Macbeth | Character

• How is Macbeth influenced by the witches | Before they've met | Act 1

  Macbeth echoes the witches paradox "So foul and fair a day I have not seen" becoming a mouthpiece for the witches evil and misconduct
• What does ' valours minion' show about Macbeth | Act 1

  The noun 'minion' foreshadows his susceptibility to manipulation and how he will soon be a marionette (puppet) of the witches evil
• "Disdaining fortune smoked with bloody execution"| Act 1


  'smoked' could connote to heat and hell foreshadowing his evils

  'disdaining fortune' shows a disregard for his fate and his attempt to manipulate the natural order. (the great chain of being)
• Macbeth and Lady Macbeths atypical relationship| Act 1


  •Macbeth's initial stoic presentation is starkly juxtaposed with his mass emasculation. LM mobilizes the plot of regicide through her manipulation and emasculation of Macbeth.

  Says his "face" is "a book where men may read strange matters"

  •mocks the candidness of his expression+

  •manipulation as it portrays Macbeth as weak and vulnerable which were qualities that fail to align with the ideal male archetype
• How does LM further emasculate Macbeth | Act 1


  LM utilizes flattery hailing him "Worthy Cawdor" echoing the witches "Hail to thee thane of Cawdor.

  •Lady Macbeth makes herself appear more barbaric when she says "Dash'd the brains out" to further emasculate Macbeth
• How do the witches effect Macbeth physically? | Act 1

  "Doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs"

  • showing that the Witches have rattled him externally and viscerally

  "Why do you dress me in borrow'd robes?"

  •suggests he has been awarded a title that doesn't belong to him

  •Motif of clothes as a symbol of power, deception and identity
• Macbeth's soliloquy | Act 2


  Macbeths volta as he finally starts to experience guilt

  "Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle towards my hand? Come let me clutch thee"

  •shows his internal conflict and confusion

  •suggests he is ridding himself of responsibility over the murder as if it was being offered to him or forced upon him

  "Fatal Vision

  •Ambiguous phrase

  •the adjective 'fatal' alludes to the fatalities that will come as a result of this tragedy ( including Macbeth himself) and that his actions are decreed by fate
• Macbeths Soliloquy (Witches influence) | Act 2

  •Perhaps alluding to how the "Instruments of darkness" the witches with their dark musicality have entranced him into regicide.

  •The staging here can be interesting as if the dagger is shown on stage, it draws the audience into Macbeth's madness
• Duncan + Banquo's murders


  •Duncan was a moment of peripeteia for Macbeth (a sudden reversal of fate) yet this is not confirmed until the murder of Banquo ensues.

  •After the murder, his fate has been taken out of his hands and though he relentlessly attempts to regain power over his fortune, he fails.
• "In time will venom breed / no teeth for the present) | Act 3


  •Macbeth acknowledges his tumultuous fortune, yet his hubris (pride) binds him into a false sense of security suggesting that danger is not yet imminent
• Banquo's ghost servers as a symbol to expose Macbeth's failures to manipulate fate as despite believing that Banquo is "safe" (murdered successfully) he immediately comes to haunt him.

  Macbeth is denied any semblance ( hint) of safety.
• Banquo's ghost

  "welcome" is repeated a lot by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth which gives the impression of flustering

  • Their guilt is threatening their composure

  The bloody apparition of Banquo is a physical manifestation of Macbeth's guilt - guilt obtains power over him.
• Macbeth: 'make our faces vizards to our hearts' is reminiscent of LM's quote "Look like the flower but be the serpent under it"
• Lady Macbeth discourages Macbeth from murdering Banquo saying "You must leave this"


  •He is trapped within the momentum of evil and dismisses her "be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck"

  •He uses feminine epithets (nickname) which belittle her, much as she previously did to him
• Macbeth Seeking out the supernatural | Act 4


  • Macbeth's hubris is explicit as he enters

  •He speaks with imperative phrases such as 'tell me' and 'call em' , he is driven by greed and hunger for power

  •Threatens the witches with an 'eternal curse' which is ironic as we have seen their overt supernatural power, he believes he can supersede this
• The witches prophecies | Act 4

  The prophecies are equivocical, the second is important in revealing "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth" , which is ambiguous.

  •Their prophecies give Macbeth an ephemeral ( temporary) sense of security and invincibility, yet he still plots to kill Macduff ("thou shall not live") exposing how he is now driven by a thirst for blood and violence
• Macbeths aside | Act 4


  Before the murder is instructed, Macbeth in an aside says 'his wife, his babes' and all unfortunate souls.

  •The syntax (order of words) is suggestive that Macbeth is exterminating 'all' souls he sees as unfortunate
• Lady Macduff and her son murder


  •This is the first murder to occur on stage, suggesting that Macbeth no longer cares for his reputation and takes pride in his heinous acts.

  •Macbeth does not carry out the murder himself, as it ensures he is still somewhat redeemable from the epitome of evil
• "Life is but a walking shadow ... it is a tale it signifies nothing" | Act 5


  •Macbeths lexis (total shock) almost creates semantic field of transience (semi permanence) , the nouns 'candle' and 'shadow' are impermanent in the sense they can be easily extinguished
• Macbeth vs Macduff Battle | Act 5


  "My soul is too much charg'd with blood of thine already" which maintains his humanity as he has the capacity for remorse.

  •Macbeth remains somewhat redeemable to be characterized as a tragic hero, he is not merely a villain he - evokes catharsis.
• Macbeth cowardice final battle | Act 5


  Macduff was from his "mothers womb/untimely ripped" meaning he was born by a caesarean section/ c section.

  •This moment of cowardice which Lady Macbeth ridicules rises to the surface again.

  •Macbeth experiences anagnorisis (moment of recognition) which strips him of his hubris