9. Macbeth

MacbethJon Finch and Francesca Annis in The Tragedy of Macbeth by Roman Polanski, 1971

1. Main characteristics

• The shortest of Shakespeare’s

tragedies.

• Complex psychological analysis of

what takes place in the mind of the

criminal.

Macbeth

James Heath, I have done the deed, 1888. Kansas City, Carbonell-Weinglass Collection.

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• No villain pitted against the hero.

• Macbeth begins as a brave warrior but, led by ambition,

he chooses evil and becomes a murderous tyrant

parable of the tragic hero.

1. Main characteristics

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2. Dramatic structure

Introduction

Rising action

Climax

Falling action

Conclusion

Symmetrical development

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Introduction

The first two scenes: the appearance of the three witches and the news of Macbeth’s bravery in battle

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The three Witches in Macbeth by John Barnes, 1964




Rising action

Macbeth meets the three witches: their prophecy begins to work on his

ambition. He kills Duncan.

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Climax

Banquo’s murder (Act III, Scene 3)

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Falling action

Fleance’s escape the banquet scene arousing of Macduff Macbeth retreats to Dunsinane Castle

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Thèodore Chassèriau (1819-1856), Macbeth seeing the ghost of Banquo, 1854. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Reims



Conclusion

Final fall and death of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth

Macbeth


Henry Fuseli, Lady Macbeth sleepwalking, 1798, Musée du Louvre.Only Connect ... New Directions

3. Themes

a.

b.

Regicide brings chaos

Reversal of values:

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair”

(the three witches)

Macbeth

Henry Fuseli, Macbeth, Banquo and the Three Witches, 1793. Petworth House, National Trust.


3. Themes

c. Equivocation and false appearance chain of metaphors connected with clothing.

Macbeth

Gabriele Lavia in Macbeth, 2009


3. Themes

d. Future time cluster of imagery concerned with growth: babies, seeds, plants, trees.

Macbeth

Gabriele Lavia in Macbeth, 2009 Only Connect ... New Directions

4. Features of a tragic hero

1.

2.

3.

Nobility of birth or wisdom.

A flaw, either a mistake in the character’s actions or in his personality that leads to a downfall.

A reversal of fortune caused by his flaw.

Macbeth


4. Features of a tragic hero

4.

5.

The realization that the reversal was brought about by the hero's own actions.

The audience has to feel pity and fear (catharsis) for the character.

Macbeth


Blank verse is basically unrhymed iambic pentameter:

“Macbeth does murther Sleep, - the innocent Sleep;

Sleep,that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care”

(Act II, Scene 2)

5. Style• Use of blank verse.

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• Inclusion, within the verbal structure of verse, of metrical

space for other, non-verbal signs.

• If one character ends his speech without finishing his line

verse, the following speaker completes that line.

5. Style

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• similes“The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures” (Act II, Scene 2)

• metaphors “Life’s but a walking shadow”

(Act V, Scene 5)

• symbols “the innocent Sleep”“A little water clears us of this deed” (Act II, Scene 2)

5. Style• A striking use of imagery:

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“This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air

Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself

Unto our gentle senses” (Act I, Scene 6)

5. Style• Use of dramatic irony:

Duncan’s appreciation of the beauty of Macbeth’s castle

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6. The charactersMacbeth

Macbeth

Jon Finch in The Tragedy of Macbeth by Roman Polanski, 1971


• suppresses her natural instinct to plan the murder

• strong-willed, supports Macbeth in his weakness

• devoted to her husband, she ends up in madness.

6. The charactersLady Macbeth

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6. The characters

King Duncan

• peaceful and refined

• shows poor judgement of human nature

Banquo

• a contrast to Macbeth in his modesty

• does not follow temptation like Macbeth

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6. The characters

Macduff

• becomes important after Banquo’s murder

• noble, loyal, patriotic

Malcom

• Duncan’s son

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• The three witches and their prophecies lead Macbeth to success.

• The chaos of nature on the night of Duncan’s murder.

• Banquo’s ghost.

7. The supernatural

Macbeth

Henry Fuseli, The Three Witches, 1788, Zurich, KunsthausOnly Connect ... New Directions

• The apparitions with their prophecies (Act IV, Scene 1):

7. The supernatural

o the helmeted head represents Macbeth himself

o the bloody child represents Macduff

o the crowned child bearing a tree represents Malcom

• The air-drawn dagger guiding Macbeth against his victims.

Macbeth


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9. Macbeth