macbeth

• 'what i am truly, is thine, and my poor countries to command' - malcolm

  • act 4
  • caesura, momentary pause, delivered by actor, silence allows audience to fully absorb Malcolms honest dedication and ambition to be the best king for his people, no gap between his outward presentation and inner reality, embodiment of a true king,
• 'i have no spur / to prick the sides of my intent but only vaulting ambition which oerleaps itself and falls on the other
• 'what i am truly, is thine, and my poor countries, to command'

  • possessive pronoun before 'poor country' reveals more than just ownership but illuminates a sense of paternalistic tenderness, 'poor' evokes sympathy for scotland suffering under macbeths dismantling rules,
  • portrays himself not as a distant ruler but a compassionate protector, choice of word reinforcing his image as leader with the character befitting a true king,
• 'instruments of darkness' - banquo

  • act 1
  • lexis 'instruments' used to characterise witches, implies a malevolent musicality, showcasing how their words possess an almost hypnotic trance for Macbeth in which catalyses his usurpation of kingship, choice of 'instruments' suggests a deliberate orchestration of their deceit, framing their speech as a manipulative melodic composition that enchants its victims,
• Marxist critics would highlight that...


  the state reinforces its authority via the belief system of 'divine right' of kingship; Macbeth's regicide of Duncan is a disruption to the 'natural' order; his association with the witches is a direct challenge to the 'religious' order and like the biblical Adam, he succumbs to the temptations of his wife, subverting 'patriarchal' order. For this, he is punished.
• Jung's theory of archetypes would categorise...


  …Macbeth as the 'hero' and 'villain'; as the play opens he is a brave, loyal nobleman defending Duncan's realm. Later, he perpetrates crime to advance and then maintain his position as King of Scotland.
• Feminist literary critics might argue that...


  …Lady Macbeth is demonised for desiring power over motherhood, she invites spirits too 'unsex me here' but importantly, she is referring to society's expectations of her gender, and not her 'sex'.
• A Freudian reading would emphasise that...


  …Lady Macbeth's superego is responsible for her descent into madness and death. Her superego cripples her ego and she commits suicide.
• The writer has drawn on conventions of Aristotelian tragedy as...


  …Macbeth's hamartia is his ambition and, together with his hubris, is his undoing.
• The writer has drawn on conventions of Aristotelian tragedy as...


  …the peripeteia is the regicide as from this moment forth, Macbeth knows he is damned: 'what's done is done', as his wife later reminds him.
• The philosopher John Locke theorised that nurture has a more significant influence on human behaviour than inherent nature. Therefore, it could be argued that...


  …It is because of Macbeth's encounter with the witches that the seed of regicide is sown, his thoughts and subsequent immoral behaviour is shaped by this experience.