The Divine Right of Kings

‘The state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth, for kings are not only God's

lieutenants upon earth and sit upon God's throne, but even by God himself they are called

gods’

This is the belief that kings are God's deputies on Earth. By going against a king, from a verbal point to a plot to assassinate a king, you are actually going against God. This is not only

treason, but it is sacrilegious (going against a sacred belief)

LENNOX The night has been unruly. Where we lay,

Our chimneys were blown down, and (as they say)

Lamentings heard i’ th’ air; strange screams of death,

And prophesying, with accents terrible, Of dire combustion and confus’d events

New hatch’d to th’ woeful time. The obscure bird

Clamor’d the livelong night. Some say, the earth Was feverous, and did shake.

Where else is God’s judgement seen within the

play? Context: He Faced the Slave

Macbeth’s mutilation of Macdonwald’s body is graphic and disturbing, and is performed as an act of humiliation. Not only is he disembowelled, Macdonaldwald is then decapitated, with his head placed atop a pike. What happens here is very similar, but not identical, to a brutal deterrent known as being ‘Hanged, Drawn and Quartered’ (HDQ). Originating in the mid-1300, the punishment was unforgiving: performed with the prisoner alive, a person would be disembowelled, before then being hanged, decapitated and then cut in to four segments, or quartered. To suffer such a sentence would highlight the severity of the prisoner’s crime. Macbeth’s treatment of Macdonwald does just that: it conveys Macdonaldwald’s high-treason against King Duncan. Further to this, the punishment of being HDQ, was a public affair, performed to humiliate. It was also used as a deterrent, as a warning to those who may wish to plot against the King. The audience in attendance at the play would be aware of this punishment, and would, therefore, see Macdonaldwald’s crime as one treason.

In which scenes do we see a similar punishment inflicted upon another character?

Context: The Witch-Hunter King Of all of European countries at the time, Scotland burnt over 4,000 suspected witches. The year 1590 witnessed the largest and most high-profile witch trials in Scottish history. No fewer than 70 suspects were rounded up in North Berwick, on suspicion of raising a storm to destroy King James’s fleet as he conveyed his new bride, Anne of Denmark, across the North Sea. Convinced the tempest that had almost cost his life had been summoned by witchcraft, James was intent upon bringing the perpetrators to justice. Witches, therefore, are not to be trusted.

MACBETH

Is this a dagger which I see before me,

The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.

I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.

Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible

To feeling as to sight? or art thou but

A dagger of the mind, a false creation,

Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?

I see thee yet, in form as palpable

As this which now I draw.

(A2, S1)

Is Macbeth Insane? This is view is too simplistic. He understands that what he sees is

questionable and unnatural. At the beginning of the soliloquy, the use of succinct rhetorical questions presents Macbeth as a figure troubled

by the uncertainty that now plagues his thoughts. So, when he sees the daggers remember that he could be being controlled.

Context: Machiavellian Politics & Principles Niccolò Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an Italian diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, writer, playwright and poet of the Renaissance period. While a political advisor and theorist, Machiavelli is most widely known for his work of The Prince, a mirror for princes work which dictates to the reader how a leader should lead, from attaining power to holding their office against the threat of usurpation. To summarise, Machiavelli believes that to seek the love of the people is not to lead, nor should it be the principle point of the ruler. Instead, the ruler should be revered as strict. If necessary, they should be feared by the people as his enemies should. A good prince, in essence, must prioritise the governance of the kingdom, and not the adoration of their subjects. To be loved is not a negative attribute, but it is one often too difficult to fully achieve. Instead, strategy and bravery are far more useful for a king; if necessary, violence should be used.

BANQUO

Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all,

As the weird women promised, and I fear

Thou played’st most foully for ’t. Yet it was said

It should not stand in thy posterity,

But that myself should be the root and father

Of many kings. If there come truth from them—

As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine—

Why, by the verities on thee made good,

May they not be my oracles as well,

(A3, S1)

.

In reality, Banquo was involved in the killing of King Duncan; however, as James is a descendent of Banquo, it would not be a good idea to suggest that James’s rule is connected with regicide, even if it is SIX HUNDRED YEARS LATER

Always remember, ‘Macbeth’ is a tragedy, written in 1605 following the Gunpowder Plot. The play is, therefore, a

moral tale which focuses upon the dangers one must face if they commit the greatest sin of all: regicide.

MACBETH

If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well

It were done quickly: if the assassination

Could trammel up the consequence, and catch

With his surcease success; that but this blow

Might be the be-all and the end-all here,

But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,

We'ld jump the life to come.

(A1, S7)

Form

This is a soliloquy and it divulges Macbeth’s inner thoughts about the plot to assassinate his King. Notice

how he is already speaking as though he shouldn’t commit the crime: ‘If’ is used here to explain that he

would consider killing the King ‘if’ his death brought an end to the consequence.

MACBETH

Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more!

Macbeth does murder sleep', the innocent sleep,

Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleeve of care,

The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath,

Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second

course,

Chief nourisher in life's feast,--

LADY MACBETH

What do you mean?

MACBETH

Still it cried 'Sleep no more!' to all the house:

'Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore

Cawdor

Shall sleep no more; Macbeth shall sleep no

more.' (A2, S2)

When Macbeth enters, he is bloodied and fouled by the King’s blood. One of the reasons why Lady Macbeth assumes control is because her

husband is incapable of thinking logically. Here, you see a man struggling to comprehend what he has done to his King. It is important to note that

Macbeth’s worry centres upon his inability to say ‘Amen’. The word is ‘stuck in his throat’. The verb ‘stuck’ is also in reference to the act of

stabbing. Already, he is haunted by his act.

Context: Between the Scenes The murder of King Duncan is committed off-stage for several reasons. By omitting the actual act of assassination from the play, Shakespeare allows the audience to picture the murder. And, by doing so, permits your imagination freedom to design the event yourself. Typically, with the state of Macbeth’s hands when he meets with Lady Macbeth, it is fair to say that he savagely stabbed the King multiple times.

Themes for Macbeth

Leadership

Betrayal

Loyalty

Bravery

Madness

Power

Fear

Macbeth’s Leadership

While shown to be an adept and capable warrior, the thane of Cawdor is too wrought with guilt and

doubt to be an effective king.

By Act IV, an army, led by the rightful heir, Malcolm, and the vengeful Macduff, have

mustered to usurp the ‘fiend of Scotland’ (A4, S3).

As you read the play, consider how Macbeth, often blinded by immediate objectives, does not

think ahead. Is this the principle reason for his poor leadership? Context: Succession

Macbeth becomes King, ironically, because of his name. He is the King’s most worthy servant, and has been gifted ‘golden opinions’ (A1, S7, l. 33) by the late King. Naturally, succession entitles the King’s sons to the throne, but they, following Duncan’s murder, are the principle suspects of regicide. Due to this, the thane’s elect Macbeth: Scotland is, therefore, an elective monarchy. However, in Act III, Macbeth realises a harsh truth: Banquo’s sons will be kings. Macbeth, blinkered to the grave task of assassinating King Duncan, did not think ahead beyond the murder, save for his thought that he himself may be killed by an assassin. The Macbeths have no heirs. No matter that they rule, they will not bequeath the crown to their children.

LADY MACBETH

How now, my lord! why do you keep alone,

Of sorriest fancies your companions making,

Using those thoughts which should indeed have died

With them they think on? Things without all remedy

Should be without regard: what's done is done.

Context: Deterrent Remember, Macbeth centres upon the consequences of regicide. Macbeth’s torment is a direct result of his crime. Below, in Act III, Scene II, Lady Macbeth attempts to cheer Macbeth up; however, he is unable to forget the atrocity he has committed. Later, it is also shown that Lady Macbeth is haunted by her involvement.

The Witches Never forget about the importance of the ‘Weird

Sisters’. Despite only meeting Macbeth twice throughout his tragic journey, their influence

over the young thane is powerful and manipulative. Within Act IV, Scene I, their prophecies lead to a headstrong Macbeth

inadvertently dooming himself and his kingdom when he battles the English and Scottish forces

of Malcolm: in this extract from Act V, Scene VIII, Macbeth realises he has been tricked too late.

MACDUFF

Macduff was from his mother's womb

Untimely ripp'd.

MACBETH

Accursed be that tongue that tells

me so,

For it hath cow'd my better part of

man!

And be these juggling fiends no more

believed,

That palter with us in a double sense;

That keep the word of promise to our

ear,

And break it to our hope.

LADY MACBETH

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be

What thou art promised: yet do I fear thy nature;

It is too full o' the milk of human kindness

To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great;

Art not without ambition, but without

The illness should attend it.

(A1, S5)

From the moment Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s report of the Witches, she begins her scheme. While

the news places Macbeth at the highest point of power, Lady Macbeth believes that her husband is too

well-natured and kind — ‘It is too full o' the milk of human kindness’ (l.17) — to strive for his future title.

Therefore, Lady Macbeth must act.

MACBETH

I'll go no more:

I am afraid to think what I have done;

Look on't again I dare not.

LADY MACBETH

Infirm of purpose!

Give me the daggers: the sleeping and the dead

Are but as pictures: 'tis the eye of childhood

That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,

I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal;

For it must seem their guilt.

(A2, S2)

Throughout the opening acts, Lady Macbeth is brilliantly shrewd and calculating. When she takes the daggers from a traumatized Macbeth she lables him ‘infirm’, useless from his cowardice, and then chastises him for wearing a ‘heart so white’. Here, we see Lady Macbeth in full control of

the pair’s murderous scheme. In truth, it is only after Act V do we see the true effect of Lady Macbeth’s guilt. Before this, she is composed and

level-headed.

Context: Eve & the Serpent Lady Macbeth is one of the few female figures of Shakespeare who takes the command of her destiny and her husband’s. Instead of being tricked, she is the trickster. Throughout, Lady Macbeth is more the serpent of the Garden than the Eve, a notion which evidently challenges the domestic role of women within Jacobean England. The idea that women are weaker than men, note Macduff’s comments to her within Act II, Scene III, is skillfully played upon by Lady Macbeth herself, fainting to distract the investigators of the King’s murder: no one suspects her because she is a woman and this makes her all the more dangerous!

Themes for Lady Macbeth

Determination

Resolve

The Supernatural

Ambition

Control

Guilt

Madness

LADY MACBETH

What's the business,

That such a hideous trumpet calls to parley

The sleepers of the house? speak, speak!

MACDUFF

O gentle lady,

'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak:

The repetition, in a woman's ear,

Would murder as it fell.

(A2, S3)

Critical Assessment She is a thoroughly hardened, ambitious woman, resolute and utterly unscrupulous. Her love for Macbeth, upon which so much stress has been laid, seems, when considered in reference to her worldly position and interests, worthy of little, if any, commendation. She knows her fortunes are now linked with his, and that with his increasing power her own will rise proportionately, owing to her influence over him. Shakespeare's noble language alone gives an apparent dignity to a base, shameless character, whose ambition is selfish and worldly. Do you believe Canning’s assessment of Lady Macbeth? If not, why?

LADY MACBETH

Wash your hands, put on your nightgown; look not so

pale.--I tell you yet again, Banquo's buried; he

cannot come out on's grave.

(A5, S1)

Theme & Motif In preparation for the assassination, Lady Macbeth asks, ‘come, thick night,/And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell’ so the murder is hidden in darkness. Then, following the murder of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth instructs her husband to wash his hands with a ‘little water’ to remove the ‘witness’ of their regicide. However, by the end of the play these motifs come to symbolize her guilt: read Act V, Scene I and note any references to blood, water and light.

The Hostess As she directs her guests during the

banquet scene, Lady Macbeth speaks to her husband privately: again, she questions his masculinity, belittling

him for his stirrings.

However, while a commanding presence at the dinner table, we do not see her reach these heights of

power again. She is finally seen again sleepwalking.

LADY MACBETH

Sit, worthy friends: my lord is often thus,

And hath been from his youth: pray you, keep

seat;

The fit is momentary; upon a thought

He will again be well: if much you note him,

You shall offend him and extend his passion:

Feed, and regard him not. Are you a man?

MACBETH

Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that

Which might appal the devil.

(A3, S4)

Here, above, Macduff voices the typical Jacobean attitude towards women, but how does Shakespeare subvert this perspective?

Context: Look Like the Innocent Flower ‘To commemorate the discovery of the heinous scheme, King James had a medal created picturing a serpent hiding amongst flowers. Every person watching Shakespeare's drama in Jacobean England would have understood immediately the context and weight of such an allusion.’ So, this line, while being quite a striking simile, is also a clear contextual reference to the Gunpowder Plot!

LADY MACBETH

Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why,

then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, my

lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we

fear who knows it, when none can call our power to

account?--Yet who would have thought the old man

to have had so much blood in him.

Form Shakespeare often presented insane characters

through their use of prose. Here, Lady Macbeth does not speak in Blank Verse (Unrhymed Iambic

Pentameter), but rather in sentences. Her language is fractured, uncontrolled, and confessional. While the

Doctor and the Gentlewoman know not what she speaks, we see it to be an account of her crime.

MACBETH

She should have died hereafter.

There would have been a time for such a word.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

To the last syllable of recorded time,

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

(A5, S5)

Despite the atrocities Macbeth has committed in his pursuit for power, Shakespeare now establishes a sympathetic tone with the doomed King.

After everything he has done, Macbeth is now preparing himself for a siege against a far-greater force. Upon hearing a scream from the castle,

Macbeth even acknowledges that once such a cry would terrify him, however, with his constitution numbed, he is unaffected by the horrid cry, the ‘night-shriek’ (l.11). Once he hears that the cry came from his wife as

she committed suicide, Macbeth falls into a dark depression.

Context: Consequences, Consequences, Consequences … The fate of the Macbeths is deliberately tragic and horrifying. Shakespeare, writing for his patron, the King of England, wanted to present a cautionary tale: the act of regicide leads to nothing but doom and despair. Everything the Macbeth’s attempt to achieve fails: both a driven towards madness by guilt and are eventually doomed. Lady Macbeth commits suicide while Macbeth stands against a superior army.

The Macbeths are a powerful

partnership: Macbeth’s

bravery coupled with Lady Macbeth’s

intelligence leads to their reign. Therefore, the pair are often compared to

predatory animals.

Context: I Spy … One thing that may go unnoticed is how the Macbeths monitor their thanes: within Act III, Scene IV, following the disastrous banquet, Macbeth references his suspicions surrounding the Macduffs. Macbeth reveals that he keeps Macduff’s servants fed, meaning they are his spies within the Macduffs’ castle. Not only are there paid-spies within Macduff’s home, Macbeth has a network of informants within the castles of all of his thanes. Here, Macbeth’s precautionary nature is evident: he was once thane of Cawdor and betrayed his King. He will not fall victim to another murderous thane, even if he was the killer within the first instance. This use of spy networks was typical of Queen Elizabeth and her successor, King James I. The former had two advisors: Sir William Cecil and Sir Francis Walsingham who monitored the court of their Queen. Walsingham himself even tortured conspirators against Queen Elizabeth and was integral within the downfall of three notable Catholic conspiracies: The Rodolfi Plot, 1571; the Throckmorton Plot, 1583; and The Babington Plot, 1886.

LADY MACBETH

Come on;

Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks;

Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night.

(A3, S2) Despite her best efforts, Lady Macbeth cannot help her

husband break from his guilty thoughts.

A Broken Unity: While the tragedy charts the fall of the Macbeths, it also presents the disintegration of their marriage. Following the banquet, the pair are never seen again. Their intense relationship dissipates as each becomes increasingly inward. Lady Macbeth, for instance, is told to be ‘innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck’ (AIII, SII) when she questions Macbeth over Banquo. Macbeth gradually takes their crimes upon himself.

Hamartia is a personal error in a protagonist’s personality that brings about his tragic downfall in a tragedy. This defect in a hero’s personality is also known as a “tragic flaw”. One of the classic hamartia examples is where a hero wants to achieve something but, while doing so, he commits an intentional or accidental error. Such a downfall is often marked by a reversal of fortune. Within the play, you may find that Macbeth is especially ambitious and, in a bit to achieve his ambitions, brings havoc and tragic consequences to Scotland. What other characteristics of Macbeth contribute to his ‘hamartia’?

MACBETH

[Aside] Two truths are told,

As happy prologues to the swelling act

Of the imperial theme […}

Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill,

Why hath it given me earnest of

success,

Commencing in a truth? I am thane of

Cawdor:

If good, why do I yield to that

suggestion

Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair

And make my seated heart knock at my

ribs,

(A1, S4)

LADY MACBETH

‘Your face, my thane, is as a book

where men/ May read strange matters’

(A1, S5)

How does this metaphor foreshadow the pair’s downfall? What other

examples of deception can you find throughout the play?