Macbeth Overview
(Compiled notes from Penguin Classics and Utah Shakespeare Festival)
"Macbeth is the story of a man, Macbeth, whose ambition runs wild. To become
King he first kills the current king, Duncan. Then he kills the king's guards in an attempt
to pin the murder on them. He then plots to murder a nobleman, Banquo, and his son,
Fleance, because three witches have predicted that Banquo's off-spring will become king.
After Banquo is slain, Macbeth thinks he sees Banquo's ghost at a banquet. Later he has
the wife and children of a general, Macduff, slain after the three witches warn him to
beware Macduff. Before the play ends, Macbeth kills Siward, a supporter of Macduff, in
battle. Finally, in the last act, Macbeth battles Macduff who slays him and displays
Macbeth's "cursed head" for all to see. This is the story of how one murder begets another
and how one man's ambitions plague a nation."
The four themes of most interest are: things are not what they seem, blind ambition,
power corrupts, and superstition affects human behavior.
The History and Curse of Macbeth
In 1606, following the death of Queen Elizabeth, William Shakespeare wrote a
play for his new patron, James I (James VI of Scotland); and, being the smart playwright
and businessman he was, he chose subjects he knew would interest the king. James had
published a treatise called Deamonology and was particularly concerned with the threat
of witchcraft; and the Stuarts, of which James was the ninth to assume the throne, had
descended from Scotland. Consequently, Shakespeare’s new play, Macbeth, is full of
themes of witchcraft and Scottish genealogy.
Interestingly, Banquo is James’s ancestor. Shakespeare’s scene where the witches
prophesy to Banquo: “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none,” was a reference to
James. There are many other instances throughout the play that mention Banquo’s
descendants assuming the throne. The Witch/Apparition sequence where eight
descendants of Banquo are shown with crowns was a direct reference to the ninth
descendant, James, who was watching the play. All of these were for the sake of James’s
patronage.
The play itself tells the story of a man, urged by his wife and foretold by
prophecy, who commits regicide in order to gain power. For a source, Shakespeare turned
to Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland(1587), finding
therein the basic facts about Macbeth and Banquo. Like many of Shakepeare’s plays, he
combined the events of two different stories to create the character Macbeth. In
Holinshed’s history a figure named Donwald murdered King Duff while the king was
safely sleeping in Donwald’s castle, “though he abhorred the act greatly in heart, yet
through instigation of his wife he cut his throat while he lay sleeping.” Shakespeare
combined this tale with the story of Makbeth, a valiant and courageous general (who was
a contemporary of Edward the Confessor, 1042–1066). The witches, their prophecies, the
death of a King Duncan brought with the urging of a power-hungry wife, Banquo’s
friendship and his death, even the climatic ending with Birnam Wood marching on the
castle and Macduff proclaiming that he “was never born of my mother, but ripped out of
her womb,” are all contained within the Holinshed history. Shakespeare combined these
historical events with poetry and philosophy, immortalizing the tragic tale of Macbeth.
Some literary historians will argue that Shakepeare wrote Macbeth with actual witches’
spells. The spells, the dark nature of the play, and some of the mishaps surrounding
various productions of Macbeth have created a superstitious belief surrounding the. Some
believe it is “cursed” and that belief has created a theatrical tradition: any mention of the
play’s name is considered bad luck. It is frequently called the “Scottish play” instead of
Macbeth. Tradition declares that any actor who mentions or quotes it must leave the
room, turn round three times, spit, and knock, humbly begging pardon for the
transgression. This will remove the curse. Even among actors who take care, the curse
has a way of striking. Stories abound of accident-prone productions. These stories of
course perpetuate the belief that Macbeth is cursed.
Who’s Who in Macbeth
Duncan, king of Scotland: The father of Malcolm and Donalbain, Duncan was a good
king under whom the kingdom apparently flourished; however, his life was cut short by
the murderous Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
Malcolm: The eldest son of King Duncan and brother of Donalbain, he flees Scotland
after his father’s murder, placing suspicion initially upon himself, rather than Macbeth.
Donalbain: The son of King Duncan and brother of Malcolm.
Macbeth: The husband of Lady Macbeth, a general in the army, and later the king of
Scotland. He holds the title of thane of Glamis before the play begins and is named thane
of Cawdor for his valor on the battlefield. However, he is also ambitious and becomes
murderous when he sees his way (helped by his wife) to fulfill the witches’ prophecies
and become king.
Banquo: The father of Fleance and a faithful general in the Scottish army, Banquo
initially is a good friend of Macbeth, but becomes an object of Macbeth’s wrath when it
appears he or his children could interfere with Macbeth’s tenuous grasp on the throne. He
is murdered by command of Macbeth because the witches prophesy his children will be
kings.
Macduff: A Scottish nobleman, Macduff becomes increasingly suspicious of Macbeth,
eventually mounting an uprising against the new king. In the end, it is Macduff that kills
Macbeth in battle.
Lennox: A Scottish nobleman
Ross: A Scottish nobleman faithful to Duncan and Macduff.
Fleance: Son of Banquo, Fleance escapes Macbeth’s murderous rampage and flees to
England.
Siward, earl of Northumberland: General of the English forces, Siward teams up with
Malcolm and Macduff in their fight against Macbeth.
Young Siward: The son of Siward.
Seyton: An officer attending on Macbeth
Lady Macbeth: In contrast to her husband who initially resists his murderous impulses,
Lady Macbeth, possessed by driving ambition seems to embrace them immediately.
However, guilt and remorse eventually emotionally unhinge her and she dies, probably
by her own hand.
Lady Macduff: The wife of Macduff, she and all her children are killed by the nowruthless Macbeth.
Three Witches: Referred to as the “weird sisters,” witches, and sometimes old hags,
these three mysterious beings plant the seeds of murder and ambition in Macbeth, when
they prophesy that he will become king. Some critics claim that they represent fate and
that they truly prophecy, leaving Macbeth no choice in his actions. Others say that they
are simply a catalyst for the brutality to come.
Literary Devices -Shakespeare used literary devices he knew his Renaissance audience
would appreciate.
(1) Allusions - Shakespeare used both mythological and Biblical allusions. For example,
the sergeant compares a bloody scene of death on the battlefield to Golgotha which is the
place of Christ's death in the New Testament (I,ii.).
One of the mythological allusions is Macduff's comparing the dead Duncan to a Gorgon
of Greek mythology which could turn a person to stone because of the terror evoked
(II,iii).
(2) Figurative Language - Shakespeare's mastery of language is exemplified through his
use of imagery such as similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration, and symbols.
Similes
(Flower imagery)
Look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under it. (I,v)
(Disguise)
Your face, my Thane, is as a book where men
May read strange matters. (I,v)
Metaphors
(Planting imagery)
I have begun to plant thee, and will labor
To make thee full of growing. (I,iv)
(Clothing imagery)
Why do you dress me
In borrowed robes? (I,iii)
Personification
If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me,
Without my stir (I,iii)
Was the hope drunk
Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since? (I,vii)
Alliteration
But now I am cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in
To saucy doubts and fears. (III, iv)
Symbol
Before reading the play, relate symbols to the plot, characters, and themes of Macbeth.
For example, the presence of birds is one aspect of nature which symbolizes the theme of
superstitions/omens. When Duncan and Banquo note that Macbeth's castle enjoys the
good omen of nesting martlets, the audience already realizes the danger Duncan will be
facing if he spends the night at Inverness (I,v). Therefore, the "fair" omen is to become
"foul." Discuss how this symbol is employed by Shakespeare to advance the theme and
plot of Macbeth.
Others you might choose to locate and discuss are: water/washing ("A little water
clears us of this deed," II,ii), blood ("Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean
from my hand? II,ii), weather ("Hover through the fog and filthy air," I,i) clothing
("borrowed robes" worn by the Thane of Cawdor, (I,iii), sleep ("Not so sick, my lord, as
she is troubled with thick-coming fancies that keep her from her rest," V,iii).
(3) Foreshadowing - Macbeth provides an excellent opportunity for teaching or
reinforcing the literary device of foreshadowing. The witches set the tone in Act I, scene
1 with a storm and predictions that Macbeth's life will become so confused he will find it
difficult to differentiate between right and wrong (fair and foul), and their later
predictions foreshadow a downfall the audience is aware of long before Macbeth is
willing to accept their implications. For example: (a) The play opens with thunder and
lightning as three witches enter. What does this tell about the mood of the play? Is this
play going to be a tragedy or a comedy? (b) What do the witches mean when they say,
"Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (I,i)? What does this tell you about what is likely to go on
during the play? (c) If you were going to stage this scene, what would your set look like?
(4) Dramatic Irony - Shakespeare's audience enjoyed being informed of events before
the characters were aware of the implications. The example given above of Macbeth's
lack of awareness of his new title, Thane of Cawdor, is a good illustration. Another is
Duncan commenting on the pleasantness of Macbeth's castle while the audience knows
the Macbeths have just planned his murder to take place there that very night (I,vi.).
The most powerful examples of dramatic irony include Macbeth's acceptance of the
apparitions' seeming assurances that no man "of woman born shall harm Macbeth" and
that he is safe until Birnam Woods move. Macbeth continues to feel confident of his
safety even though the audience, through dramatic irony, has seen the equivocations of
the witches long before Macbeth realizes them.
Prose
Prose is the form of speech used by common people in Shakespearean drama. There is no
rhythm or meter in the line. It is everyday language. Shakespeare’s audiences would recognize the speech as their language. When a character in a play speaks in prose, you
know that he is a lower class member of society. These are characters such as murderers,
servants, and porters. However, many important characters can speak in prose. The
majority of The Merry Wives of Windsor is written in prose because it deals with the
middle-class. The porter from Macbeth speaks in prose.
For example:
Porter: “Here’s a knocking indeed! If a man were a porter of hell-gate, he
should have old turning the key. [Knocking] Knock, Knock, Knock. Who’s there i’ the
name of Beelzebub?”
The porter, the keeper of the door to Macbeth’s castle, is awakened in a drunk and salty
state. He talks about being in charge of the gate of hell and asks who is at the door “in the
name of the Devil!” Because there is no rhyme or rhythm, and the text flows without
concern of where the line ends on the page, we recognize the passage as prose.
Consequently, we can tell that the porter is a commoner who speaks with the language of
an Elizabethan audience member.
Verse
The majority of Shakespeare’s plays are written in verse. A character which speaks in
verse is a noble or a member of the upperclass. Most of Shakespeare’s plays focused on
these characters. The verse form he uses is blank verse. It contains no rhyme, but each
line has an internal rhythm with a regular rhythmic pattern. The pattern most favored by
Shakespeare is iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is defined as a ten syllable line
with the accent on the every other syllable, beginning with the second one.
For example:
Macbeth: “Away and mock the time with fairest show:
False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”
The accent occurs on every other syllable, and the natural accent of each word is placed
in that position on the line.
At times, Shakespeare found it necessary to take a vowel out of a word so that the rhythm
of the line would not be interrupted.
For example, damn’d is pronounced as one syllable
Macbeth: “Infected be the air whereon they ride;
And damn’d be them that trust them! I did hear”
Shakespeare used this style of writing as a form of stage direction. Actors today can tell
by “scanning” a line (scansion) what words are most important and how fast to say a line.
When two characters are speaking they will finish the ten syllables needed for a line
showing that one line must quickly come on top of another. Iambic pentameter has been
called a “heart beat,” and each of Shakespeare’s lines contains that human beat.
For example:
Lady Macbeth: “I heard the owl scream and the cricket cry.
Did not you speak?
Macbeth: When?
Lady Macbeth: Now.
Macbeth: As I descended?
Trochaic Verse
On some special occasions Shakespeare uses another form of verse. He reverses the
accent and shortens the line. The reversed accent, with the accent on the first syllable is
called trochaic. He uses this verse frequently in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and in
Macbeth where magic or ritual is involved. The witches speak in trochaic, which is
different from the earthly mortals, giving them an unnatural sound.
For example:
Witch: “Round about the cauldron go;
In the Poisoned entrails throw.”
When reading or acting a Shakespearean play, count the syllables in the lines. You will
be surprised at Shakespeare’s consistency. You will notice that he placed the most
important words on the accent. Words like “the,” “is,” and “and” that don’t carry the
meaning are on the unaccented portion of the lines. In the Globe Theatre where there
were no microphones, the more important words would carry and an audience member
would still know what was going on because the important words were heard.
Quote Analysis – You will analyze one quote per act in your journal following the
format below. The quotes chosen should reflect the development of plot, character, and
theme.
1. Speaker
2. To whom the character is speaking
3. Situation (and its significance to plot development)
4. Interpretation (include any literary devices, etc.)
Example analysis
“If you can look into the seeds of time,
And say which grain will grow and which will not,
Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear
Your favors nor your hate.” (I,iii)
1. Banquo
2. To the witches
3. The witches have given Macbeth the good news that he will be king
4. Banquo expresses a curiosity to hear his own future (the metaphor of the "seeds of
time") but, unlike Macbeth, shows neither fear nor great desire to receive special
concessions from these women.