Macbeth Language and Devices a guided techniques study

Macbeth Language and Devices – a guided techniques study

Ambiguities • Many of Shakespeare’s characters say things which are ambiguous. This means that you can interpret them in different ways. • For example: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair". The witches might be talking about the weather, or they might mean something completely different.

Ambiguities • We know the witches are in the middle of a storm and perhaps they are saying that they like this; they are witches so they enjoy bad things and are on the side of evil. However, they could also be saying that we think looks attractive (or 'fair') is actually bad (or 'foul'). In other words, our ambitions can be our downfall.

Ambiguities • Or they could be warning us of things to come in the play (see foreshadowing) - Macbeth is tempted by their predictions and enters a confused, unnatural world, where he cannot trust what he sees and cannot bear what he is.

Ambiguities • Another example of ambiguity is when Lady Macbeth says the daggers 'must lie there' - she could mean the daggers must be placed there, but also that the daggers will hide the truth and pin the blame on the servants.

Ambiguities • Find an example of an ambiguity in what the witches say to Banquo in their first meeting (Act 1, scene 3) – First witch: “Lesser than Macbeth, and greater” – Second witch: “Not so happy, yet much happier”

Quibble • This is an example of ambiguity. It is a common plot device used to fulfil the exact verbal conditions of an agreement in order to avoid the intended meaning. The witches’ prophecies are vague and indirect and avoid the proper meaning. • For example, Macduff was able to kill Macbeth, who was unable to be harmed by anyone of woman born, because Macduff was "from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd” — born via a Caesarean Section.

Quibble • What other examples of quibble can you find in the text? (Hint: look at the witches’ prophecies during his second visit) –When Macbeth is told “Macbeth shall never vanquished be , until Great Birnam Wood to Dunsinane Hill shall come against him” (4. 1)

Imagery • Imagery is used a lot in Macbeth. This is when strong pictures or ideas are created in our minds. • For instance, the play has lots of references to darkness, to sleep, to disease and even to blood (see symbolism). • Imagery often describes one thing in terms of another, and there are three main ways this happens:

Imagery • 1. Metaphors - is when one thing is called something else. • For instance, when Macbeth wants to defend his lands against others, he uses metaphors from medicine: – “If thou couldst, doctor, cast the water of my land, find her disease, and purge it to a sound and pristine health, I would applaud thee… What rhubarb, senna, or what purgative drug, would scour these English hence? ” (5. 3)

Imagery • What other examples of metaphor can you find in the text? • There are many, but some examples are: – Lady Macbeth says Macbeth is too full of “the milk of human kindness” – Macbeth says that life is “a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage”

Imagery • Personification is where something is described as if it is human, so the "Dark night strangles the travelling lamp".

Imagery • What other examples of personification can you find in the text? (Hint – try Act 2, scene 2/Act 3, scene 4/Act 4, scene 1) – “Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care…” Act 2, scene 2 – “Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak. ” Act 3, scene 4 – “Though you untie the winds, and let them fight…” Act 4, scene 1

Imagery • Similes is when a direct comparison is made (with 'as', 'than' or 'like'), so Banquo says that the witches "look not like the inhabitants o'the'earth" or Macbeth says something "moves like a ghost".

Imagery • What other examples of simile can you find? • There are many but one example is: –When Macbeth refers to pity “like a naked newborn babe. ”

Paradox and Juxtaposition • Opposite words or ideas are frequent in Macbeth - they highlight conflicts in the story such as appearance and reality, choice and fate or good and evil. • At times the opposites are in terms of single words, such as 'heaven' or 'hell'. • The technical term for this is juxtaposition, when words are deliberately chosen to contrast. • Paradox is a similar technique, where things that seem to contradict each other (opposites) make sense.

Paradox and Juxtaposition • An example is when the witches say that “fair is foul and foul is fair. ” • Another example is when Macbeth says, “so fair and foul a day I have not seen. ” • The words ‘fair’ and ‘foul’ are opposites (juxtaposed) and seem to contradict each other, but it also makes sense (paradox).

Paradox and Juxtaposition • Can you find any other examples of juxtaposition or paradox? (Hint – try Act 1, scene 2/Act 2, scene 2) – “So from that spring whence comfort seemed to come, discomfort swells. ” (Act 1, scene 2) – Lady Macbeth says “That which hath quenched them hath given me fire. ” (Act 2, scene 2) - She means it's made them tired, but made her alert

Repetition • This is also used frequently in Macbeth - repeating a word or phrase draws attention to it. For instance: – “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep - the innocent sleep, sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleeve of care… Still it cried ‘sleep no more’ to all the house: ‘Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more, Macbeth shall sleep no more” (Act 2, Scene 2)

Repetition • Discuss with your neighbour – what is the effect of repeating the word ‘sleep’? • The word 'sleep' is repeated 8 times in just 10 lines. This is no accident - Shakespeare really wants the audience to be aware of what sleep means to his characters - sleep is like death, but it's also an escape from the worries of the world. By concentrating on the word 'sleep' we can see how Macbeth has put Duncan to sleep (he's killed him) and now will no longer sleep (or relax) again. • Find another example of repetition in Macbeth.

Anaphora • Anaphora is a kind of repetition. We see this used in the following lines by Macbeth, in his second meeting with the witches, Act 4, scene 1:

Anaphora I conjure you, by that which you profess, Howe’er you come to know it, answer me: Though you untie the winds, and let them fight Against the churches, though the yesty waves Confound and swallow navigation up; Though bladed corn be lodged, and trees blown down; Though castles topple on their warders’ heads; Though palaces and pyramids do slope Their heads to their foundations; though the treasure Of nature’s germen tumble all together, Even till destruction sicken; answer me To what I ask you.

Anaphora • Discuss with your neighbour – why do you think Macbeth does this? • The significance of this repetition is that it develops a further change in Macbeth’s character; he places himself above everyone else by this scene. • As we know by now, Macbeth is already ruthless; he got rid of Banquo to protect his throne. When he orders the witches around, he stresses it with phrases beginning with the word “though”, which basically is used to say that whatever the condition, something will still happen. • So, Macbeth is using it with exaggeration. He states all these exaggerations about great disasters that the witches can inflict, but he doesn’t care. This shows Macbeth’s arrogance again; now it increases to the point where he prioritizes himself above all else.

Anaphora • Macbeth’s character is further emphasized by the fact that he’s saying this to the witches, who are the ones in control of Macbeth’s fate. He disregards the power of the witches over nature; he makes it seem unimportant with the repetition. • This shows that his wisdom and caution from before has disappeared; he now fails to see that the witches can turn his fate in the wrong direction. • Therefore, this passage develops Macbeth completely to the opposite of the cautious, fair character he was in the start of the play, and the anaphora of the word ‘though’ emphasizes his arrogance and lack of wisdom.

Soliloquies • These are speeches but they are meant to be heard only by the audience. They tell us directly about a character's thoughts and feelings and they are very important in Macbeth, because we can understand exactly what is going through a character's mind. • Perhaps the most famous is in Act 2, Scene 1, which starts: "Is this a dagger I see before me". Without this soliloquy, we would have no idea just how confused Macbeth is.

Soliloquies • Locate two more important soliloquies in the text. • One by Lady Macbeth: – “The raven himself is hoarse…” (Act 1, scene 5) • One by Macbeth: – “If it were done, when ‘tis done…” (Act 1, scene 7)

Animal Imagery • Shakespeare using a lot of animal imagery in Macbeth. This is done to foreshadow events, to develop character and to evoke a variety of emotions from the audience. • The use of animal imagery is also important as it links to the Chain of Being world view of Shakespeare’s time – remember there was a hierarchy of people over animals, and within animals there was also a hierarchy.

Animal Imagery • Let’s have a look at this example, after King Duncan is found dead: – “A falcon towering in her pride of place was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed” – Old Man (Act 2, scene 4) • Discuss with your neighbour, what do you think this could mean? What kind of bird is a falcon?

Animal Imagery • The falcon is representative of the highest level of nobility (within the bird kingdom it is high up on the hierarchy), while the mousing owl would typically be the falcon's prey or a lower-down. • In Macbeth, the Falcon, or King Duncan, is killed by a person of lower nobility, the mousing owl, or Macbeth. • This does not only echo the tragedy of Duncan’s unnatural death but also foreshadows the downfall of Macbeth.

Animal Imagery • One of the early examples of animal imagery in the play is when Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth about killing the king: – “Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t” (Act 1, scene 5) • What is significant about the serpent? • What might it symbolise?

Animal Imagery • This passage is alluding to the Bible. Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth to appear to be the innocent looking fruit as the fruit of the tree of knowledge was to Duncan, but be the snake as the Devil was and take away Duncan’s life. • Lady Macbeth and Macbeth at this point are fairly innocent, they haven’t committed horrible murders and have a clear conscience and balanced perception of right and wrong. Both of them know murdering Duncan is wrong and that they are the enemy by doing it, but they are going to do it anyway; it is made clear by the use of the image of the serpent.

Animal Imagery • Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth to be the serpent, to find evil and deceit in himself to commit this crime. After this first murder is committed both characters change. They have committed one murder so it is easier for them to commit another. They no longer see themselves as the predators fighting for position but as proactive persons who must fight off predators before they become the prey. This is clear by who is being represented by the snake later in the play.

Animal Imagery • Just before Macbeth has Banquo killed, he says: – “We have scorched the snake, not killed it” (Act 3, scene 2) Scorched means to have wounded it. • When the image of the snake is used again, it is used to represent Banquo. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth see Banquo as the deceitful one; the person who could ruin their well established place; the enemy who could wreck their lives as king and queen in their Garden of Eden. It is easier for Macbeth to kill Banquo because Banquo is the snake; it is not a sin to kill what the snake is representing.

Animal Imagery • Macbeth later says after having Banquo killed: – “There the grown serpent lies. The worm that’s fled hath nature that in time will venom breed, no teeth for the present” – Macbeth (Act 3, scene 4) • Banquo is again the serpent, the evil that has been justly killed. The worm that has not teeth at present is Fleance, however Macbeth suggests he has a ‘nature’ that will breed vengeance. • Macbeth is placed with both Christian images and wild creatures. Macbeth uses wild creatures to describe the bad feelings and emotions he can’t control.

Animal Imagery • What might the following metaphor and animal imagery suggest? – “O full of scorpions is my mind. ” – Macbeth (Act 3, scene 3)

Animal Imagery • Another example of animal imagery is when Macduff finds out his family has been killed: – “What, all my pretty chickens, and their dam at one fell swoop? ” – Macduff (Act 4, scene 3) • Why do you think Shakespeare uses chickens instead of another type of bird or animal? • Shakespeare uses chickens because they are so vulnerable, helpless, skittish and easily frightened.

Symbolism • Blood is a powerful symbol in Macbeth. Once Macbeth and Lady Macbeth embark upon their murderous journey, blood comes to symbolize their guilt, and they begin to feel that their crimes have stained them in a way that cannot be washed clean. – “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? ” -Macbeth (Act 2, scene 2) • Macbeth says this after he has killed Duncan, even as his wife scolds him and says that a little water will do the job: – “Go, get some water, and wash this filthy witness from your hand” (Act 2, scene 2)

Symbolism • Later, though, she comes to share his horrified sense of being stained: – “Out, damned spot; out, I say. . . who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? ” – Lady Macbeth (Act 5, scene 1) • She asks this as she wanders through the halls of their castle near the close of the play. • Blood symbolizes the guilt that sits like a permanent stain on the consciences of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, one that hounds them to their graves.

Symbolism • The weather is also symbolic - as in other Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth’s grotesque murder spree is accompanied by a number of unnatural occurrences in the natural realm. From the thunder and lightning that accompany the witches’ appearances to the terrible storms that rage on the night of Duncan’s murder, these violations of the natural order reflect corruption in the moral and political orders.

Dramatic Irony • Dramatic irony is when the audience (or reader) knows something the character does not. • A good example of dramatic irony is when Macbeth plans Duncan’s murder while feigning loyalty to the king. This is dramatic irony because, although Duncan does not know of Macbeth’s plans, the audience does. • When Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle, he says: – “This castle hath a pleasant seat. The air nimbly and sweetly recommends itself unto our gentle senses. ” (Act 1, scene 6) • This is ironic as we know that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are planning to harm the king and therefore that Duncan’s visit to their castle will be anything but pleasant.

Foreshadowing • Foreshadowing is when the audience/reader is given a hint that something is going to happen. • For example, when Macbeth visits the witches and suggest that Macbeth will become king etc, that is foreshadowing. • The presence of witches in the story foreshadows the evil that will come.

Foreshadowing • Lady Macbeth states, when she has just received Macbeth’s letter and news that Duncan will be dining with them, – “The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan” (Act 1, scene 5) • Ravens were associated with death as they were frequently seen cleaning the corpses of those who had been executed. A raven croaking suggests (foreshadows) that evil will come.