Act III as the 'Gothic Centre' of Macbeth?

How the gothic nature of the play has been used to heighten the tragedy of Macbeth by the end of Act III.

• Morality. At the time of Shakespeare, King James I (England) was obsessed by the idea of witches and witchcraft. Extensive hunts and burnings of witches occured all over the country, and thousands of women were killed after being accused. It has been said that it was these 'Burning Times' that inspired Shakespeare to use the 'weird sisters'. Even if you do not follow the chirstian religion, you will more than likely adhere to the ten commandments. It was these Christian morals that sparked the witch hunts, as they were closely associated with the Devil.
• In Act III of Macbeth, the murder of Banquo is shocking, as initially we are introduced to him as being a friend of Macbeth. It highlights the downward spiral of Macbeth and his sanity, as he is clearly becoming paranoid and insecure.
• In previous scenes, it is clear that Macbeth is aware of the wrong in murdering. He is reluctant to kill Duncan, and is seen to be feeling the guilt of his crime. It is in act III, however, that his morality can be said to have decreased alot.
• Supernatural (and Witchcraft). The theme of witchcraft becomes prominent in the fifth scene of Act III. The three witches are meeting with Hecat, the goddess of witches. Hecat is angry at them for going above their station in seeking Macbeth, and would have been frightening for audiences in the time already obsessed with the idea of witches.
• The ghost of Banquo also appears to Macbeth, again drawing attention to the hallucinations he has (the dagger in Act II). This could further give evidences for Macbeth's unhealthy mental state, and possibly the idea that he has a moral conscience. Despite the fact he appears bloodthirsty and willing to kill again, the apparition of Banquo's ghost could hint at the remaining morals within Macbeth.

Macbeth- Act IV (in progress)

Scene One:

• Immediately we are introduced to alot of gothic elements in this scene. The thunder is a typical gothic setting- bad weather.
• The three witches appear to be reciting an incantation, creating potions and spells. This would have been shocking to audiences when this play was written (early seventeenth century) because witchcraft was feared and many women accused were burnt. To actually hear the chants would have made a big impact. 'hell-broth...Fire burn... Finger of birth-strangled babe'. The image of the murdered child is yet another example of the death of a child. (When Lady Macbeth describes how she would kill her own child, and the murder of Macduff's son later on in the act). The witches use alot of language relating to evil or language that conjures up unpleasant imageries. It shows further how nasty the company is that Macbeth is meeting with (willingly, now).
• 'Something wicked this way comes'. When the second witch exclaims that Macbeth is arriving, it could be reflecting how his morality is pretty much non-existent now.
• Another gothic element present in this scence are the the apparitions arrive. One of which is a 'Bloody Child', which could foreshadow the coming murder of Macduff's son. This apparitions says how nobody will harm Macbeth, except one who is not human- 'none of woman born'.
• After the third apparition, one of Macbeth's sections of speech (Lines 93-100), he begins to speak in rhyme. The same rhythm of the witches suggest how similarly evil Macbeth is to the witches. It almost sounds like one of their chants.

My View on Lady Macbeth

• Originally, I found Lady Macbeth unrelenting in her ambition. I thought that she was an unpleasant person who used her manipulative ways to persuade Macbeth into murdering the king. She was cruel in her criticism towards her husband, calling him a coward.
• She also seemed to be a violent character, with her horrible description of how she would kill her baby. Despite this speech of how she would keep her word, she still refused to murder Duncan herself because he resembled her father. In my eyes, this makes her character quite hypocritical.
• She also shows no remorse for the part she played in the murder, as although she admits she is equally as guilty as Macbeth, she brushes it off, revealing that she feels it is easy to forget what they had done, and easy to ignore the guilt. Her cold attitude made me dislike her, as she was unsympathetic and nasty towards her husband. (Even though it is suggested they have a loving relationship by the way Macbeth writes to her).
• Lady Macbeth is a good actress, who uses her status as a woman to her advantage, to create the image of innocence at the scene of the murder. She swoons at the idea of murder. Although previously she had become the dominating, almost masculine, figure in the plot to kill the king.
• Despite her initial enthusiasm, when she sees Macbeth beginning to think of killing more, she appears to shrink back. She allows her husband to take more control than he had previously, almost as if she regrets planting the first seed of thought into her Macbeth's head. She even asks him what is to be done, whereas before she had been giving the instructions.

Macbeth- Act II

Scene One:

• As Banquo is disturbed, the sky seems restless too- 'There's husbandry in heaven'. (Line 4) Could this be a sign of the evil nature of what is happening?
• Banquo describes the King's sleep. It is ironic, as the audience is aware of what is to befall Duncan during the night. 'The King's a-bed'. (Line 12)
• The witches not only had a big impact on Banquo, ('I dreamt last night of the Weird Sisters'-Line 20) but we know they affect Macbeth too, thus seeing through Macbeth's apparent lack of concern regarding them. ('I think not of them'- Line 21)

Scene Two:

• Lady Macbeth appears to be on egde, starting at noises of her imagination. 'Hark! Peace'. We are also shown some humanity in her character, when she explains why she could not kill Duncan herself. Despite the fact she felt he resembled her father as he slept, she could be seen as a hypocrite, when she chastises Macbeth as being a coward- she described in horrific detail how she would kill her own baby.
• Within the scene, there is thick tension in the atmosphere, reflected by the rapid exchange between Macbeth and LM.
• Macbeth predicts the onset of insomnia. 'heard a voice cry "Sleep no more!"' Clearly he feels that his conscious will not let him forget the murder he has just committed.
• The use of 'S' sounds implies that Macbeth will whisper his explaination to LM. 'Shall sleep' (Line 43). It shows how concerned the character is feeling about the murder and of being caught, and of the guilt he is experiencing.
• Lady Macbeth scorns her husband in a sarcastic, nasty way. 'Why, worthy thane' (Line 44). She has consistently criticised his apparent cowardice or reluctance to carry out the bloody killing. She also calls him childish at his recation to having killed Duncan. ''Tis the eye of childhood That fears a painted Devil'.
• Macbeth feels that he will always be guilty, and that it willl take more than Neptune's ocean to wash the blood from his hands.
• Lady Macbeth seems to admit that she is just as guilty, but dismisses it easily, 'A little water clears us of this deed; How easy is it then!' She simply wants Macbeth to forget it and get over it.

Scene Three

• The Porter in this scene provides a much needed bit of comic relief, with his speech of alcohol and how it increases the desire, yet inhibits his sexual needs.
• There is a alot of mention of the Devil- 'Belzebub' - and this a classic element of the gothic. Along with mention of God and of faith.
• The weather is also severe and links in with the gothic genre. It is so bad, it could be linked to the first sign of nature turning 'wild'.
• Macbeth plays the innocent man well, showing off the two sides to his character- the Doppelganger which is also an element of Gothic literature.
• Macbeth kills the guards for two possible reasons. He wants to appear loyal to the king, and therefore innocent of the murder. He also wants to be sure that the guards could not provide any incriminating evidence against him.
• The conflicting language here could reflect the conflict of morals/conscience within him. 'temperate...furious...loyal...neutral' (Lines 105 and 106)
• Lady Macbeth also proves herself to be a good actress, she swoons at the night's horrors.
• Malcom and Donalblain seem to be aware of the deceit- 'There's daggers in men's smiles'. They then flee, but in doing so incriminates them- makes them suspicious.

Scene Four

• The old man opens the scene with an anecdote, and how he has never seen a worse night. Because of the respect shown by Ross, ('good father'), the audience trusts him and therefore his views on the matter.
• ''Tis said they ate each other'. When discussing how Duncan's horses turned wild, it is clear that something in nature is not right. The order of nature has been turned on its head.
• Macduff's decision to leave to Fife, and not to the coronation of Macbeth suggest that he already has his suspicions or some mistrust of Macbeth.

Macbeth's Soliloquy- Act 2

Hallucination:

• Can see a dagger, but doesn't know it's relevence. Is it a prophecy, a sign that he will kill the king? Or is it just an image reflecting what he had been thinking about lately. 'Art thou not, fatal vision... Or art thou A dagger of the mind , a false creation'. (Lines 36-28)
• Vision changes to one of a bloody dagger, and Macbeth seems to be concerned about the change, and it brings about the turning point within his soliloquy.
• He feels that by seeing it, his eyes 'are made the fools o'the other senses'. He is unsure as to whether he is actually seeing it. (Line 44)
• Brings out his own dagger, almost to compare with what he thinks he's seeing. Might be prophetic, that he is definately going to commit to the murder of Duncan. Macbeth believes the dagger is ordering him,or controlling him. 'marshall'st me the way'. (Line 42)

Change in attitude (Turning point)

• Macbeth snaps out of his concerned/confused state of mind about the hallucination, and tells himself 'There's no such thing.' (Line 47). You can almost say he starts to think 'rationally' (if rational is deciding to kill somebody!) He is more decisive, and sets his sights on the task at hand.
• He uses the visions of Hecat (goddess of witches) and Tarquin (rapist) to compare his movements towards the deed. 'Moves like a ghost'. (Line 56). These are two horrible visions, and really help to emphasise the evil in the act Macbeth is about to carry out.

Gothic Elements

• Blood/Gruesome imagery. The blood on the dagger and the use of a semantic field with 'deathly' vocabulary all tie in with the murder. 'Dagger... fatal... bloody'.
• Witches. Shakespeare uses the goddess of witches to compare with his act and movement towards it.
• Supernatural vs Nature. 'Nature seems dead...witchcraft celebrates'.
• 'That summons thee to heaven or to hell'. (Line 64).

Marxism Analysis

Jane Eyre is a novel that is relatively simple to look at alongside the theory of Marxism. Karl Marx stated that it was ‘not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness’. There are many characters in Jane Eyre that have led their lives in very different places than each other.

Firstly, Jane herself spent most of her early years at a school for girls. There, she had nothing material, and not a privileged life. Because of this, she grows into an adult, who does not yearn for material goods or a wealthy life, but an honest and good one. This outcome does not support the theory of Marxism, because despite Jane never experiencing owning anything valuable or precious, she doesn’t ever aspire to. 

For a character that does fit in with the theory of Marxism, Adele (Rochester’s ward) is a good example. She is a French girl who has been brought up in a wealthy home. She is constantly craving for the attention of Rochester, and the attentions of all the rich guests. She has lived a privileged life, around wealthy people, and can appear to the reader to be ‘spoilt’, which would tie in with the theory of Marxism.

Word Count: 209