Tracking Macbeths decline Act 3 Scene 4 Essay

Tracking Macbeth’s decline Act 3 Scene 4

Essay: How is the mental decline of Macbeth presented throughout the banquet scene? • • How do you begin to tackling this question? What should an essay look like – which triangle? How can I plan effectively? Organisation. What is a topic sentence? What goes into an introduction. Hubris: Excessive pride or arrogance Hamartia: A character’s tragic flaw

Five main areas of decline 1. Macbeth finds out that Fleance has escaped 2. Macbeth see’s the ghost of Banquo 3. Macbeth see’s the ghost again 4. Macbeth challenge’s the ghost 5. Macbeth realises he has gone too far to go back.

Analysing language - areas to consider: • What denotation can you take from individual words/ lines? (what do you literally think it is saying? ) • What connotations do you think of? • Any links in your quotation to what is said elsewhere in the scene/ play? • What is the overall effect of the line for the rest of the scene/play? • Are there any links to sounds that may be significant? (onomatopoeia, alliteration, rhyme, humour, sibilence, oxymorons, paradox, etc? ) • Examine the use of punctuation – does it add anything to the lines? (Are we forced into certain interpretations because of encouraged pauses, etc? )

An ALAAL Macbeth - ‘But now I am cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in To saucy doubts and fears. ’ When Macbeth describes himself as “cabined, cribbed, confined” he is clearly feeling trapped, shut in, imprisoned by his fears and anxieties because the imagery (of a cabin and a crib) together with the alliteration (the repetition of the “c”) somehow reinforce the strength 5 of his fears. Although “bound” could also reinforce the idea of Macbeth’s entrapment, it may indicate that Macbeth now believes he has a moral conviction towards outrageous or, strange doubts and terrors in his mind. But, “saucy” might also be interpreted as foolish thoughts that enter into Macbeth’s mind and can easily be forgotten. 10 However, such an interpretation is unlikely because the image that is created from the culmination of this snapshot of the play indicates that Macbeth, is likely to be a character of unstable mind. Perhaps this is the first real indication of the deterioration of Macbeth’s mental state which will soon be seen as the remainder of the play unfolds.

An ALAAL Macbeth - ‘But now I am cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in To saucy doubts and fears. ’ When Macbeth describes himself as “cabined, cribbed, confined” he is clearly feeling trapped, shut in, imprisoned by his fears and anxieties because the imagery (of a cabin and a crib) together with the alliteration (the repetition of the “c”) somehow reinforce the strength 5 of his fears. Although “bound” could also reinforce the idea of Macbeth’s entrapment, it may indicate that Macbeth now believes he has a moral conviction towards outrageous or, strange doubts and terrors in his mind. But, “saucy” might also be interpreted as foolish thoughts that enter into Macbeth’s mind and can easily be forgotten. 10 However, such an interpretation is unlikely because the image that is created from the culmination of this snapshot of the play indicates that Macbeth, is likely to be a character of unstable mind. Perhaps this is the first real indication of the deterioration of Macbeth’s mental state which will soon be seen as the remainder of the play unfolds.