There Will Be Blood
(Macbeth Review)
Feraco
Search for Human Potential
20 January 2009
Macbeth in a Nutshell

“Know that your people will judge you on
what you can build, not what you destroy.
To those who cling to power through
corruption and deceit and the silencing of
dissent, know that you are on the wrong
side of history.”
The Inauguration
What is This Play About?
Five Main Points
(ILISE)
 History
 Contemporary
Concerns
 Characters
 Tons of other
themes, motifs, and
elements

History / Concerns
Shakespeare’s company
was employed by King
James
 Specific audience,
specific interests

– Scottish history > English
history
– James believed he was
one of the historical
Banquo’s descendents
– Witches and chants
Five Main Points
Although there are many other thematic
and story-based concerns to study, it’s
important to remember that most of them
fit under the umbrella of the five major
areas we’ve studied all semester.
 Shakespeare’s opinions regarding love,
enlightenment, security, independence,
and identity are complicated – hence our
study of his work.

Love (and Trust)
While reading Macbeth,
it’s best to ask yourself the
questions that the
playwright seems to be
prompting you to ask
 For example:

– What is “love”?
– Can we totally trust ourselves in the
hands of another?
– Is it better to trust everyone (believing in
the basic goodness of your fellow man) or
trust no one?
Enlightenment
How does knowledge provide the characters with power?
 How does it doom them?
 How does the characters’ lack of knowledge influence
the play’s narrative?
 As you can clearly see,
enlightenment requires more
than an extensive collection
of facts – it requires
understanding
 Knowledge without
 comprehension is a
 dangerous, dangerous thing

Security (and Trust)
Macbeth gains Duncan’s favor
through willing service,
including his vigorous defense
of the kingdom when the
rebels and Norwegians attack
 Yet it is Duncan’s willingness to
trust Macbeth – to place his
security in the hands of
another – that leads to his
murder
 Macbeth’s rule is never secure,
because he trusts no one; he
constantly fears any threat to
his seat of power

Independence
Is Macbeth independent?
 He’s certainly influenced by people (the Weird Sisters,
Lady Macbeth), as well as by less tangible forces (the
prophecy, his own paranoia)
 Can he make his own
decisions?
 He doesn’t feel as though
he can rule freely until Act IV,
when another misunderstood
prophecy inflates his confidence
to dangerous levels
 Is he in control of his own
destiny?

Identity
Who is Macbeth?
 This is something the play
grapples with for its entire
duration
 Is he a good person? A bad
person? Loyal? Treacherous?
Brave? Cowardly? Intelligent?
Blind? Ambitious? Greedy?
 Macbeth is haunted by his
initial murder, then slowly
descends into madness

Other Characters

How do the aforementioned points (ILISE)
apply to other characters?
– Lady Macbeth and security/identity
– Duncan and enlightenment
– Macduff and love/security
– Malcolm and identity
– Banquo and enlightenment
– The Weird Sisters and independence
Family

Was Macbeth a father?
– We’ll go over this more when we have time

For now, take a moment to consider the
families Shakespeare shows us
– One is extremely dysfunctional (the Macbeths)
– All are ravaged by death (Siward, Duncan,
Macduff, Macbeth, Banquo)

Shakespeare’s characters are also motivated
by familial concerns, whether it is Macbeth’s
deference to Lady Macbeth, Banquo’s desire
to see Fleance rule Scotland, or Malcolm’s
need to avenge his father
Ambition
Self-ambition – Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seek
the throne
 Ambition for others – Banquo and Fleance,
Duncan and Malcolm
 The terrible toll
ambition takes on a
human soul
 The terrible punishment
a person corrupted by
ambition can exact on
others

Revenge
“Blood will have blood”
 Although Malcolm flees at
first, he comes back in force

– Birnam Wood marches, after all

After the slaughter of his
entire family – “all my pretty
ones?” – Macduff ends up
carrying Macbeth’s head
around on a pike
Fear
Banquo fears what the
prophecy portends – and
that Macbeth has used illicit
means to win the throne
 Macbeth fears his past
(someone discovering that
he murdered the king) and
his future (His “barren
scepter” refusing to produce
an heir, leaving him
vulnerable to a coup)

Guilt
“Out, damn spot!”
 Although Macbeth is the
one who expresses guilt
over the initial action, it is
Lady Macbeth who is
driven insane by the deed
– consumed by her guilt,
unable to wash an
invisible stain from her
hands or conscience

Pride / Hubris
Macbeth’s death
results (in part) from
his own arrogance; he
misinterpreted the
witches’ prophecies in
a way that allowed him
to gain confidence
 Duncan fails to protect
himself adequately; is
this the result of pride?

There is More to Cover…

But this will do for now.