- “I ‘gin to be aweary of the sun” (V, v, 49) showing that he is starting to become afraid
- Macbeth’s image has changed dramatically in people’s minds from a loyal, respectful, and noble soldier to a cruel, evil-minded tyrant
- “Some say he’s mad; others, that lesser hate him do call it valiant fury;” (V, ii, 13-14)
- “What does the tyrant [Macbeth]?” (V, ii, 11)
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“Both more and less have given him the revolt, and none serve with him but constrained things whose hearts are absent too.” (V, v, 13-15) → All ranks of people have lost their respect for Macbeth as they have rebelled against him. The only people that serve him are troubled.
- When Macduff declares that he was not of woman born, Macbeth’s attitude changes to a fearful and conscientious one, refusing to fight as all of the apparitions had come true. Only when he was challenged with an insult, he decides to fight and die with pride.
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Macbeth refuses to fight Macduff as his conscience has returned to him. He feels extremely guilt after killing Macduff’s family → “my soul is too much charg’d with blood of thine already” (V, vii, 34-35)
- “I’ll not fight with thee” (V, vii, 51) says Macbeth after hearing that Macduff was ‘untimely ripped from his mother’s womb’ (V, vii, 44-45)
- Macduff challenges Macbeth’s manhood by saying “We’ll have thee, as our rarer monster are, painted upon a pole, and underwrit, ‘Here may you see the tyrant.” (V, vii, 54-56)
- As Macbeth grew more evil, he loss the sense of fear along with courage, but his courage is revived when the battle begins between him and the army
- “I’ll fight till from my bones and flesh be hack’d. Give me my armour.” (V, iii, 33-34) His previous identity of a brave and noble soldier is shown again when he puts his armour on.
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Macbeth enters into battle knowing that he will be defeated → 3rd apparition “Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.” (IV, i, 92-94) had come true.
- Macbeth never leans towards the option of committing suicide, but instead wants to die with dignity as he says, “Why should I play the Roman fool, and die on mine own sword? (V, vii, 30-31) In his opinion, this is not a noble action to commit.
Analysis of Lady Macbeth:
- The intense sense of guilt causes Lady Macbeth to become mentally unstable therefore cannot assist Macbeth with his evil plots
- “It is an accustomed action with her [Lady Macbeth], to seem thus washing her hands. I have known her continue in this a quarter of an hour,” (V, i, 28-30) – Gentlewoman
- Lady Macbeth in the past called on evil spirits to make her sexless (inhuman) so she would be able to commit the murder, but now she shows signs of wanting to be more of a woman. She becomes incredibly fragile and unstable with the recurring nightmares of Duncan’s murder which eventually drives her to her death with madness.
- “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts! Unsex me here” (I, v, 39-40)
- Lady Macbeth’s future had been foreshadowed in the past by her own comments as she has thought about the murder every waking second that she has become mentally and spiritually ill
- “These deeds must not be thought after these ways; so, it will make us mad” (II, ii, 34)
- Lady Macbeth needs and demands to be around light at all times after the murders “she has light by her continually; ’tis her command.” (V, i, 22-23) since she had asked before to be “in the dunnest smoke of hell” (I, v, 50). However, now she wants to be innocent again and return to the less worried life she had before.
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“What’s done cannot be undone.” (V, i, 64-65) → Lady Macbeth shows a great sense of regret as the un- prefix” is used such as to ‘undo’ her actions.
- This is a different attitude shown before when comforting Macbeth to move on with his life, Lady Macbeth says “What’s done is done,” (III, ii, 12) showing her confidence in her actions.
- At first, she had been encouraging and influencing Macbeth to murder and be more ‘manly’ as she had a lot of ambition and evil in her. However, she is now full of guilt and a troubled conscious, which eventually leads to her death.
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“What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” (V, i, 42)→ Lady Macbeth wants to take back everything that she has done as she tries to wash her guilt away.
- Lady Macbeth’s agnorisis appears as she says “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” (V, i, 48-49) She realizes that she is in a dead end and nothing can be done to help her out of this troubled state.
- Lady Macbeth has sacrificed her soul/spirit for her uncontrollable ambition to make Macbeth King and herself Queen. She can’t have the best of both worlds therefore she ended up suffering the consequences of her actions.
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“Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it” (I, v, 17-18) → With ambition comes consequences
Delahoyde, Michael. “Macbeth.” Washington State University – Shakespeare.
http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/shakespeare/macbeth5.html
Annotated Bibliography
“Analysis of Major Characters.” Spark Notes.
This web page illustrates the events that involved the major characters, showing the reasons for a change in character. It is helpful because it conveyed only the most important events, which were responsible for the change of the character.
Delahoyde, Michael. “Macbeth.” Washington State University – Shakespeare.
This web page analyzes the actions of Macbeth throughout Act 5 with a short summary simultaneously. It is helpful when formulating possible reasons for what Macbeth has done.
“Lady Macbeth.” Character Analysis.
This web page describes Lady Macbeth’s character throughout the whole play shown with her gradual change in actions. It is helpful because it had only a short summary of Lady Macbeth’s part in each scene therefore it would allow us to interpret and find proof on our own.
Zimmerman, Margaret. “Macbeth’s Major Themes.” Macbeth. (22 May 1998)
This web page mainly deals with a few of the major themes of the play Macbeth. It is helpful because many examples and explanations were given for each individual theme.
