Macbeth by William Shakespeare
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Macbeth, a play by William Shakespeare written sometime between 1603-1606, is a tragic story of death and deceit amongst the noblemen of Scotland. The two main characters are Macbeth, Thane of Glamis and his wife Lady Macbeth. The play is based around the conflict in Scotland at the time between the King and rebellious Scotsmen, who were overcome single-handedly by Macbeth on the side of the King, Duncan. Macbeth and his fellow kinsman Banquo were met on a heath by three witches who prophesised Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor, and later King of Scotland. When he later learned he had been made Thane of Cawdor for his service to the crown, he believed that it was the work of the witches. However, rather than leaving it to the witches, Macbeth decided he would have to kill the king himself if he wanted the crown, fulfilling his ambition. Therefore, with the influence and assistance of his wife, he eventually murdered King Duncan, with himself then becoming king. He is r! esultantly guilt ridden, but his wife is very calm and accepts no responsibility for Duncan?s death. The tables turn later on in the play though, with Macbeth continuing his killing to gain more power and becoming more independent from his wife, eventually leading to her going mad and committing suicide. This play and the topics explored within it were very relevant to the time in which it was written. Practising witchcraft became an executable offence in 1604, so the witches in the play would have caused quite some controversy. Regicide, the murder of a king or queen, was also an extremely serious crime as the king was believed to have been chosen by God, so to kill the king was to act against God and also nature. Today it is still the only executable offence in the United Kingdom. The King of England when the play was written, James I, was interested in the supernatural. He also survived an assassination attempt in his youth and had an ancestor named Banquo, who was historically evil but was made good in Shakespeare?s play. All of these aspects of the play would have appealed to King James which implies it may have been written for him. The whole idea of rebellion and deceit is also linked to more topical events of the time, namely the gunpowder plot of 1605 when an attemp! t was made to blow up the Houses Of Parliament.
Act 1 Scene 1 of the play sets the scene with a very short, mysterious gathering of the three witches. They appear suddenly, in mid-conversation, which is dramatic and creates unclear ideas about the dubious topics of conversation. This in turn creates an air of tension, suspicion and an ominous atmosphere. The presence of thunder and lightning is a symbol of evil and creates a more hostile atmosphere. This suggests that the rest of the play will be full of deceit; revenge; anger and pain, implying the play will be a tragedy. This scene creates a sense of mystery and intrigue, and as the scene is short, there is little evidence to go on, so there is nothing about which the audience can be decisive or certain. As far as what we learn about Macbeth goes, we know that the witches plan to meet Macbeth later in the play on the same heath as they are in this scene. We also learn that there will be some sort of battle from which Macbeth will emerge victorious. They show this in the! ir conversation: ??When the battle?s lost, and won? This shows that one side, (as we later learn the rebellious Scots led by Macdonald) will emerge losers and the other (Macbeth) will emerge victorious. This is speaking in a contradictory way, and makes use of antithesis. This has relevance to many instances later in the play where characters have contradictory thoughts. Antithesis is used again in this scene in the ultimate stanza, the witches chant a warning: ??Fair is foul, and foul is fair, Hover through the fog and filthy air? This implies that appearances are deceptive, and it creates a sense of mystery and encourages thought as to what significance this may hold for later in the play. As it is a rhyming couplet, it is more memorable and dramatically effective to the audience. The confused messages it conveys provoke deep thought amongst the members of the audience. This scene is similar to an introduction or prologue to a novel.
Act 1, Scene 2 of the play is the ?real? beginning. The audience hears about the gruesome way in which Macbeth slaughtered the opposing Scotsmen, led by Macdonald. In this scene, a wounded soldier who comes fresh from battle glorifies Macbeth: he is credited to the entire defeat of the Scots single-handed. The audience builds a picture of Macbeth as a very brave, courageous fighter and leader in battle. The King of Scotland, Duncan, also values Macbeth very highly, which leads to his becoming Thane of Cawdor. Duncan shows his gratitude to Macbeth during the soldier?s account of the battle: ??O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!? This shows that the king regards Macbeth so highly he sees him as a relative. He sees him as a brave and loyal soldier; a heroic fighter. However, Macbeth appears quite ruthless, and he seems to have no conscience when fighting for his king. He gives the impression of being a little arrogant and ostentatious. This is evident particularly in the brutal way in which he slaughtered Macdonald, as described by the wounded soldier: ??Till he unseamed him from the nave to th? chops, And fixed his head upon our battlements? This shows that Macbeth is a cold-hearted predator when it comes to battle. Here, Macbeth is not at all troubled by the blood he has shed. This is notably comparable to Act 2, Scene 2 where he is the complete opposite, plagued with guilt over his murderous actions where the blood symbolises guilt. In turn, both relate back to Act 1, Scene 1 and the prediction of contradiction later in the play. After this scene, the feelings of the audience about Macbeth are that he is a noble, loyal servant to the king, who goes fearlessly into battle, and would die for his cause. He does, however, appear much more brutal and violent than first imagined. This scene also reinforces the witches? prophecy that they would meet Macbeth on the heath once the battles are over and he emerges victorious. However brutal he may appear though, the audience gets the impression that he is a very loyal servant, and is a very trustworthy character. Act 1, Scene 3 is a very significant part of the play and has an adverse effect on the remainder of it. This is the scene first prophesised in Act 1, Scene 1 where the witches say they will meet Macbeth. Towards the beginning of this scene, we learn that the witches are in fact evil. One of them punishes a woman who refused to give her a chestnut by creating a storm for the woman?s husband at sea. All three witches get pleasure out of this evil. There is also an indication that they may have some kind of supernatural powers, as they have a cut-off thumb, which they claim is from the husband of the