Macbeth Themes

Macbeth Themes

1. Guilt

   • Macbeth
   • Lady Macbeth
   • 'Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine' - M
     • He refers to both the literal blood on his hand but also to his sense of guilt. He uses grand and dramatic language to imply that the blood could stain all the world’s oceans red. His language implies that the consequences of his action will not be easily hidden, which is contrasted to LM who casually states that 'a little water clears us of this deed'
   • 'Come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What’s done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed.' - LM
     • Lady Macbeth speaks these lines after she has gone mad. They are the final words she utters in the play, and they reveal how guilt has crushed her strong and assertive personality. She now has to be cared for like a child, and has lost all control over herself. No matter how much she repents, the violence and death cannot be undone.
   • 'Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold Thou hast no speculation in those eyes' - M
     • Macbeth speaks this line when Banquo’s ghost appears to him at the banquet. Macbeth’s vision of the ghost reveals his guilt over ordering the murder of Banquo and his young son. His sense of guilt is so powerful that he loses his sense of reality and cannot be sure whether he is having a vision or not. He speaks these lines in order to try and reassure himself that Banquo is truly dead. In doing so, Macbeth reveals that his tormented consciousness is leading him to start losing his grip on sanity.
   • 'I am in blood stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as to go o'oer' - M
     • These lines infer that M feels as though he has committed too many evil acts, that it has become impossible for him to go back to being how he was at the start of the play.

2. Ambition

   • Macbeth
     • his dormant ambition is awoken when he first hears the witches prophecies
     • it is his ambition and his need for power which drive him to kill the king, it overrides his morals and better judgement
     • his ambition keeps increasing, which can be related to the story of Icarus
     • unchecked ambition is his hamartia - fatal flaw
   • Lady Macbeth
     • her ambition is first seen when she receives the letter from Macbeth and she begins to plot to kill Duncan
   • leads only to destruction, as both M and LM meet their inevitable downfall
   • 'Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on th'other' - M
     • M is debating whether or not to go ahead with killing the king, as it is only his ambition that is driving him on. He compares his ambition to a horse and rider overestimating their ability to leap over an obstacle, and end up falling down ('o'erleaps itself and falls on th'other').
   • 'To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus' - M
     • M speaks this line after he has become king, but feels that it is meaningless to be king as he doesn't know if he will have an heir and might lose his position ('to be thus is nothing'). This quote reveals how him giving in to his ambition and murdering the king has not brought him peace, but rather has just left him more paranoid and insecure (but to be safely thus).
     • It sets off a chain reaction of him continuing to commit violent actions in order to maintain his hold on the power he has gained.
   • 'Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it' - LM
     • LM speaks these lines as she reflects on her husband’s character. She knows that M is capable of ambitious dreams, but she thinks that he is unwilling to display the ruthless behaviour necessary to achieve those dreams. LM's own philosophy of power is that only individuals who are willing to set their morality aside will rise to greatness, don't let emotions cloud her judgement.
   • 'We will proceed no further in this business' --> 'It is settled' - M

3. Supernatural

   • The WItches
     • As well as predicting the future, controlling the weather and casting evil spells, they also discuss the wicked acts they carry out against ordinary men and women. In a couple of scenes they interact with Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft.
   • Lady Macbeth
   • Dark Imagery

4. Kingship and Tyranny

5. Gender Difference

6. Natural Order / Divine Right

   • 'I could not say "Amen"' - M
     • Immediately after Duncan's murder, M feels extremely guilty about what he has done and is regretful. The fact that he could not say "Amen" suggests that because M commited regicide and broke the natural order, he has gone against God.