Another is good and evil and the continual struggle between them. This is shown by Lady Macbeth saying to Macbeth ‘look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’ (I, v, 63-64). This is saying that he should look like he is innocent and good but really be as evil as Lady Macbeth. In this passage she is also trying to convert Macbeth from being good to evil so he kills the King. Another section that has evil in it is the witches’ prophecy (I, iii). When the witches make the prophecy you don’t know if you want to trust them or not because they are witches who are capable of evil and supernatural occurrences. When this play would have been first performed witches would have been real supernatural beings that would have been believed in. In Shakespeare’s lifetime if you were thought of being a witch who had amazing unnatural powers, you could have been executed like hundreds were, because witches were morbidly feared Saying this, the witches did not make Macbeth kill Duncan; they just gave him the information that he needed to have to become evil and to kill him. Macbeth could have chosen not to believe what the witches had prophesized but just to have ignored it. Also in Act 4 scene 1 the witches cast a spell and meet Macbeth again and receive three more prophecies, this time with Hecate with them. They change the day to night and cause thunder and lightning to occur. This proves that the witches are very abnormal. The modern audiences still remain fascinated by the good, evil and the supernatural
You could also say that sex is a theme in Act 2 scene 3. This is the only scene where the porter appears. Sex is mentioned a lot, this maybe because the porter is under the influence of alcohol as he says ‘it provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance’ (II, iii, 24-25). He also says that it is ‘an equivocator of lechery’ (II, iii, 26). This scene is after just after the scene where Macbeth kills Duncan so it could be put in the play for many different reasons. The first is the fact that there has just been a very serious and tense scene and the audience needs a space for laughter. Secondly if it is being performed on stage then the Macbeths might need time to change into their nightgowns? Thirdly it could be linked with older plays where a porter at Hell’s mouth admitted sinners to the torments of Hell, ‘th’everlasting bonfire’ (II, iii, 16). Lastly in could be referring to the opening of the gates of Hell, ‘porter of Hell-gate’ (II, iii, 1-2). This scene could have been put in to relieve the tension; it would make the audience relax. This humour could add to the appeal of the play.
Nature is another theme that is used. Nature is used to explain the unnatural events of Duncan’s murder, ‘a falcon tow’ ring in her pride of place was by a mousing owl hawked and killed.’ (II, iv, 12-13). This is used to say the fact Macbeth killing Duncan is like an owl killing a falcon or a King killing a knight. ‘Be the serpent’ (I, v, 64) is another occasion where Macbeth is being referred to as a snake. When the witches go on to the stage they have the ability to change the weather or to turn night into day, this shows the power they have over nature. This adds to the appeal of the play because it adds to the weirdness and overall effect of the play.
Another theme is violence as this play is very violent. There is fighting all the way through, from start to finish. There is a fight at the beginning that Macbeth is involved in, this fight cause him to be Thane of Cawdor. Then in Act 1 scene 5 Macbeth writes a letter to Lady Macbeth saying that he will be King according to the witches. This means that Macbeth will have to kill Duncan. In Act 2 scenes 2 and 3 Duncan and his grooms are murdered. In Act 3 scene 3 Banquo gets murdered and even Lady Macduff and her son are murdered in Act 4 scene 2. In Act 5 scenes 4, 5 and 6 Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and Seyward were all killed. Violence is very important and key theme as it adds appeal to the bloodthirsty side of the audience.
The last theme that I am going to cover is the theme of trust and distrust. This is shown in Act 1 scene 2 when Duncan declares that Macbeth is going to be Thane of Cawdor as his reward, and the current Thane will be killed, ‘no more that Thane of Cawdor shall deceive … and with his former title greet Macbeth’ (I, ii, 63-65). This shows that the old Thane is unreliable so shouldn’t be trusted. This shows the trust that Duncan has in Macbeth at this time of the play. Although Duncan has put this trust in Macbeth, later in the play Macbeth still decides to kill Duncan. This shows the trust that the King has put in Macbeth was in vain as all it did was kill him. Another part of the play where trust is used is where Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan. In this passage Macbeth puts a lot of trust in Lady Macbeth. This trust also ends up in the person who trusts someone else dying as near the end of the play he is killed because he killed Duncan. This shows that in ‘Macbeth’ no-one should trust anyone else as they could and probably will turn against you. This causes a lot of dramatic tension as no-one knows who is trustworthy or untrustworthy. This adds dramatic tension and excitement which appeals especially to the more modern audience.
The staging of ‘Macbeth’ would have been very dramatic for members of the audience, especially the porter’s scene as this scene is supposed to look as though it is the gates of hell. This would look very powerful on stage as with the porter being drunk it would be funny but it also has a very serious message to it that Macbeth’s castle is like the gates of Hell. This is a very strong and powerful thought. The knocking on the door would also make the scene feel frightening because you can not see where the knocking is coming from. The scene where the witches’ prophesize the fate of Macbeth and Banquo is also very dramatic because the witches explain what is going to happen to both of them and then vanish. This causes dramatic tension because the witches have just told the audience what is going to happen so they are now wondering how the prophecies are going to happen. Lady Macbeth sleepwalking and confessing her sins to a doctor and a gentlewoman is another dramatic scene as it is both Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeth’s downfall. Trust and distrust make the play all the more exciting as the audience don’t know who is lying or who to trust. This adds dramatic tension which adds appeal to the play.
In ‘Macbeth the witches use rhyme to confuse and torment other people. They also use rhyme to cast spells ‘double, double toil and trouble, fire burn, and cauldron bubble’ (IV, i, 20-21). This spell is cast just before they meet Macbeth where they give him three more prophecies. The witches spell goes into so much detail that it could be sickening for some people watching. Rhyme is also associated with evil especially when the witches take it in turns to say parts of the spell this increases the effectiveness of the spell.
Language also plays a big part in the effectiveness and the lasting appeal of this play.
In Act 1 scene 5 when Lady Macbeth says ‘look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t’ (I, v, 63-64). This causes the audience to feel worried about what id going to happen. This adds dramatic tension which in turn adds appeal to the play. This is a simile which means it has a hidden meaning. In this case Shakespeare is being cleaver by saying that you should act innocent but secretly be as evil as possible without being noticed. This also causes dramatic tension as the audience could be wondering if Macbeth’s evil side is going to be discovered. Shakespeare also uses soliloquies to great effect. In soliloquies the character is on stage alone so this means that they can reveal their true thoughts to the audience. This shows if they are deceitful around certain characters.
In conclusion I have demonstrated why this play has had such a lasting appeal. I have highlighted the key points that I thought were relevant. I have considered various different aspects of themes, staging, rhyme and language. The themes that I have covered are: ambition, feminism, good and evil, sex, nature, violence and trust and distrust. Through these themes the play has been written. The staging creates a lot of the dramatic tension and sets the scene to create a good appeal to enable the audience to enjoy it. The rhyme supports the theme of evil so this particular theme has been exaggerated. Language has been used to create imagery with the use of similes.