Macbeth context and themes

Divine Right of Kings

Belief that kings were appointed by God. Killing a king was a sin against God and disrupted the natural order.

King James I

James I was interested in witchcraft and published Daemonologie in 1597. Audiences associated witches with evil and temptation.

Ambition

Macbeth's desire for power leads him to murder Duncan and become a tyrant. Quote: "Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself."

Guilt

Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth suffer psychologically after the murders. Quote: "Out, damned spot!"

Soliloquies

Reveal a character's private thoughts to the audience. Quote: "Is this a dagger which I see before me?"

Gender and masculinity

Lady Macbeth challenges traditional femininity, while Macbeth struggles with expectations of manhood. Quote: "I dare do all that may become a man."

Pathetic fallacy and unnatural imagery

Disruptions in nature reflect moral disorder after Duncan's murder. Quote: "Dark night strangles the travelling lamp."

Appearance versus reality

Characters hide their true intentions behind deceptive appearances. Quote: "False face must hide what the false heart doth know."

Kingship and tyranny

Duncan represents legitimate kingship, while Macbeth's violent rule destroys Scotland. Quote: "Bleed, bleed, poor country!"

Macbeth's transformation

Macbeth changes from a heroic soldier into a paranoid tyrant. Quote: "I am in blood / Stepp'd in so far."

Stars, hide your fires

Ambition, evil and secrecy. Macbeth wants to hide his dark desires.

Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood

Guilt, violence and the consequences of murder.

Life's but a walking shadow

Death, despair and the meaninglessness of life.