Macbeth

:Macbeth is also an opera.

Recurring motifs and themes

Visions. Macbeth sees an imaginary bloody knife in the air pointing to King Duncan’s resting chamber “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand” (Act II Scene I). Macbeth knows what he is doing will change his life. Committing regicide is a sin that can’t be forgiven. Macbeth may see this through the supernatural powers of the three witches, or it may be another hallucination. Lady Macbeth believes there is blood on her hands that won’t come off “Out damned spot! Out I say!” (Act 5 Scene 1). Lady Macbeth here is sleepwalking and spot is being referred to as blood stained hands. Lady Macbeth can’t cleanse herself of the guilt of plotting King Duncan’s murder.

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Blood and bloodshed. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth’s army has just defeated Norwegian invaders in a gruesome battle. A captain is mortally wounded and the king remarks on it, “What bloody man is that? He can report, as seemeth by his plight” (Act I Scene II). Blood thus symbolizes the advent of a messenger, the admonitions of God or nature displaying man his future in red letters. The cauldron of the witches, that whispering-post of the Fates, is filled with blood. The shedding of blood continues throughout the play until the very end, when Macbeth is slain by Macduff “Hail King! For so thou art: behold, where stands Th’ usurpers cursed head”. Macduff then shows Malcolm, the new king, Macbeth’s head dripping with blood. Though the tyrant's mouth no longer speaks, his bloody droplets proclaim the message of his life, and in death he becomes a kind of prophet. Blood can also be shown as representing guilt. When Macbeth kills King Duncan blood on his hand symbolizes guilt. Later in the play, Lady Macbeth, in her midnight ramble, believes that she sees blood on her hands.

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Clothing. Clothing is a frequently used metaphor within Macbeth, a direct symbolism of morals, stature, violence, ambition and admiration. One should consider the various references within the play to blood-stained clothes. As the skin of the body is made to yield its precious scarlet freight, the product of the loom yet holds it. Bloody clothes are converted to crimson banners, tattling the death of kings. "Let our old robes sit easier than our new." "-And I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon."

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The baby and child. The unborn and born youth are frequently made reference to. Children and babies represent innoncence, purity and vulnerability. The foolish babbling of the baby contrasts starkly with the dark meditations of Macbeth. They are used to accentuate the cruel nature of various dramatis personae such as Macbeth and Lady, i.e. the killing of Macduff's son, Lady Macbeth's graphic retort to Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 7), "I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums, And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this." (Quote represents lack of compassion)

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Hands. Hands are the instruments of evil, the physical manifestation that shall carry out the desires of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. One often refers to pure and untainted hands of saints. In this context, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are constantly plagued by illusions of their blood stained hands signifies sullied and tainted souls that cannot redeem their actions. Yet Macbeth's hand is also the might instrument that swings his sword, and drives his murdering knife. Guilt is implicit in the act.

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Natural Order. The 'unnatural' replacement of Duncan by Macbeth has disturbed the natural order of nature. Shakespearean context valued the divinity of the king, i.e. the king is selected by a greater being- i.e. of a preordained nature. Thus, by unnatural replacement of the king, Macbeth has envoked the wrath of greater beings- nature has been disturbed and thrown into turmoil (i.e. horses cannibalise each other).

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Insomnia. The commonly acknowledged 'cleansing sleep', ("Balm of hurt minds" - Act 2, Scene 2) is made a common reference in this play. "Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep- the innocent sleep" (Act 2, Scene 2). Insomnia and sleep walking are rendered upon the two main characters. Insomnia represents the constant disease of guilt and conscience. It represents the fear of death, brought on by Macbeth's interminable slaughter.

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Thematically, Macbeth is seen as warning of the dangers of ambition, showing that ambition can be a morally corrupting agent. Ambition can be seen as Macbeth's tragic flaw: it consumes him--ironically, by the end of the play, it consumes him in the other sense of the word. Betrayal goes hand-in-hand with ambition, and it is another theme: Macbeth betrays both his own king and his friend by killing Duncan and then Banquo, respectively. Interestingly, Macbeth's murder of Duncan early in the play (Act II, Scene 2) can be seen as the play's climax, while the murder of Banquo at the middle of the play (Act III) emphasizes the thematic importance of that dastardly act.

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Other themes include illusion vs. reality, as evinced in Lady Macbeth's visions and the optical illusion of the moving forest and kingship, which deals with questions of who should be the rightful monarch (which is why the regicide of Duncan leads to abberations in the natural world). Destiny vs. free will comes into play as a theme, with destiny ultimately winning out (no matter how hard Macbeth tries, he is not destined to beget kings).

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Guilt: Guilt is a word describing many concepts related to a negative emotion or condition caused by actions which are, or are believed to be, morally wrong....

Conscience: Conscience is generally thought of as a moral faculty, sense, or feeling that impels individuals to believe that particular activities are morally right or wrong....

Ambition: Ambition could refer to one of the following:...

Macbeth related Images and Photos (experimental)

MacBeth	Macbeth	Macbeth: Out Out Brief Candle!	Hamish MacBeth: Series Two (DVD)
Hamish Macbeth: Series One (Dbl DVD)	Hamish Macbeth: Series Three (Dbl DVD)	Macbeth The Witches	Macbeth: Wpa Federal Theater Negro Unit
Macbeth The Three Witches	Lady Macbeth 1850	Macbeth Act II Scene II: Give Me the Daggers	Hamish Macbeth Series 1-3 Collection (DVD)