“Is this a dagger I see before me?” This is usually the way most people view ‘The Scottish Play’, also known as Macbeth — which you probably need to write an analysis for if you’re reading this article (we’ve got everything you need with a summary, the key characters and themes).
Using its proper name is even considered bad luck among actors. With its mysticism and murderous rampage, most people see the play as long and repetitive, perhaps — although it is one of the greatest Shakespearean plays.
So if you’re studying this text and need some guidance writing an essay analysis on Macbeth, keep reading!
Macbeth Summary
Key Characters in Macbeth
Context
Themes Explored in Macbeth
Analysis of Macbeth
Summary of Macbeth
The action begins on the eve ofa battle between the Scottish army and a Norwegian rebellion, when the two famed generals of King Duncan, Macbeth and Banquo, meet three mysterious women (witches) that have previously cast a prophecy in a storm.
The witches predict theCoronation of Macbeth as King of Scotland, and promise Kingdoms to all of Banquo’s sons. The men leave the witches in scepticism, and defeat the rebel MacDonwald.
For his outstanding performance in battle,Macbeth is awarded with the title of ‘Thane of Cawdor’ by the King himself, an item that the witches had also promised to the General. It is at this moment that Macbeth begins to question his scepticism in the prophecy.
Macbeth returns to his camp, and tells of the prophecy to his wife.He is still reluctant, but his wife pushes him to act on the prophecy.She is thrilled at the prospect of power.
King Duncan comes to visit Macbeth’s camp to congratulate him, and in the darkness of night,Lady Macbeth drugs the two guards standing watch over Duncan, and Macbeth kills him.
The sons of Duncan,Malcolm and Donalbain, are also at the camp, but immediately flee for their lives once the body is found, in fear they might be killed also.
This rash action, however, draws suspicion on them, andthey are blamed for the murder along with the guards(麦克白夫人把血刀接近their intoxicated bodies to frame them). Macbeth has moral doubts about the murder he committed and regrets it in his mind.
Macduff leaves for England to raise an army, as he suspects Macbeth of the murder, while the latter is crowned king. Despite being plagued by ghostly apparitions and guilt,Macbeth arranges for Banquo and his son Fleance to be assassinated in a hunt, but Fleance escapes as his father is killed.这使得潜在的继承人班柯作为possib莎士比亚悲剧《麦克白》le challenger to the throne.
Macbeth fears for his power yet again and seeksthe witches, who tell him that no man born of woman can take away his crown. He thus begins persecutions, burning women and children at the stake, in case one is the future challenger to Macbeth.
Macduff’s wife and family are also burned.Upon hearing this, Macduff and Malcolm move against Macbeth with an army from England.
Macbeth believes that he will be safe in Dunsinane, however,he is warned by the witches that the nearby forest is ‘moving closer’(enemy soldiers have camouflaged themselves with vegetation and tree branches to get closer to Macbeth and his castle).
Macbeth is killed by Macduff in a final, bloody battle, as we learn he was born of cesarean birth. Malcolm is crowned king, and declares peace.
Key Characters in Macbeth
Macbeth
Macbeth should be viewed as a tragic hero rather than a villain. Yes, he is taken over by ambition and power, but who wouldn’t?
This is exactly the point Shakespeare is trying to make. Macbeth eventually comes to regret his actions, much before the end of the play: “full of scorpions is my mind…”
Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth is Macbeth’s own counterpart. Even though she challenged him and demonstrated her superior brutality, the guilt catches up to her early in the play, by the end she has fully repented of her actions, but has nevertheless been destroyed by them. Hence why she commits suicide.
The Witches
Aside from being emissaries from the supernatural, the witches are the perfect personification of the superstitious and religious climate of the time.
The struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism in England truly made audiences question their religious beliefs. The witches are thus a mirror of this in the play.
Macduff
Macduff can be considered the true hero of the story. He is able to see through Macbeth’s deception, and avenge his family ultimately.
Nevertheless, he seems to be the one gaining less in the end. Shakespeare makes use of this character as a foil to Macbeth.
Banquo
Another foil to Macbeth, Banquo represents everything that Macbeth isn’t. His moral attitude towards power is admirable, although a hint of jealousy can be sensed in Act III Scene I.
Note that not even Banquo is completely immune to ambition. He just doesn’t pursue it at such great lengths as Macbeth does.
Malcolm
国王邓肯的儿子,逃离他的谋杀as he fears for his life. He is later persuaded by MacDuff to command an English army and get his throne back. The rightful heir to king Duncan.
Donalbain
Duncan’s second son, he helps his brother in his quest to avenge his father.
King Duncan
He is the model ruler introduced in the play. Macbeth will be comparing himself to Duncan across the play, and always falling short of his benevolence.
Duncan isn’t really a noteworthy character by himself, but rather a tool for Macbeth to realise he takes his ambition too far.
Context
Given the scarce popularity of King James I, The play can be seen as eithera criticism to the King’s rule, or as a warning to anyone wanting to overthrow him. This is particularly significant, as around the time that the play was written, the Gunpowder Plot was discovered, and the perpetrators sentenced to death.
Setting
The play is set in feudal Scotland, so if you were ever tempted to say that the characters assassinated or otherwise killed in Macbeth’s persecutions were the moral opposite of the tragic hero, think again.
At that time,the only way to earn a shred of respect was to backstab and kill.Who knows how many unfortunate souls Duncan had to murder to be King by the beginning of the play.
You’ll find that Shakespeare isn’t trying to single out Macbeth and his wife as evil. On the contrary,he is showing us that betrayal and murder is common; Malcolm effectively kills half his countrymen to defeat Macbeth and become king during the final battle at Dunsinane, and he doesn’t even get the honour to chop off his head. McDuff does.
Themes Explored in Macbeth
Macbeth is one of those plays that can be argued to have an innumerable amount of messages as a whole. Here are the two principal ones that will always be in the exam:
Power and Ambition
Shakespeare makes it clear thatall characters are vulnerable to this.Rather, he invites audiences to question to what extent the pursuit of ambition is legitimate.
Although Macbeth’s reign was bloody and unjust, a just man that brought peace to Scotland (Malcolm) also had to take various lives to do so. Is murder justifiable then?Shakespeare wants each one of us to find our own limit to ambition.
The Supernatural and Our Beliefs
The witches’ prophecy is very telling of the religious struggles of the time. Yet centuries after,Shakespeare manages still to interrogate audiences in their belief in fate.
How to Analyse Macbethin 3 Steps
Step 1: Choose your example(s)
The best way to choose an example is to choose a technique. Rememberyou must includestylistic devices(how images and words are arranged in a text in order to produce meaning), andaesthetic features(elements that prompt a critical response from the reader) in your essays to gain the most marks.
The following quote comments on both Theme and Paradox, which are aesthetic features:
“So foul and fair a day I have not seen.”
Step 2: Identify your techniques
The key part of the quote here is‘foul and fair’. Putting the quote into context, this mantra-like phrase has already been repeated a couple of times by the witches, whom Macbeth has not yet met.
The simple fact that this phrase is already so popular, and we’re not even half way through Act I indicates that this is a pivotal theme.
All in all,it is a paradox that equates good to evil;in essence, puts them on the same plane and connotes their similarities in people’s words and actions.
Step 3: Carry out your analysis
Always be ready to ask yourselfwhat the author intended you to feel/respond emotionally by reading the example quote.This will make sure that you tackle an important part of the analysis, which is the effect on the reader.
William Shakespeare induces audiences to question their stance on the moral character of ambition by utilising the theme of good versus evil. The witches’ mantra-like phrase “fair is foul and foul is fair”, echoed by Macbeth himself, “so foul and fair a day I have not seen” (Act I) equates benevolence with malevolence. By putting these two distinct, paradoxical concepts on the selfsame plain, Shakespeare figuratively gives permission to Macbeth to pursue his ambition in a frenetic and relentless manner, whatever the cost. This is because, in the tragic hero’s mind, the line between good and bad is blurred when it comes to ambition.
Need some help analysing other texts?
Check out other texts we’ve created guides for below:
- All the Light We Cannot See
- Lord of the Flies
- Hamlet
- Jane Eyre
- In Cold Blood
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Run Lola Run
- King Lear
- The Book Thief
- 1984
- Things Fall Apart
- Mrs Dalloway
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Vittorio Manessiis an Art of Smart tutor based in Queensland studying environmental science. He was one of the first Year 12 students to study under the new ATAR system in Queensland. He enjoys Maths, Science, English and Ancient History and is keen to share his knowledge of the QCE by making awesome resources.
