GCSE Macbeth Grade 9 Analysis

Need to revise for Macbeth this includes their purpose/relevance and quotes!

'UNSEX ME HERE'

-OPENING THESIS:

In the archetypal Scottish play, 'Macbeth', Shakespeare explores.... as a characteristic which - adopts- . It is apparent that Shakespeare deliberately crafts this - to show how --- therefore Shakespeare does this to deliberately exhibit to the audience/nobles in court how --- leads to -----.

This happens when she wants supernatural help to 'unsex' her- power and ambition because this is what she's willing to do to achieve power.

-Language- the imperative of 'here' means she's giving a command, she is asking for supernatural help but also she's in charge. She is commanding the witches to give her help- urgency, she knows Duncan is coming and only opportunity she gets to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan and only through 'unsexed'- desperation, she is urgent as it must happens tonight 'here'- she wants to feel powerful but it will fail but she is asking for this- she understands what she currently is not enough- she is too weak, her existing form of a women subjected in a patriarchal society shows she can't do this- she is looking for power, her state. The jump from her receiving the letter, and her suddenly changing her tone and state shows she has always occupied this thought and idea to become more masculine and especially now as it is too good an opportunity to miss, her desire to be powerful has always existed. He knows she will come up a plan to kill Duncan and so writes the letter although he arrives minutes later- to give the urgency to become cruel enough to manipulate him to kill Duncan- she is the driving force. She wants to be 'unsexed' to remove her nurture and innate feeling of caring, kind and therefore she is aware of the social expectations. Also shows the expectation of men- Macbeth, she wants to be 'unsexed' to become one with him and inherit his stereotypical features of a man. This allows the audience to understand Macbeth better because he has to be cruel and violent to be masculine.

Structure: Juxtaposition- this contrasts what she does later, she says he is too 'full of the human kindness' and talks about him, and for the first time she recognises herself and she now thinks herself of an equal- 'unsex me here' from 'my dearest partner in kindness'. She sees the 'dearest partner in kindness' interpretation as a catalyst- and create a character that works together with Macbeth

Structure- foreshadowing- her ultimate failure so when we see her in the sleepwalking scene, she is resembling feminine qualities and feels guilt- she has gone against her own sex, she is regretting this action she was so passionate about and so society punishes her through death- 'unsex me here' gives her false sense of security but she was never 'unsexed' it is just a performance she enacts, but the cracks start and hence she can't maintain this performance and commits suicide. He doesn't tell her of his murder to Banquo so it shows how he used her to achieve his ambition and lust for power- but once he does the task at hand, he stops all emotion towards her, he doesn't sleep with her and so she sleepwalks- and so it shows how once again, women are used and once they become powerful or feel 'powerful' and feel at one with their husband it is just a ploy and a fake story in which the man manipulates to get what he wants from the power lust the woman she dearly craves.

Form- play- audience

-Lady Macbeth is often played as a high desirable, sexual character who uses her sexuality to persuade her husband to kill Duncan- she isn't just a cruel figure who belittles and undermines his masculinity- she is incredibly sexual so that we can understand his desire to please her as he is so powerfully attracted to her. The supernatural is what Shakespeare uses the exploit the flaws in society, through the witches he shows how if you're a man when you're given a bit of power they latch onto it, and as a women they are dying for recognition and power- for that audience, those stereotypical values Lady Macbeth struggles to break free from is what the audience created in society and so Shakespeare is trying to exploit those sexist views many people occupied watching the play.

-Patriarchy produces people who can't ever be comfortable in their own skin- if you're a man you are searching for a courageous, brave Macbeth, and as a woman you better be beautiful- who are willing to go to go to all lengths to become masculine to achieve power. Shakespeare starts with the witches as gender is a major theme, and the witches need power as they are not beautiful- they are deliberately described as power- Lady Macbeth's baby has died, and so explains why she wants power in another form- has to give Macbeth an heir and she's failed to do that and so it drives her desire to become Queen to get power in other ways. The witches are products of a patriarchal society who are ugly and excluded from society because of their beauty in which they lack. This suggests another reason why she desires to become a queen because she can no longer fulfil her role of a women to bear child. Becoming the monarchies of the society, means that she still helps her husband with his career, so she is not completely useless.

-Freud's Id: LM has become a slave to her innate desire of power, she is willing to do whatever it takes for her to have power. She has a desire to be powerful, to become Queen, to please her husband but her Id is so consumed of what she wants and so she can't see sense in her immoral choices- leads to her ultimate downfall.

the Dagger scene - Macbeth's id of the innate desire of power creates the dagger, which leads to him killing Duncan. So he allies himself with his wife, both become a slave to power

LOOK LIKE THE INNOCENT FLOWER BUT BE THE SERPENT UNDER'T

'LOOK LIKE THE INNOCENT FLOWER BUT BE THE SERPENT UNDER'T' -macbeth, ld or both and their relationships, power- what things look like but real power lies underneath-contrast, idea of gender- flips gender roles and supernatural- behaviour is influenced by many external factors

-SIMILE

-BE- metaphor of being the serpent

-FLOWER AND SERPENT- juxtaposition of gender roles. goes from 'brave' to 'flower'- pace, play, moves quick

'looks like the innocent flower'- flower in nature is innocent, but she adds 'innocent' to highlight/emphasise how important it is- fake it to make it, she is encouraging him to be deceitful. she picks on flower- innocence, non threatening- also associates with femininity, he is putting the femininity onto Macbeth so he is going to wear a female role- foreshadows how it is not going to go well for him as it is not suited to him as a King and a murderer, she's asking to take on a feminine role which is incredibly difficult for him to do.

-she says 'BE' she is not giving him a choose, and she is being quite imperative and her tone shifts- he has to BE the 'serpent', she is saying to keep his evil nature and dark side close by, 'but be' the alliteration shows the command she wants, 'serpent' associates with the original sin- because of what Adam and Eve did by listening to the serpent we are all born with original sin of their evil and she is trying to get him to get in touch with evil and embrace his inner self of evil- even though she fears he is too 'full of the human kindness', she wants him to hide his 'serpent' and she is very specific and how to behave- 'innocent flower' but serpent which is usually camouflaged- Shakespeare is subtly turning the gender roles upside down and so what leads to Macbeth's downfall and Lady Macbeth committing suicide because she doesn't fulfil the role of being the strong, dominant wife- that is his role.

-It is a propaganda piece to reinforce James' power to the throne, he shows the couple fails to gain power because the political fear is nobles would think they have the right to claim the throne as King James but to do that- would go against society. Therefore, Shakespeare is showing going against religious rules, gender rules, social rules, leads to tragedy as any deviance as going against King James' court.

-The people who are gaining power in this play are women- the witches, Lady Macbeth trying to orchestra this assassination to Duncan and so the play is obsessed with the power women have- Hecate tells of the witches and Lady Macbeth gets killed. The play reinforces patriarchy that says women are not allowed to have power and are not safe to have a power, power is not synonymous with women- Macbeth almost forgets society in his pursuit of society, he lets her make him into an 'innocent flower' - the moment he diverts from patriarchy and starts to become the stereotypical man in society that's where his tragedy starts to lie.

-Judith Butler- said that sex is fixed but your gender can be changed- to be known as a strong, powerful man- performance of a man. She argued gender is a performance but it only lasts so long, she is telling Macbeth perform a fake man, but the performance doesn't last and they both crumble- she tries to be a strong, powerful woman 'unsex me here' and he is trying to be fake but evil to himself- they are walking juxtapositions and contradictions as their performance is what kills them off in the play. Macbeth kills the guards because he was innocent when Macduff arrives and before he kills the King but he can no longer pretend to be innocent and so kills the guards and can't sustain this 'innocence'.

-Lady Macbeth sees Duncan is dead and they say 'a woman can't see this' but she tries to play the innocent female character and fit in the norms of society and so she crumbles by Act 5.

Macbeth analysis

-Shakespeare presents Macbeth's lack of love for Lady Macbeth due to her lack of conforming to the conventions of how a married woman should behave towards her husband in a patriarchal jacobean society. This is shown when Macbeth finds out about Lady Macbeth's death and argues that "she could have died hereafter". Perhaps, this shows the audience proof that he has no love for Lady Macbeth as he sees her death as inconvenient as he's just about to go to battle and she did this to drag his attention away. Shakespeare uses this to reinforce to the audience his resentment towards Lady Macbeth is due to her disrespect to him as she has a "shame to wear a heart so white". The adjective "white" which has connotations of purity and innocence as well as having connotations of a white feather which symbolizes surrender and cowardice emphasises to the audience Lady Macbeth's immoral behaviour in disrespecting Macbeth who is her questioning whether Macbeth "art thou a man". Consequently. Macbeth has a lack of love for Lady Macbeth because she has emasculated him in persuading him to murder Duncan and he blames her for provoking him through her manipulation of making him feel cowardly which is not her role as an inferior to him as his wife in a patriarchal society.

-Furthermore, her death happens offstage which symbolizes to the audience his lack of love or interest as he doesn't go to her. He simply decides to focus on himself as he is focused on the coming battle and thinking about the pointlessness of his own life which is "a tale told by an idiot"... signifying nothing and his resentment of how Lady Macbeth caused his life to have been a tragedy in the first place and that he'd rather live a coward in thine and self esteem- shows his nihilism a disgust that life has no meaning- but who has written the tale? -cool metajoke as Shakespeare has written the tale that Macbeth is enacting- Shakespeare's script he is the idiot- his role is to remain in Stratford and follow his father into glove-making, he fled to London and became a pioneer so perhaps Macbeth's ultimate tragedy is that he believes in fate, whereas if he believed in making the most of his own life, his tale would be told differently.

Shakespeare perhaps doesn't show her death to symbolize the immorality of Lady Macbeth to a jacobean patriarchal society and to symbolize the sense of anger and dissaproval of many of the jacobean audience towards Lady Macbeth. For example, in a patriarchal society, Lady Macbeth had embarrassed Macbeth when he saw Banquo's ghost and she humiliated Macbeth in private by him a "coward". Shakespeare's purpose of making her death offstage is to punish Lady Macbeth and to put her in her subservient place as a woman in a patriarchal society as she has not conformed to her role as she wanted to "unsex" herself showing

how she was rejecting her gender and her subservient female role.

-Alternatively, perhaps Shakespeare doesn't present Macbeth as having lack of love for Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare shows this through the fact that Macbeth despite facing his own death still pities his own wife for her guilt and mental anguish. Macbeth stops his preparations of the battle, to get a doctor to "minister" to her which emphasizes to the audience his love for Lady Macbeth. Moreover, Shakespeare presents Macbeth's love when he tells the doctor "to through psychic to the dogs". This makes the reader sympathise for Macbeth as we see Macbeth's anger as he wants to throw all medicine as Lady Macbeth couldn't survive.

-Alternatively, the fact that he wants Lady Macbeth to die "hereafter" could symbolize his love as he wanted her to live longer after Macbeth dies because of the battle as he doesn't want her guilt or his own descent of violence to kill her.

-Perhaps, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as having love for a powerful woman who doesn't conform to her role in a patriarchal society as a proxy for Shakespeare's own beliefs towards women. For example, at the age of 18 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway who was 26 whom he saw as an equal as Anne Hathaway was a powerful woman due to her age as she was more powerful and mature. This shows how Shakespeare was attracted to powerful women. --Consequently, perhaps making Lady Macbeth's death off stage could be used as an attack to symbolize how society is showing her as inferior due to her rejection of being a female "unsex me here" and therefore not conforming to the conventions of society. Shakespeare is using her off stage tragedy as an attack on the Jacobean patriarchal society to explain what can happen when women are denied any equality/ power in a patriarchal society as Lady Macbeth only persuaded Macbeth to commit regicide because of her desire to become queen and become a powerful woman as women can only get power through marriage.

-You can see the strength of the Macbeth's marriage deteriorating as Lady Macbeth emasculates Macbeth for not having the courage to murder. Macbeth blames Lady Macbeth for provoking him to doom his soul to hell. Lady Macbeth even questions Macbeth's masculinity by asking "art though a man?" and then continues to display herself as a stronger and better version of him by stating "I shame to wear a heart so white".

-Consequently, Macbeth seems to show no remorse to Lady Macbeth's death and simply states "She should have died hereafter", signifying that not only does he not care for her death but sees it as an inconvenience as he is preparing for battle. Macbeth then says no more about his wifes untimely death but speaks of the pointlessness of his own life, "a tale told by an idiot... signifying nothing" Showing he has no care for his wife any longer.

-In a patriarchal society, Lady Macbeth's humiliation of Macbeth is made worse by her feminine role and emasculates Macbeth even further. Lady Macbeth even goes on to call Macbeth a "coward" in private, suggesting his inferiority. Shakespeare then highlights the aspects of the patriarchal society and brings the play back to realism as he describes Lady Macbeth's subservient role in society and how she is punished for being "unsexed" and rejecting her gender, her punishment being death, death which was not shown on the stage, again highlighting her role in the male run society.

-Although at first glance it seems that Macbeth has no care for his wife and is happy for her death, his need to call for a doctor for his wife in the moments before battle suggest otherwise. It could be seen that when Macbeth wants for his own death but not for his wife. Macbeth states "such man am I to fear", displaying his need to find the man not born from a women, his need to find the man that can end his life. When Macbeth states "she should have died hereafter" it may display not that he had no care for his wife's death but that he wished for her to live longer, and happier.

-Macbeth says in his soliloquy 'OUT OUT BRIEF CANDLE', he is mirroring Lady Macbeth's own words and could be mocking her.

'CANDLE' can reflect a sign of hope and remorse- new life new start, but despite his subtle more redeeming prospect his death is ending pretty soon so because of evil it leads to insanity and it makes him 'weak'.

-He is unconsciously echoing Lady Macbeth's words 'out out damned spot'- he would have heard because he has heard her sleepwalking- he is deeply connected to his wife, candle-faith, used in Church symbol of God's light but he replaced God's light with the passion of his wife- audience would see it as a criticism of the couple who have turned away from God and so deserve their divine punishment. Macbeth himself has turned away from God and he sees God as an idiot who has scripted this ridiculous tale we call life and instead he values his wife- she is the hero of his world

Lady Macbeth analysis

-With the letter in Act 1 Scene 5, Macbeth wants to manipulate her so he sends her a letter- he needs her for his ambition- uses 'thou' 'thy' in the letter- informal in Jacobean society but because he needs her to want to be Queen to manipulate him and so he is being intimate and is persuading her.

-Lady Macbeth is in a patriarchal society which is controlled by men and so she wants to become more masculine to gain more power. She's a loving wife but has one fatal flaw which is her ambition, she has to break out of a society that stops her from choosing. She wants to have the same power as him- she's frustrated. She calls on 'spirits' to remove her feminine traits and is potentially calling on the witches.

-Lady Macbeth dies offstage- sexist patriarchal treatment of women and disapproval and so because women are denied power in society the only way to achieve it is through transgressive behaviour represented by the witches also. Shakespeare rejects the patriarchal society by excluding her from the play- makes the audience aware^. Her off-stage death is associative with her complete loss of power by the end of the play, since she is no longer able to dominate the play and Macbeth- she is now represented as a quintessential women in the Jacobean society- as a silent, powerless woman without a voice and at the behest of her husband; as a consequence of her need of gaining power which she physically couldn't do because of her fractured mind, she resorts to suicide thus showing without power Lady Macbeth is not the same person as she is with power, she lives off power and she needs it to cope.

-Men are still controlling her as she says Duncan 'resembled her of her father' and so she can't go

against her father-Duncan is the father for her country

By introducing Lady Macbeth's character through a soliloquy this early in the play (Act 1 Scene 5-reading the letter), Shakespeare was breaking out of the conventions of playwrights at the time as it was rare to have female characters have this level of autonomy over the narrative- the audience can understand her character through her own perceptions, not from the more typical "male gaze" that dominated theatre.

The extract is very early on in the play and a female character to be given a soliloquy so early would be very strange. By giving her this soliloquy, she is presented as powerful; she would be listened to by the audience and would be centre stage. Many women would be subservient to men and not have this much influence

-The tragedy is a consequence because women were denied power- she is forced into acquiring more power because of her status so she has to achieve power though Macbeth. If women had the same rights as men, the tragedy wouldn't have happened. If Lady Macbeth could have achieved power by herself, she wouldn't have to manipulate Macbeth- women are denied power so that is the tragedy, like the witches- to gain power as a women, you had to marry rich or be attractive so you turn to evil as a woman because no other avenue is open to you to gain power- the witches turned to evil because they were denied power as women.

-By sending the letter, he is manipulating her so that she manipulates him because he knows without her, he's less of a man- he won't go through the murder. Uses intimate language such as 'thou and thy'-term-28 to persuade her to start taking action, repeats the idea of status 'my dearest partner of greatness' to manipulate her thoughts. He says in the letter LATER on 'lay it to thy heart'- declaration of love is dependent on her becoming greater, he needs her want to become Queen for him to love her.

-She died offstage as Shakespeare is trying to show how women are denied power, whole tragedy wouldn't have happened if women were allowed power in society- tragedy of her is she is denied right in a patriarchal society, the lack of rights drive her towards the only way she can achieve power is through her husband- you oppress women and they will turn against you

The Witches analysis

-Scottish book written by King James 1 in 1597 called Demonology- he wrote it to prove that witches existed and to outline some of their powers. He came to the throne in 1603 and published it in England at the same time, Macbeth is written in 1605/6- Shakespeare wants to ingratiate himself ( get on the right side of James) so he puts the witches in the play but the is it to please King James or does he believe in witchcraft himself?

-'When the hurly burly's done when the battle's lost and won' -Shakespeare wants to portray the witches as ambiguous- how powerful or if they are wholly evil, the battle is lost and won at the same time? whose point of view is it lost/won?- witches are supernatural because they could be seen as casting a protective spell on Macbeth because he goes into battle with no armour or metal wear, and comes out untouched and unharmed- if he was killed then there would be no tragedy.

-'Fair is foul and foul is fair'- ambiguity- 'fair' as a woman is about appearance and looks, and 'foul' is seen as going against her husband, potentially the witches say this to be used as a turning point in a patriarchal society where Lady Macbeth occupies both attributes. Paradox: The phrase employs a paradox, as it foreshadows the deception of Macbeth, in that the prophecies of witches might lead him to greatness, but they would destroy him instead.

Symbolism: The witches are symbolic of foul, but give fair advice- they just state the truth, and Macbeth outwardly appears to be a hero, but inwardly he is a coward and a plotter.

-A society which denies women power creates one where women turn to superstition or the devil to achieve power through another route.

-'Fairer' sex- women are more foul- original sin where Eve tempted Adam with the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil and so were expelled from the Garden of Eden for eating the forbidden fruit- using society's perspective of women as looking more attractive on the outside (fair) but less attractive on the inside (foul). The weird sisters look foul on the outside- what they are offering is attractive- they are offering Macbeth a taste of the future, he will be Thane of Cawdor and then King- Macbeth does not have to kill Duncan and he can get there by 'fair' means but he uses his free-will to choose 'foul' means- choose a 'foul' way to attain what he thinks is 'fair'- Kingship, but he does so in a way which attacks God as God appointed Duncan and regicide goes against God's instruction- he takes what is 'fair' and beautiful but turns it to something undesirable and 'foul.' He reduces his own Kingship because of the crime he committed- as a warning to anyone else in the audience to not go against the King- at the court of King James for the noble.

-Appearance of witches- which frightened the Jacobean audiences but to King James it is something seductive and fair as he is passionately interested in it and wrote the book which outlines the factors about witches. Almost as an unspoken joke by Shakespeare- disgusting to most people but King James will find it really attractive and a major point of interest in the play. In a male dominated society, they would have a vested interest in picking the most evil character to be female that's why the witches are overwhelming female.

-Lady Macbeth epitomizes (perfect example) this idea of the patriarchal representative of Eve- she appears attractive on the outside but is the most evil on the outside as she persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan (like Eve persuades Adam) and hence this condemns Lady Macbeth as worse than her husband, this is why she gets killed first and why her guilt leads her to suicide. -Shakespeare is arguing women are better than men, Lady Macbeth appreciates her own guilt and believe her soul is damned whereas Macbeth fights off who doesn't focus on his guilt whatsoever and murders increasing number of people and so he MIGHT be claiming the patriarchal society is a terrible society as men are worst than women- the marriage of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth and Macduff who abandoned his family and joined the English and invites this Macbeth to kill this family- Macduff the hero is 'fair' but is 'foul' who sacrificed his own family to give him a motive to kill Macbeth.

-The witches are never named as the 'witches' they are named as the 'Weird Sisters'- it's only in this Christian patriarchal society which labels them as witches and so evil but they never commit an evil act and so Shakespeare could be on their side- he is against the patriarchal society and doesn't fixate on an interpretation of the witches to widen his audience to Christians.

-Duncan is deceived by the original Thane of Cawdor and he says he couldn't have possibly known- but the second time we stop believing him because Macbeth is now the Thane of Cawdor and fate is showing Macbeth is also a traitor and so Duncan seems 'fair' and just but his judgement is 'foul' and he is therefore murdered- part of God's plan as he is not a deserving king and so Macbeth is also punished as he wrongly took the throne and so naturally, the natural order is restored with Malcolm becoming king.

-Banquo sacrifices the country of Scotland to Macbeth's tyranny as he didn't tell anyone of his suspicions when he was on edge and asked for his sword whilst at his friend's house, but also didn't tell anyone of the meeting with the Weird Sisters which would raise suspicions about the supernatural and the witches- but he allows Macbeth to stay on the throne longer so Fleance can be King later on- which is a foul' choice because it is immoral on Banquo's part whereas if he made a moral choice, he and Macduff could have decided Macbeth was the murderer and would've been 'fair' to save your country from a murderous rule of Macbeth.

-'The weird sisters, hand in hand' symbol of women needing power and needing each other to get it- Shakespeare could be directly criticising the patriarchal society criticising the idea that women no matter how skilled they are- they are not allowed power. 'Peace! the charm's wound up'- strange thing for witches' to ask for peace, perhaps they're thinking long-term

-Banquo says 'they should be women and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so'- patriarchal society, all the modern productions don't have the beard for the witches, confusion of men and women, gives the women beards to symbolism that they're desires are to become more male- Lady Macbeth who wants to become more masculine, they chose to be witches to achieve more power and power is only allowed to males and so have to be more male in appearance. The beards symbolise how ugly the women are, because women are solely judged by their looks so having ugly looks deny them power as they can't marry into it- sisterhood and no men would be interested in them- they want revenge against the males in this patriarchal society.

-The witches' power is the high degree of knowledge into the future not an evil control of people and events. Perhaps Macbeth wouldn't have become King because the witches don't have any view of the future but they can see Macbeth's psychological understanding and so giving his the prophecies will force him to kill Duncan and start his tragedy- psychological exploitation.

-Banquo says 'I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters' but he met them today and not last night which prove they have supernatural powers to come into his thoughts- could be a lie for Macbeth to talk about the witches and so stop Macbeth for killing Duncan, Shakespeare plays on ambiguity.

-'IS THIS A DAGGER WHICH I SEE BEFORE ME' some directors see this as an psychological episode where over Macbeth can see it or is it a supernatural presence. The witches control Macbeth thoughts because of supernatural- or it is Macbeth's desires and so Shakespeare leaves it to ambiguity the schism in his mind (conflict)

-Hecate is created late in the writing process to give one of his actors a part-scholars. The dialogue given to Hecate doesn't feel Shakespeare- 8 syllables rather than 10. Childish rhythm- Shakespeare is making fun of the idea of the witches, how there spells are a childish game and our belief in witchcraft is just as childish. Hecate is accusing the witches of being 'saucy' and 'overbold'- how can women mess with Macbeth with 'riddles and affairs of death' she is criticising them in a patriarchal society, they are upsetting the social order and for influencing men and gain more power, the witches turn to evil to gain power and manipulate men.

'Double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble- childish rhyme where the witches don't have any power of evil here, they are innocent 'trouble'- it is used as the power they have as being outcasts of society, they can engage in rituals but they don't have any real power- mind in person they're trying to influence.

-'Something wicked this way comes' the witches don't influence Macbeth at all, he is wicked by himself- idea of tragedy and fatal flaw- the witches are pointing that Macbeth's own hamartia has led to wickedness, he embodies his own evil nature.

-STAGE DIRECTION- 'GHOST OF BANQUO FOLLOWING', all his descendants remain King long after Macbeth is dead- political act showing the whole audience how wonderful King James is because he is descended from Banquo

Context of Macbeth

-Macbeth is presented as the archetype (very typical example of a certain person/thing) of a tragic hero

Macbeth is made up of the morality play character caught between good and evil, the tragic Greek character doomed to err because of his weakness, and takes an Elizabethan path through murder and guilt.

-The Fates are considered one of the most powerful deities in Greek mythology, because they control the destinies of kings and queens - even the king and queen of the gods: Zeus and Hera. Hecate and the three witches of William Shakespeare's Macbeth are reminiscent of Hecate and the Moirai of Greek mythology - because they play similar roles and have comparable attributes. These parallels emphasize the inevitability of Macbeth's fate, and how his path was even sanctioned by the gods.

-Tragedy is that Macbeth exercises his free-will and rushes towards the fate of becoming King- committing sacrilegious acts along the way (through his own free will- regicide)- SIGNIFICANT because this is a propaganda play- political manifesto for how the nobles should behave

-There was a hierarchy system in which the Jacobean society was expected to follow and the chain is what governs the universe with God's representative/great chain of Being is at the top. If you were to break the universal law and destroy natural order, then there will be consequences as much as reflective of the Macbeths'.

-James I wrote a book on Demonology in 1597 which the King James considered himself to be an expect in witchcraft- participated in trials of witches and believed witches had tried to assassinate him and Shakespeare deliberately exploited this interest therefore. Shakespeare undermines the witches' power and highlights that their supernatural power is not a cause of Macbeth's tragedy as he uses trochaic tetrameter to illustrate a childlike, unreal imagery in which it would be foolish to trust such a silly source.

Kings were appointed by God and if you were to defy the King then you are defying God- by killing the divine right and great chain you are suspected of psychological torment and suffering as the Macbeths' face supernaturality hence the belief in this chain and in God is only in faith and belief in supernatural forces which control power.

-Written specifically for the King- free-will is James' enemy. Nobles in audience think they have more right to claim the throne than James does because he was Scottish and they were English for many generations- Elizabeth I didn't have a son so he had no right to the throne.

-Threat of revolution has been recently dramatized in the 1605 Gunpowder Plot - to stop this threat, Shakespeare constructs Macbeth who will meet his tragedy because of his free-will.

-Shakespeare discredits free-will because of the GP and so creates Macbeth's hamartia which is likely his bloodlust and other flaws- as a result of this free will

His hamartia cannot be ambition alone- the love he has for his wife AND his desire to give her the greatness she desires- by letting her control him, therefore giving her freewill as a woman in a patriarchal society. Shakespeare annihilates her moment of free-will by marking it as evil- portrays free-will in such a way in order to discourage the nobles from exercising their free will and overthrow King James I.

-The use of Macbeth's hallucinations and Lady Macbeth's- they are receiving a supernatural punishment ( use of hallucinations)- having followed their free-will. Thus, this creates a didactic warning for any possible rebels in the audience

-The audience fears that any attempt to overthrow the King will means they are eternally punished by God, driven to insanity, derived of any pleasure in the Kingship- Macbeth is proven to be these failures and fate has already decided inevitably that King James I will remain to be King.

Context Of Macbeth continued

-Shakespeare introduces despair and nihilism actions have no meaning, life is pointless- 'LIFE IS A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT- 'an idiot' has made his life pointless- the 'idiot' is a metaphor for God

-In the eyes of the Jacobean audience, Macbeth now deserves to die- transgressing fully against God (not only by killing Duncan- God's representative on Earth by the divine Right of Kings and the Great Chain of Being, but also he is attacking God directly)

-The audience passionately believed in the concept of eternal damnation and hell and so by following your free will as Macbeth did- defeat in current life AND cast into hell for the whole of eternity

-So much speculation that Shakespeare himself was a Catholic sympathiser- he bought Blackfriars actual Catholic priory where many Catholics were known to go, therefore he had to discredit any sense of Catholicism,- recent Gunpowder Plot where the perpetrators were Catholic. Hence Shakespeare equates Macbeth's usurpation of the monarch with a Catholic plot- therefore warning the nobles they are likely to invite a tyrannical oppression should they question James' position as the rightful monarch.

-The restoration of order at the end of the tragedy is not only a Greek tradition but also a political message- Shakespeare cannot afford for King James to start pursuing and putting suspected Catholics on trial- he would be victim of this king of civil war. Therefore, he cunningly uses his own free-will to try and control James' own free-will and other potential Catholics' destiny, by encouraging King James to be lenient towards them.

Themes of Macbeth, Tyranny, Guilt, Appearance vs Reality, Free will/fate

Tyranny:

-Shakespeare's main 2 motives are to stop any rebellion against King James and also stop king James from becoming a vicious ruler- encourage rebellion

Macbeth is a tyrant cruel and oppressive ruler who kills anyone who he fears will take the throne.

Psychology of Guilt:

-Political vision that every opportunity not to act in ways against your better nature- Shakespeare is saying if you go against what's good then it will destroy your mind.

-Macbeth's sign of his fractured mind of the vision of the dagger shows he is going against his better nature and so uses the dagger as an excuse. The mental consequences shows he won't be able to rest after and it's an example of how we invent alternate realities to justify ourselves.

-Banquo's ghost- supernatural apparition that is a product of his own mind and shows the power of evil inherited by the belief in the witches.

-Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking goes against her better nature and society has forced her to become vulnerable as she through the acts of men, manipulated men in order to be successful. She takes on Macbeth's guilt and psychology-blood stain

Fate, prophecy and Free-Will:

-Macbeth ironically freely choose to believe in his fate so he lets Macduff defeat him. Shakespeare doesn't believe in fate at all- one's actions determine success of failure and whether allowing Macbeth to allow himself to be defeated by fate or his own act of free-will. Shakespeare was brought up in Stratford and didn't have much of a family behind him- so by fate he was able to be cunning and ' a genius' in literature and it was completely out of his control.

Reality is ambiguous:

-Shakespeare's whole life is creating an illusion in plays

'Fair is foul and foul is fair'- witches' evil but is only fair.

'look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it'- James produced a coin with a snake and flowers on it- to celebrate his survival from the Gunpowder Plot- religious link to how 'serpent' in the first creation of life is seen to deceive God.

Shakespeare is distancing himself from Catholicism by only subtly underlining religious links to quotes which are most famous and profound- it is a way to celebrate King James and advise him subtly not to have hatred towards Catholics. He is doing this to prove that he is loyal to the King and although it was suspected that Shakespeare was Catholic, he wants to please King James I and not develop an attitude against Catholics which in turn would cause himself to be a victim.

Themes of ambition, Masculinity and cruelty, Divine Right of kings

Ambition:

-Lady Macbeth sees 'MY DEAREST PARTNER OF GREATNESS'- he needs her to help him realise that ambition, Shakespeare kills them both in the end as they're both equally responsible for the killing of Duncan.

Ambition is also Banquo's hamartia as he's so ambitious even before they meet with Macbeth he 'dreamt of the three weird sisters'- all good men can be destroyed by ambition. Hamartia is presented in a new light of love as the witches can't achieved any form of love and so because they are outcasts in society they turn to witchcraft to replace the love. Macbeth does LOVE what they offer him and he turns to them as objects for is own desire. Hecate says 'LOVED FOR HIS OWN ENDS, NOT FOR YOU' only loves them for his own gain and it shows how marginalised women are in society- they really want love and understanding but they really get arranged marriages and security through political alliances and not through love.

Masculinity and Cruelty:

-It is a patriarchal society in which women are exploited and not given proper identities or power. Lady Macbeth associates masculinity with cruelty 'unsex me here- metaphor for if women wants to achieve all kinds of power- they're forced to behave in ways that appear unnatural and are rejected by society.

-Macbeth responds to the idea of killing Duncan with 'I DARE DO OUT THAT MAY BECOME A MAN' Shakespeare is positing the idea that if a society celebrates a cruel form of masculinity (what he has shown and praised about in battles) it's then creates the kind of mad ambition that Macbeth has to Kingship.

-The tragedy is living in the patriarchal society which forces men to behave in such a ruthless way.

-Malcolm criticise Macduff for not being manly enough 'dispute it like a man' Macduff answers, "I shall do so, / But I must also feel it as a man". Macduff shows that manhood comprises more than aggression and murder; allowing oneself to be sensitive and to feel grief is also necessary. This is an important lesson for Malcolm to learn if he is to be a judicious, honest, and compassionate king. When, in Act 5, scene 11, Malcolm voices his sorrow for Siward's son, he demonstrates that he has taken Macduff's instruction to heart. Siward was delighted that his son didn't die a coward- he had wounds in his front.

Divine Right of Kings:

-God appointed the King- can't go against the word of God

-Many people think King James shouldn't be entitled since Queen Elizabeth died without an heir. If the Gunpowder plot has succeeded then the next conspirations would think it's acceptable to kill the next King- only teach 'BLOODY INTRUCTIONS'

-Banquo has a 'royalty of nature'- he was thought to be the ancient ancestor of king James, he was presented as a good, honourable noble- therefore he was created as a symptom of what greed and over ambition leads to AND a representative of how the nobles should treat the King and morals excluding the dependence of supernatural forces which was hugely looked down upon.

Act 1 Scene 1

-Shakespeare uses the witches to pull the audience in 'when shall we three meet again'- big interest/ disbelief in witchcraft and supernatural activity

-sets scene- dark world (confusion to everything/everything is not as it seems)

-mysterious

-peculiar

-enigmatic

-idea of APPEARANCE VS REALITY-

'fair is foul and foul is fair -frightening, mysterious

hover though the fog and filthy air' - muddled moralities Macbeth has, confusion

-the way the opposites are reversed shows the traditional moral structures and boundaries that define the nation are now collapsing

-supernatural has some power and recurring theme of darkness- great significance.

-witches speaking in rhyming couplets^ -ominous sinister threating air to the play. darker nursery rhyme

-use trochaic tetrameter (opposite of iambic pentameter) which shows the witches are opposite of noble and are dishonourable/ignoble-

-difficult to interpret effect of witches as now in the 21st century rhyming is almost quite silly and childish

-foreshadowing Macbeth's perilous, impending doom as he listened to their prophecies

Act 1 Scene 2

-wounded sergeant comes ack to tell Duncan (audience) what has happened

-Shakespeare presents Macbeth's characters through opinions of others- audience anticipates to actually meet Macbeth and shows audience how well respected Macbeth is by others in the play.

-'brave'

'he deserves that name'

'smoked with bloody execution'- reinforces his domineer in battle, artistic impression to the audience- elucidates (explains) the meticulousness Macbeth possesses and it is ironic because he listens to the witches so he is clearly unsure of his own capabilities.

-> one who kills many in battles are good

Act 1 Scene 3

-witches language is always rude and vulgar- animals referred to- links to nature

-'ill drain him as dry as hay' he is drained morally, physically and spiritually

'WHOSE HORRID IMAGINE DOTH UNFIX MY HAIR'

euphemism for his psychological ideas about Duncan's death

'MY SEATED HEART KNOCK AT MY RIBS' personification which illustrates the increasing fear that Macbeth has as he doesn't feel calm and steady- strange phrasing Shakespeare uses which could predict scenes later on in the play which reflects his conscious of guilt- the guilting is making him feel 'knocked' and on edge- alarming fear. FEAR OF ACT VS DESIRE OF KING

'AGAINST THE USE OF NATURE'- overthrowing the King/overthrowing his own heart is against the natural order- 'nature' suggests he is going against his innature nature of obeying the King and not occupy such treasonerous and sinful thoughts. to become king he must conduct acts which are against the nature of a moral person- but because nature is ruled by god his acts will be overturned and he will face eternal punishment 'naturally' from god

last line 'SO FOUL AND FAIR A DAY I HAVE NOT SEEN'- similar words to witches- already having influential power from them

Act 1 Scene 4

-told 'traitor' Thane of Cawdor had been executed- died a 'good death'

DRAMATIC IRONY as Macbeth takes on the title of a traitor- plans to kill Duncan

-hyperbolic overblow language from Duncan (wanton in fullness) - completely unaware/praises man who wants to kill him

'THE SERVICE AND LOYALTY I OWE IN, IN DOING IT PLAYS ITSELF' he is hiding his real thoughts in false words- treacherous, hiding his feelings in the play from everyone- APPEARANCE VS REALITY

'STARS HIDE YOUR FIRES LET NOT LIGHT SEE MY BLACK AND DEEP DESIRES' "Stars hide your fires" is personification. The stars are being asked to give Macbeth darkness, so no one can see his "black and deep desires." Calling his desires black and deep is a metaphor, because the thoughts are not literally dark, but he is saying they are dark because they are evil.

-Fires- confliction

-Deep desires-hide from God 'stars' light

-Juxtaposition between stars and fires- morality vs ambition, he's at conflict with his own morality- 'against the use of nature' from act 1 scene 3

Act 1 Scene 5

-Lady Macbeth reads the letter she says he has too much 'human kindness' to be able to commit treason and she is taking a dig at his masculinity by this metaphor. Shakespeare uses this metaphor to suggest that despite his reputation as a brave warrior from the battle he was so highly praised and high regarded, Macbeth also has a strong sense of compassion (unlike of him). Milk is mild, natural and, importantly, white. We associate this with purity, yet as the play progresses, Macbeth will be increasingly linked to the contrasting red of blood.

-She is implying he is not a man and almost is mockingly referring to the Jacobean expectation held on men and women and how they should act- men evidently shouldn't be 'kind' and that alludes to Macbeth who is indeed affected by actions he hasn't done YET which shows he is not strong and hence not a man.

--'COME YOU SPIRITS' she isn't calling on God, rather she is in alliance with supernatural malevolence and it is in parallel with the witches- commanding tone- dismantling traditional constraints that define her

-'DIREST CRUELTY' she wants to get rid of all her femininity and wants masculinity because she wants to get rid of any kindness inside of her- she is accentuating her lack of submissiveness and acceptance into the Jacobean expectation of a women to be obedient and subservient

-'LOOK LIKE THE INNOCENT FLOWER, BUT BE THE SERPENT UNDER'T'- metaphor for concealment, confusion and his hidden identity- another allusion to the animal imagery 'serpent'

The symbolism here shows that Lady Macbeth wishes her husband to appear well-meaning and gentle to hide his deceit. The symbol also has connotations of temptation and lost innocence through the serpent's link to the biblical story of Adam and Eve.

-'be'- command- Lady Macbeth's dominance over Macbeth is highly admirable- she doesn't conform with the Jacobean's expectation of men and women and thus despite her possibly being presented as manipulative, villainous and impulsive, she is clearly presented in such a vicious manner probably because Shakespeare wants to prove that the lack of power women occupied during the Jacobean society made it difficult to control the power they achieve forcibly, due to anger and frustration, through means which are immoral and this also could allude to the power the witches' occupy and their links to strong supernatural forces which are negatively depicted.

-now that she has power, typically unnatural and disregarded as a woman, she gives Macbeth a no choice situation- she's flipping the narrative of what men and women were expected to follow during the Jacobean Era and so she is giving Macbeth a nature of what she feels- could be showed by her commanding words and words that take away Macbeth's right to defy her and disagree- and so she is demanding, frustrated and irritated and she leaves him with no latitude.

-despite how all the other noblemen fear and respect him- his wife looks down on him, he is a symbol for all the tyrannical men in the audience and in the court and so her disregard for his feelings are a metaphor to all the men in society who occupy his position- she is portraying her anger on Macbeth to symbolise her anger to the men in court- which is unlike her, again demonstrating her anger and increased animosity to the stiff social roles

Act 1 Scene 7

Macbeth's first soliloquy: "If it were done ten twere were it done quickly' - if murder has to be done then it needs to be done fast and he's worried of the knock-on effects that follow afterwards and cause a chain of events which are completely out of his control

-'WHEN YOU WERE A MAN' again she is attacking his masculinity and is questioning whether if his reputation of brave and courage is still in play- he is completely under her spell and because of his innate nature to 'be a man' and defy her criticism of his manhood- he starts to become more sure of killing Duncan to prove his manhood and he is not anything that his wife proves he is.

-She emasculates him and belittles his manhood, he gradually succumbs to the illusion that the murder of Duncan will prove his masculinity to her.

Act 2 Scene 1

-Banquo is having trouble sleeping- troubled by the witches' prophecies

'IS THIS A DAGGER I SEE BEFORE ME' -Visions and hallucinations recur throughout the play and serve as reminders of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's joint culpability for the growing body count. When he is about to kill Duncan, Macbeth sees a dagger floating in the air. Covered with blood and pointed toward the king's chamber, the dagger represents the bloody course on which Macbeth is about to embark.- troubled state of mind =SUPERNATURAL- change from 'metal' from the beginning to 'dagger'- change of respect audience would have on Macbeth and so change of clarification of weapon he is thinking of using- vicious, the enormity of the treasonous crime he is about to crime by the clarity of the type of weapon

-Banquo calls on 'merciful powers' to help him rather than evil spirits- in contrast to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and he is on edge-asks for his sword when he hears someone appears- strange because he's at a friend's castle- suspicious, fears something is happening

Act 2 Scene 2

-Feel sorry for Macbeth? Too ambitious? sympathy?

Brutal killer who decapitates people at the behest of the king- goes against all decency and moral principles-kills a nobleman

-Returns with the bloody dagger- 'I have done the deed'- full of fear and is hysterical, he is guilty so he returns the dagger back into the room. Duncan resembled my 'father'-only human emotion we see of Lady Macbeth, she realises she is too much of a woman as her feminine traits come back, to commit the murder and so makes Macbeth do it. She wants to break free of the patriarchal but she can't genetically- she sees her father and sees she can't go against him and men being in control is too much of her to overcome- symbolism of Duncan being the father of her country. Importance of respecting men and the fear she has of Duncan^^

'A LITTLE WATER CLEARS US OF THIS DEED' extended metaphor which is symbolic of blood and water and the cleanse of sin by water- 'baptism'- murderous deeds are impossible to wash away

Act 2 Scene 4

-Order into everything fell- King (God's representative on Earth) Noblemen Lords Peasants/Slaves

Because of Macbeth's regicide- the natural order had to return back to state hence why Macduff was introduced- state of balance

-Ross-goes to see Macbeth King

-Macduff-goes to Fife-uncertain

Act 3 Scene 1

-Already plotting to murder Banquo- he has a soliloquy- not entirely comfortable of Macbeth taking the throne

-Macbeth says 'FAIL NOT OUR FEAST' -social harmony of his Kingship but the irony is Banquo won't have the feast because he will be murdered and it is similar language to the witches and Lady MAACBTTH

Banquo replies with 'MY LORD I WILL NOT'- basic response to a King- although he does make the feast but as a ghost. Macbeth has 2 sides-'fail is foul and foul is fair'

-When Macbeth talks to the murderers he appeals to the self esteem and manhood to persuade them to kill Banquo- showing influence from his wife. He is using the same line of argument Lady Macbeth used to kill Duncan

-Last line, he mentions 'heaven' he is questioning whether Banquo's soul will go to heaven although he would clearly not, showing interest in the supernatural and his growing dependence on the supernatural. Religious imagery- trying to play God and trying to seem concerned for his friend's life. Tries to take Lady Macbeth's role by using her line of argument- illustrating his innate nature of possessing power especially as a man who is subjected under the Jacobean society.

-Proves the Christian doctrine that evil deeds corrupt the person who does them by the 10 commandment 'thou shall not murder'-irony is that he is clearly calling out to God by his religious imagery although he has just committed the most sinful act against God and his representative on Earth. APPEARANCE VS REALITY

Act 3 Scene 2-3

Act 3 Scene 2:

-Roles have reversed between them Lady Macbeth is starting to feel the strain of their deed and their disturbed mindsets are becoming similar and the soliloquies and worries start to echo each others. Both are struggling to sleep- torture of the mind. Lady Macbeth has become a psychologically distraught and tormented person.

-Macbeth does not tell her of Banquo's upcoming murder- Jacobean society context of how women are not expected to interfere or know about men's affairs but also he could be afraid of her- since she easily manipulated him to kill Duncan, he feared if she had known she maybe might've made him insecure again about his masculinity and not kill his best friend.

-Macbeth doesn't tell his wife as he thinks he is protecting her, probably because he knows she's a better man than he is and she executes the plan better than him and he can't face that fact as being a man in a patriarchal societ

Act 3 Scene 3

-Macbeth has planned to kill Banquo and Fleance and the witches tell him the son will be King- dependence on the witches

-He is challenging fate-power hungry and he is trying to change the prophecies and almost outsmart them.

-Macbeth sends a THIRD murderer to see if job is complete- lack of trust in anything/anyone- downwards spiral and he is trying to be doubly sure

-Fleance still lives- the real threat is alive

-Macbeth believes happily in fate in one instance but tries to change fate- could foreshadow future weakness and continued downfall spiral and he is inconsistent in his own beliefs and the half truths by the witches could foreshadow something bigger than Macbeth can control being a prime factor in his future.

Act 3 Scene 4

-Murderer comes back with face smeared with blood- symbol that Macbeth can't hide the evil that he's indulged in.

-After he comes ack to take his seat, he sees Banquo's ghost- confronted by an apparition that only he can see- symptom oh his guilt and so he becomes panicked and hysterical. This shows that evil deeds will haunt you and the paranormal/supernatural link to God's own moral principles which if you disobey you will be punished eternally on life and in the afterlife.

-Lady Macbeth tries to put it at rest by saying he sometimes behaves like this and she takes control once again.

-Feast ends in complete disorder and disarray and it is a juxtaposition of how he's trying to get people on his side and bring society together

-Death toll is rising, Macbeth's poisoned mind is starting to betray him and although he can't stand with them metaphorically because of his immoral deeds, in terms of honour and respect- symbolic of how he's trying to get people on his side and bring society together and how because of natural order it won't occur because of his treasonous act hence why he wasn't able to have a promising feast and unity with his nobles.

-Ever changing relationship between Macbeth and his wife- at the end she tells everyone to leave and is strangely quiet, almost as if she's not surprised. Macbeth is in change of what to do next and he has taken the evil from Lady Macbeth and shows their collapsing relationship.

Act 3 Scene 5-6

Act 3 Scene 5:

-Hecate has so many lines now despite not being earlier introduced- shows the big interest in witchcraft and supernatural, since it was such a big popular topic.

-Witches treat Macbeth as one of their own- he's shown same level of evilness as their own

'TO TRADE AND TRAFFIC WITH MACBETH'

-Hecate scolds the witches for not involving her and their is subsequently a consistent theme of power and control- influence of supernaturality- dominance of women in play is increasingly associated with evil- to achieve power in a high patriarchal society they have to do it through immoral and evil methods

Act 3 Scene 6:

-Regicide was so shocking-had to give good reason to include it in a play written for the King.

-Macduff is in England helping to remove Macbeth- moves against Macduff's family

-Lennox gives a commentary on how people feel about Macbeth and the state of the country

-Macduff's increasingly more prominent role in the play could foreshadow conflict Macbeth and Macduff and Macbeth is the main character, hence the title. Despite Macbeth's intent to please the nobles at the feast- he is no longer honourable nor highly regarded as a King.

Act 4 Scene 1

-The witches are putting all sorts of hideous ingredient into their cauldron- echo of Macbeth's banquet where everything fell apart and ended in ruins. The witches are preparing their own special feast- reflects evil committed so far in the play.

-Macbeth meets 3 apparitions 1) armed head- foretells Macbeth's eventual decapitations at the hands of Macduff although Macbeth thinks the head is representative of Macduff. 2) Vision of the bloody child- no one who hasn't been born of woman' can harm Macbeth 3) Malcolm coming to Macbeth's castle carrying a tree- Macbeth can't be harmed until Burnham Wood moves to Dunsinane- obviously he thinks it's impossible for a forest to move- he feels even more secure and more reassured

Act 4 Scene 2-3

Act 4 Scene 2:

-Deep conversation between mother and son who are educating each other on treason ironically- as to who can be declared treasonous. the boy was murdered but Macbeth's couldn't even do it which Shakespeare deliberately did to see if we still have any lingering sympathy for him.

Act 4 Scene 3:

-Macduff's family are murdered- he abandoned his family and they have been slaughtered by Macbeth's men. Macduff's mother had sacrificed herself for him whereas he has sacrificed his family in order to give him the motivation to kill Macbeth- he is not the antithesis to Macbeth.

-Malcolm praises King Edward (England) and being a deeply religious man, he is believed to be King James' relative.

Act 5 Scene 1

-Lady Macbeth is completely possessed by guilt- she walks and talks in her sleep. Lady Macbeth's soliloquy repeatedly focuses on blood & murder

'who would have thought the told man to have had so much blood in him' - 'OUT OUT DAMNED SPOT' -she's unable to wash blood from her hands, unable to remove the deed from her mind. She is probably regretting it. Shakespeare cleverly uses her own words against as in Act 2 Scene 2 she illustrates how a little water can clear the deed/blood but now it is certainly not for her.

-Fractured mind, fractured speech- she is disjointed, stunted, manic and fragmented. The metaphorical stain of guilt can't be removed and it will haunt you eternally, much like you will be sent to hell eternally for your sins. She speaks in prose and has no particular rhythm/set line length- the long sentences could reflect the complexity of paranoia she is suffering from and frustration. She occupies a quivering wreck of a crumbling mind and their is a shift from DETERMINATION and POWER in Act 1 Scene 5 to now quite the opposite.

-She proceeds to say 'hell is murky' she is weirdly referring to religious imagery much like Macbeth who questions Banquo's soul being sentenced to 'heaven' which shows how Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have created their own kind of Hell which is purely driven on their insanity and guilty conscience. Lady Macbeth has a troubled mind which is desperately in need of solace and comfort much to the arrogance of her husband to provide psychological assurance to her. -Lady Macbeth and Macbeth both use two sides in which your soul will be sentenced, 'heaven' or 'hell' which refers to the opening line of the witches how 'fair' is 'foul' which is used interchangeably- demonstrating how they are the same thing and perhaps denial of religion Shakespeare is trying to highlight in the play- link to how the GP perpetrator were Catholic and he wants to almost discredit religion to not give James any ideas about persecuting himself since there were rumours that Shakespeare himself was a Catholic.

'DAMNED'- she's being sent to eternal damnation and it links to how demonized she sounds- the complete betrayal to the King and to God 'thou shall not murder' is now taking its toll on her physically but it is only psychologically apparent to her. In those days demons/witches had a spot somewhere on their bodies which sought them out to be evil, and now Duncan's murder has irreparably stained her with blood.

Act 3 Scene 3-4

Act 5 Scene 3:

-Doctor comes and tells Macbeth how Lady Macbeth is suffering- he simply tells him to 'treat her illness'- evokes an analogy asking the doctor if he can treat a sick country, echoes and furthers Shakespeare's metaphor in the scene of the English scene and the doctor tells Malcolm how he heals the sick people in his country- entire country is sick as a result of Macbeth as you could argue, Lady Macbeth is mentally ill as a result of Macbeth's over ambition in which he wanted his wife to manipulate him- hence he sent her a letter outlining the witches prophecies

Act 5 Scene 4:

Malcolm orders the soldiers to cut down a bow from the trees and carry it in front of him to disguise their numbers- Macbeth thinks he's invincible as Birnam Wood can't literally move but now it is 'moving'- the inevitable tragic ending is awaiting Macbeth

Act 5 Scene 5

Macbeth hears of his wife's death in this scene, he responds saying she should have 'DIED HEREAFTER'- saying she would have died anyways, completely breakdown of their relationship as if he dying is almost an annoyance as he's planning for bottle- he has no respect for her and could be annoyed as he knows he can't succeed without her power over him. It could also mean she shouldn't have died yet, it should have been at a later date which is more 'suitable' for him..

Shakespeare gives us the image of people scrambling around in the dark with candles 'lighted fools the way to dusty death'- 'fools' ironic because Macbeth is clearly a fool- he believed the witches' half-truths and now as a result of that dependency and determination to change fate as he pleased although determined by God (again as he's a fool) he is becoming less power as time goes on. He's saying life is told by an idiot and means absolutely nothing- 'dusty' imagery of forgettable, abandoned and neglected- must like his own death will soon occur to be. Messenger tells Macbeth Birnam Wood is moving and now he is completely stripped of all his self-confidence and assurances, he realises the witches have deceived him and yet he doesn't give it' reflection of his own glory mindset and it could me deemed admirable that he doesn't give up on his principles at this point.

Act 5 Scene 6-7

In Scene 6-the battle begins

In Scene 7- Macbeth joins the dray and he is determined and fierce- cyclical structure to in the beginning how he fought the traitor and was determined and fierce.

-Macbeth kills Young Siward easily- horrible death for Siward as Macbeth returns to his former self although funnily enough, he hasn't worked it out yet that Macduff isn't born of a woman- logically he believes it is impossible to not be born of a woman obviously but he doesn't realise the truth the witches meant hence their half-truths is a factor for his hamartia.

-He's no more or less than a killer at the end- he is used now and isn't killed off like Lady Macbeth as he is the reason why natural order in society was disrupted but now is going to be restored by his execution.

-Malcolm says ' we have met with foes that strike besides us' he is referring to his once army which has abandoned him and left him alone and joined the opposing side. It is reflective on how he left Lady Macbeth at her most needed time and didn't care about her nor her health- and now because of his greed of power not only is he losing his honour and throne, he lost his wife. He is now alone and it's him against the world.

Act 5 Scene 8-9

Act 5 Scene 8:

-Macduff vs Macbeth- Macbeth doesn't think it is honourable to try and end it himself much like Lady Macbeth.

'Why should I play the roman fool and die on my own sword' -he could be mocking his wife for taking her own life as only a fool would do that and he believes it will make him look weak. It also could hint that he has thought of suicide but decided it is a bad idea for the fact that he wants to remain a status that he is impossible to defeat and something as suicide it.

-Macbeth uncovers the final deception that Macduff was cut from his mother's womb than born naturally- sole thing his confidence was based on and his first instinct was to run 'I'll not fight with thee'- complete opposite from Act 1/opening of the play.

-He chooses to die by fighting rather than to be captured and humiliated- warrior, 'brave' Macbeth from the opening of the play. He still believe sin dignity and honourability and will fight to the end.

-He had to do things by insults from Lady Macbeth and Macduff which shows once someone questions his manhood, he sustains a mechanism that would undoubtfully prove he is a 'man' and indeed he is easily manipulated.

-He was deemed as Scotland's best warrior celebrated by his King and was loved and respected by his peers but because of his ambition, weakness and over influence by others he ended up alone, he threw it all away, lost parts of his humanity, carried out horrible acts to try and hold to the slippery semblance of power.

Act 5 Scene 9:

Macbeth is killed- order is restored- cyclical structure as now a traitor is killed and in the beginning a traitor was killed but by different characters.