Macbeth - WOWs

Nouns Vs Verbs

The witches present nouns rather than verbs. They put titles on Macbeth without telling what actions he must carry out to attain those titles. It is Lady Macbeth who supplies the verbs, and drives the actions.

Roman á clef

Snyder asserts that Macbeth is a roman à clef - a novel which relates to real-life people. Banquo is intended to be an ancestor of King James I, relating to James’ mother Mary Queen of Scots, whose children became Monarchs – but she never was.

elision

Shakespeare uses elision to increase dramatic tension and maintain the fast pace of Macbeth’s rise and fall. For example, we never see Duncan’s murder happen onstage; instead, we experience it through Macbeth’s immediate reaction afterward. This leaves much to the audience’s imagination, which heightens the horror and the psychological intensity of the scene.

Walking in death

Banquo’s walking in death answers to, or even is caused by, the murder that cut him off so prematurely. The unnatural murder generates unnatural movement in the dead. Lady Macbeth, too, walks when she should be immobile in sleep, a great perturbation in nature.

DJ Enright

1. Critic D.J Enright calls Lady Macbeth a “Sprinter of evil” whereas Macbeth is more of a “long distance runner.”

Verse Vs prose

Lady Macbeth transitions from verse to prose, which in Shakespeare often indicates a character’s loss of control, mental disturbance, or low status.