Shakespeare’s views and values:
THEMES, SYMBOLS AND MOTIFS
 It is important to consider what statements
Shakespeare is making about humanity through
Macbeth.
 What views and values does he show through the play?
 When discussing the themes and ideas of the play, you
must discuss them as Shakespeare’s views and values.
VIEWS AND VALUES
 Shakespeare suggests that it is wrong to seek greater
power than the position that is given to you in the
social order.
 He reveals that ambition to overthrow authority will
eventually lead to destruction.
Macbeth
 is “brave” and “valiant”, not naturally inclined to commit
evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power.
 Macbeth makes his changing morality clear by asking in
an aside for the “stars to hide their fires” should they
reveal his dark and deadly purpose or intent to kill King
Duncan. (Act 1 Scene 4 Ln 52)
 Spurred on by Lady Macbeth, his “vaulting ambition”
quickly goes out of control.
 His paranoia about being caught and desire to maintain
leads him to further murders, until he loses all sign of a
moral conscience and appears to have gone mad with
power.
Lady Macbeth
 More determined than Macbeth, she goes to the extent
of calling on evil spirits to allow her to obtain her goals.
 Lady Macbeth leads her husband on mercilessly to kill
Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder’s
aftermath.
 However, she is eventually driven to distraction by the
effect of Macbeth’s repeated bloodshed on her
conscience and she cannot withstand the consequences
of what she has done.
 She is also driven insane, but ends up taking her own
life.
Quotes:
 If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown
me, without my stir (Macbeth, Act I, Scene 3).
 Macbeth hopes in an aside that fate not murder, may
bring him his kingdom instead.
 I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only
vaulting ambition, which o’er-leaps itself and falls on
the other. (Macbeth, Act I, Scene 7).
 Macbeth has nothing but his ambition to drive him to
commit the deed and act rashly.
VIEWS AND VALUES
 Shakespeare suggests that deception is an undeniable
part of society.
 By showing how deception brings Macbeth’s
destruction, he makes clear his value that people
should be honest and match their actions to their
words.
 The idea of things not being as they appear is shown
through:
 The ambiguous statements and prophecies of the witches.
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They actively confuse Macbeth, at Hecate’s orders.
The Thane of Cawdor is identified as a traitor,
demonstrating that traitors are common (the title is
ironically awarded to Macbeth, foreshadowing his future)
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth- both try to hide their inner
desires and put on the appearance of loyalty to Duncan;
they continue to disguise their actions.
Duncan cannot see past people’s outwards appearances.
Nothing is but what is not
 The idea of things not being as they appear is shown
through:
 Macbeth is eventually destroyed through the false hope
offered by the apparitions prophecies.
 There are many references to people wearing clothing that
does not fit them. (“Now does he feel his title/Hang loose
about him, like a giant’s robe /Upon a dwarfish thief” )
 There are many references to people wearing masks.
Fair is foul and foul is fair. (Witches, Act I, Sc 1)
The witches comment on what is going to happen. What looks beautiful
is ugly and what seems evil is good. This sets the tone for the play.
Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t. (Lady Macbeth,
Act I, Sc 5)
Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to appear as if he is still the loyal servant
of the king, trustworthy and loyal, and strike when he least expects it.
There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face (Duncan, Act I,
Scene 4)
A naive comment, and ironic, given the fate of Duncan. He believes that
it is easy to see a man’s true self by looking into his face.
.
 Away and mock the time with fairest show,
False face must hide what the false heart doth know
(Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7)
Macbeth knows he must conceal his crimes.
 There’s daggers in men’s smiles (Donalbain, Act II, Scene 3)
After learning of his father’s death, Donalbain does not trust
those ‘loyal servants’ around him
VIEWS AND VALUES
 Shakespeare shows that when someone is tempted by
evil, they should turn away rather than engage in it.
 He also suggests that good will triumph over evil.
 Evil actions will upset the natural order of the world.
 When meeting the witches, Macbeth is quickly “rapt
withall” and becomes completely absorbed by their
prophecies.
 However, Banquo’s response is to not become involved.
 “But ‘tis strange! And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with
honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence.”
 Lady Macbeth calls upon the powers of evil to give her
the strength to follow through on her plans.
 Throughout the play, we see Macbeth and his wife in a
constant struggle between the ‘good’ and ‘evil’; within
themselves.
 After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth believes he has
committed his soul to hell and can “sleep no more.”
 Macbeth’s actions become increasingly horrific and he
is described as a “hell-hound”.
 Macbeth’s qualities as an evil tyrant are clearly
compared to the kingly qualities of a good king shown
by Malcolm and also the King of England.
Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human
kindness (Lady Macbeth, Act I, Scene 5)
Lady Macbeth fears that her husband’s conscience and
humanity will prevent him from committing the
crime.
Come thick night, and pall in the dunnest smoke of Hell,
that my keen knife not see the wound it makes not
heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, to cry,
“Hold, hold!” (Lady Macbeth, Act 1, scene 5)
Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts! Unsex me
here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of
direst cruelty. (Lady Macbeth, Act I, Scene 5).
“Not in the legions/ of horrid hell can come a devil more
damned/In evils, to top Macbeth.” (Macduff, Act 4, scene 3)
VIEWS AND VALUES
 Shakespeare makes it clear that a king must have
honourable qualities or “king-becoming graces”.
 A true king rules for the good of their subjects, not for
their own power.
 Violence is necessary to defend the state, but violence
used for personal gain is a misuse of power and has
terrible consequences.
 Duncan is always referred to as a ‘king’, while Macbeth
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soon becomes known as the ‘tyrant’.
When Malcolm tests Macduff ‘s loyalty in Act 4, he
makes clear the kingly qualities: “Justice, Verity
(honesty)... Mercy... Devotion... Courage” (IV, iii, 90-93)
These qualities are displayed through the actions of
Duncan and Malcolm, but Macbeth shows the opposite.
Macbeth brings only chaos and death to Scotland,
symbolized in the bad weather and bizarre supernatural
events, his violence is not just, but power-mad!
The violence of the battles in Act 1 and Act 5 is justified.
When Malcolm regains his position as King, order is
quickly restored.
A symbol is something which represents a more
important idea or concept. Motifs are symbols that
occur frequently in a text.
The motifs in Macbeth are:
 Blood
 Nature and the weather
 Darkness and Light
 Sleep
 In Macbeth, sleep often symbolises death, illness and
relates strongly to both guilt and betrayal.
 In Act 2, Banquo is troubled by the three witches’ prophecy
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and tells Macbeth this, referring to difficulty sleeping.
Learning from Banquo that King Duncan is asleep,
Macbeth, alone, follows an imaginary dagger to King
Duncan’s bedchamber where he will kill him in his sleep.
Macbeth fears that he won’t sleep again, because only the
innocent sleep.
After Banquo’s murder (and Macbeth’s vision of the ghost ),
Macbeth’s wife comforts him and suggests that he rest to
recover himself.
When Lady Macbeth is nearing her death, she becomes so
overcome by her guilt that she is unable to sleep, or walks in
her sleep.
 Blood is everywhere in Macbeth, beginning with the
opening battle between the Scots and the Norwegian
invaders, which is described in harrowing terms by the
wounded captain in Act I, scene 2
 Once Macbeth and Lady Macbeth embark upon their
murderous journey, blood comes to symbolise their
guilt, and they begin to feel that their crimes have
stained them in a way that cannot be washed clean.
 In Macbeth, much of the plot revolves around disorder
and chaos, whether the characters or audience realize
it or not.
 Because of the constant struggle for power in the play,
the nation is always at risk of disorder. If a strong
leader is not present, many things can go wrong very
easily and very quickly.
 Disorder causes problems for many people, the king
included. Signs of disorder include a solar eclipse, an
owl killing a falcon, and Duncan’s horses running wild
and eating each other.
 This is symbolic of the imbalance of order in society.
 Macbeth’s grotesque murder spree is accompanied by a
number of unnatural occurrences in the natural realm.
 From the thunder and lightning that accompany the
witches’ appearances to the terrible storms that rage
on the night of Duncan’s murder, these violations of
the natural order reflect corruption in the moral and
political orders.
 The appearance of these storms represent impending
doom. Thunder also foreshadows the three witches
appearance.