Tragic downfall of Macbeth
Shakespeare in his tragedy “Macbeth” uses the dramatic conventions of the Elizabethan era
and the elements of drama to highlight the fall of the tragic hero, Macbeth/Lady Macbeth. It
is through the conventions of soliloquy, aside, poetic language, the five act structure and
minimal stage settings, props and lighting that the guilt ridden, conscience of Macbeth leads
to his inevitable downfall. The historical and cultural context (values and beliefs) of the time
also play an important role as the ‘washing of hands’ becomes the symbol of the times –
those with blood on their hands (a guilty conscience) cannot sleep. Shakespeare cleverly
positions his audience through the elements of drama and the convention of dramatic prose
to reinforce themes and the nature of the tragic hero, this can be seen in Act V, scene i.
Lady Macbeth’s sleeping walking is causing concern in the household. She can no longer
hide her guilt as the fears of the mind are free to surface in sleep. The scene has a special
function in the play as a whole; the guilt that drives Macbeth to blood lust has no outlet for
Lady Macbeth and drives her insane. Previous to this, Shakespeare allows the audience to
feel little sympathy for Lady Macbeth; however, the loneliness of her sleeping madness and
the sheer intensity of the scene, where the audience are watchers with the Doctor and
Nurse, sympathising with Lady Macbeth and gaining a deeper insight into the personal hell
of Macbeth. The lust for power and the repercussions leave them both locked in a
nightmare of guilt. The symbol of the ‘dagger’ of ambition drives into her mind, where she
dwells on it to the point of insanity, he in contrast refuses to think much about it but lets the
‘dagger’ take other forms.
The mood of the scene is one of spiralling helplessness, the world descending into chaos.
Order has decayed. It is the scene which heralds the impending doom of civil war. Also, the
loving relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, fear and guilt driving them apart,
both tormented by their inescapable past. There is a sense of unreality when contrasted with
the earlier scenes with Lady Macbeth, where she has total control. (Act I (vii); Act IV (i))
Shakespeare has written the scene in prose intensifying its psychological realism allowing
for a freer interpretation to suggest insanity. Prose is often used by Shakespeare when the
magic hero is close to self realisation. The poetic form is restored to the scene in the last
nine lines, where the formality of iambic pentameter gives weigh to the Doctor’s utterances
and by its very form gives inevitability to Lady Macbeth’s release through death.
In keeping with Elizabethan staging conventions, stage furniture is kept to a minimum (the
bed uc only), thus keeping the emphasis on characters or in this case the character, Lady
Macbeth. Lighting should not change, but be fairly dim in intensity with a suggestion of night
shadows that Lady Macbeth moves through.
It is Macbeth’s vaulting ambition which destroys him, leading him along a path of personal
hell to his tragic end. It is suggested that as long as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are
masters; even kill children who symbolise the life blood of a nation they will be victorious. It
is this misplaced ambition which leads Macbeth to a barren and sterile victory. Macbeth tries
to manipulate his destiny; this is against the idea of fate in Elizabethan times. Lady Macbeth
manipulates Macbeth by dividing his manhood. Act I (Vii). Outward appearances can be
deceptive; Lady Macbeth and Macbeth live a lie, for example the banquet scene. The
banquet symbolises harmony and growth among man, which in this case is a prelude to
murder, treachery, and disunity. Food and sleep in correct order meant harmony for
Elizabethans, Act II (ii); Act III (iv) Act II (iii). At the beginning of the text Macbeth has the
regard of all as the heroic thane and at the end he is shown no love or respect, there is a
great mistrust amongst his countrymen. Act IV (iii).
A theme in all Shakespearean tragedies; the natural order of things, has been over thrown,
(divine night of kings) Act II (iv), Act III (vi), Act IV (iii). Chaos is symbolised by natural
elements, for example, the storm before Duncan’s murder, disturbance of nature reflected
disturbance of political sphere, nightmares, violence, and murder. The supernatural was
very important to the Elizabethan audiences; a ghost could not rest (until justice was done to
his murderer). A ghost could appear at will to whom they wished. Witches symbolised evil
and chaos.
Shakespeare extensively used the dramatic conventions of soliloquy and asides to highlight
the impending doom of his hero. The audience through Macbeth’s soliloquies see the inner
conflict and turmoil of his fatal flaw, ambition in a clear light. The soliloquies build the
dramatic tension and give focus to the characters inner thoughts and emotions. The tension
builds as Macbeth soliloquises about daggers, death, destruction and finally the futilities of
life itself – “out-out brief candle”.
Shakespeare cleverly uses the elements of drama to build tension through giving focus t the
nature of the tragic hero. He achieves this through the element of language (dramatic
prose), the development of symbol and mood and the contrast of character emotion. The
dramatic conventions of the Elizabethan era (soliloquy, aside, minimal stage set and five act
structure) al serve to support the historical and cultural context of the times, thus highlighting
the values and beliefs of the era and serving to build the dramatic tension.