Macbeth
Macbeth (In-Depth Analysis) The rise and fall of a noble man is a theme that has been played in many operas, plays and modern day movies. Blanch Coles states in Shakespeares Four Giants that “Macbeth is the story of a kindly, upright man who was incited and goaded, by the woman he deeply loved, into committing a murder and then, because of his sensitive nature, was unable to bear the heavy burden of guilt that descended upon him as a result of that murder. ... ” One of the most intriguing aspects of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the important aspect of the gender roles and the contradiction of the sexual identities in the characters. According to Kahn, Macbeth is “a paradox of sexual confusion”. The sexual imagery flows through the entire play, beginning with the three witches and ending with the death of Macbeth at the hands of Macduff. In the beginning we see Macbeth as a manly soldier, a killing machine, fighting for country and the honour of His King. ... Lady Macbeth appears the perfect host. An adoring female companion to Macbeth and the model of a soldiers wife, she eventually turns into the epitome of evil itself, asking the gods to remove all femininity from her. ... In mourning for his family, who were killed by Macbeth, Macduff fights Macbeth for his family’s honor and for Scotland. Malcolm is honest and true, with no connection to women, he symbolizes all the characteristics that a noble and strong king should have, and calls to mind that Macbeth is nothing but a “tyrant”. Banquo, Macbeth closest friend, is the first victim to fall prey to Macbeths attempt to thwart all possible threats to his sovereignty. Although the witches forecast that he will give rise to a lineage of kings, he does not did not succumb to the temptation of action as Macbeth did. ... An important assertion in Shakepeares Macbeth is that Macbeth while he is a “warrior-hero. ... Lady Macbeth, a woman and wife to Macbeth, seeks to transform herself into a man, “through the power [she has] to mold men,” by rooting out those qualities associated with women-- pity, sympathy, kindness. ... The witches then begin to prophesy to Macbeth and hail him “Thane of Glamis”, “Thane of Cawdor,” and, King hereafter.” The witches also prophesy to Banquo saying he will be “Lesser than Macbeth, and greater, “ ” not so happy, yet much happier”, and finally “Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be none. ... This is the beginning of the emasculation of Macbeth and his ultimate downfall. Macbeth is shocked by the prophecy and immediately the reader can see the indecisivness and vulnerability in Macbeths character. ... Macbeth on the other hand is impressed by the witches and before he can question them further about the prophecies, they vanish. Macbeth is further impressed when his commanders address him as Thane of Cawdor, his new title. According to Kahn, “The sources of his [Macbeths] sexual confusion are the witches, who direct their mischief toward him, and Lady macbeth, who seeks vicarious fulfillment through him. ... The first is an armed head that declares, “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! ... The second apparition is a bloody child, who possible symbolizes the lack of children Macbeth has, or the child that Lady Macbeth said she would have “dash’d the brains out, “. This apparition tells Macbeth “laugh to scorn the pow’r of man; for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth. ... The apparition tells Macbeth that he will not be defeated until “Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him. ... 92-94) Macbeth scoffs at the first three apparitions. ... In the beginning of the play, we see MacBeth as the greatest general in all of Scotland, and he has covered himself in glory for his courage in battle; And Fortune on his damned Quarry smiling, Shewd like a Rebells Whore: but alls too weake: For braue Macbeth (well hee deserues that Name) Disdayning Fortune, with his brandisht Steele, Which smoakd with bloody execution (Like Valours Minion) carud out his passage, Till hee facd the Slaue: Which neur shooke hands, nor bad farwell to him, Till he vnseamd him from the Naue toth Chops, And fixd his Head vpon our Battlements. ... Although MacBeth is physically strong in the beginning of the story, it turns out that he is emotionally weak an overly sympathetic. In his critical analysis of Macbeth, Mangan states, “ In fact, throughout the early part of the play Macbeth is portrayed as a man who is almost literally in two minds.” MacBeth begins the story by defeating the Thane of Cawdor and Macdonwald in battle. Macbeth gains the trust of King Duncan and is proclaimed the new Thane of Cawdor. It is generally accepted at this point in the story that MacBeth is the most skilled warrior in all of Scotland, with manly attributes of honor, strength and courage. As soon as Macbeth hears the witches prophesy, we see that he is deeply distressed and shows signs of fear. ... Macbeth has strong ambitions to be king, and “that he has resisited the temptation up to this time seems clearly revealed in the suddenness with which fear takes possession of him” The following soliloquy embraces Macbeth’s fear: This supernaturall solliciting Cannot be ill; cannot be good. ... “Macbeth swings between a fatalistic acceptance of whatever the future happens to have in store, and a frenzied calculating of the various steps he will have to take in order to get the crown. ... Lady Macbeth receives the news from her husband about the prophesy of the witches and about his succession to Thane of Cawdor.