1.06 Macbeth Character Development
Question: Macbeth
Answer: - Impressions from the beginning, from the battlefield -> was a brave + capable warrior
Once seen with the witches -> Very ambitious w/ extreme desires to power. Self-doubt as he hesitates to kill Duncan
- Before Duncan’s murder, he was plagued with worry + abort the plans -> LM pushes him into the deed
- Later, too ambitious that he would kill anything threats his throne, many lives have to pay for this
- However at the end, he did not choose to suicide -> goes down to fight
=> Shakespeare used Macbeth to show the terrible effects of ambition (along with guilt) can have on a man who lacks strength of character
==================================================
Question: Lady Macbeth
Answer: - Frightening female character
- First impression: she has already plotting Duncan’s murder
- She’s stronger, more ruthless + more ambitious than her husband. Fully aware as she knows she’ll have to push Macbeth to commit murder. Also wishes she is not female to do this herself
- Macbeth implies that LM = masculine soul that inhabiting a feminine body -> this links masculinity with cruelty + violence + ambitious
- Manipulates her husband with remarkable effectiveness (when he hesitates to murder, she repeatedly question his manhood until he feels that he must commit murder to prove himself)
- Towards the end, slow slides into madness - as ambition affects her stronger than Macbeth at the beginning -> Guilt plague her more strongly after that
- Once the sense of guilt comes to roots, LM’s sensitivity becomes weakness -> unable to cope -> kills herself => signalling her inability to deal with the consequences of their crimes
=> Women can be as ambitious + cruel as men
- Social constraints deny them the means to pursue these ambitions on their own
==================================================
Question: The Three Witches
Answer: - Dark thoughts + unconscious temptations to evil
- Mischief causes stems from their supernatural powers. But mainly, it is the result of their understanding of the weakness in human - they play on Macbeth’s ambition
- Features: beards, bizarre potions + rhyme speeches
- Toying with human lives/ fates. Some of the prophecies = self-fulfilling (explain how Macbeth gotta do all the killing to become King)
=> Embody unreasoning, instinctive evil
==================================================