4/13/23, 12:41 PM Macbeth Analysis

Macbeth Analysis

MACBETH

GENDER AND MANHOOD IN MACBETH

The Perversion of Manliness: 

At the beginning of the play, after the opening scene of the witches, Duncan remarks 'What bloody man is that?' 'Bloody'
illustrates the gore of the sergeant, which according to Duncan's light outburst is striking and prominent. 
This of course is emblematic of his valour and hardihood, authorising him to praise Macbeth in the battlefield. 
More importantly, it betokens his vulnerable humanity and his moral consanguinity with the King and the rest of the nation,
which like Macbeth he is trying to loyally preserve. 
Macbeth subsequently disjoins from these norms, triggered by his moral perversion. 
Lady Macbeth sets off this disjunction, seeking to establish a Machiavelli idea of a king. The rhyme of 'highly' and 'holily'
underscores a contrast between these virtues, implying that greatness must be divorced from holiness. 
Lady Macbeth's tone of invocation signalled by her imperative language such as 'unsex me' demonstrates that she wants the
spirits to divest her of all female vestiges of womanliness. 
Macbeth, when considering arguments against the regicide, draws strange metaphors of Duncan like a 'naked newborn
babe/striding the blast,' strange indeed for a war hero so ruthless in defending the kingdom. 
The 'naked newborn babe' echoes ideas of vulnerability and powerlessness, antithetical to Macbeth's manly military cynosure.
Perhaps this image of a 'newborn babe' signifies Macbeth's pity for Duncan and how he does not want to harm a delicate
being. 
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g
During the Italian Renaissance, there were many credentials required to become a courtier to the king, one of them was being a
Macbeth
man, who must be Analysis
fierce in the presence of enemies but modest and kind anywhere else. These apparent contradictions echo
the character of Macbeth but presents the impossible expectations placed on men. 
Macbeth's code of manliness is further perverted by Lady Macbeth's desire to dash the brains of the 'babe that milks me[her].'
The utter ruthlessness against an innocent, pure being demonstrates her impulsive aggressiveness; the disturbing imagery of
the murder of a child represents Lady Macbeth's denunciation of maternal instinct. 
Ritually, Lady Macbeth is murdering the 'naked babe' of pity that Macbeth harbours, equating manliness with reflexive
aggression. 
This idea of manliness is further echoed in scene III when Macbeth provokes the murderers to assassinate Banquo. 
The first murderer claims that 'we[they] are men,' meaning that they are capable of moral iniquity. However, Macbeth mirrors
Lady Macbeth's tactic of questioning and changing their perception of manliness. 
He refers to 'greyhounds,' 'mongrels,' 'water rugs' as dogs, meaning that they belong to a hierarchical class, similar to the
hierarchy of men. Interestingly, the animals below the chain are the less violent ones, so Macbeth is tacitly trying to prove that
to be at the top of hierarchy one has to be predator-like. 
The animalistic diction reinforces the animal-like, impulsive idea of masculinity that Macbeth is imposing on the murderers. 

The paradox of Masculinity: 

Achilles and Aeneas epitomise heroic masculinity, famed for their nobility and conception of justice, but they are also famous
for their vindictive brutality and ferocity. 
Shakespeare exemplifies this paradoxical definition of man for the sole purpose of discrediting it. 
Macbeth's herculean actions are seen in the war, while he is trying to defend Duncan's kingdom, as he 'carv'd out his passage'
and 'fix'd the head on battlements.' The gory imagery reinforces the carnage of the battlefield, but Macbeth is lionised due to
this, signalled by Duncan's epithets such as 'valiant cousins' and 'worthy gentleman.' 
Therefore, Macbeth departs from the normative standards of morality, yet becomes the centre of admiration because of the
paradoxical definition of man. 
Macbeth's transgressions are not considered to be unethical because they are performed within a culture that celebrates this. 
However, the dilemma that arises out of this is that how can a political order that advocates and celebrates violence restrain it? 
Patriarchy indirectly is dependent on women, as men want to be seen authoritative relative to women; Lady Macbeth's dashing
out brains of her baby in comparison to Macbeth's notions of pity threatens that power structure. 

Psychoanalysis of Macbeth's character and the concept of manliness: 

Although Macbeth is a 'tragic hero,' a heroic figure, yet a villain, psychoanalysis probes deeper into his psyche to explore the
reasons behind his crimes, not viewing them as political assassinations.
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reasons behind his crimes, not viewing them as political assassinations. 
Psychoanalysis posits that a sense of lack of being is transferred into the desire or a want to be. Thus, Macbeth's manliness was
Macbeth Analysis
questioned at various points in the play, shown by phrases like 'art thou a man,' which prompted to construct a masculine
identity, to be the man that he was made to feel he was not. Lady Macbeth's tone is assertive, and her statement poses as a
challenge to Macbeth's identity. 
This insecurity is further amplified by Lady Macbeth's murder of her own imaginative baby, threatening the patriarchal power
structure that was prevalent during the elizabethan era. 
Macbeth looks up to his wife like an overpowering mother in psychoanalytic terms. Her words are the nourishment that he
needs to satisfy his Id, the wild, passionate part of the identity. 
However, his association with Lady Macbeth comes to an end, as it diminishes his sense of masculinity, so he plots the murder
of Banquo by himself, keeping her in the dark since it demonstrates that he is devising his own plans to prove his identity. 
According to Freud, during the early years, children of both sexes develop an unconscious sexual attachment towards their
mothers because of the love and satisfaction that mothers offer. 
However, it is also due to 'omnipotence,' which is a sense of security that a child develops, thinking that both of them
constitute a single body. 
The concept of omnipotence is echoed in Macbeth, as he refers to Lady Macbeth as his 'dearest partner.' The superlatives
intensify the connection between them. Not to mention that Lady Macbeth is not defined in her own right but is seen as an
extension of Macbeth. 
In the later stages, the child enters into a stage of 'peripheral ego' where he/she seeks to establish his/her own identity. 
The paradox in Macbeth's is also illustrated by the fact that he is both powerful and powerless around Lady Macbeth. He
becomes powerful after killing Duncan but with respect to Lady Macbeth's standards of masculinity, Macbeth finds his identity
lacking. 
Although Macbeth murders Duncan, it is because his wife's words struck a chord—he did not want to lose her love nor his
sense of manhood. Macbeth's initial objection to this shows that he is inherently good but is manipulated by Lady Macbeth. 

Sergeant portrayal's of Macbeth: 

The battle between Macbeth and Macdonwald appears as a battle of good versus evil on the surface but is translated into a
battle of male versus female, action again passivity. 
Initially, both Macbeth and Macdonwald are described as being equal, 'swimmers that cling together.' However, Macbeth's
valour surpasses Macdonwald's 'mercilessness' and 'multiplying villainies' that characterises Macbeth's male autonomy. 
In a metaphoric sense, the battle can be viewed as male aggression against a female due to the reference to Fortune. 
The battle revolves around the classical concepts of Fortuna, a symbol of passivity and fragility, versus Virtus, which connotes
fortitude and heroic action. The association of Fortuna with Macdonwald makes him seem effeminate, relying on the female to
win. 
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This implies that Macdonwald's actions are not him own since it is aided by Fortune, unlike Macbeth who solely depends on
Macbeth
his 'brandished Analysis
steel sword.'
However, some might argue that the portrayal of Macbeth as 'valor's minion' bears feminine connotations since it is
suggestive of subordination. The simile signalled by 'like' indicates that Macbeth's sword was a tool for his valour. 
However, this is contrasted by Ross' account who described Macbeth as 'Bellona's bridegroom,' Macbeth as the male
domination of Bellona, the female goddess of war. 
The play signals that association with femininity is a condition of lack and contamination since Macduff who was 'untimely
ripped' from her mother's womb defeated Macbeth. Thus, the Shakespeare is sending the message that to be female is to be
castrated.  

NATURE AND THE UNNATURAL 

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SUPERNATURAL SOLICITING
Macbeth Analysis
Interestingly, Macbeth's first words echo that of the witches, 'so fair and foul a day I have not seen.' It's not possible that
Macbeth could have overheard the witches but it came out of his mind from the thick air; thus, Shakespeare establishes a
connection between the witches and Macbeth through verbal echo, not confrontation. 
However, it is not simply the repetition of words but also the poetic pattern in Macbeth's speech that adds an underlying sense
of mystery. The monosyllabic words 'fair and foul' establish an iambic meter that mimics the rhythm of the witches. 

Section - I Semantics of the witches: 

The paradoxical language, established through antithesis such as 'fair is foul' not just represents the witches' diabolical
purpose but a cosmological disorder of a greater magnitude. 
The witches aim to create a world without differences, where 'fair' is indeed 'foul.' The language of inversion reflects this state
of confusion and disorder, a world without individuation. 
From the perspective of Christianity, the 'foul and fair' world echoes the primordial ocean of genesis, wherein the order that
God created was under threat from a chaotic and unruly sea; hence, the witches here are emblematic of forces working against
God. 
However, the interpretation of the supernatural is not limited to this—the speech of the witches is characterised by poetic
repetition. For instance, in the opening scene, the witches make extensive use of couplets, 'meet again' and 'in rain.' 
However, their answers are unsatisfying due to the antithesis, 'when the battle's lost and won.' Still, the tune of the witches
compensates for their unsatisfying and vague answers. 
The poetic repetition creates a sense of childish appeal since a child's mind is distinguished by both its imaginative thoughts
and its love for poetic repetition. 
Previously, using psychoanalysis criticism, we proved that Macbeth can be thought of as a child since his manhood is always in
question and his mind is prevalent with imagination, seen during the banquet scene. Hence, the tune of the witches might also
appeal to Macbeth. 
This is consistent with western fairytales where witches consistently seduce children. 
Unlike the humans who speak in blank verse, iambic pentameter or prose, the witches speak in largely irregular metrical
patterns, including the iambic pentameter; thus, their tune is another medium of introducing ambiguity, as it renders them
neither wholly diabolical nor humane. 
For example, in the line 'In thunder, lightning, or in rain?' the iambic trimeter is broken due to the caesura employed,
illustrating their paradoxical semantics. 

Section - II rhythmic patterns and the revelation of the unconscious: 

We can notice the echo of the witches' tune in Macbeth's speech. Macbeth begins the speech with a triplet, 'if it were, tis done'
d 'd i kl ' h i i f 'd
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and 'done quickly.' The repetition of 'done' highlights the triadic structure. 
Macbeth
Although Analysis
the speech is about reasons for not killing done, the content is at odds with the rhythmic pattern that resembles the
tone of the witches and Macbeth's wishful imagination. 
Shakespeare has done this to underscore Macbeth's unconscious desires which he expects Lady Macbeth to impose upon him. 
This tactic of repetition is also seen during Lady Macbeth's sleep walking scene, as it ends with an overwhelming number of
iterations, 'to bed, to bed, to bed' and 'come, come, come.' 
The repetition reinforces the repetitious, circular cycle of past that she is unconsciously stuck, which is suggestive of mental
disturbance. 
These rhythmic patterns are the peak during the porter scene that not just functions as comic relief but has been interpreted as
a hellish representation of Macbeth's castle with the porter as the gatekeeper of hell. The triadic structures and the couplets
used by the porter are emblematic of his supernatural hangover. 

Unchecked Ambition and Magical Thinking in Macbeth

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Two worlds 
Macbeth Analysis
The pleasure principle is born out of an infant's wish being fulfilled. The infant desires to be fed, hallucinates about it and the
wish is gratified. The infant thus learns that the environment bends to its will. 
However, when the mother's attention is elsewhere, the infant kicks and screams, learning in the process that action, not will,
gives birth to consequence. 
Growing up thus depends on two worlds, the world of wish and the world of conscience. Macbeth's fatal mistake lies in
priortising one over the other, wish over conscience. 
In killing Duncan, he kills his royal parent and subsequently his superego. Success for Macbeth is not getting caught, ergo an
action without a consequence. 

A child's vantage point

The first impression of Macbeth is as an impressive individual, one who is willing to sacrifice for the realm, is a loyal servant,
and an even better soldier. 
However, given the timeline of the play, the life stories of Macbeth and Banquo are half-over. Their major life decisions have
been taken, wives chosen, careers set, and expectations met. As opposed to this, the world of a child is full of possibility. 
Macbeth therefore is invited into this world of choice where anything is possible. What seemed fixed to Macbeth, Thane of
Glamis, a loyal subject, and a brave soldier can now double, Thane of Cawdor and king of the realm. 
The Witches recite Macbeth's past, present, and future, 'Thane of Glamis,' 'Thane of Cawdor,' and 'King.' Instantly, the wish is
fulfilled, echoing the pleasure principle. 
Thus, it is not Macbeth's wish to be King that leads him to murder Duncan, but the idea that the wish can be fulfilled. 
Macbeth like a baby hallucinates his wish; 'chance may crown me[him], without my[his] stir.' However, he lives in a world of
time, and external events cannot be affected by immaterial thoughts, ie he cannot be King simply by wishing. 
Actions births consequence and therefore he thinks about murder. 

Macbeth and Oedipal fantasy

It does not take a Freudian critic to argue that Macbeth's hallucination before killing Duncan is indeed an Oedipal fantasy. 
Macbeth is about to kill his royal parent; in fact, to Duncan, a good Christian king, all his subjects are 'state's children.'
Duncan's stature as a father is further cemented by Lady Macbeth's reservations about killing him—she would have killed him
had he not resembled her father. 
The moment therefore resembles the superego's last gasp over desire. Lady Macbeth subsequently unites them via murder. 
To do this, she replaces the image of a son killing his father with a mother killing an infant son. The terrifying image sends the
message that if I can kill my son, then you can surely kill your father, uniting them through murder. 
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Courting the Pleasure Principle

Macbeth Analysis
When received with the news of his kingship by the witches, Macbeth controls his desires. As Banquo notes, he is filled with
fear at a news so fair. Lady Macbeth later teaches him to let his desires control his thoughts, which is what happens when he
envisions the dagger. 
Duncan's murder is a window into Macbeth's hallucination. Macbeth describes the dagger as a 'dagger of the mind, a false
creation.' 
When the actual dagger is grasped, the dagger of the mind drips of blood, becoming an object of the past, the deed is done.
Macbeth's future acts appear to him as being an accomplished fact, as shown by him mixing present and past verb tenses, 'I
go, and it is done.'
Interestingly, the audience never sees the murder. Shakespeare might have done this, so that the audience remains in the same
imaginative space as Macbeth—the audience cannot bury the thought, it linger on. 

Kingship and conscience 

If Macbeth is to maintain his position as King of the realm, he must not only kill Banquo and his royal line of succession but
also his past reflection, clinging to honour and remorse. 
For Macbeth, Banquo is that reflection. Unlike Macbeth, Banquo does not act as a gullible child but as a suspecting adult when
he meets the witches. Banquo will wait for chance to crown his sons and will not play 'most foully.' Banquo is therefore
Macbeth's superego, his 'dauntless temper of mind.' 
Macbeth hereby has embraced the supernatural world of the weird sisters, cheating time and the natural order of things.
Banquo however has embraced the natural progression of time and generation. 
Banquo will pass down his royal nature to his children, while Macbeth stole that from his royal father. The allusion to Mark
Antony is more than appropriate, who is beaten down by a better strategist and seduced into the world of pleasure by an
Egyptian witch, Cleopatra. 

Racing the future 

The witches tell Macbeth who he was, he is, and he will be. At the second meeting, the witches do the same, their bubbling
cauldron representing Macbeth's psyche. 
The reptilian and animal imagery, 'tooth of the wolf,' 'tiger's chaudron,' is emblematic of Macbeth's ravenous hunger for
power. The cauldron consists of both murderer and victim like, a 'baby strangled by his mother,' and a 'sow who has killed her
nine farrows.' 

The Character of Lady Macbeth

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In ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth as a catalyst, presenting her as the underlayer of choices that precede her
Macbeth Analysis
mental capacity in the play, such as the murder of Duncan. As her character morphs throughout the play, from her dominating
traits being the most evident onto her emasculating, callous traits, Shakespeare explores the importance of her character, and
the consequences of when she absentmindedly refuses to accept and practise morality. In this extract, we see these
consequences through her apparent insanity, as the mental toil and burden of her crime’s dawns on her. This opposes her
character at the start of the play, where she was heavily perceived as being manipulative and domineering, further depicting
her as the deuteragonist of the play. Therefore, rather than confining to Jacobean stereotypes as other characters – namely
Macbeth at the start had done – Lady Macbeth largely opposes these standards. Men were automatically put on a pedestal
within the Jacobean patriarchal society, hence assuming power within their relationships, a common practice which wasn’t
apparent within Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband. Ultimately, Shakespeare, through the character of Lady
Macbeth, explores the repercussions of going against your position in the Great Chain of Being, and describes the process of
following ambition in the nonexistence of morality. 

At the start of the play, Shakespeare begins his depiction of Lady Macbeth by presenting her as the arguable antithesis to a
Jacobean woman: unconventionally powerful in comparison to her husband’s authority and noticeably immoral. She describes
Macbeth as being “too full o’the’milk of human kindness,” which alludes to her ruthless ambition, reiterated by the mimicry
that is present through Macbeth’s major choice of committing regicide in Act 2; Lady Macbeth is the driving force behind her
husband’s actions. In this quote, she is seen to criticise Macbeth for being kind, and is plausibly angry at him for not wanting
to deviate from his morality, further suggesting how she is not restrained by the same morality that she wants him to rid of.
This further demonstrates how she executes her actions irrespective of her role in the Great Chain of Being, further reiterated
through her epithet “human”. Lady Macbeth’s use of such disassociates her from the mortality associated to the concept of
man, which, from the start of the play, creates an aggrandised perception of her, and how her already apparent immorality is
characterised through her nature. Moreover, Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy further along Act 1 Scene 5, where she tells the spirits to
“unsex her here” elucidates her wishes to eject herself of all emotion, which is further reinforced through “take my milk for
gall”, also creating a lexical field of evil, evidently through her vast use of negative language and imagery. This further
suggests how Lady Macbeth wants to be unburdened with feminine qualities, as she wants to rid herself of what facilitates life
and replace it with toxic agents that destroy and ravage life. This arguably foreshadows her ultimate downfall, as the same way
she destroyed life around her, she ended up ravaging her own.

Alternatively, the reversal of gender roles conveyed through Lady Macbeth in Act 1, Scene 5 would’ve been foreign to a woman
conforming to stereotypes in the Jacobean Era, which shows them living a life subordinate to men and not being inclusive of
men’s choices regarding politics and violence. This depiction of Lady Macbeth occurs early on in the play, staining a
manipulative impression of her character on her audience causing distain towards her character
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manipulative impression of her character on her audience, causing distain towards her character.
Macbeth
Furthermore, LadyAnalysis
Macbeth’s apparent evil nature can be characterised with her relationship with the supernatural. In her
soliloquy in Act 1, she speaks to the supernatural with a clear domineering and dominating tone, such as in “Come here you
spirits…and fill me.” The ease with which Lady Macbeth addresses the supernatural, which was unbeknownst to even Macbeth
and Banquo upon their first encounter, arguably outlines the similarities between Lady Macbeth and the supernatural: evil.
Moreover, her increased use of imperative verbs ‘come’, and ‘fill’ suggests her devotion to the path of power; she is evidently
keen, hence why she is trafficking with the supernatural. Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy also reflects some aspects of the witches,
such as when she says “shalt be”. This arguably foreshadows the evil and immorality that is beginning to consume her, that
inevitably overpowers her as she weaves her own path to damnation. Alternatively, this depicts Lady Macbeth as virtually
having become an Agent of Fate, much like the Three Witches. The same evil inside her, therefore, proceeds to convince
Macbeth to murder a king whom he once had expansive respect for, again reflecting the accuracy of the early perception made
of her. Lady Macbeth’s association with the supernatural therefore violates her expected role as a domesticated and passive
woman; she is immediately going against all socially expected norms. However, Lady Macbeth’s inability to execute the act of
regicide – “hath he not resembled by father as he slept – conveys her emotional frontline. Shakespeare’s employment of this
suggests the profound weakness that resides within this seemingly striking character, which perhaps was enough to toil the
strict confines of her mentality. Although society expected women to be submissive to their husbands, Lady Macbeth not only
subverts this idea of complete submission, but also decisively blurs gender boundaries. Therefore, the audience’s interest
would’ve been sparked by not only her ‘masculine’ persona, but also by her similarity to the supernatural, presenting her as a
direct abomination to the strict barriers that have been outlined by society. 

Upon meeting her husband, the depth of Lady Macbeth’s manipulative aura is conveyed, proving that it is not only of surface,
but pervades through her mannerisms and her interactions with others. She advices Macbeth to “look like the innocent flower
but be the serpent under’t,” which reinforced her duplicitous nature, and also highlights the theme of appearances vs duality.
Lady Macbeth, as opposed to discouraging her husband from following the evil pursuit of ambition, encourages him towards
the path of deceit, proving that she is nothing less. She urges Macbeth to create a façade of conviviality, but under his guise his
true nature should match that of a serpent. The use of zoomorphism ‘serpent’ has biblical connotations: a serpent temps Eve
to eat the forbidden fruit, leading to the downfall of humanity, similar to the ruination of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
Shakespeare arguably refers to Genesis to emphasise duplicity and evil, hence accentuating the power within Lady Macbeth’s
manipulation. A serpent was also widely considered in the Jacobean Era to be an instrument of Satan, further reinforcing her
association with the supernatural. Alternatively, the success of Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy where she tells the spirits to ‘unsex’
her has arguably influenced her, as she is now pointing out the feminine qualities within her husband but still appeals to the
‘valiant soldier’ within him by telling him to be the “serpent underneath”. This highlights the relationship between Lady
Macbeth and her husband yet shows the unrequited nature of it as she is willing to gamble her relationships for a surge of
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Macbeth and her husband, yet shows the unrequited nature of it, as she is willing to gamble her relationships for a surge of
power. As the Jacobean Era was heavily religious, Shakespeare’s use of allusion with ‘serpent’ would’ve struck fear amongst
Macbeth Analysis
his audience, dragging Lady Macbeth’s character far beyond the point of being relatable, therefore distancing her from
humanity.

However, Lady Macbeth is seen to oppose the early perceptions that were made of her, instead being portrayed as the plausible
antithesis to her own demeanour. In the extract, there is a clear motif of disturbance, that permeates through both her angsty
state of sleepwalking and her inability to function as she usually would. Lady Macbeth’s inability to sleep is arguably reflective
of her guilt, despite her previous interactions with the supernatural and her graphic interactions with the concept of death.
This ‘great perturbation in nature’ also coincides with the perturbation and disruption she caused within the Divine Right and
Great Chain of Being, the mental burden of which is now described as being too much for her to bear. It is also an “accustomed
action” for Lady Macbeth to “wash her hands” as she exclaims “Out, damned spot…”. This is a stark contrast to Act 2, Scene 2,
where she informs Macbeth that “A little water clears us of this deed”. This projects the inability of even nature to battle with
the crime that Lady Macbeth is associated with: the crime of regicide. The depth of her crimes is also reiterated through this
scene, as the focus often shifts from her recounting Duncan’s murder, to Banquo’s murder, to Lady Macduff’s murder. This
reiterates the intensity of the guilt that she is riddled with, that is also now becoming inescapable as she fails to battle it.

The direct parallel and contrast between Lady Macbeth in Act 5 Scene 1 and in Act 2 Scene 2 suggests the longevity of the
burden that she attempted to live down. Her suicide later on in the Act reiterates this, as this indicates how she was compelled
to surrender to her inevitable damnation that she had paved the way for in the start. Therefore, Lady Macbeth’s peripeteia and
hamartia is evidently reflective of the importance of natural order, Divine Right, and the Great Chain of Being. By not
appealing to such, as Lady Macbeth did, was considered a great sin that was incomprehensible by man, hence the stark
punishment that she was seen to endure. Shakespeare’s incorporation of such posed a warning to the Jacobean Era, a period of
time where attempts and treason and alterations to the Great Chain were common. By choosing to graphically explain the
downfall of the main characters in the play, Shakespeare warns anyone from the concept of such, especially following the
Gunpowder Plot in 1606.

Ultimately, Shakespeare connotes the intensity and depth of Lady Macbeth’s character by exploring the themes of appearances
vs duality, the supernatural and gender roles. The development of Lady Macbeth reflects these themes, as she morphs from
being the embodiment of evil to someone who crumbles under the weight of such. Her distressed state of mind at the end of
the play is indicative of the consequences of someone who so strongly opposes morality and the confines of religion in the
same, extreme manner that Lady Macbeth did, hence posing a lesson for a typical Jacobean audience. 

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The Character of Macbeth

Macbeth Analysis

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Main ideas: 
Macbeth Analysis
At the start of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as a loyal, valiant warrior—true son of the kingdom. 
Macbeth's unchecked ambition drives him to murder Duncan.
He finds himself caught in a spiral of evil and continues to terrorise others to cement his hold over the kingdom. 

A king in the Jacobean era was warranted his rule by the 'divine right,' or the rule of God itself. The king on the throne during the
Shakespearean era James I was paranoid about assassination attempts, a reasonable reaction after the gunpowder plot. Thus, the
character of Macbeth a loyal and brave warrior, endangering himself to fight against the usurpers but later turned to a morally
atrocious traitor serves a didactic purpose to the audience of the era who harbour thoughts of power and disturbing the divine
right. 

During the Italian renaissance, courtiers were expected to be ruthless against enemies of state but loving towards family and
countrymen. These blatantly contradictory expectations placed upon men underscore the paradox of masculinity. The soldier's
impressionistic description of Macbeth at the battlefield reinforces the dilemma of men. Macbeth 'carv'd his passage' and 'fix'd
heads on battlements;' these gory images speak to the carnage at the battle but Macbeth is not chastised for this, but instead
lionised, signalled by Duncan's epithets like 'worthy gentleman' and 'valiant cousin.' Even Achilles and Aeneas epitomise heroic
masculinity and were famed for their fortitude and valour but also for their ferocity and vindictive temperament. Hence,
Shakespeare exemplifies these contradictions for the sole purpose of discrediting it. How can a culture which celebrates violence
work to restrain it? 

To understand Macbeth's ambition, it is apt to adapt a child's perspective, to consider Macbeth a child. It is interesting that the
speech of the witches is characterised by poetic repetition—in the opening scene, the witches make extensive use of couplets,
'meet again' and 'thunder, lightning, or rain?' These rhythmic patterns have a childish appeal on Macbeth, combined with his
wishful imagination. The image of witches enticing Macbeth is consistent with western fairytales wherein witches are said to
seduce children. Therefore, it is not Macbeth's wish to be king but the imagination that his wish may be fulfilled that drives his
ambition. Given the timeline of the play, the life stories of Macbeth is already written, Thane of Glamis, a loyal soldier, the true
son of the kingdom. As opposed to this, a child's world is full of possibility. The witches thus invite Macbeth into this world of
possibility where his story is not yet over. 

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4/13/23, 12:41 PM Macbeth Analysis

Moreover, it was Macbeth's 'great defence' but Duncan's kingdom, Macbeth's victory but Duncan's joy. Upon meeting Ross, Ross
Macbeth
uses the pronouns Analysis
'thy' and 'thine' to exalt and dignify Macbeth but 'he' and 'his' for Duncan. The juxtaposition of pronouns
between Macbeth and Duncan was intrinsic to the verse. Combined with this is the idea that 'more is thy due than more all than
pay.' Duncan being an ideal christian king sends Generals to fight his battles for him—Macbeth could not help escape the feeling
that he was being short paid. He was after all the master of events, 'thy personal venture.'

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