Macbeth Act 5, Scene 8

Macbeth Act 5, Scene 8

1. Macbeth knows he will be defeated, he contemplates suicide, like a "roman fool" but decides against taking control of his moment and manner of death

   • he doesn't want to cheat fate, but figh ton and find out how he will be killed by a man not "of woman born"

2. A greater attraction for Macbeth is bloodlust: "While I see lives, the gashes / Do better upon them"

   • he simply wants to enjoy killing others - began to savour "the taste of fears" and is searching for the man who can kill him
     • although this is his final opportunity to enjoy killing, he avoids fighting Macduff - perhaps the death of L.Macbeth has made him reflect on the pain Macduff has felt when Macbeth slaughtered his family
       • he tells Macduff, "my soul is too much charged / With blood of thine already"
         • This note of regret is unusual in Macbeth, suggests that accepting his own death has led to a kind of catharsis, and a desire to put things right
           • This care for Macduff is a reminder of his immense care for L.Macbeth at the beginnign of the battle
             • Shakespeare ironically makes Macbeth behave as a good king, once he knows he will be defeated
               • An ironic return fo "the milk o'human kindness"

3. Macduff insists on fighting - Bill hints that he is losing, and Macbeth takes pity on him again, "Thou losest labour"

   • Once Macbeth is winning the fight, he pauses to tell Macduff he can't be beaten, beacuse "i bear a charmed life, whihc must not yield, / To one of woman born"
     • This is suprising - the witches told him that none of "woman born" shall harm him
       • however, he is looking for the person who will end his life
         • He must "yield" to that man
           • This is the reason he refuses to fight Macduff when he finds out taht he was "from his mother's womb / Untimely ripped"
             • he does not believe that Macduff can kill him in battle, so he has to give in to him, and "yield"
               • He also yields in another way with the pentameter - his line ending "of woman born" is 6 syllables long, and Macduff's reply is 4 long
                 • This is the only exchange between them which fits the pentameter - suggests he accepts his fate, and is no longer fighting it
                   • But Macduff accuses him of cowardice - Bill has brough Macbeth full circle
                     • L,macbeth has accused him of cowardice in ordre to prompt him to kill Duncan - Macbeth has changed though and won't be provoked now
                       • despite this taunt, he is willing to be thought a coward, and still "yield" to Macduff
                         • However, macduff refuses to accept this, and wil only kill Macbeth in battle
                           • What persuades Macbeth is the thought of living, and having "To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet"
                             • tell us that it is status which motivates him
                               • happy to be remembered as a "tyrant", rather than as submissive and inferior to malcolm
                                 • There is also a political point here - In a martial society, Malcolm was a poor choice, and Macbeth the only logical choice
                                   • Macbeth's political point is that he should have been king, rather than "young Malcolm"
                                   • Bill could also be making a political point, a society which does not fight over its heirs is likely to be more stable - another way of askign the nobles at court to accept James as their king
   • Another way of viewing this is that Macbeth chooses his fate as a tragic hero - if he yields, and lives, he will have beaten fate, and broken the weird sisters' prophecies
     • Then he would not be a tragic hero, ismply an object of pity
       • His final words are ambigous: "Before my body I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff, And damn'd be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!'"
         • "before" has the meaning of "in front" - he means to fight to win, defending himself, even though he knows he hopes he will be killed
           • He knows that his soul is already "damn'd" so his words are to Macduff, instructing him not to beg for mercy
         • Another possibility is that Macbeth is reckless once again - verb "throw" suggests he discards the shield in front of him - deliberately making himself vulnerable to Duff's strikes
           • Both itnerpretations show his acceptance and welcoming of his own death

4. Although Malcolm ends the play with a speech offering the hope of peace and unity, BIll introduces a discordant note

   • He creatse the character of Young Siward to be killed by macbeth, before the fight with Duff - it serves to underline Macbeth's feelings of invincibility, or his skill as a warrior
     • However, once Macbeth is killed, Bill now introduces Siward's father - his reaction to his son's death is horrifying ot a modern audience
       • Old siward doesn't mourn his son's death because he had his injuies on his front, and therefore died facing his enemy rather than fleeing - Malcolm rejects this glorifiaction of warrior culture
         • Malcolm: "He's worht more sorrow, And taht I'll spend for him"
           • Siward: "He's worth no more They say he parted well, and paid his score"
         • Suggests that Malcolm has learned to "feel it like a man" as Macduff taught him with the death of his family
           • Old Siward represents the past, which worships a martial society, a warrior cult
             • His unfeeling sacrifice of its own son's is a condemnation fo that society - Bill pleades for a more cultured and less warlike king
               • However, we all know that Malcolm will be succeedede by Fleance at some point, so BIll hinnts at the possibility f future war, in a society which values the warrior above all
                 • We are reminded of the symbolism of Banquo's words to Fleance - "Hold, take my sword" when he passes on his "warlike" self to his son
                   • Bill hopes that this metaphorical sword has not been passed down to King James, and that he won't need to enter into battle against any of the nobles at court