Villainy In Macbeth

Murders
1. Duncan's
  1. Lady Macbeth has to persuade Macbeth to go through with it
    1. However, Macbeth comes up with the idea originally - straight after seeing the witches = villainous
  2. Dagger vision and soliloquy
    1. Villainous
      1. Going to go through with it - not talking himself out of it
      2. "A dagger of the mind" represents the evil in Macbeth's mind
      3. Does it for greed
    2. Not Villainous
      1. Hesitates for a while - delaying the deed? Bell has to awake him from his thoughts - worries =conscience
    3. At first the dagger is clean, showing he thinks he might get away with the deed or that he wont do it at all. It then turns bloody, implying he realisesd the consequences of regicide, and feels guilty or that he has decided he will do it and the blood is Duncan's.
      1. Dripping blood implies he is having villainous thoughts
        "And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood"
  3. Off stage - doesn't disrespect King
    1. King is defenseless - asleep so he isn't shown as weak, defeated
      1. Also shows Macbeth as cowardly as he doesn't want to kill the King while he is awake for fear of being defeated, and doesnt want the King to know he betrayed him.
      2. Show respect to the king at the time, James I who would have watched the play performed.
        The fake gore if he was killed on stage might have been seen as comical, which would have been disrespectful. The death needed to be tragic as James I believed in the Divine right of Kings meaning they had to be seen as perfect and powerful.
2. Banquo's
  1. Villainous because he orders the murders of Banquo and Fleance regardless of the fact that Macbeth and Banquo were good friends at the start of the play. He killed him because he felt he was a threat to his claim to the throne, and showed that friendship has become nothing to him, which is a villainous act. Also, he made up his own mind, rather than consulting Lady Macbeth as with the murder of King Duncan. Shows he is becoming more villainous and ambitious. There are no soliloquies showing he is becoming more ruthless, and is ignoring his conscience more.
  2. Not villainous because he cannot kill them himself, and perhaps cannot face the deed showing he is not bloodthirsty and ruthless, and might even be considered cowardly.
  3. Onstage because the audience needed to see action, but the Kings death had to be respectful and the contrast made it seem more so.
3. Macduff's familly
  1. Shows Macbeth is really villainous, as he kills the entire household for no reason other than to give Macduff a signal that he should not hide, and as revenge for planning to overthrow him
  2. Onstage to show the graphic violence, and to make us feel that Macbeth is really villainous as we see that they are defenseless and women and children are killed.
  3. Only kills them after prophecies so does it because he feels threatened
4. Develop through the play - Progressively more violent
5. Become more violent and more villainous throughout the play, implying that Macbeth becomes more villainous.
Supernatural
1. Are they visions or the actual supernatural
  1. Visions would suggest guilt, quote heat oppressed brain or they could suggest villainy - thinking about killing him, how etc. Is it developed- villain when thinking of dagger and guilty when thinking about ghost
  2. Supernatural would suggest Villainy ie witches. Link to context - witchcraft at the time and witches are the root of Macbeth's ambition.
    1. James I was very keen on Demonology
    2. Act 1 Scene 3
    3. There was a common belief in witchcraft, with laws banning it
2. Nature
  1. "I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry"
    1. Disrupts the natural order, represents kiling of Duncan (Natural order)
  2. "Nature seems dead"
    1. The darkness is causing death. Night is when murder happens.
  3. Lady Macbeth says “You lack the season of all natures, sleep”
    1. He's trying to force himself to sleep, and it is no longer natural - link to development of villainy presented through sleep and then to nature
3. Sleep
  1. "Wicked dreams abuse// the curtained sleep"
    1. He cannot escape his actions - less villainous (conscience)
  2. Methought i heard a voice cry "sleep no more! // Macbeth does murder sleep" -the innocent sleep
Characters
1. Macbeth
  1. Shown at first as a brave and noble warrior who is noble to his king.
    1. He becomes ambitious after speaking to the witches, and this makes him become slightly villainous as he considers killing Duncan
      1. He becomes more villainous as he becomes king and tries to consolidate his power with further, more violent killings and decisions.
  2. He is also presented as having a conscience and feels guilty for much of what he has done, or even plans to do.
2. Lady Macbeth
  1. Arguably more villainous at the start as she persuades Macbeth to murder Duncan, although Macbeth came up with the original idea
  2. She killed herself because she could not wash her hands of the guilt of her role in murdering Duncan, suggesting she is not as villainous
3. Thane of Cawdor
  1. Traitor at start - Villain
    1. Executed shows traitors wont be tolerated
    2. Puts villainy as theme from start
Soliloquays
1. "If it were done, when it were done..."
  1. Debates whether to kill the king, knowing that there will be consequences, and he gives many arguments against the deed.
    1. He will be judged by fellow thanes and God
    2. He will be haunted afterwards
    3. Macbeth is his kinsman (family)
    4. Macbeth is his subject, so should be loyal
    5. Macbeth is his host - he should "shut the door" against his murderer (protect him)
    6. He has been a kind and gentle king "meek"
    7. He has been a good king " so gentle in his great office"
    8. He has good virtues that argue against his murder, weighing on his conscience.
    9. Pity is personified, and will make everyone sad "Blow the horrid deed in every eye" = tears
    10. He is persuaded by Lady Macbeth
      1. Calls him a coward "so green and pale"
      2. She suggests he doesn't love her if he doesn't do it
      3. She implies he is scared to act
      4. "What beast wasn't then that made you break this enterprise to me"
      5. She says when he would have done it, he was a man, and he would have been more manly if he does it. Macbeth is known for being brave but he is being taunted by his wife which might shame him into doing it. He wants to be seen as brave.
      6. If she had made a promise, she would go though with it, and would rather kill her own child than go back on a promise.
      7. "We fail?" - she laughs at him.
    11. "If we should fail" makes him sound childlike and innocent, so not villainous.
2. "Is this a dagger I see before me?"
  1. Iambic pentameter stresses every other sylabble in a ten sylabble line
    1. examples
  2. Before he kills, trying to persuade himself to do it
    1. He is hesitating, showing he has a conscience
  3. Imagery
    1. Connotations of a dagger
      1. Cause a violent end suggesting malice and villainy
      2. Suggests concealment as it is smaller than a sword and easily hidden.
    2. Quotes
      1. "A dagger of the mind" suggests that his mind has a violent, evil side, which is closely related to villainy
      2. "In form as palpable as that which now I draw" shows he knows it could be real, and is unsure
      3. "Handle toward my hand" shows temptation
  4. Soliloquy is here particularly to show his emotions in depth, as it is a pivotal moment. He can't confide in anyone as Lady Macbeth called him a coward before, and he is physically and mentally alone. This shows his character change from noble to villainous
Things to consider
1. Context
  1. Divine Right of Kings
  2. England and Scotland had just been united by James I
  3. Witchcraft was feared, particularly by James I
2. Difference to today
  1. Modern staging would be different (death of Duncan wouldnt be funny)
  2. Different views on witchcraft
  3. Different views on power and rights of monarchy
3. Essay skills
  1. See bigger picture
  2. Moral messages/ philosophical ideas
  3. Effects on Shakespeare's audience AND us
  4. Form - play with poetic elements- effect on audience
  5. Zoom in and out on key words (connotations) and linguistic devices
  6. Alternative responses
  7. Key terminology
  8. Clear topic sentence per paragraph
  9. Quotes are short and embeded
  10. Refer to title
  11. Make very word count

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Villainy In Macbeth

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