Macbeth

A detailed Summary of Macbeth

In "Macbeth", Shakespeare dramatises the problem of natural order in several ways. The main topic of the play is the succession to the throne; once Macbeth breaks this tradition, driven by supernatural evil forces represented by the witches' prophecies, natural order is also ruptured. The author then uses a variety of topics to illustrate what has happen. Certain imagery of darkness, blood and natural chaos appear on stage. In Elizabethan and Jacobean society, everything had a God-ordained place in a great grading system known as the great chain of being that took into account everything from the angels through man to the animal and plant kingdom. A break in this chain of being (such as the assassination of a king) upset the order of the universe and created chaos. This chain was certainly something Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote this play.

After the murder of Duncan , Macbeth, who until then, was considered an agent of order and thus was described with words such as "noble and loyal," becomes an agent of disorder and now he is described with words such as "dark" and "devilish." During those times, the king's position derived from God and not from the people's consent; therefore, only God ha

After Duncan's murder we can identify evil as having taken over of Scotland. This is represented by a chaos in nature. Immediately after the deed, Lady Macbeth says: "I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry." Later on, in Act II scene iv, Ross and an Old man chat about "hours dreadful and things strange," referring to some strange incidents regarding and owl that killed a hawk and Duncan's horses that ate each other.

The play begins and ends with bloodshed in battle, and horrific murders dominate much of the action in between. Images of blood carry great emotional force and intensify meaning. Blood has three meanings throughout the play. The first one is showed in Act I, scene ii, when Duncan sees the injured sergeant and says, "What bloody man is that?" this is symbolic of the brave fighter who has been injured in a valiant battle for his country. The second meaning is showed in Act II, scene i, when the symbol of blood now changes to show a form of treachery and treason. Lady Macbeth starts this off when she asks the spirits to "Make thick my blood." What she is saying by this, is that she wants to make herself insensitive and remorseless for the deeds that she is about to commit. Lady Macbeth knows that the evidence of blood is a treacherous symbol, and knows it will deflect the guilt from her and Macbeth to the servants when she says:

I mentioned that the cover of darkness allows evil to emerge, therefore, after reading the play, I can say that the witches represent evil forces because of their appearances in dark backgrounds besides from their devilish prophecies. In Act I, scene i they appear under thunder and lightning on a deserted battlefield. In the first scene in Act IV they meet in a dark cave. The cave is an appropriate settin

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Approximate Word count = 1187
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English