macbeth themes

• role of male and female
• religion
• murder
• inability to say sorry
• suicide
• divine right of kings
• supernatural
• great chain of being
• king James
• guy fawkes
• ambition and power
• appearances and reality

Shakespeare set Macbeth in the distant past and in a part of Britain that few of his audience would have been familiar with. Scotland is shown as a wild and savage place ruled over by a weak king (Duncan) who relies on his warrior thanes to keep control. However, through the character of Macbeth, Shakespeare goes on to show that having too much ambition and total control of power is just as bad. By the end of the play Malcolm has become King and it seems likely that he will be much fairer and treat his people justly.

In Macbeth, William Shakespeare examines the good and bad aspects of ambition and power. Some of the key aspects are:

• the fatal flaw
• leadership
• greed

In a tragic play, the fatal flaw refers to the basic mistake in the central character's personality which drives their actions. Macbeth is basically a good man who goes wrong. He is driven by a need for power which eventually sets him on a path to his own destruction. His wife shares this fatal flaw with him. I have no spur / To ***** the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on th'other -- / [Enter Lady Macbeth] / How now? What news? (Act 1 Scene 7) Macbeth has been thinking about whether or not he should murder Duncan. He reaches the conclusion that the only thing that is motivating him (his 'spur') is ambition which he compares to a horse leaping over an obstacle ('vaulting ambition'). As for the horse and rider, what is on the other side of the obstacle is unknown - it could, of course, be disaster. However, before Macbeth can complete the thought and turn away from the crime, he is interrupted by Lady Macbeth entering. Had she not appeared at this point, the outcome might have been different. In Macbeth, Shakespeare shows us three very different leaders. Duncan is not a good king as although he is kind and generous, he is weak. Macbeth is strong but becomes a bullying dictator. Malcolm seems to strike a healthy balance and combines the good qualities of both men. The king-becoming graces - / As justice, verity, temp'rance, stableness, / Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, / Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude - / I have no relish of them, but abound / In the division of each several crime, / Acting it many ways. (Act 4 Scene 3) Malcolm lists the qualities of a good king or leader when he is testing Macduff's loyalty. As part of the test Malcolm pretends that he has none of these qualities either. It is clear is that Macbeth does not have any of these virtues; if anything he displays the absolute opposites. Even his courage, clearly reported at the start of the play, has deserted him as he terrorises and murders those around him.

As part of Macbeth's ambition he becomes greedy and selfish. He cannot accept that Banquo's descendants will become kings after him and sets out to alter the prediction by having Banquo and Fleance murdered. He is even unprepared to share power with his wife as he puts her to one side, making secretive decisions and apparently not even caring when she dies. For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind; / For them, the gracious Duncan have I murdered, / Put rancours in the vessel of my peace, / Only for them, and mine eternal jewel / Given to the common enemy of man, / To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings. / Rather than so, come Fate into the list, / And champion me to th'utterance. (Act 3 Scene 1) As Macbeth completely believes the Witches' predictions he must also believe that Banquo's descendants will inherit the throne after him ('the seed of Banquo kings'). He thinks that everything he has done has ultimately been for their benefit ('For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind'); he has even put his soul ('mine eternal jewel') in danger. His greed means that he wishes to keep power for himself and his own family. So he concludes that the only way forward is to try to alter the prediction by murdering Banquo and Fleance.

In Shakespeare's time, the powers of evil were thought to be absolutely real; to most people Hell was an actual place and the Devil a constant threat to their souls. In particular there was a fascination with witches and witchcraft. Hundreds of innocent people (mostly women) were executed as suspected witches. The interest came from the very top, led by King James I himself who published a book on the subject called Demonology. When Shakespeare came to write his play, he knew that his audience would find the theme of evil and the supernatural very interesting indeed.

In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses evil and the supernatural as a background to all the events which take place. Some of the key aspects are:

• wicked thoughts and actions
• the activities of the Witches
• the disruption of nature

The Witches' predictions encourage Macbeth to think wicked thoughts and carry out evil deeds. As well as murder, Macbeth is also guilty of lying, deception, cowardice, seeking out further contact with evil forces, behaving brutally with both physical and verbal violence and showing a lack of love and concern for others. Present fears / Are less than horrible imaginings. / My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, / Shakes so my single state of man that function / Is smothered in surmise, and nothing is, / But what is not. (Act 1 Scene 3) Before the first murder of the play takes place there is a slow build up as Macbeth wrestles with his conscience. The wicked thoughts he has are almost worse than the actual deeds ('Present fears / Are less than horrible imaginings'). He becomes more concerned with what might happen rather than reality ('nothing is, but what is not') and uses evil methods to achieve his desires. Once Duncan's murder has taken place, a line has been crossed and further acts of wickedness keep on coming. The Witches' appearance at the start of the play in the middle of a thunderstorm (apparently of their own creation) sets the tone for what is to follow. As well as predicting the future, controlling the weather and casting evil spells, they also discuss the wicked acts they carry out against ordinary men and women. In a couple of scenes they interact with Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master o'th'Tiger: / But in a sieve I'll thither sail, / And like a rat without a tail, / I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do........ I'll drain him dry as hay: / Sleep shall neither night nor day / Hang upon his penthouse lid; / He shall live a man forbid. / Weary sennights nine times nine, / Shall he dwindle, peak and pine. (Act 1 Scene 3) One of the Witches describes how a sailor's wife has insulted her and how she plans to take her revenge ('I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do'). She plans to follow his ship (The Tiger) and drain the life out of him by not allowing him to sleep. She is going to keep this up for 567 days ('sennights nine times nine' or 7 × 9 × 9). As both Macbeth and, particularly, his wife discover, sleep deprivation is an awful punishment.

The opening of the play takes place in the middle of a thunderstorm. A further storm rages on the night of Duncan's murder and many highly unnatural occurrences are reported in Act 2 Scene 4. In the final scenes of the play, it seems that the trees have come to life as Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane and Macbeth is defeated by Macduff who was not naturally born. The night has been unruly: where we lay, / Our chimneys were blown down, and, as they say, / Lamentings heard i'th'air, strange screams of death / And prophesying with accents terrible / Of dire combustion and confused events, New hatched to th'woeful time. The obscure bird / Clamoured the livelong night. Some say, the Earth / Was feverous and did shake. (Act 2 Scene 3) Moments before Macduff announces the discovery of Duncan's dead body, Lennox talks about events that were occurring while the murder was taking place. These include strong winds, strange ghostly cries in the night, an owl screeching (thought to be a bad omen) and even an earthquake. The natural world has been disturbed and disrupted following the unnatural killing of a king.

In Macbeth, things are never quite what they seem. Characters say one thing yet mean something else and use euphemisms to hide reality. Wicked and violent acts such as murder are covered up or the blame is shifted onto someone else. The Witches mislead Macbeth, or they at least make suggestions which allow him to mislead himself. Ghosts, visions and apparitions occur regularly. All of these things contribute to the many contrasts which exist in the play; almost nothing is as it should be

In Macbeth, Shakespeare examines how appearances can be deceptive and that the reality behind them is often unpleasant. Some of the key aspects are:

• seeing things
• sleep and dreams
• fake hospitality

The play is full of spirits, ghosts, optical illusions and visions. While some of these are conjured up by the Witches, others are as a result of a guilty conscience following acts of wickedness. This is why Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are particularly affected. It is difficult for them to admit to others or even each other what is happening - this might mean they would be suspected of madness. Mine eyes are made the fools o'th'other senses, / Or else worth all the rest. I see thee still, / And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, / Which was not so before. There's no such thing: / It is the bloody business which informs / Thus to mine eyes. In one of the most famous scenes in the play, Macbeth sees a vision of a dagger just like the one he is about to use to kill king Duncan. Blood is covering the blade and the dudgeon. Lady Macbeth thinks her hands are covered in blood. Even though Macbeth cannot believe his eyes and in reality realises he is having an hallucination, he is still fascinated by the dagger's appearance After the murder of Duncan has taken place, both Macbeth and his wife have trouble sleeping and are tormented by guilty dreams. Lady Macbeth regularly sleepwalks and replays events in her mind as she tries to wipe away the memory of what she has done. Eventually she goes mad and she dies, probably by committing suicide. LADY MACBETH: The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands ne'er be clean? No more o'that, my lord, no more o'that. You mar all with this starting. DOCTOR: Go to, go to; You have known what you should not. GENTLEWOMAN: She has spoke what she should not, I am sure of that. Heaven knows what she has known. The Doctor and one of the ladies-in waiting observe Lady Macbeth as she sleepwalks and goes over events in her mind. She is thinking about the murders of Macduff's wife and of King Duncan and how Macbeth reacted when he saw Banquo's ghost. These events all become muddled together in one continuous speech which suggests that Lady Macbeth is losing her reason. The blood on her hands is, of course, not real but in her highly charged emotional state she imagines that it is. Her unconscious words and actions give her away to the people watching.

King Duncan is a guest in the Macbeth's home when they decide to murder him. Rather than look after him as good hosts should do they send him to his grave. Later in the play the Macbeths host a banquet for the other Thanes. They are not just being generous - their hidden agenda is to get the other nobles to support them. MACBETH: You know your own degrees, sit down; at first and last, the hearty welcome. [The LORDS sit] LORDS: Thanks to your majesty. MACBETH: Our self will mingle with society and play the humble host; our hostess keeps her state, but in best time we will require her welcome. LADY MACBETH: Pronounce it for me, sir, to all our friends for my heart speaks, they are welcome. (Act 3 Scene 4) Macbeth subtly reminds his guests that they all have a particular rank ('you know your own degrees') and that he is at the top as King. Cleverly he pretends to 'play the humble host' to make them less suspicious of his motives. The Macbeths appear to be putting on a show of solidarity for the Thanes. In fact Macbeth has just ordered the murder of one of them (Banquo) and has refused to tell his wife what he has been doing. Their words are very polite and apparently warm. The word 'welcome' appears three times which is almost overdoing it!