traitor would be awfully shrewd to guess that Macbeth would be given his title. And who