Analysis of Macbeth Soliloquies

The first 200 words of this essay...

Analysis of Macbeth Soliloquies

This essay is going to depict the moral decline of Macbeth. It will show how the language used provides imagery and detailed analysis of Macbeth's state of mind.

Macbeth, in his first soliloquy, finds himself struggling with his conscience, over the possibility of regicide. He is concerned that the consequences he would face were vast, and that there are many reasons why he should not murder Duncan.

This first soliloquy clearly shows that these are his first thoughts on the matter, because of the haphazard way in which they are expressed. At the beginning of the soliloquy he has made no decision as to whether "the deed" will be undertaken, and at the end of the soliloquy he is still undecided, which is largely due to the intervention of Lady Macbeth.

The soliloquy opens with a euphemism of the word murder:

"If it were done."

Macbeth uses this, and other, euphemisms because murderous thoughts are alien to him. Macbeth is portrayed by the language to be a very moral and conscientious man. The euphemisms show that the "horrid deed" abhors him, because he knows