Macbeth Coursework Essay

By Salman Ramjaun 10GE...

How does Shakespeare present the character of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in the Murder Scene, Act 2 Scene 2, and how does this prepare us for what happens in the rest of the play?

Page 1

'Macbeth' is a play written by William Shakespeare during the time when Shakespeare was thought to have written his greatest works such as: King Lear, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet. “Macbeth” is a tragic play based on the downfall and eventual death of a heroic figure as Macbeth eventually becomes haunted by his murderous actions. During the early 1600’s, Shakespeare wrote a lot of famous tragedies; his work produced was of best quality at the time. This play was written for James I to honour him as the new king; he was a unifying monarch as he was King of England and Scotland and he believed in witchcraft. Witchcraft was used many times in the play as the three witches were used to guide Macbeth to the prophecy; Witchcraft was a concern social hysteria about witches.

The audience get a sense of evil through both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, but mainly Macbeth as the audience don’t receive any information that makes Lady Macbeth seem evil at the beginning of the play. However, Macbeth has been associated with evil through his encounter with the witches on the heath; he is a brave warrior as he is named “...brave Macbeth...” by the Sergeant. However, Macbeth is clearly fascinated by the prophecy as he says “Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more”, this shows that he is interested in what the witches are telling him. This all shows Macbeths’ “vaulting ambition” as he is now eagerly ambitious to become King. Lady Macbeth encourages him to commit the murder and this introduces the audience to a new person with doubt and frustration in his mind. He is trying to appear loyal to Duncan but underneath he is plotting his murder. The audience know this as Shakespeare uses Macbeths’ asides (private thoughts) a lot to make the audience see who he actually is. During one of his asides, Macbeth says “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me,
without my stir.” Here he is eager to be King and hopes he won’t have to kill to achieve it.

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Whereas at this stage, Lady Macbeth is clear in her mind and has “...direst cruelty...” to kill Duncan; this shows she is a ruthless person and her true lach of conscience. Lady Macbeth is concerned that Macbeth is too gentle and she thinks he is “...too full o' the milk of human kindness”. However, she persuades Macbeth to go through with the murder; this makes him reluctant and disinclined to carry on with the killing. The audience also know that Macbeth is having hallucinations and having murderous thoughts but also being driven mad by guilt. This is shown during Macbeth’s soliloquy when he says “Is this a dagger?” Macbeth goes upon the heath to go see the witches; he believes and studies the prophecy that the witches gave him. During the Shakespearean times, women were less superior to men and this is why she is an unusual character. Lady Macbeth is presented as being unusual for a woman during Shakespeare’s time as she is dominant; she is shown to not have a conscience as Shakespeare describes her as being ruthless. Lady Macbeth says she would have committed the murder as she says “Had he not resembled, my father as he slept, I had done't.”

Page 2

The murder scene is a key scene in the play as this is where Macbeth commits the murder and kills Duncan; this scene prepares the audience for what happens in the rest of the play as Lady Macbeth and Macbeth become haunted by their visions. Shakespeare’s use of stage craft in this scene is especially powerful as it sets an atmosphere onto the scene. For example, Lady Macbeth says “I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry”, and this shows that she is starting to become haunted as Macbeth doesn’t hear the owl; An owl hoot is associated with death and horror. This adds tension to the atmosphere as in Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy; she is describing the act of murder and says “...he is about it”. Lady Macbeth has doubts over Macbeth as he brings back the bloody daggers that he used to kill Duncan with; she says “Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there go carry them; and smear the sleepy grooms with blood.” She wants Macbeth to disguise himself as being the murderer and put the blame onto the “sleepy grooms” so they don’t get caught. Lady Macbeth gets frustrated with Macbeth when he returns with the daggers as now he has blood over his hands; she is the practical one as she has to tell Macbeth what to do.

After the death, Macbeth’s conscience kicks in as he fears that he can’t say “Amen”, and this is a critical time for Macbeth as he is in need of God’s blessing; this suggests he is damned. The irony used in the scene all builds up to set the mood for the scene; to make the atmosphere seem gloomy, murky and bleak. Lady Macbeth criticizes Macbeth because he can’t cope with the pressure put on him after killing Duncan. She fears for him as she says “A little water clears us of this deed” but she disapproves of him as he has forgotten about getting caught with the bloody daggers. Lady Macbeth is hugely practical in this scene. She is thinking on her feet and she believes the murder will not affect her and Macbeth deeply; this is ironic as later on in the play her visions turns into a mental illness and she kills herself. The blood daggers put an impact on the audience as they are shocked to see Macbeth do such a thing.

From the murder scene, Shakespeare creates a sense of frustration in Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeth’s fate and they will both eventually die. Macbeth is then driven to further murders and this is a way he has forgotten the murder that he committed on Duncan. He says “I have almost forgot the taste of my fears”; this makes the audience feel that he no longer feels guilt by the end of the play. Macbeth changes because when her murders Duncan, he gets so shocked and later after he has murdered the victims, he no longer feels guilt or shocked over killing Duncan. However, this contrasts with Lady Macbeth as she turns mad by her guilt, and this eventually leads her to killing herself. Macbeth no longer cares about Lady Macbeth’s death. Lady Macbeth starts to sleepwalk and this is one of the effects of the death of Duncan, as this is now haunting her. Macbeth’s characteristics change as he becomes more “power-hungry”; he wants more power. He becomes too full of himself and nearer the end of the film, Macduff kills him. This contrasts with how Lady Macbeth’s characteristics change as she is hugely disturbed by the thoughts and visions of Duncan; this eventually leads her to killing herself.

Page 3

Act 2 Scene 2 is a key scene in the play as it ties the whole play together and the characters’ characteristics develop from this scene and gradually and slowly harm Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. During the scene, it shows Lady Macbeth’s dominance in the relationship as she is the leader and controls Macbeth, and it shows Macbeth’s fear as he gets frightened to commit the murder. Both of these characters change their features as the play goes on. The scene Act 2 Scene 2 sets in motion their downfall and once they start to kill, they can’t stop. This scene is the turning point in how the characters are presented by Shakespeare to the audience. The audience are now ready for the rest of the play and the audience then see how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth change throughout the play.

By Salman Ramjaun 10EN1 10GE..