Macbeth themes

Macbeth themes

1. Ambition

   • "Two truths are told/ As happy prologues to the swelling act/ Of th’imperial theme" (1.3)
     • hint at Macbeth's ambition and foreshadow his later actions
     • Eagerness to which he turns to this idea suggests he finds it appealling
   • "I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself/ And falls on th’other!" (1.7)
     • Complicated metaphor to compare his experience to that of a horse-rider
     • He describes being unable to motivate himself to take action by likening himself to a rider who cannot use his spurs to motivate his horse to go faster.
     • The passage describes the tension between Macbeth’s unwillingness to move ahead with his plan, and his acknowledgement that his ambition is leading him down a dangerous path.

2. Guilt

   • "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine" (2.2)
     • 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, even though his wife implies that blood can be simply washed away.
     • later in the play, Lady Macbeth will also hallucinate that she has blood on her hands and is unable to get them clean, symbolizing her sense of guilt.
   • "Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold Thou hast no speculation in those eyes" (3.4)
     • Macbeth speaks this line when Banquo’s ghost appears to him at the banquet
     • 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.