Macbeth, a butcher?

A detailed Summary of Macbeth, a butcher?

Is Malcolm's final judgement of Macbeth an accurate epitaph?

I would argue that the phrase "...this dead butcher..." would seem fully justified to describe a king who has caused the deaths of so many innocent people, but is an over-simple and rash judgement by Malcolm in his emotional circumstances. I would suggest that the label "...moral coward..." would be a more suitable title for Macbeth and his attempts to divorce himself from his murderous deeds.

When Macbeth chooses ambition over his conscience it is the cataclysmic event in the play that adds excitement and tension to the play, but for Macbeth to fulfil this ambition he needs evil. For Macbeth, evil and ambition come hand in hand because he needs to be evil to kill Duncan in order to achieve his ambition. They can be separate but Macbeth uses them in an immoral way. I would then propose that Macbeth is not completely a butcher but more of a moral coward. This is demonstrated by his attempts to cover his deeds through darkness and by divorcing himself from the murders.

The dramatic unity of the play is complete when Macbeth puts on his armour before going into battle. This image of clothing is a recurring theme that has special releva

After receiving the news of being named 'Thane of Cawdor', which was not in fact a prophecy because he had already been given this title by Duncan but he just did not know it, Macbeth started to believe what the witches said,

This personification of Scotland also represents the bloodshed that Macbeth has caused in Scotland. Chaos spreads its way through nature as well, King Duncan's horses fight against their training and hawks are killed by their prey. The shriek of women is an all too familiar sound by the end of the play, so much so that they no longer shake Macbeth. He has brought cruelty to Scotland which is a country "...Almost afraid to know itself...". Shakespeare introduced a new philosophy of kingship in the play that culminated when Malcolm announced,

Under Macbeth's rule fair is foul and foul is fair, in other words to do good is bad and to do bad is good. Ironically, Macbeth echoed this at the beginning of the play and it has now come back to haunt him and his country. Scotland is described as being diseased under Macbeth's rule and the country in chaos,

"But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, We'd jump the life to come..."

This vivid imagery presents hell as a river that Macbeth must cross to get to the other side that does not contain the tortures of hell for which Macbeth must pay for his earthly sins. Christians believe that their afterlife is spent in either Heaven or Hell depending how good or evil you are during your earthly life. If you commit evil deeds in your earthly life then you will be sent to hell to be punished for it. Another Christian concept is the battle with the "Original Sin"; we must fight the burden of this to ensure we can go to heaven. This idea derives from the belief that Adam and Eve were the original sinners because they were tempted by the Devil and as descendants from Adam and Eve we still carry this burden. Macbeth's hope that he can escape hell by jumping over it illustrates his tragic flaw, his attempts to control fate which, by definition, cannot be controlled.

"...to be king stands not within the prospect of belief..."

At the start of the play Macbeth is described as a "noble" and "valiant" warrior who "...brandish'd steel which smok'd with bloody execution...". Macbeth was a soldier who was used to killing people without any signs of his conscience affecting his ability to fight in battle. This is in contrast to the strong feelings of guilt he felt after murdering Duncan when he wondered if "...all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand...". Macbeth's guilt stems from his own knowledge that the people he has slaughtered are innocent, harmless and the deeds are unnatural. But he is able to kill those that he fought against in battle because he does not know them on a personal level. It could then be argued that he was a butcher before he killed Duncan and because he showed feelings of guilt for the deaths of innocent people then he has become less of a butcher as the play progresses. Another view is that he is simply a "valiant warrior" at the start of the play and becomes a butcher as his ambition urges him on, but at the end of the play we see a return of the "valiant warrior". This dramatic unity signifies that Macbeth has returned from his evil side and is the good, honourable Macbeth that we heard of at the beginning of the play.

"...Security is mortals chiefest enemy..."

His final realisation of not being able to control fate leads to complete nihilistic thoughts, this is revealed as he insensitively reacts to the news that his wife is dead,

"It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash Is added to her wounds..."

Macbeth's guilt stems from his belief that the deeds he commits are unnatural, and in Duncan's case, sacrilegious. His guilt manifests into hallucinations. Firstly, Macbeth is led by his dagger to kill Duncan,

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Approximate Word count = 4552
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English