ESSAY PLANS - Macbeth

Kingship:

Point 1: Macbeths unchecked ambition leads him to quiring the legitimate title of king, therefore violating the divine right of kings

‘vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself’

• personifies his ambition - portraying it as possessing a potency comparable to a human force that can exert an influence on him to acquire the title of king

• metaphor - draws Macb’s ambition parallel to a jockey who is to manage an untameable, almost animalistic force - ambitious desires lead to violation of divine right of kings

Point 2: The villain of Lady Macbeth uses manipulation and the power tactic of emasculation in order to persuade Macbeth’s transgression of kingship

‘too full o the milk of human kindness’… ‘coward’ contrasts ‘worthy Cawdor’

• emasculated Macbeth - uses a feminine image linked with motherhood - catalyses him into committing regicide to become king - manipulates him - weak

• comparing her with act 5 - she propels Macbeth into becoming king through emasculation which she is later punished for as she goes crazy and kills herself

Point 3: Macbeths tyrannical pursuit of kingship directly leads to his fatal downfall as he disintegrates into a carcass of insanity due to his guilt

‘I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep” ’

• recurring motif of sleep which is synonymous to innocence and peace - Macbeth loss of sleep = loss of innocence and sanity as a result of violating kingship and divine order

• change in character - no longer uses imperatives like ‘stars hide your fires’ as in his guilt he is haunted by transgression of the divine right of kings

• exclamative sentence - emphasises irreversible nature of his eternal torment of guilt as he has disrupted divine right of kings through violating kingship

Guilt:

Point 1: Macbeths guilt is a result of his tyrannical ambition - he is blinded by his ambition which leaves him eternally plagued with guilt

‘will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood clean from my hands’… ‘amen’ x3

• Macbeth obsesses about the blood on his hands - blood represents guilt which he fears will torment him

• He is aware that his tyrannical ambition has disrupted the Natural order - ocean has been corrupted by his murder of Duncan

• Neptune is a pagan God - reflects Macb’s desperation to rid himself of guilt as he fears he has lost Gods blessing - eternal damnation

Point 2: Shakespeare constructs Macbeth to personify how the stain of guilt proves eternal.

‘I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep” ’

• recurring motif of sleep which is synonymous to innocence and peace - Macbeth loss of sleep = loss of innocence and sanity as a result of violating kingship and divine order

• change in character - no longer uses imperatives like ‘stars hide your fires’ as in his guilt he is haunted by transgression of the divine right of kings

• exclamative sentence - emphasises irreversible nature of his eternal torment of guilt as he has disrupted divine right of kings through violating kingship

Violence:

Point 1: Macbeths excessive violence causes him to be engulfed with guilt - tyrannical and violent rule leads to eternal guilt

‘will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood clean from my hands’… ‘amen’ x3

• Macbeth obsesses about the blood on his hands - blood represents his guilt which he fears will torment him

• He is aware that his tyrannical and violent actions has disrupted the Natural order - ocean has been corrupted by his murder of Duncan

• Neptune is a pagan God - reflects Macb’s desperation to rid himself of his own violence as he fears he has lost Gods blessing - eternal damnation

Point 2: Lady Macbeth’s desire to be violent - strip herself of all femininity in her pursuit to become ruthless and violent

‘take my milk for gall’ ‘unsex me here’

• metaphor: ‘milk…gall’ – Lady Macbeth overturns the female role of mother – suppresses her femininity – gives herself more ‘masculine’ qualities to empower herself – makes her dangerous and violent

• rejects the feminine stereotype of weakness and fragility – she wants the strength to persuade Macb to kill Duncan

• she realises her aspirations for violent tyranny require a detachment from femininity - this paves the way for her ruthless and violent ambitions

Point 3: Shakespeare presents Macduff as the archetype of a hero motivated by revenge and violence but with the honourable intention of restoring the order of Scotland

‘I have no words; my voice is my sword’

• violent metaphor shows restoration of the order of Scotland requires physical violence - Macb’s violent tyrannical means, mandates a similar force to rectify the natural order that has been disrupted