There Will Be Blood (Macbeth Review)

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There Will Be Blood (Macbeth Review)

• Feraco
• SFHP
• 22 January 2008

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What is This Play About?

• Five Main Points (ILISE)
• History
• Contemporary Concerns
• Characters
• Tons of other themes, motifs, and elements

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History / Concerns

• Shakespeares company was employed by King James
• Specific audience, specific interests
• Scottish history gt English history
• James believed he was one of the historical
  Banquos descendents
• Witches and chants

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Five Main Points

• Although there are many other thematic and
  story-based concerns to study, its important to
  remember that most of them fit under the umbrella
  of the five major areas weve studied all
  semester.
• Shakespeares opinions regarding love,
  enlightenment, security, independence, and
  identity are complicated hence our study of his
  work.

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Love (and Trust)

• While reading Macbeth,
• its best to ask yourself the
• questions that the
• playwright seems to be
• prompting you to ask
• For example
• What is love?
• Can we totally trust ourselves in the hands of
  another?
• Is it better to trust everyone (believing in the
  basic goodness of your fellow man) or trust no
  one?

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Enlightenment

• How does knowledge provide the characters with
  power?
• How does it doom them?
• How does the characters lack of knowledge
  influence the plays narrative?
• As you can clearly see,
• enlightenment requires more
• than an extensive collection
• of facts it requires
• understanding
• Knowledge without
• comprehension is a
• dangerous, dangerous thing

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Security (and Trust)

• Macbeth gains Duncans favor through willing
  service, including his vigorous defense of the
  kingdom when the rebels and Norwegians attack
• Yet it is Duncans willingness to trust Macbeth
  to place his security in the hands of another
  that leads to his murder
• Macbeths rule is never secure, because he trusts
  no one he constantly fears any threat to his
  seat of power

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Independence

• Is Macbeth independent?
• Hes certainly influenced by people (the Weird
  Sisters, Lady Macbeth), as well as by less
  tangible forces (the prophecy, his own paranoia)
• Can he make his own
• decisions?
• He doesnt feel as though
• he can rule freely until Act IV,
• when another misunderstood
• prophecy inflates his confidence
• to dangerous levels
• Is he in control of his own
• destiny?

9
Identity

• Who is Macbeth?
• This is something the play grapples with for its
  entire duration
• Is he a good person? A bad person? Loyal?
  Treacherous? Brave? Cowardly? Intelligent? Blind?
  Ambitious? Greedy?
• Macbeth is haunted by his initial murder, then
  slowly descends into madness

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Other Characters

• How do the aforementioned points (ILISE) apply to
  other characters?
• Lady Macbeth and security/identity
• Duncan and enlightenment
• Macduff and love/security
• Malcolm and identity
• Banquo and enlightenment
• The Weird Sisters and independence

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Family

• Was Macbeth a father?
• Well go over this more when we have time
• For now, take a moment to consider the families
  Shakespeare shows us
• One is extremely dysfunctional (the Macbeths)
• All are ravaged by death (Siward, Duncan,
  Macduff, Macbeth, Banquo)
• Shakespeares characters are also motivated by
  familial concerns, whether it is Macbeths
  deference to Lady Macbeth, Banquos desire to see
  Fleance rule Scotland, or Malcolms need to
  avenge his father

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Ambition

• Self-ambition Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seek the
  throne
• Ambition for others Banquo and Fleance, Duncan
  and Malcolm
• The terrible toll
• ambition takes on a
• human soul
• The terrible punishment
• a person corrupted by
• ambition can exact on
• others

13
Revenge

• Blood will have blood
• Although Malcolm flees at first, he comes back in
  force
• Birnam Wood marches, after all
• After the slaughter of his entire family all
  my pretty ones? Macduff ends up carrying
  Macbeths head around on a pike

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Fear

• Banquo fears what the prophecy portends and
  that Macbeth has used illicit means to win the
  throne
• Macbeth fears his past (someone discovering that
  he murdered the king) and his future (His barren
  scepter refusing to produce an heir, leaving him
  vulnerable to a coup)

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Guilt

• Out, damn spot!
• Although Macbeth is the one who expresses guilt
  over the initial action, it is Lady Macbeth who
  is driven insane by the deed consumed by her
  guilt, unable to wash an invisible stain from her
  hands or conscience

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Pride / Hubris

• Macbeths death results (in part) from his own
  arrogance he misinterpreted the witches
  prophecies in a way that allowed him to gain
  confidence
• Duncan fails to protect himself adequately is
  this the result of pride?

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There is More to Cover

• But this will do for now.
• Tomorrow Symbolism, imagery, and the reason
  Banquo has to die.