Macbeth Analysis

Macbeth’, a play written by William Shakespeare, is a tragedy that explores the ideas of evil, power and fate. Within Shakespeare, language techniques have been used to convey meaning and understanding to the reader. Shakespeare’s choices of techniques make use of language to highlight the moral fibre of the characters, themes and to convey a more extensive description of occurrences. This passage, from the beginning of Scene 5 in Act 1, explains Lady Macbeth reading a letter she has received from Macbeth. The letter announces Macbeth’s newly honoured position as Thane of Cawdor and an explanation of the witch’s prophecies. Reading, Lady Macbeth reflects on the qualities of Macbeth, both positive and negative. She fears Macbeth does not have the determination and the ruthless nature to claim his crown. She plans to persuade him to pursue the crown by using her daring and persuasive temperament. Immediately after the passage Macbeth enters and they discuss their murderous plan for the king. This is a significant scene in the play. It is the start of the end for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

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Many language devices have purposely been used in the passage to convey the direction and excitement of Lady Macbeth’s thoughts. Directly before the passage, the letter Macbeth wrote to Lady Macbeth is not in the verse form that Shakespeare typically writes in. Instead, the letter is written in prose. This change in writing style illustrates that Macbeth was not thinking with a clear mind, but instead was carried away by with excitement from the news and events that he has just encountered. When Lady Macbeth ponders the news that she receives, she begins to talk in a soliloquy verse. As the passage continues she begins to explore what is right and human and what must be done. She tries to distance herself from the deed that she is about to do by means of imagery. She discusses the fact that no human person with kindness or pity would commit such an act so she proceeds to make herself inhumane as such. She uses dark imagery of spirits taking all of her human kindness away from her “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,”(1.5.38-39) By using this image of her being ‘unsexed’ she is showing that she is happy to remove all that makes her a woman for the purpose to kill Duncan the king. This dark imagery is further continued when Lady Macbeth talks herself into a murderous state of mind and calls upon night to hide her deed from heaven and from herself.

“Come, think night,

And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,

That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,

Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,

To cary “Hold, Hold”(1.5.50-54)

Symbolism is the representation of an idea of emotion through symbols. This technique is a dramatic device which is used by Lady Macbeth to place a large emphasis on her seriousness towards the intention of murdering Duncan. Lady Macbeth uses the symbol of a raven, a black bird, and links it with the entrance of Duncan,

“The raven himself is hoarse

That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan” (1.5.36-37)

The raven is a bird of dark prophecy. When Lady Macbeth says these words, she is claiming that the raven is hoarse from saying that the king must die repeatedly. The raven represents the evil and deadly deeds that are to fall upon Duncan during his visit. The raven ‘croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan’, detailing that Lady Macbeth has a murderous intent without any need to further explain.

Action, dialogue and thoughts, each reveal qualities and the behaviour of the characters. “Come, think night,

And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,

That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,

Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,

To cary “Hold, Hold”(1.5.50-54)

For the first time, the audience is introduced to Lady Macbeth in the play. Shakespeare writes about her to convey a first impression of being ambitious and willing to sacrifice what is morally right and good for a higher status. She is a very strong woman and this is shown with her doubt that Macbeth will not strong enough to make his way to King with his nature, ‘yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness, To catch the nearest way’ (1.5.14-16). Lady Macbath is also seen as a very devious person. When she hears that the King Duncan will be staying in their castle, she greets the attendant with a natural manner, hiding her murderous intentions. The passage is largely expressing a mix of excitement and nervousness. She is excited by the prospect of being a Queen and that the goal is so graspable. However, she ponders to the thought of the milk of human kindness that she recognizes as a weakness. She believes such humanity is not needed, and wishesit to be stricken from her, in order to acquire her wants.

The words, sentencing and deliberate use of language illustrate the nature of Lady Macbeth and the dark ambition Lady Macbeth and Macbeth share. The personal thoughts and ideas the two characters consider can be studied in greater detail by investigating the words further.