Soliloquy in ‘Macbeth’ :a detailed
Analysis.
Introduction
Shakespheare’s Scottish tragedy is about Macbeth’s rise to power, and he does this by murdering his king, Duncan, and the evil deeds.
A soliloquy is a classical literary technique to allow a character to share his or her thoughts and feelings with the audience. I will now examine and attempt to trace 3 soliloquies in Macbeth’s development from hero to a hated tyrant.
When Macbeth won the battle after that he met the three weird sisters and they told him that he is thane of glamis, he is going to become the thane of cowdor and he will become the king. After this Macbeth does become the thane of cowdor and realises that the three wierds sisters prophecy is becoming true and this makes him ambitious to become the king. The only way to become the king is to murder Duncan and this what the first soliloquy is all about that should he murder king, Duncan or not. This first soliloquy is in act1 scene 7. Macbeth feels that if he were to murder the king, that he better do it soon. This tells us in the first line of the soliloquy which says “ If it were done when tis done, then t’were well; it were done quickly”. Macbeth hesitant to murder Duncan, because he feels that he would be punished in hell for committing such a crime. He tells us this in lines 7-10. it also tells us that Macbeth feels that the “bloody instructions” are the plan to kill duncan, and that if he were to go through with these plans it will eventually lead back to him “ return to plague th’inventor” and the people will know that Macbeth was not the rightful and that he killed the king. Macbeth then feels that he is not right to do this action because Duncan is his host, kinsman anh subject and a host is obligated to console their guests not to kill them. After the soliloquy Macbeth thinks that he is not going to murder his king but then lady Macbeth persuades him to murder Duncan by saying he is a coward and he is not a man.
